The Bridge: A Godzilla-MLP Crossover

by Tarbtano

Chapter 48, Part 3: Surging Tides

“Alright, we’re talking this over once more just to be clear,” Godzilla Junior noted as he paced across the living room with his arms folded behind his back.

Peachy Keen stood beside him on a box to make their presence marginally more comparable, as he stood ready before the Rainbooms, now including Sunset Shimmer, and Flash Sentry all gathered on the furniture.

“Your safety is our foremost concern,” she started to frown but sighed in acceptance, “We can’t and won’t stop you from helping protect your world. Righteous souls always do. That said, certain heroes are more up to certain tasks than others.”

“Two of you have been given some review on how to use your new powers in close combat, should the need arise,” Junior continued, giving a glance to Rainbow Dash and Applejack, “Feel like you can control it?”

Rainbow Dash, sporting a minor band-aid on her cheek with pride, shot a cocky grin and a thumb’s up, “I kept up a sprint for a full twelve seconds without crashing into anything and busted the board with a kick. Oh, and Jackie here busted the bricks.”

The crossed-armed, formerly proud-looking Applejack pouted and gave Rainbow a bit of a side-eye at feeling like her achievement just got thrown under the rug.

"And your bodies could take the beating?"

Applejack nodded while inspecting her only mildly bruised knuckles, "Whatever magic is boosting us physically is also helping protect from the blowback. Don't think I would have my hand in a splint for a few days like it was last time if I had to slug someone."

"Good, but remember that the preparation and drills Godzilla ran you through were mostly so you didn't hurt anyone or yourself with your own abilities," Peachy Keen started and Godzilla finished, "Anguirus and I will be running defense for you lot the entire time we're out there. If all goes according to plan, you won't even have to use your abilities even in a defensive way."

He stopped in his pacing and gave his compatriot a sideways nod that was exchanged and returned by Anguirus, before turning his attention back to Rainbooms.

"These two never asked anybody to stick their neck out, but I just want to be clear we will make certain nothing happens to your group ever again while we are around," Anguirus paced to the front of the group and stood beside his leader and friends.

"We handle the magic hate plague," Sunset Shimmer astutely said as she rolled her shoulders and mentally prepared herself for being on stage-

Link!

Kilometers away another meeting was being held with an arguably even weirder assorted cast than the living room that was housing two transformed dinosaurs, a pair of transformed equines that included a demigoddess, and a gaggle of humans. In this case a cyborg, another transformed equine, a pair of transformed sea sorceresses, an alien dragon hybrid, a magically altered human, and a transformed giant bat mutant. Only the youngest cyborg, the youngest sea sorceress, and the unbeknownst human amongst their homebase were not in attendance.

Adagio stood before the group with her arms crossed in front of her, dressed in her typical show attire she would use for bigger concerts that well complemented her form.

"I still admit I don't fully like this plan. It has too many variables, and too many ways it could go wrong," she grumbled before sighing, glancing aside to examine the determined face on her cousin.

Aria was known to be bullheaded, and this was making her very worried. She still had her promise to keep to her dearly departed aunt to watch over the pod. She failed once in full, a fate for Sonata they were still trying to reverse, and the chance that it could happen again was near unbearable.

The hand placed upon her cousin's shoulder however was a reminder of how circumstances had changed. X had supported her cousin enough times to more than earn Adagio's trust. He had done so the moment he returned after Sonata's desecration, and had done so when Aria presented her ploy. Adagio looked between the couple and gave X a brief, somewhat knowing nod of acknowledgement when he noticed her. Mermares rarely took foreign lovers, but there were exceptions and the sirens were nothing if not exceptional. She approved of him around her cousin, not like they needed her blessing to produce all the love magic she found last night.

And he was just the beginning of them seeking new allies, as much as she might be aloof to admit it upfront. After all, even if her goals of regaining her grandmother's throne as Queen needed more consideration after the bombshell Princess Twilight dropped via Eventide, her aunt and mother had instilled the alpha siren with a near unbreakable air of authority. And being a good leader meant knowing when to accept outside help even if she had spent years thinking such notions were preposterous, after so many had turned them away. Gloriosa had no real incentive to put up with the level of abnormality which had been thrust upon her, and Princess Sparkle and even less incentive to be half as helpful as she was. And yet, they had a secure holding because of the aid of her favorite human of whom Adagio could admit to growing attached to. And the pony princess, with her eyes intently focused upon the siren leader as if she was mentally taking notes with enthusiasm, had more than endeared herself to them. Should she still become Queen of Mako after all, Adagio would be quite content having Twilight as a future foreign ally.

Once upon a time she had nothing but scorn for the bearded sorcerer who banished them here and took away what life they had in Equestria so suddenly. Now, despite all the hardships, she could finally realize how things had changed for the better. They had… friends… and quite a bit more in the case of Aria and X. If they ever had a chance to take a stand where their own power might not be enough, this was it.

"X and Aria have their objective, so we have to do everything we can to keep attention away from them," Adagio announced as she paced with her arms folded behind her, "That means causing a big shout and keeping the tempo. Aria, you might tag out after but I need you with me on the first chorus before you do."

Her cousin nodded to her as Adagio continued and looked to the third 'siren' present, "Eventide, you’d best be prepared to sing your heart out. My magic will be lessened without Aria around and that means we'll have to control the crowds the old fashion way outside of some influence."

Eventide Hymn, ready in her showy disguise, smirked and winked, "We can keep the eyes around on the prize. As long as you don't mind me getting into it. I can't dance, but I do have quite a voice."

"It’ll be your first time on a big stage, so you'd better," Adagio grinned and gave her a thumbs up before looking to Gigan, "And I won't take offense to you having your eyes elsewhere, but do you have it operational?"

Gigan nodded while tapping his glasses, "All set to bug the phone tower and cellular systems earlier. I'll be able to get a bead on most anything in town. All the more important given there is an excessively high chance the magic enhanced humans, the Mothra, and her allies will be about."

"Which is why we need the opposite of a showstopper, we gotta keep the tides rolling long as we can," Adagio hummed, "Might entail a bit of hexing on the crowd-"

She glanced at Princess Twilight and rolled her eyes in minor annoyance, "Nothing serious, I promise."

The former alicorn sighed and nodded, “As long as no one gets hurt, I’ll help. If a ruckus is caused, Lea and my friends here will keep focused on it… the sooner we can apprehend Sonata’s attacker, sooner we can get this mess resolved.”

“I know about the Mothra, and that there is an excessively high chance she has summoned others to help her,” Gigan tapped his metallic fingers against his arm as he glanced to Twilight, “Sure you want me looking out for that random pink-haired one as well, that ‘Peachy Keen’, Princess?”

Twilight Sparkle pursed her lips but nodded, “Only if you promise to not harm her. I don’t know who she is, not a kaiju I’m aware of, but something was… off about her. Familiar but not from immediate memory. Might be another Equestrian they brought in that I didn’t meet face-to-face.”

Gigan shrugged as he committed her description to memory of faces to watch for, “One angry Mothra, high probability of her teammates, and one random pony; any other takers?”

The only member of the Hunters who hadn’t acted up so far felt a mountain press down on her shoulders. Guilt stung like sour bile in her throat, but she wasn’t quite sure whom it was coming from. Her flock by choice or her family by creation. Her actions the days prior were still fresh in her mind and Anguirus’ frowning face was directly before her. If she said nothing, he might come running if he sensed her and make Gigan and company panic, spoil Aria and X’s plans, and lead to conflict. If she said something, it might backfire in any number of ways. He could be killed, or he could kill. It was a matter of picking between what could go wrong and what would go wrong, a harder choice than many would factor. Swallowing as Adagio ran through the song list with the stage team again, Irys felt a surge of drive pushing her to the forefront.

“We’ve got one shot to make this work,” Adagio poised with a frown before raising an eyebrow at Irys, “You have something?”

“... I know of another kaiju who is here.”

All eyes were upon her.

Irys shrunk but sighed, "I was going to say so anyways.. but, no good keeping it in."

Back at Sunset Shimmer’s residence, the party was setting out on a plan far less dire. The Rainbooms were packing their instruments and gear as Peachy Keen, Godzilla Junior, Mothra Lea, and Anguirus watched on.

“Think this could lead to us getting Twilight back?” Peachy muttered with a frown.

Junior placed a hand upon her mid-back and gently nudged her with his shoulder in a calm, if unhuman gesture, “Twilight is safe where she is. We contain the sirens and counter the growing dark magic, and then move to that issue.”

“Doing so might draw out her kidnappers,” a morose, but quiet Lea whispered, the mothra having stayed back out of the planning sessions, “There could be a problem. A large amount of magic might be dangerous here.”

“Which is why we’re not putting all of our eggs in one basket,” Peachy Keen replied as she helped brush a bang of hair out of Lea’s tired face before cupping a cheek, “You’re as much a magic expert as I. By staying back, you’ll be able to observe any surges of it from a distance and figure out what’s going on. Still got the phone Fluttershy loaned you?”

Lea nodded as she looked to the small, gaudy device, “I’ll alert you all if something is amiss or I sense any kaiju.”

“Sure you can? Going to be a lot of magic flying around.”

“If I meditate, I can sense most powers across a continent,” Lea plainly noted.

Junior chuckled, “She was the alert system back home if one of our sensories failed. Be out of a job without her.”

Lea only frowned but diverted her attention away.

"... You’d have a lot less scars if it weren’t for me too… Too many powers at play, too many causing problems," she muttered, "Don't thank me for throwing you at problems."

A warmth and presence was pressed up against her and Lea sighed, before sinking into her best friend’s slight embrace. Junior let out a low coo from the back of his throat.

“I'd have rushed in anyways, and I'd be in a much darker place if stuff happened and I couldn't stop it. Few scars for a few tens of thousands of lives, good trade to me... Listen, Lele. We’re not keeping you out of action, we’re playing to our strengths,” Junior whispered, “Trust me, Lele. I always have for you.”

After a moment or two a second presence joined his, and Lea soon found herself comfortably sandwiched between Godzilla and Anguirus. With some measure of fidgeting, the stressed guardian moth sighed and wrapped an arm around them both and pulled them in as Peachy Keen patted her head.

“Be careful out there you three. I’ll be quite a ways away,” she muttered with apprehension in her voice, “If something big happens…-”

“The point of this operation is for something big not to happen,” Junior corrected her, “If all goes well, none of us kaiju will have had to be there in the first place.”

Lea took in a deep breath, steeling herself and committing this sense of camaraderie and comfort to memory, before pulling back. Looking to her friends, old and new, she bowed her head and started for the house. With some bracing in her strong legs, she leaped up several meters and landed on the low roof of the porch to make her way to the top. Out of earshot, she waved her friends away and sat down cross legged to focus.

Anguirus and Junior looked to her with a smile and a small sense of awe as they felt the slight tingle of her sensory magic picking them up, before turning away. Walking to the van however, the largest present was quick to pull Anguirus and Peachy Keen around the side to have some fleeting privacy; keeping his voice quiet.

“Anguirus, now's the time,” he whispered.

Anguirus felt his world run cold for a fleeting moment, glancing to the top of the house before gulping. He frowned and muttered back.

“Sure she can’t hear me?”

Junior shook his head as Peachy Keen waved a hand slightly.

“Terran magic is different, but I can tell she’s using a combination of a scrying spell and something similar,” Peachy Keen explained, “I taught it to Twilight who taught it to her. She can sense us, but not hear us.”

“And I know how her spying works,” Junior finished, “You’d been quiet since you got back from that patrol and I know there was more than just some strange magic-ice afoot.”

“I…” Anguirus swallowed, “Didn’t want to say anything immediately with something wrong with Lea.”

“You mean besides her looking like she’s not slept in weeks despite being asleep most of the time?” Peachy Keen deadpanned, “Looks like me when I first lost Luna…”

Anguirus perked up slightly and glanced to her, “Really?”

Peachy Keen frowned at both the memory and circumstance but did nod, “It’s not exactly, but it’s there. Luna and I are part of a duality, we came from the same source, have many similar abilities, and compliment each other. Figuratively and literally, we’re stronger together. But when I first lost Luna, I suffered… How does this factor with Lady Lea?”

Junior looked to Anguirus and then away puzzling with a hand on his chin, “She’s also part of a duality, but all in one… It’s not exactly the same, but the sooner we get this ordeal done and get to the Elias sisters, Moll and Lora, the sooner we can help her. She’s unhinged.”

Anguirus paused before crossing his arms and leaning on the van, “Which is why you’re keeping her as far away from the action as possible.”

Godzilla paused as a frown grew over his face, but nodded, “Look, it’s not like I enjoyed it or lied when I said she had talents elsewhere. If I kept her out of things entirely she’d only spiral more or do something reckless.”

His attention turned back to his other comrade, “So what about her has got you so scared you don't say anything even after the first night?”

Anguirus flinched again before slowly relaxing, “.. Thought you’d figure something was up. I was trying not to be overt on account of you-know-who.”

Peachy Keen scrunched up her nose, “You smelled burnt. Even I could smell it.”

“Fire monster, I often smell that way,” Anguirus tried to defend himself but sighed as he shook his head and made peace with his situation, “Oye… Yes, and I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier, I really am. If I thought it was someone dangerous I would’ve opened up immediately.”

“Someone dangerous?” Junior quipped as he raised his eyebrow.

Anguirus nodded, “… The albino Gyaos. She's here.”

Junior and Peachy Keen both straightened up, flashbacks of a very stressful night in Canterlot replaying in their minds. The monster King quickly looked back out of the memory into his compatriot.

“I would hardly call someone like that not dangerous,” he grunted with a lowered brow, his tone getting very heavy as he thought of the implications of a monster like that on the loose in a world like this, “You know what her kind can do!”

Anguirus lowered back for a moment in both intimidation and guilt, before coming up against a hard wall that wouldn’t allow him anymore backpedaling. That wall being when the supposedly enemy called themselves the only family he had. He stepped back forward and stood up to his friend and leader.

“I’m not ignorant. Before I realized everything, I tried to kill her myself. But she’s not a threat, not her. She’s the guardian beast I sensed,” he snorted with so much conviction it couldn’t possibly be a lie.

Junior’s head craned up slightly in surprise, “A what? I thought you said their kind were faulty, driven insane by that.”

“And they had to be put down as one puts down a rabid animal, yes,” Anguirus nodded along to the very same lines he had told Junior once, “But we always knew she was a bit different. Not so rabid, not insane, Gamera always called her cunning. Somehow after Lea defeated her she wound up here, activated her kind’s guardian beast powers, and she seems… Seems.”

He shook his head while motioning with his hands as if groping for the right word before shrugging his shoulders the best option, “Normal. Just like me, Raiga, Rodan, Yonggary, any of us from my family line. She’s not rabid. She was the one who pointed me to that dark magic ice to warn me…. She called herself Irys, she called herself by a name.”

Junior paused, eyes darting about as he analyzed the situation. Perhaps to weigh in on it, Peachy Keen placed a hand on his shoulder and shook it lightly as she pointed a finger upwards. She had probably intended to use her index finger for the gesture, but muscle memory of having a single-digit hoof changed which finger it was.

“It was agreed upon that should other kaiju be found but not be hostile, they could be given a second chance,” the princess hummed knowingly.

Junior acknowledged her while chewing his lip before looking back to Anguirus, “Was she alone?”

The Fire Guardian Beast nodded, “No others. Not gyaos, not any other kaiju.”

The monster King collected himself before sighing while shaking his head. It seemed life just couldn’t be simple right now, couldn’t it?

“Thanks, for telling us. I know you kept it to yourself for good reason.”

Anguirus’s lips curled downwards in sadness, clearly not proud of what he had to do, “I still feel like I betrayed your trust. Very sorry, I didn’t want to tell the Rainbooms for fear of worrying them unnecessarily and you two were never away from Lea and given her and the albino’s last interaction…”

Peachy Keen and Junior nodded in unison.

“Make sense.”

“She would probably fly off the handle more.”

“So what do you want us to do about this?” Junior huffed as he tested his shoulder.

“… I know she can be dangerous, but she’s just lost. She clearly didn’t want to fight me when she realized we were family. I just want to find her, make sure she’s okay, take her back if we can,” Anguirus whispered as the burden crushed down on him slightly. He knew he was asking a lot.

“That’s going to be difficult,” Junior said with a frown.

Peachy Keen collected herself before rolling her eyes and shrugging, “When is life not difficult for any of us? This might as well be a Tuesday. She might know something useful and it’s our duty to help those with righteous souls.”

“As we are with your student and her friends,” Anguirus quipped while chancing a glance, feeling a chance that a bit of the pressure pulled off his shoulders.

“Are you sure about this old friend?” Junior muttered.

Anguirus met his eyes before nodded, “She’s family, my long-lost sibling… I think both of you can relate.”

Junior and Peachy, Celestia, soon found each other’s gaze as a tugging was felt in their chests. One that brought a lot of pain, but also a lot of joy. From memories of a ruined castle and battle-torn island, to others of embracing in the aftermath of the elements and laughing in a hospital room after falling through the air. Anguirus couldn’t have found a more understanding audience.

“For second chances, for Equestria and Terra,” Peachy Keen hummed as she put a hand on both of her companion’s shoulders.

Junior and Anguirus returned the gesture to each other and her, “for Equestria and Terra.”

============

The musical showcase was quite a sight even for an opening day. In another time, another possibility where the intrusion of outside forces from another realm might have altered events and people, the sirens would have turned this town festival into a full-on battle of the bands. Their music would have whipped people up into a frenzy, taking control and being worshiped as they had in centuries past in Equestria. Unbeknownst to the van pulling up behind the stage, it only took one fateful encounter at a mall to set off a series of events that climaxed in a clash of titans deep within the Everfree. But exceedingly few knew about it, nor the implications and alterations that followed. If one asked around town a few might remember an accident happening in the hospital some time ago that was taken to be a gas explosion or maybe inquired about the peculiar crater resembling a handprint shoved into a cliff wall at a rural park some miles away.

Had history remained unaltered, the five chosen humans might be six and they would have developed their magic and distinct powers much later. But Gloriosa had discovered the elements early, and was called out to rather than seizing them by force; because something much more dangerous had appeared. And because that happened, a lonely girl who might have become one of this world’s heroes unknowingly had committed a travesty. The sirens, who had been put upon a completely different path than what might be destined, were out for vengeance rather than power. Because of them, their ally had gotten involved along with all he brought with him. Twilight had been kidnapped, magic was surging and awakening far more rapidly than it would have otherwise, nightmares from thousands of years ago had returned; and yet the crowd was cheering for the three singers on stage; completely ignorant to how so much was on a collision course with others.

The sirens, the element bearers, the hunters, the defenders, the windigos, humanity, the realms of magic and the realms of monsters. All irreversibly changed because of a few small choices and a few paths crossed.

Peachy Keen, Princess Celestia, stepped out of the van and looked upon both the festival. With all of its attendees, stands, events, the booming song of the sirens coursing through everyone, and the uncanny sensation of magic at work in the air from all manner of sources. On stage, Eventide Hymn masked any apprehension with the flow of her body and echo of her voice providing the backup chorus. She too could feel it all as her eyes darted around. For the briefest moment they might have caught each other’s focus of vision but weren’t actively conscious of it. They only both the new one truth-

The butterfly had flapped its wings, and now it seemed the hurricane might be due. The only question was when.

Peachy Keen perked up as Sunset Shimmer, stepping out of the van, shivered.

”You feel it too don’t you?” Peachy Keen muttered as she felt at her student’s trembling shoulder.

“Sometimes I used to worry I might forget from being here too long,” Sunset Shimmer rubbed at her arms, “Magic, a lot of it’s like at the cafeteria but way stronger.”

”They’ve already begun using it on the people, just like they did 1000 years ago in Equestria,” Peachy Keen frowned, the back of her mind feeling prickly with all the raw dark magic seeping into her pores. It obviously was having an effect on the people as the crowd were both extremely invested in the song but also getting very antsy.

“Well then, it’s a good thing we’re on next!” Rainbow Dash quipped as she swung her guitar over her shoulder, “We’re here to foil a plot, get some answers, and find ourselves Twilight. I’ll call it a good day if we get all three done before dinner time.”

“Try your best- hr…,” Rainbow Dash perked up at the masculine tone as Junior walked up behind her caring half the band’s instruments out of the van. She whipped around and quickly saw him grimacing slightly.

“Woooah there big guy, you doing okay?”

Godzilla Junior shook his head but more to clear a momentary spell of dizziness than he did to deconfirm, straightening up and handing instruments over to Applejack; whose strength was showing given how she barely flinched upon accepting the load.

“Lot of... magic. Body’s trying to absorb it,” he grunted, held steady by Anguirus as the latter backpedaled slightly.

The Rainbooms were confused, but Peachy Keen went pale both from the implication and the very subtle changes in body language Anguirus and especially Godzilla were giving off. Pupils oscillating between dilated and contracted, slight body tremors, muscle tension. She knew what it looked like when someone was scared but trying not to show it to keep up appearances. It was a look she wore all the time.

“Can you handle it?” She whispered while reaching up to touch at Junior’s forehead, having to stand up on her tippy toes to do so almost like she was checking him for a fever. In effect, investigating his temperature was exactly what she was doing when her hand was pulled away from the heat.

“I think... Yes. It’s just,” he grumbled with a very slight stammer, “Nothing like back at the house.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Rainbow Dash muttered with a lowered brow as she reached out, noticing her instructor’s unease alone as Anguirus was masking it better thanks to being more magically affiliated.

“Nothing… serious,” Peachy Keen started and almost impulsively Junior nearly gave her a glare as another tremor flowed through him in a manner not dissimilar to a prolonged adrenaline rush, “The sirens have been singing for a while, and it’s been permeating the entire audience. This place is magically saturated. While their bodies have adjusted to look human like what happened with Sunset Shimmer and I, the same thing happened back in Equestria with them. I guess this means transportation here didn’t cancel it out.”

“Cancel what out?” Rainbow Dash piped with her arm starting to get goosebumps at the uncanny feeling something was very wrong.

Godzilla felt a wave of irrational anger born out of fear permeate his body. Phantom sensations and smells of burning glass, shattered metal, and smoldering, crumbling rubble were filling his nose. He looked at the town center and at the music festival, at all the people present, and years in the grind caused him to automatically register how much of his body would cover up the area, crush how many buildings, and every face that would get caught up in the span.

-I’m going to squish someone… If I change, I'm going to crush so many. Like ants, they would be like ants; I can’t possibly keep track of how many there would be! It would happen in an instant, one moment they’d be listening to music, in the next – so many of them ground into the concrete before they could even scream! If I change, I’m going to kill someone. If I change I’m going to kill so many!-

It was a feeling he wasn’t foreign to and yet hated so much. In a gigantic irony considering his fore-bearers, the only thing that scared the third Godzilla more than something else killing innocent people was he himself doing it. If he lost his nerve, he’d be a trembling mess sprinting away as fast as he could. It didn’t matter that there wasn’t much chance he would transform with how things were now, the prospect still terrified him.

But the colorful eyes of the concerned humans surrounding him were the only things keeping his nerves steeled.

“It’s nothing to worry about, I’ll handle it,” Junior snipped to cut her off, using the same commanding sharpness in his voice he did while instructing when being stern, “I’ll just-, just need to… filter out...”

“Ye’ leaving?” Applejack piped while straightening up, unease starting to move through her mind as a distant thoughts of the Ghidorah, Gigan, and who knew what else was out there watching them. Every rooftop seemed to have a pair of eyes leering at them and her hand got phantom aches.

The uneasiness was obviously spreading through the rest of the group even if nobody was outright saying it. The Rainbooms were a gaggle of brave young women, but having plans with an ally change so suddenly right at the precipice was throwing all of them off-kilter. Thankfully help was already present.

“He’s not leaving,” Anguirus spoke calmly as he got up in front of his kaiju accomplice, speaking quietly despite the loud concert, “If we absorb too much magic we can temporarily revert to our true forms. Usually though it has to be direct. There's a lot flying around here and his body absorbs some with less filter than mine does. More used to drawing energy in, I'm self sustaining.”

“Will he change?” Rainbow Dash quickly spouted out just as Peachy Keen was about to say so herself, though with more fear in her voice given she knew experience. After seeing just how big her companion really was she was quite glad he apparently had asked Luna to hurl him out the window before defending Canterlot.

She asked Anguirus again even though her eyes were on the taller gray man, “Will he change?”

Anguirus put a hand on Junior’s shoulder, both feeling at the muscle to gauge his stress level but also probing with whatever magical sense he had to figure out just how much danger they were in. The sensation he got was definitely noticeable, but very unlike what he experienced once upon a time at a campground facing down dragons alongside a very different Rainbow Dash.

“Hm… No,” he started, looking intently into Godzilla’s eyes to demand his attention too and as to help focus his ally through the stress afflicting him, “Dark magic doesn’t seem to trigger the change and this place has a lot more of it. It’s a bit like an ice I found the other day, makes sense given the sirens. He is going to be fine.”

The extra emphasis on that last line wasn’t unnoticed. It was much a half white-lie to keep the girls on the right foot-forward as much as it was to push off the worries affecting Godzilla. Thankfully it did a decent enough job for at least one of those.

"I," Junior's voice paused as a brief image of crushed bodies under his toes flashed over his sight, "Might want to step back just to be sure."

"Can you hold together, Big Guy?" Rainbow Dash muttered with a hint of apprehension as she looked at her bandmates, concerned for both their safety as well as a bit of otherwise restrained fear involving black jackets, white masks and red eyes. After getting attacked out of the blue and then her closest friends suffering the same fate from the same source, having the superhuman monster bodyguard had helped her nerves even with training.

But the focus of her chief worry was not upon herself, and she evidently wasn’t alone when she spotted Applejack putting her hand on Godzilla’s other shoulder.

“Hey, you gonna be okay, Hauss?” AJ muttered with a tilt of her head, her freckled cheeks swelling as she cast a caring, but subtle smile while pressing down on his shoulder.

Rainbow Dash glimpsed the twinge and wince in Godzilla’s body language and knew the subject matter all too well. She made the same sort of recoil every time she thought of the white mask and red eyes. Just because somebody was confident didn’t mean they couldn’t get spooked.

“Sure he’ll be!” Dash chirped as she playfully elbowed him in the side and smirked a toothy smirk, “We’ll just have to play extra loud so he can hear it.”

Applejack raised her brow somewhat, “Ye’ implying we play so bad he couldn’t hear us right off the stage?”

Rainbow Dash’s eye twitches. Somewhere in the back of her mind she did register this was her friend intentionally throwing them off topic as to force their instructor back to his senses fully, comedy was a great way at that. But humility wasn’t exactly her strong suit and that’s what got her to spur into action.

Rainbow Dash whipped around and stood up on her toes to look Applejack in the eye, “Heeeey! It’s not a brag if we can back it up. ‘Sides, we’re here to knock the sirens’ socks off!”

“Oh yes, because a band named the ‘Rainbooms’ is the mark of humbleness ain’t it Rainbow?” AJ jeered as she kept it up.

Shaking off the brief fearful glimpse he got of the girls’ faces paled, gazing up blankly at an uncaring sky as she and so many around her were crushed, Junior shook his head as a side of horror was replaced by playfully bickering teenagers doing just that right in front of them. He glanced at them a few times, only partially registering the back and forth between the two, but it did indeed help him settle back in the focus. Feeling at the energy flowing through the air and forcibly trying to cut himself off from it despite his cells’ tendency to soak it up like a sponge. It was like trying to seal off a submarine with screen doors, but he managed. Everyone had their roles to play, he had done many. Friend, fighter, leader, and more. And seeing two bickering students brought up one that was new but managed to fail him.

Putting his hands between his two bickering students, Junior patted them on the scalp whereas a human would probably pick the shoulder, hold them still and point them at himself before removing his hands.

Parroting a motion he used on another of his students, Junior adjusted his body language in a way Peachy Keen recognized and perked her brow at. Chest out, back straight with just enough slouch to appear casual but firm enough to appear astute, and after realizing it would look rather silly for him to hold his arms out straight like he might his hooves when walking on all fours, hands behind his back. It was directly modeled after the oldest alicorn, a subtle way of appearing confident and a bit authoritative but not apathetic or overly dramatic. Relaxed but respectable.

“I have every intention of hearing your music, and rest assured I have very good hearing. but I just have to adjust to some of this is all,” He noted calmly while silently shooting them a smile and a slight thankful nod, “You two and your friends will do great. If anything this will help me scout around and make sure nobody interferes.”

“Oh so we make a big show and you act as the bouncer?” Rainbow Dash grinned while rubbing at her chin, “I can dig it!”

“Just be sure to get help if ye’ end up roughein’ anyone up,” Applejack quipped as she nodded to him, smirking a toothy grin.

“Brought him for that,” Junior chuckled as he motioned to Anguirus.

“Wasn’t just him, I gotta show ye’ my practice sometime,” Applejack grinned as she caught a fist into her hand in a rapid way that produced a not unnoticeable waver in the air. Chuckling, she shifted it into a thumbs up while wrapping a muscular arm around her shorter cyan friend.

“Come’on Dash, we gotta set up to best some sea witches.”

Rainbow Dash, completely unfazed at getting hoisted over Applejack’s shoulder, continued to look back while holding her guitar in one hand and making a ‘rock on’ symbol with her other.

“We’ll knock 'em silly, Sensen!”

“That’s Sensei!” Applejack corrected, causing Rainbow to launch into a tirade that sounded like one part grumbling and one part laughter.

Junior watched them go with a slight smile and shake his head. Anguirus nudged his side.

“Hey, I can tell you got spooked back there. If you need to back off to get your bearings, they’ll be safe and sound with me,” the Alpha Guardian Beast muttered with the utmost conviction.

“I wouldn’t have ever lacked trust in you, old friend,” Godzilla sighed and nodded, “I won’t be far, and if anything this gives us a quicker response if I pick up anything further out that needs to be looked into… Or anyone.”

The notice and the subject, the wayward ‘sister’ to Anguirus, wasn’t unregistered. The spine-back bowed respectfully before moving towards the back of the stage. With that settled, Junior turned aside and saw something that gave him minor pause. Peachy Keen was a jubilant, but she was far from saddened. The concern was evident in the slight creasing at her lips that could indicate the echo of a frown, but instead there was a knowing smile.

“One teacher to another,” she quipped playfully, “For all the times you say you’re not good at talking , you got the body language firmly in captivity.”

Godzilla shrugged and smirked, “Hoped so, I’m pretty much just copying you and hoping for the best.”

“You always had a talent for it, just not the opportunity before,” Peachy patted his shoulder and handed him a cellular phone.

“You know how to work one of these?”

Junior studied it for a time and grunted slightly but did shake his head, “Seen them worked, never really used one myself. Know what they’re for though.”

“Fancy contraption, wasn’t here the last time I was about,” Peachy noted as she opened it with a very telegraphed button press to make sure he saw it, “This is Sunset’s.”

When the screen activated the sight of Princess Celestia’s formerly wayward and now reunited student in her human form greeted him, slightly off-center in a group photo that had both the band and Flash Sentry present. It seemed to have been taken at some sort of school event recently. Peachy indicated to a button at the bottom and tapped it.

“She lent it to me, if you press this button it will call any of the group; already set up. If something happens or is going to happen just let us know.”

Junior looked it over after accepting it into his large hand, very delicately turning the phone back on and copying the motion. Sure, enough a short list of names popped up.

“If something happens, I’ll call to tell you I’m on my way to help,” Junior nodded affirmatively.

Peachy Keen reached out before realizing she couldn’t reach high enough and retracted her arm, making a near universal ‘come here’ motion, Godzilla obliged and crouched in front of the shrunken royalty. Now in the range she was at her will to gently pat and rub his scalp.

“And if something happens and you need help, remember,” she giggled, “Lulu will want me to bring you back in one piece.~”

Her giggling intensified when he deadpanned and his gray skin had turned a very moderate shade of red.

“... Get up there, young one,” he snipped with all the delicacy of a sledgehammer, pointing to the stage.

“Firstly, I’m not in the band. Secondly, I’ll have you know young king, that I am over-”

“Slightly over half my age, currently,” Junior grunted while pointing at her in the same authoritative manner he’d seen her use on a rowdy official, “Now get moving young lady. King outranks princess to some.”

“Not in Equestria it doesn’t! We removed Queen from titles!” Peachy Keen stuck her tongue out, hands on her hips, ”And I could have been a queen if I wanted!”

Godzilla Junior beheld one of the most regal, wise, powerful beings he knew acting her age in the body of a 12 or so year old; and laughed. The worst of the visions were finally pushed out. Even in immaturity, she still had wisdom.

-These Equestrians… Can’t live without them.-

“And if you don’t want to get up to where I know Anguirus can play bodyguard, I’m about to haul you up there like young Miss Apple did Dash,” he faux pouted.

Peachy Keen snickered and paced after the Rainbooms, “Spoilsport. Gonna reprimand you when we get back. Remember, I am technically your boss as a guard.”

“Truly, I dread cleaning the barracks already,” Junior deadpanned.

Two figures in the crowd very silently watched the proceedings as the sirens whipped said crowd into a frenzy, observing with grim apprehension.

“You feel it too?” Wallflower Blush muttered as she covered her right ear and tilted her face towards her friend, “I should’ve packed wax.”

“You get used to it, it’s the same kind of magic emission I’ve been training to master,” Twilight replied before raising her brow, “And why wax?”

“You know? Wax in ears? In case of sirens? From the Odyssey,” Wallflower quipped with a grimace, feeling the sensations permeating the air coursing into her very skin. If Twilight had not told her to be on the lookout for such vibes and changes in emotional expression she wouldn’t have even noticed. Evidently the crowd didn’t notice as the alternating waves made her feel both extremely competitive, angry, energized, and in some very weird way jubilant; with that last feeling especially directed at the singers on stage.

“Oh… Oh, you read the classics too?” Twilight noted with a raised brow, perhaps trying to fish for some sort of topic to distract them as the song hit its fevered pitch; though she was genuinely surprised.

“Took a literature elective to get out of gym,” Wallflower shrugged, “Not like anyone noticed…. Well, at least the song is ending.”

The two witnessed the three sirens taking their bow to the adoration of the crowd, who were quite fired up after being unknowingly doused in an emotion manipulating light and dark magic. The two natives of this world who thought they were stopping an invasion were, ironically, half as ignorant. They didn’t know about the weavings of Hymnia’s melody in that last number, the very thing a kaiju they didn’t even know existed was reacting to a ways away.

What they did know and notice however was the group of five girls abruptly appearing on the opposite side of the stage as the entire melody of the music shifted. The sirens seemed surprised as well, but the manipulated duo were quick to observe they were not fearful. There was a smug sense of superiority at a perceived challenge and both knew where this was going.

“The girls who got magic grafted onto them,” Twilight whispered with concern, recognizing them from a few scattered pictures she got of Canterlot’s Fall Formal. What she was surprised about however was the presence of one Sunset Shimmer in their number, and the absence of the pink one.

Her mind raced at 10,000 mph, drawing up several observations and unfortunately putting two and two together to get a five.

“This… good? I mean they’re against the sirens,” Wallflower Blush whispered as she absentmindedly clutched her only weapon in the form of a very specific memory stone.

Twilight Sparkle grimaced a frown on her paled face, “No, I think it just got worse. That’s Sunset Shimmer up there with them.”

“Yeah,” Wallflower gulped as she remembered the only attention she ever got in her first and second year was the exact opposite any would want in high school. Hazing, insults, body checking in the hallways, spiting her at the one dance she ever dared attend until very recently. Yes, she knew Sunset Shimmer by sight alright.

“I noticed…”

“And if Sunset Shimmer’s with them, but the other Twilight Sparkle isn’t, that could only mean a few things,” Twilight Sparkle muttered before clearing her throat, “It could mean the sirens are an even worse threat than we imagined so much so that they would team up with a former enemy to stand a better chance, especially with one of them missing. Or, it could be Sunset making a power play. You said the pink one was their morale-boosting social tether?”

“Pinkie Pie is... Energetic.. So... that, yes.”

“Well, see her anywhere and see Sunset up front next to Rainbow Dash?” Twilight pointed out as the Rainbooms took position, Sunset Shimmer holding a guitar with a microphone in front of her, the exact same role Rainbow Dash usually boasted.

“Maybe she’s trying to stop the sirens to help…?” Wallflower wasn’t one to like to think about bad scenarios as she looked aside and gulped, “I heard from some of the others in school she’s turning over a new leaf.”

“Did they tell you that?” Twilight whispered with a little flicker of hopefulness for her friend’s isolation.

Wallflower hung down slightly in a pitiful slouch, “No, just overheard it. Usual with me, no one even really notices I’m in the room…”

Unconsciously and in direct opposition to the magical teachings Zephyrus had instilled in her for her enemies, as this was no such person, Twilight put an arm around Wallflower’s shoulders and gave her a slight hug… Though, her dutifulness made her somewhat mask it as her just making Wallflower pay attention to the stage.

“Well, I for one don’t believe those rumors. They may not be as bad as the sirens but if they are going to team up with her and not try and get the other me back to help, I don’t trust them,” Twilight snorted with a pout, only to perk up slightly, “Hey, look! Aria’s on the move.”

She pointed and as indicated while the other two sirens were eyeing over their apparent challenge for the audience’s attention, Aria Blaze was making an exit towards the back of the stage.

“I’ll go see if she’s departing,” Twilight whispered as she started to pull away, “Keep me posted if anything changes.”

“Wait!” Wallflower shouted at a volume that surprised even herself, finding that she had lashed out and grabbed her only friend by the wrist gently but very firmly. It took a few moments of them exchanging looks for her to mentally recalculate and remember what was on her mind.

Wallflower swallowed and frowned, “I-er… just… be careful. Don’t do anything risky without me.”

“Wallflower, I’m the one who is magically trained. If anyone should be going into any danger spots, it’s me,” Twilight spoke in a calm dissonance, trying to logically put the fears aside. An irony given it was the very fear she bore that was driving her magic.

Wallflower didn’t like the sound of that and threatened to tighten her grip, not liking this confidence both because of the circumstance and because it didn’t seem like the Twilight she knew. Like found like and if there was one thing they certainly had in common it was not being self-assured, “Pleeease... don’t do anything risky.”

Twilight frowned but took in a deep breath while closing her eyes, collecting herself and thinking back to everything at the warehouse. She also thought of what might happen if her attacker returned…

-No, no I can’t have doubt right now. The sirens are getting more brazen and if there’s a fourth one we didn’t know about, who knows how many more there might be. There is a magic battle about to go out in a populated area. I can’t afford to lose my nerve.-

“You believe in fate right?”

Wallflower paused but nodded slightly, “Well... Not devoutly, but... yeah, enough to believe some things have to happen.”

“Apparently my counterpart in a world where magic is safe is an element of that. If she can use magic to better her world, so can I. Maybe it’s the reason Zephyrus found me just like you found the stone,” Twilight nodded assuringly.

Wallflower Blush wanted to object, but there was both some logic there as well as not wanting to go against her only friend. Even if she was scared of her only friend getting hurt. The little she knew of the other Twilight Sparkle personally seem to show someone she could get along with. Someone who is smart, capable, ready to take on what was needed. After all she took on a demonic Sunset Shimmer, and won! And if they were counterparts, that had to matter for something…. Right?

“… Just, promise me you’ll be careful.”

Twilight Sparkle smiled and gave her friend a firm nod and smile, “Won’t have a scratch on me. Now, duty calls!”

And with that she disappeared into the crowd to circle around.

Whether they knew it or not, very likely the latter, they were dabbling in a mermare tradition of issuing a confrontation. While the average of their kind was no more dangerous than your typical equestrian, there were some amongst their number who were quite gifted magically. Causing a dispute with one of such or between two of them could be disastrous, and was the whole reason why queenship challenges, which commonly involved such above-average heavy hitters, were magically restricted. In olden times, before the pods were unified by her grandmother and ceased their nomadic foraging and raiding lifestyle, music magic contests were frequent as a means of keeping conflict from escalating too far if two rival groups met. Fight with your magic through your music.

"See anything?" Adagio muttered out of the side of her cheek upon seeing the humans beginning to play in a very clear sign of a challenge.

“A lot of mess,” a grumbling voice on the other side of the earpiece hidden in her hair responded.

A half mile away and on top of a ladder connected to a cell tower, Gigan sat crosslegged with a cable extending from his arm that linked him to said tower via its cell site. His glasses flickered back on with a red light and once again he was assailed by the inconvenient sight of an amorphous mass of null signals. Patches of space flooded with an energy his sensors couldn’t quantify.

“You three overdid it, I can’t see a thing through all that magic,” the cyborg grumbled, “Impressive display as it was, the magic permeating the audience and surrounding area is so thick I can’t pinpoint anything around here now... Nice work.”

“And now I’m impressive to you? My my, we’re making progress,” Adagio snickered as she backed out of sight on the stage but kept her eyes on the Rainbooms, “Well then, phase 1 complete. If this group brought any kaiju-“

“Which they undoubtedly did,” Gigan corrected.

“-Certainly brought kaiju, we’ve escalated the magic level so high that even if these humans are but a flicker they won’t be able to pick anything out from the area,” Adagio purred.

The logic was sound. Kaiju couldn’t pinpoint spikes of energy if there already was a lot of it filling the air. Or at the very least they would have a harder time doing that. Enough time for them to keep from interfering with Phase 2 unopposed at the least.

“I still have a reading on the target,” Gigan quipped as his cable continued to remain attached to the cell tower, “Phone registered to a Twilight Starla Sparkle from Crystal City is in this tower’s range.”

“Any idea where she is?” Adagio murmured with an edge in her tone.

“Other than in the crowd, no. But if I can’t see her, rest assured she most certainly can see you.”

Adagio grimaced slightly but hid it expertly. Those were most certainly not assuring words. Thankfully her train of thought was diverted away by a nudging from a siren who wasn’t a siren. The Rainbooms were beginning to play and they could already feel the music permeating the air with more than just sound waves. A subtle glow, one many the audience might just attribute to clever stage lighting, was beginning to form around some of the band members. Glancing aside, Adagio Dazzle could see Eventine Hymn had a particularly inquisitive look about her face.

“Is something about our competition making you worry?” Adagio posed between the music beats.

Eventide’s eyes narrowed studiously, “Other than surprise that Pinkie Pie isn’t here and Sunset Shimmer is, it’s those with their party who have my attention.”

Following her line of sight, Adagio soon noticed a few figures standing behind the curtains of the stage, clearly having arrived with the Rainbooms without actually being band members. Or, at least she assumed they weren’t given only one of them had an instrument on them. The first was a fairly normal-looking young man, blue hair, yellow-orange skin, wearing a jacket with a guitar case beside him. He seemed fairly invested in the song, lightly bobbing his head and tapping a foot in a clearly musically inclined tempo. He was noticed, but hardly worth it. The other two however, there was something else that seemed to grip Eventide’s and by proxy, Adagio’s attention.

The first was a stout but extremely strongly built man. He might not have had much muscle toning visible, but he was built with clear strength with just enough padding to hide it. His fairly exotic-looking garb, like what one might expect from North India, also stuck out. He wasn’t necessarily the tallest man Adagio had met, Gigan and X both had some inches on him easily, but he still had that uncanny projection of raw physicality that was decidedly abnormal. A passerby may not notice, but she’d been around five kaiju before and could almost pick up on the sensations they gave off. True, it wasn’t like he was holding up a sign or clear indication it was so, but Adagio could only nod at what Eventide whispered to her.

“Kaiju,” Eventide, “He must be guarding the Rainbooms.”

“All the more reason to keep them here then.”

“That works for now, but what about when their song finishes?” Eventide remarked while glancing aside at where Aria had gone.

Adagio stole a look in that direction as well and frowned. The observation that one of the enemy’s heavy hitters was right there was off-putting. The truth that Twilight, other Twilight, was nearby compounded it. Working through it in her mind, she nudged Eventide.

“We might have to pull out Phase 3 ahead of time, and Aria’s definitely gone-“ Adagio gulped, “-gone off for her part.”

She was about to say more when she picked up traces of magical radiation coming off from Eventide in the form of mist. It was… mixed to say the least. Not a pure green of strife nor a deep red of love or adoration. It was… blue? And purple? And red? And- Adagio shook her head. Whatever it was, Eventide was clearly feeling very, very mixed.

“Phase 3 is go!” Eventide yelped out as she pedaled forward and took up a microphone, sporting a very determined expression.

“Wait what are you-arrg!” Adagio hid her groan as she walked out after her, back on stage. While snatching up a microphone from a stand, she stole a glance at the other who had arrived with the Rainbooms and their pet kaiju guard-dog.

For a split second she wondered if the eerie sense she got of something being amiss with this little teenage girl was misplaced. The alpha siren was beset with a distinct sense of eerie familiarity. But the moment passed and she was forced to look away and towards the crowd as well as the band they were outright challenging.

Peachy Keen frowned at the band’s interruption. The one approaching them was the new one. Eventide Hymn was her name, that much Peachy Keen a.k.a Princess Celestia Alexandria Alicor knew. What else she knew was she could tell the woman-girl-lady- oh it was so hard at times to figure out with that kind of provocative dress! -Whatever she was, she wasn’t a true siren. Contrary to a bit of a joke, her mentor Starswirl didn’t use this place as a magical disposal ground and so they knew exactly who had been banished here. It was just bad luck that her wayward student Sunset happened to find the mirror and went to the same realm the sirens had been banished to so long ago.

Starswirl hadn’t spoken much about the sirens, only shortly for the historic record or in a quiet evening night when she found him sadly gazing upon the portal mirror. From that, she knew the foe her teacher, father-figure, fought. They weren’t necessarily evil, more ambitious and aloof to the well-being of others, exceedingly troubled in their early history, craved recognition and attention, could possibly be reformed but were too dangerous to both themselves and others to risk being left to their own devices in Equestria with the resources available at the time. Starswirl had hoped they’d be happy here where no one could hurt them, but where they also couldn’t hurt anyone. She also very clearly knew there were only three of them. Only three, never any more than that and never any less either.

So who was this new character? She thought for a brief time that Eventide might be Sonata, the blue siren, perhaps using a new outfit and the name for whatever reason, but that was quickly shot down when Sunset showed her older footage from a month ago showing a siren concert. In terms of build all the sirens varied and while Sonata shedding or gaining some pounds might explain some changes, Peachy was doubtful she could suddenly grow in height. The archived footage of Sonata put her at a full head shorter than the fairly tall Adagio, and yet looking at them now, Eventide was only marginally shorter.

An extended family member maybe? Hearsay did list her as a cousin. Did the siren’s mother have another child before or after engendering the sorceresses, a more ‘normal’ mermare? Not impossible, but nothing proved it and Starswirl never said anything about them having a traveling companion such as a half-sister. Even with a mermare’s disguise ability, she highly doubted her mentor would throw even a disguised mare into the portal and yet somehow fail to notice them as an accomplice to the sirens.

That left the only possibility being she was a local masquerading as a siren. Peachy Keen’s brow furrowed as she felt a glimpse of Eventide’s line of sight on her, followed by Adagio’s.

-She definitely has magic, did the sirens somehow give it to her? If so, why is it different?-

Peachy Keen frowned as she forced herself to look away and look nondescript as possible. Even so she could get a bearing on the magic in the air, if only due to sheer experience. That experience told her Godzilla Junior was right on the bits when he said this place was starting to flood with it. But to her surprise it wasn’t necessarily dark magic she was sensing. It was certainly there, inflaming the crowd, but it wasn’t the tidal waves of strife and mental suggestion that bordered on mind control Starswirl spoke of.

~"Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh I've got the music in me Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh!"~

Her attention diverted to the team she supported. The crowd roared at Rainbow’s singing voice, which Peachy could gleefully complement. Certainly not melodious, but talented in its own way. She had to make a mental note to maybe see if she could encourage her equestrian counterpart some day, rock music was an old favorite of hers. With such a wonderful invention in the past two decades, what was now under the umbrella of ‘classical’ was getting dull after a few centuries. Refocusing, Peachy Keen breathed in and basked in the waves of magic and vibes coming off the Rainbooms. It had its own charm, but it was very decidedly similar to the Elements she both bore and felt coming off the Bearers. It carried with it sensations of camaraderie, jovialness, confidence, victory, and most of all unity. Friendship, if one such as herself wanted to put it, distilled.

It was certainly having an effect on the crowd, calming some of the more rambunctious lot.

She also saw her formally wayward student happily strumming a guitar while getting in some choice words in between melodies. She too, was part of the effort and despite the sweat from effort or stage jitters, was standing strong. Her eyes shifted to the side briefly and out of the very corner of her eye, Sunset glimpsed something she’d always wanted. Peachy Keen, her mentor, flashing her a proud, beaming smile and small bow. A small bit of acknowledgment, that had a mountain of relief. Rolling her shoulders, Sunset Shimmer was reinvigorated and started playing with more gusto; stepping forward and getting in a few more lines in chorus with an all-too-happy-to-increase-the-“Awesome”-levels-Rainbow Dash. The former unicorn’s smile was wide and her eyes bright. She, very clearly, was having the time of her life; and Peachy couldn’t be prouder.

That pride however, turned to minor shock and surprise when someone else picked up the line.

“~Don't need to hear a crowd Cheering out my name!~” Rainbow Dash started before seemlessly handing the lyrics over to the one she was back-to-back with, Sunset Shimmer, “~I didn't come here seeking Infamy or fame~”

They were just about to start the next cord and hammer in the song based magic when-

“~The one and only thing That we are here to bring Is muuuusiiic,~"

For the briefest moment, Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer did a mental double take at the new voice joining in. Looking aside, Peachy Keen’s head shot up at seeing how Eventide Hymn had stepped back onto the stage with an almost sultry step; using the sway of her hips as momentum to bring a microphone to her lips. Behind her, Adagio Dazzle seemed just as surprised and also had retrieved a mic.

"~is the music Is the music in our soul!~”

Eventide Hymn sang, pointing at both the Rainbooms but then sweeping her arm to the crowd with an opened hand; a perfect emulation of Adagio’s style, which Adagio herself was now forced to emulate.

Link!

There was a noticeable shift in the air and it was the exact opposite that Peachy Keen had planned for, nor expected. The counter spell was meant to be an antithesis to any influence the sirens had over the crowd, cancel out their power base. But despite having no way to know the lyrics, Eventide had intruded upon the song. Stealing away moments that were supposed to go to the chorus, she managed to perfectly align new lyrics with the melody. Now it was as though she and Rainbow Dash were having to fight over their own song.

And instead of canceling out siren magic, the Rainboom’s spell song was only bolstering- and in turn bolstered by -Eventide’s inclusion. The magicks weren’t fighting each other, but complementing each other. They were only making Eventide stronger!

Eyes wide, Peachy Keen almost spilled forward when she glimpsed a very brief flicker of a glow around Eventide Hymn, a clear indication of a magic charge. She only caught herself mid-step from rushing out when the former alicorn happened to notice Adagio muttering something into what seemed to be a hidden earpiece… before acting.

======================

She’d felt a pair of eyes on her and that made her uneasy, both in its very nature as well as the fact she couldn’t tell who it was.

Twilight Sparkle lurked closer, looking or at least trying to look excessively inconspicuous amongst the passersby and student body outside a few odd glances she got from the occasional Canterlot High student which lingered for a moment or two. Still, it wasn’t anything to elicit conscious action so she more or less just wrote it off as subconscious recognition that was present but faint. It gave her a shiver regardless and she pulled down her large hat a bit more just in case, taking a moment to inspect her reflection to ensure none of her rather long hair was poking out of her netting and hat. Just a passerby, face in the crowd, that was all she wanted to be to both those observing the music exhibition and the student body especially. If anyone saw and fully registered the face of the heroine from the last Fall Formal this could get excessively complicated.

She made her way through the crowd, cutting through the fringe to get to the isolated portion near the ramp leading up to the stage. The crowds were entranced too much in the obvious body language between the bands to notice her much here, all eyes on the stage. Save one.

Twilight looked at the similar purple, albeit a different shade, face of Aria Blaze. The look was locked for longer than a fleeting glance, even if it was over in a few moments and caused both to freeze in firm recognition. Aria was on the edge of the stage, having sat out a potential song after the Dazzlings’ number and not joining Adagio or Eventide at the microphones; though Twilight wasn’t quite sure as to why. Likely given the haste the third siren had, Eventide wanted to avoid them getting shown up by the Rainbooms who were still on the other side of the stage. Already crowds were beginning to cheer and clap, hoping for a song duel.

Aria briefly tilted her head, obviously surprised to see Twilight where she was. Her eyes glanced to the stage before looking back. Much to Twilight’s surprise, the siren then started mouthing a phrase. Whether she was actually talking or not the magic user couldn’t tell at a distance, given the ten yard gap between them. But it appeared the purple siren was mouthing the words, ‘What are you doing-’ before she stopped short.

Adagio and Eventide began singing back at the Rainbooms, eliciting a roar of applause from the crowd that bit into the bit for some competition. Aria listened for half a second before her eyes widened at Twilight. She clutched her necklace and bolted away from the stage, Twilight cursing and taking off after her.

She chased the invading sea demoness, keeping a very wary eye out for any flashes of red to signal the return of that most monstrous of cyborgs. Unrelated to the sirens her attacker may be, aside from maybe being some sort of metallic golem from the other realm Zephyrus hailed from, the threat was always very real. In that way crowds were a blessing and a curse. Blessing in that if she disguised well enough she might be able to hide amongst them and avoid detection, curse in that she felt very fearful of using Zephryus’ instruction in an area where some poor bystander might get hit in the crossfire. She’d had trouble with the cyborg before as is, she didn’t and wouldn’t risk more strain trying to defend, attack, and let her negative emotions do the driving lest she lapse control around some outside factor.

Which meant it was a great relief to her that the siren was running away from any crowd and to an isolated alley system near downtown. Twilight touched at her ear as she ran after the fleeing siren.

“Wallflower, I’ve got a siren on the run!”

A brief fizz of static heralded her old friend to speak back, background music indicating she was back at the concert, “I-I hear you! Where are you?”

Twilight eyed her surroundings, “Headiiing near downtown, alleys behind the movie theater. For a sea witch she runs fast! I’m going to try and stop her with my powers but come quick just in case we need to avoid witness memory.”

“A-Are you sure I’m precise enough for that? We’ve only practiced a few times,” Wallflower stammered, and through the shift in how she was holding the phone Twilight knew she was clutching the Memory Stone.

Twilight huffed, seeing Aria bolt down a path and having to recall a route she recalled from memorizing the roadmaps as a shortcut which she took, “I trust you. We’ll also use it on her if we can.”

“But Zephyrus didn’t have us use it on the first siren we cleansed.”

There was a flash of a cold, biting feeling with a memory. Of Sonata’s teary face and begging whimper when she removed her necklace. Twilight grimaced and pushed it aside, “That-That was for a reason, so is this. We use it on her, and she’ll think she’s just a normal, harmless, human woman. No threat to others or herself. We’ll do the same when we find the first one and purge the magic of the third.”

“And fourth,” Wallflower corrected with a slight huff in her town to indicate the gardener was jogging out of the crowd and trying to catch up, “Remember Eventide.”

As little sense as that made given everything prior in her research even before Zephyrus arrived indicated only three sirens. Then again, she was trying to gauge the length of essentially a magical alien infestation or invasion, he professed to being of a bygone time, and the other monsters had blindsided all of them. First the hospital incident that was almost certainly not just a gas explosion, then the readings and lights in the wildnerness she didn’t believe for a moment were some lightning or auroras given they had made her sensors commit suicide, and then her own attacker at the school. Things were happening that no one seemed to be paying attention to, be it some long standing idea to not talk about weird things that happened in this town for decades ranging from events of the Fall Formal to legends of some ‘Tree Angel’ years back, or fear about where those questions might lead.

Which meant she was either very daring for refusing ignorance and chasing after a magical monster, or too scared about what not knowing and turning a blind eye might lead to. She didn’t know where these threats came from, be it new sirens, new monsters without description, or the frightful observation that humans were showing magic infection too with the Rainbooms. But if everyone else was going to ignore it, that was all the more reason why she had to stop it.

Resolute, Twilight huffed as she sprinted after Aria, “I remember, but she’s back on stage with their leader. Adagio seems to be the strongest but we’ll have to hope whatever the Rainbooms are doing keeps her and Eventide occupied. Aria’s alone and we might not get a chance like this!”

She channeled that fear, that- dare she say- spite at this invader, which flowed through her. It caused the air around her to grow colder and small bits of her hair started to rise up even under her hat. For a split second she glimpsed a glow about her eyes similar in shape to her glasses. Just like she was taught, channeling negativity and.. spite as she put it, she still didn’t like Zephyrus’ liberal use of the word ‘hatred’, to fuel the device containing the claimed siren gem. The dark power from the gem, the evil magic that might corrupt or control her world, was bent to her will. As long as she carefully managed it. She had to after all, she was just about the only one who could control magic reliably in this world of chancy users.

Twilight grit her teeth and saw Aria’s fleeing form dart into an alley, gaining space between them thanks to greater stride and or athleticism. At least until Twilight pointed her hands at the ground and wall behind her and concentrated, shoving a wall of glowing, purple telekinesis magic into it without grounding herself. Quite the opposite in fact given her feet and the space below them were covered in ice. Sliding across the rapidly freezing pavement to leave twin trails, Twilight kept shoving backwards to propel herself along and catch back up to an obviously shocked Aria.

Knowing no witnesses were about, Twilight cut a bit more loose than normal to try and end this quickly while also minimizing the chance of harm to anyone. It took a lot of strain, a lot of focus, as cold sweat ran down her face. The intention of homing in on every bad experience at school and every worry for her world in the face of this invasion by magic, it gave her enough spite to create a wall of ice by generating the frost and then yanking it out of the ground with telekinesis. It took even more focus not to let that wrath slip and try to ram a shard of sharpened ice through her foe. Still, it meant she had to concentrate on Aria entirely; confident they were in a good spot.

Still, sharpened icicles formed and nearly were shot out if not for her mentally struggling on the emotions pouring out of the siren charm. It was like shoving a lid down on a bursting kettle and holding the steam in with your finger, so much strain it caused her to gasp briefly. Notice of Aria turning around and facing her was thankfully motivation for Twilight to throw up another ice wall and pin the siren between them.

The walls were several meters high and not exceptionally thick, but in some way Twilight hoped the sharp spires sticking out towards the middle would motivate the siren to not try and bash through them. Huffing as her hat fell off, Twilight adjusted her glaces and grimaced. Using her telekinesis to grip the second wall, she held her hands out and walked forward. Amidst the grounding and cracking of the frost sheets, the icy wall started to advance towards the first of its kind. Aria, visible as a silhouette through the ice, backed away as Twilight advanced.

Step by step, she closed the gap; mentally trying her best to break some of the icicles and move them so that she might catch and pin her quarry between them without harm. Aria thankfully didn’t try to climb out or run to the side, already caught between two spires of ice that started to impale the wall behind her. Instead she was soon caught standing straight up and down, arms spread, and still. Twilight couldn’t tell how close the walls were exactly, but she guessed it was close. The siren didn’t seem to budge or try and free herself.

The relief nearly broke all of her focus on the emotions driving her magic and Twilight panicked, not wanting to weaken even for a fleeting moment. One wrong move and the siren got away. One other wrong move and she might kill her!

Twilight put her hands to the icy wall and felt at it, trying to keep her control as precise as possible. The gap closed closer and closer, now itching itself. Aria seemed to shift slightly and that almost gave Twilight pause, but her stillness kept up an assurance.

She had the monster trapped, with not one drop of blood spilt; be it hers or the siren’s.

Twilight Sparkle swallowed and adjusted herself, trying not to pay attention to the glow coming off from around her eyes she could see in the reflection of her glasses. Placing a hand where the red glow about the siren’s necklace lay, the crusader stole herself before pressing on. At her will the ice slowly started to pull away, little strands of telekinesis causing microfractures that lead into bigger ones; pulling and prying pieces of ice away to let her through. The cold soon gave way to empty air again. Through the fringes of the hole, she could see her hand pierce the gap between the walls and approach Aria’s panting chest and ruby-red necklace.

Twilight gulped and paused only for a moment, not sure whether to be proud in her achievement or anxious about it being so successful. The hitched breath from the siren gave her other cause.

“Sh-Shush it’s going to be okay. I’m not going to hurt you,” Twilight whispered.

Seeing Aria seem to shift again, she best hoped she was heard and understood as she continued, “But I can’t risk you or other magic hurting others. I’m going to fix it…”

Her hand approached the necklace and her fingers curled around it. Or they should have. Instead, she felt as if she hit a glass wall. Twilight paused but reached out again, feeling at the air and again feeling a solid mass some distance away from the necklace. It was round, perfectly spherical; like a radius of a shell. Finally opting for some force, Twilight attempted to reach in further; only for a force greater than what she tried to push in with repulsing her effort. The mage yelped, and she would have stumbled back had a hand not caught her by the wrist.

A hand between the walls, that held her wrist in a crushing grip that caused her to gasp.

“... Just like you fixed Sonata?” the venom in the voice wasn’t a subtle drip; it was a surging wave.

A flash of red came from behind the thin ice wall, coming from Aria’s eyes. Between the ice walls, she had braced herself between them to give the illusion she had been pinned. Kicking off the back wall’s base and twisting her hip around, Aria did the last thing Twilight expected a sea witch to do. Yank her forward while letting out a loud kiai and throwing a haymaker so strong it burst through the ice and rammed into her gut so hard it knocked the mage off her feet.

Literally and figuratively gutpunched, Twilight Sparkle gagged and the Crystal Prep star student was sent into a flurry of convulsions even after she landed on her feet and stumbled back.

Aria Blaze was told to control her bursting emotions in this state, even if it was a far weaker version than her previous glory. But as she gripped the fringes of the hole Twilight’s hand and her own now bloody fist made in the ice, she couldn’t resist a little rage at this target in particular. This human, this bitch had mutilated her cousin and sent their life into a spiral just as they were picking it up. Oh to the abyss’ taint with this Twilight not wanting to hurt her, Aria was all too keen to not return the favor!

Ignoring the pain in her sore knuckles, a slightly darker colored Aria Blaze managed to pry and tear a larger gap in the ice wall; big enough for her to step through. Violet eyes with flakes of red glared at her transgressor. A pang of disgust, but no sympathy, washed over her as she witnessed the counterpart of someone she knew. True, she and Princess Sparkle weren’t exactly buddy-buddy, but the alicorn-turned-human’s willingness to help where she could despite owing them nothing was a plus in Aria’s book. She didn’t cause a fuss, helped with Sonata, had no eyes on Aria’s mutual claim, and didn’t oppose Adagio outside of meaningful council. Definition of a decent podmate.

This wretch… Aria sneered and snarled. Where did she get off trying to ride the high and mighty, ‘I mean you no harm’ horse while doing such evil to them?! Granted her own beloved once did the same, but given the rage she felt coming off her mate when he saw Sonata’s condition; Aria couldn’t imagine X being remotely secure with that old choice if he knew the fallout. When he told her to give the heart up without a fight that first time they met, it felt genuine. She hated his guts for it at the time, but she could tell he wasn’t going to be spilling hers for complying.

This, this just came off as this dumb witch knowing she was in the wrong and trying to excuse it to herself. Patronizing her intelligence all the while, like Aria couldn’t tell she wasn’t genuine. Aria Blaze was disgusted even before her attacker violently vomited from getting gut punched so hard.

Aria lunged and grabbed the offender by her hair. The siren glimpsed something in Twilight’s ear, but couldn’t tell if it was some headphone or earplug. If the latter and she was expecting some kind of song magic, she best think again. Aria painfully yanked on Twilight’s ponytail and caused her to stammer forward, directly into her raised knee. A wet gag signaled the air voiding Twilight’s lungs, especially after Aria hit her again over the back with an elbow.

It was abundantly clear that, hand to hand, the siren was utterly dominating her pursuer. And with no one around to bail her out, for Aria had run in this direction for that very purpose; she was hers. And so after catching her good fist in the hand that had punched through the ice, its knuckles still bloody, Aria Blaze intentionally let the pain shoot up her arm to give her a jolt of pain killing endorphins. No slowing her down to making her pull any punches.

Wallflower was sprinting along the paths indicated at an already brisk pace, trying not to draw any attention whilst keeping a wary eye out for Twilight’s mysterious metallic attacker at the school or who knew what else was about lately! Everything had shifted for her in the past months and changed so drastically. A Fall Formal involving a years-long bully becoming a raging she-demon was just the start. Even with it, she could have written magic as a one off oddity until finding the stone.

The first few uses were so mild that she hadn't even noticed. It took some deja vu and a lucky botched attempt at recording a Vlog gardening video to realize what had even happened as she'd been hitting herself with it. Then some trials on figuring out how to use it without affecting herself too, followed by some controlled testing in a secure setting with no risk to herself or others to gradually work her skill up with- Oh who was she kidding, she prepared to use it the first chance she got to try and talk to a boy she liked since third grade without risks!

A cold snap went down her spine as she shoved that memory aside, not wanting to think about how she was an hour after the attempt despite passing by that very same area just a few paces ago.

-No no no! Do not! Forget forget forg-.....-

She had a moment to realize she’d almost pointed the stone at herself, having felt her emotions tank in some many ways; as flashes of her own hands ripping off her unused dance dress and constantly running sobbing and mucus messying her face. It had been a rare attempt to pretty herself up that the breakdown resulted in her looking no doubt hideous. All because of that bob of red and yellow hair…

There was a cold sensation about her, coming from the North curiously enough despite the previous breeze being southerly. Coincidentally it shoved into her from behind, almost as if egging her on to get close. Wallflower’s mind was in another mental tailspin, one of many from years of gnawing isolation and desperation for company. After relishing each and every view on her gardening videos, the largest of which got a grand tally of 4, it seemed exactly what she needed to hear was heard.

The earpiece connected over to Twilight crackled and let out a sharp, snapping sound akin to shattered glass or ice, followed by Twilight audibly gasping from getting struck. And suddenly, all the frost Wallflower Blush was following to pick up Twilight’s trail, all the frost in the world, wasn’t chilly enough for how cold she was. Wallflower’s legs kept moving automatically, but her mind was white noise.

Through the earphone there were clear signs of an altercation. Some female voice that Wallflower Blush didn’t recognize shouting and Twilight emitting a wretched noise, Blush knew from years of stress vomiting that it was the sound of a stomach being voided.

Twilight’s voice was a whimper and croak, “N-No! Stop! GAk! Ah!”

And wet, deep thumps indicating impacts, followed by pained groans and cries.

The north wind roared again as a tear ran down Wallflower’s face. The wind seemed to dig in, almost slithering inside her from breathing it in. It brought up images, horrific images. Flashes of red across purple skin, shattered glasses, and dead gray glossing over violet eyes. Wallflower’s eyes widened in abject horror as she bore witness to the sound of her friend, her only friend, getting beaten to death. Unseen to her was the outline of a windigo cackling as Boreas reveled in her despair and agony. The lonely ones who’d tasted companionship always granted him the second sweetest nourishment, for there was only one better.

The North wind pointed her at the distant street and Wallflower bolted towards it in abject terror, screaming into her earpiece as frosted tears streamed down her face.

“T-WILIGHT! H-HANG ON TWILIGHT I'M COMING!" the tears flowed as she heard another wet crack, "Please..."

Aria Blaze had a few scrapes from getting shoved against a brick wall, flailing arms with fingernails cutting into her, and a bruise here or there from a lucky hit considering she wasn't bothering to block much. But there was a very clear disparity. When Twilight threw the punch she overextended her shoulder and lost power, didn't snap her hip enough, and didn't tighten up her gut when a returned blow was thrown her way. Aria wasn't exactly a black belt, though she had taken some classes even before getting attacked the first time, and a large portion of her 'date' nights with X as Adagio called them were sparring sessions. Magic could only get them so far if things went south, that was something she learned from Starswirl.

She'd trained and practiced to hurt those who hurt her. At one time Adagio, then X, and then the shadow monster. And now this other Twilight Sparkle, who Aria easily had 20-30lbs of muscle on despite being of similar height, was upping her track record to 2 out of 4.

Grabbing a desperate smacking hand her pursuer threw to divert away the frigid magic that engendered icicles behind her and yanking Twilight forward, Aria snarled and buried a knee into her chest and gut. Twilight gasped and doubled over, the siren putting her in a headlock as she shoved them against a partially frozen wall. Bracing Twilight against it, Aria grunted as she gave no room for Twilight to hit her with her increasingly panicked magic. She ignored Twilight's flailing arms and hands and kneed her over and over again. Until-

Ccrauwck!

Twilight screamed mutely, choking on air over her broken rib. Aria loosened her grip and shifted aside, letting the battered human crumble the ground limply clutching her side.

For a split second the siren paused and frowned, looking at the being who arguably came closest sans maybe one to permanently harming the sirens, her family.

-The Mako traitors banished us, Starswirl did that again on a larger but less personal scale, Adagio's arrogance drove a wedge that we've removed, and X proved more a boon than bane. That creature...-

A shiver raced up her back as she forced back painful memories, remembering instead the warmth she had last night. She glared down at a gasping Twilight.

-It came close. But no lasting harm. But you…-

The image of a mute, horribly scarred, traumatized Sonata was all she needed to see.

-You made it personal.-

Aria grabbed and shoved back on Twilight's face and pushed her to the ground, climbing onto, sitting, and pinning her enemy down. Aria glared at the necklace she knew had Sonata’s heart inside it and Twilight reacted reflectively, trying to shield it as she focused on her magic. Aria gave her no chance, smacking the human across the face hard enough to send her glasses flying off. She snatched at Twilight’s hand, prying it back and pinning it to the ground by the wrist. Just to make more of a point, she put weight on the lower portion of Twilight’s chest, right on the busted rib.

“This. Isn’t. Yours!” Aria snarled as Twilight whimpered and gagged on air from the pain, reaching for the exposed necklace; only to feel her hand repulsed.

Aria Blaze’s mind was a span of whitenoise in dumbstruck shock. She tried again and was yet once more repulsed. Again and again, with the blowback pulse causing Twilight to get shoved back down into the frosted ground the more the siren tried to reach through what was like an invisible pane of glass. The same barrier that once protected them was now being used against them.

Aria’s eyes saw and flashed red as her skin darkened to a degree, glaring daggers at the battered form below her. Twilight was on her back, bruises over her face and arms, red trickling from a busted nose and cut across her cheek; whimpering and crying in pain. She was uttering a word over and over again, looking beyond Aria with her good eye.

“You… YOU BITCH!” Aria snarled as she grabbed Twilight’s forehead beyond the necklace’s barrier, gripping a wad of hair and forcing the human to look at her.

“What did you do to it?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” Aria bellowed, shaking her victim.

“W-W-What are?” Twilight shuddered, red and tears flowing down her cheek.

Aria looked to the necklace containing the siren heart, “Sonata is my family and that is her necklace! I should be able to touch it. Barrier can be breached by another siren. Did you do something to it? Something that helped you tear it out of her?!”

Aria wasn’t evil per se, at least not anymore. She didn’t go attacking or mind altering people without a purpose anymore, love magic gave a much better boon. But true kindness was only allotted so far to her pod and its closest allies. And this was her enemy as much as any mortal being had ever been. Aria threw her head back down to the ground and, worming her way around the necklace’s barrier, grabbed Twilight Sparkle by the neck and started squeezing.

“Tell me. TELL ME NOW!” She squeezed, giving the countdown.

Conscious and giving it back or unconscious and dragged back to Everfree, this ended now.

Twilight Starla Sparkle was so terrified. Her vision was fuzzy not just from losing her glasses, but from the constant tears flowing. Everything hurt, everywhere and more than she’d ever had before. She could hear her attacker’s words but was unable to articulate a response back or signal she was about to even before Aria started choking her.

As her vision started to darken, she swore she could glimpse the spectre of winter on the rooftop above her. Watching her get beaten to death. Just watching.

-Help… me….-

She whimpered as a tear ran down her face.

-Zephyrus, please help…-

She wasn’t sure if her mentor was really there or just her mind hallucinating. But with her mind upon him however, the last words given from their last lesson returned.

To truly love what existed now, you must hate the alternatives. No moderation, no compromise. One cannot channel malice truly while containing it, just as a blizzard needs an open sky to rage.

She hated her world overrun by monsters. She hated her kind, family, and life potentially destroyed or subjugated by invaders. She hated dying. And she hated the one killing her.

The storm she was keeping contained in a box exploded outwards.

Forcing against Aria Blaze’s hand, Twilight Sparkle wrenched herself up and let out a shriek that barely qualified as human. Aria Blaze shut her eyes from the flash of light, shielding her face with the arm that had been choking her opponent. Blinded, she soon felt a hard smack across her face so strong it sent her spiraling off. Wind roared, causing her to slide back across the ice until she thumped against the opposite wall. There was a streak of red on the ice and soon after reached for a stinging heat on her cheek.

Three gashes had been carved into her cheek up to her brow, deeply. Try as she may her vision was hopelessly blurry and Aria was forced to keep the eye shut. A thick cloud of cold mist had formed where she’d been, despite the swirling wind. And within it stood Twilight, or at least someone.. something with her face.

Her hair had come completely undone and was slowly floating in the air in spite of the howling gales. While the glasses were gone, glowing bands of magic had approximated their shape while a pair of icy antlers and a single horn had appeared upon her brow. One large mass of solidified mist and ice had appeared across her back, seemingly quite painfully given the red streaks dotted across it. It looked like a wing to an extent, if an incomplete one that lacked a counterpart. The ice around the based looked like an explosion frozen in time. Her broken arm was audibly snapped back into place and secured by bands of frost. Twilight herself had grown in height, as evident by her stretched and torn clothes, with a span of icicles having encrusted over her fingertips into a menacing set of talons. The same that had sliced into Aria’s face. The red staining on parts of the transformed Twilight's body showed most of the blood wasn't Aria's however.

The black aura around Twilight was dark as midnight, and roaring with a howling blizzard. She distended her jaw father than a human should be able to, shrieking a haunting scream at Aria Blaze.

Link!

High above, Zephyrus watched on from his hideaway with bemused intrigue.

This girl, she was introverted to an extreme degree, wary of others, tried to shoulder too much on her own, and didn’t put enough faith in others. Had Zephyrus not found Wallflower and got her involved to the point Twilight dropped her guard, the windigo doubted she’d have a friend in the world. But, she had potential. So, so much raw potential. The same he saw over two decades ago in the children at the animal hospital and the last Gaea Everfree. The potential for so much good was there even if it wasn’t fated. It was a possibility as to what she could have been instead of what she would be. The potential to be a Bearer to one of Harmony’s elements. Now she was corrupted, not as far as he planned but on the path. So much potential for destruction. He'd torn her away from any fate an Element would grace her as far as he knew, defiling that destiny. So much potential as the ultimate insult to his master’s ancient enemy, for it wasn’t just Twilight’s isolation, ignorance, and power that drew Zephyrus to use her; but the chance to spite a goddess with a living blasphemy.

In Equestria, Twilight Starla Sparkle was Harmony's champion; even if she didn't know it. In this world, she'd be an engine for the great Grogar's ambition; driving them to the path of restoration!

Zephyrus grinned and clapped slowly as Twilight Sparkle screamed out in a mix of spite and terror at her attacker. Tears of fear and pain rolling down her face, Twilight meant to shout ‘Get! Back!’, ‘I hate you!’, or something to either effect.... Instead all that came out was a howling shriek before a wave of frosted air and telekinesis slammed into Aria Blaze and shoved her into the ice wall from before. Coughing and gagging from getting the wind knocked out of her, Aria stumbled back up but quickly dodged out of the way when Twilight raised a hand and thrust it towards her.

It was a wise move as five streaks of telekinesis, like gripping talons, crushed down onto the ice and carved five gouges into its surface with such force the wall shattered soon after. Rolling across the ground and staggering up, Aria forced air into her lungs and assessed the situation. She could open and look out her eye, but the cuts and leaking blood made it sting and hard to see from, all but forcing her to shut it. She had limited depth perception, and was winded from beating down Twilight, who was now a raging she-demon. Twilight came at her again and Aria Blaze braced as she was crashed into with manic strength.

Twilight got atop her, stabbing ice-tipped talons into the ground beside her head while aiming for the eyes. Aria avoided it but gagged when the crazed monstrosity grabbed her by the neck and started squeezing. Twilight wept frozen tears as she screamed again and unworldly wail. Aria gasped and collected herself even as her vision turned blacker. Noticing the arm clutching her was the one she'd broken early, she swung her fists down as hard as she could while throwing her knees into Twilight's back. The fractured limb broke with an audible crack once again and Twilight stumbled off her. Aria Blaze coughed as she rolled back up to her feet. She took in what she had and let out another powerful shriek of graviton boosted power. The shockwave blasted Twilight backwards, but the wind still raged and the dark form was soon recovering as her arm snapped back into place.

Aria huffed, almost annoyed.

-Yep, can’t finish this on my own.-

Bracing, she eyed her backpack; which had come loose in the struggle, and sprinted for it. Twilight sneered and swung again, a shove of telekinesis almost catching the siren. It forced her to stumble over and roll, having one of her legs caught and knocked back by the wave of moving air. Unfortunately as luck would have it, the backpack happened to get whipped up by the churning gales and thrown near where Twilight was. And at the siren’s continued approach, a mix of hatred, spite, and terror gripped the transformed human.

Twilight, or what had been, shrieked and caused numerous shards of ice to come spearing out of the ground. Time seemed to slow as the transformed human’s eyes widened in horror at the siren still coming, Aria’s skin briefly flashing to a darker hue as she dove over the icicles sticking out of the ground. Twilight twisted about, raising her wing back and lashing out with its thick, blunt top as a club, ripping through her own icy formations to do so amidst a shower of shards. Tucking her legs in, the siren barely managed to avoid getting smacked by the wing and sailed over it.

Careening towards the ground, Aria Blaze ignored a few icy points that dug into her skin and grabbed the backpack.

By the time Twilight Sparkle whipped back around, ripping her wing from the ice formations, a bright flash engulfed her vision. Shielding her eyes for a moment, her vision adjusted as the light dimmed. Through the blinding veil came the illuminated form of a winded, panting Aria. Her clothes were ragged and red dripped down her cut and huffing face, but even as she stood tired and worn; she was smirking. And high above, cast from the toy pistol-like object Aria was holding that she’d fetched from the bag, a bright white firework streamed upwards before bursting.

Twilight Sparkle screamed in alarm at her brutalizer, a much wider wave of frigid air, flying lances of ice, and telekinesis rushing down the alley like a tsunami. It stretched wall to wall, yanking trash cans, drain pipes, and debris off the ground and walls to hurl it forward. Twilight and Aria’s eyes met, whited out violet looking to reddened violet.

In truth, they were similar in some regards. Both were channeling some dark magic, both were in pain, and both were scared out of their mind. Twilight seeing someone who nearly beat and suffocated her into unconsciousness as Aria was witness to someone who’d traumatized her family and became something that could do worse. Twilight’s mind’s eye was back on the ground, pinned and getting choked by a snarling siren. Aria’s was transported back to a hospital bed with a shadowy Aspect of Land lurching for her.

They only differed in who was instinctively defending out of hate and fear and who was attacking out of bravery as only one had been taught how to extend her abilities beneficially.

Sucking in a deep breath, Aria let out a massive uproar so low in frequency that the modified sonar blast was virtually inaudible. But the impact, propelled by visible streams of gravitons, was arguably even stronger than the shout she’d used at the hospital.

The two attacks collided with so much force it shot the falling firework back up into the air and cracked the walls of the alley, ice rapidly forming and shattering from the clashing shockwaves. The clash continued for several seconds, back and forth, before the gravity burst overpowered the polar storm. As the gales and rumbles blew towards her, Twilight dropped her attack and crossed her arms and wing over herself.

Aria’s legs weakened as her vision began to leave her. She buckled at the knees as the dark hues lifted from her skin and red left her good eye. She’d been singing to her lover for some time and drawing some power slowly from him, but it was less potent than when she was intentionally siphoning power off from Kaizer Ghidorah. Her enhanced form hadn’t returned and there was only so much the emergency stores could do.

Still, she could be proud of how far she went with her efforts. Succeed or fail, the nightmares would probably stop from the satisfaction of going the distance.

The daughter of Princess Hymnia fell and was grabbed onto, not fighting back as her necklace was gripped and heart held in another’s hand. She didn’t resist because she knew the touch and smell of the one clutching her.

Her siren heart was gripped closely and kissed like the night before. Golden jolts flowed out of the hand and into the gem, coursing back into Aria’s limp body and shocking into her like a defibrillator. Aria’s eye didn’t need to open to gaze at a face so covered up on top and so average and scarred underneath, memory of how red his eyes were was enough to make her shiver. Still, she couldn’t resist opening an eye to check, looking back at X with a tired but relieved smile. The flush came on it’s own when the calm in her sea held her.

Yes indeed, she was smitten.

“I just don’t think this was necessary, you could... did get hurt,” X whispered with a slight stutter in his voice.

Aria chuckled in a weakened tone even while being revitalized by the loaned energy, “Didn’t seem to mind me getting scraped up before.”

“Can you stand or walk?” X grunted with a slight frown on his face regardless of her bravado.

A slow hiss seeped through the air, huffing almost like the source of the noise was weeping. X frankly couldn’t find himself to care, after all what sounded like laughter from a predator might mean it was about to attack. And with how much out of control power he sensed and how Aria was torn up, he wasn’t taking chances with pity. A salvo of graviton bursts from his eyes, those golden streams of plasma wrapped in tight nets of gravitons particles, were all the response that the dark form uncurling a wing from around herself got.

The smoke from the impacts blotted out visibility for the latter half of the alleyway, obscuring it from sight. But aside from the echoes of the bursts’ onslaught and the distant concerte, all was quiet.

Aria Blaze frowned as she stabilized her footing, the loaned energy from X and a moment to collect herself helping to regain balance, “Looks like plan B panned out…”

X didn’t nod, nor shake his head, “You said you’d summon me over if you couldn’t get the necklace off her, yes?”

Aria shrugged but nodded along with a huff in her tone, “Our hearts’ barrier activates automatically unless it’s someone related. I figured since her necklace no doubt had Sonata’s heart inside it and I’m her cousin, I should have been able to get at it. Sh-she had to have done something to it, I couldn’t get through.”

“Well, the barrier should have blocked the beams too; given they are partially physical. We can collect it and use this other Twilight to find my master’s quarry,” X noted, “After all, we still don’t know how she breached Nata’s barrier to begin with.”

Aria took a welcome distraction from that… very disconcerting observation, “Huh, first time I’ve heard you use her nickname.”

Her lover, despite the situation, shrugged in a hint of playfulness only a tiny handful of anyone had ever seen, raising his hand up, “She’s grown on me.”

Before any other ribbing for some much needed levity could ensue, the weather shifted. Unseen to all, a gust of wind from the west had slipped through the alley when X arrived. Through the smoke and haze, a hunched form staggered up in a creaking, jerking, uncanny way. The ice constantly formed around her, cracking and chipping with each moment.

Then the wind and freezing gales roared, shards of ice suspended in mid-air with the wall of winter howling. What had been Twilight Sparkle stood in an unsteady stance, the shifting wind and flowing frost forming a shape behind her. One that Aria froze upon viewing, much to X's notice. The shape was looking right at her and seemed to smirk.

-Boreas’ spawn, not a weakling. Excellent!-

Zephyrus cackled in laughter that sounded like a raging wind.

"Aria, what is it?!" X snapped, even if he didn't mean to, in a ploy to jostle her from her stupor.

“... N-No…. No no no,” She muttered to herself, eyes wide in abject horror. All the worst fears, spoken and unspoken, were coming true.

Gigan’s sighting and report. The sensation of the magic. The pain. The suffering. The hate that was radiated. A nightmare that should have died over a thousand years ago still lived.

“Aria stay focu-” X cut himself off when a lashing of wind, an arctic blast, came roaring down the alleyway towards them while carrying all manner of telekinetically thrown debris.

The kaijin had to act fast, grabbing the siren and kicking off the ground while also canceling his own gravity that had tied him there. Once airborne after a 15 foot spring, he yanked himself forward with a stream of gravity linking him to the air above to greatly boost his jump. In one spring, he managed to get both himself and Aria to the rooftop.

Which gave him all of half a second to put Aria back down before what had been Twilight telekinetically levitated herself up to their altitude, cold wind whipping around her as parts of the roof began to freeze. Aria thankfully had regained her wit and stood her ground beside X.

Twilight, or what had been, with Zephyrus slowly circling around her, let out a low hiss before building up to a shriek that could burst glass. Cold air carried the cry screaming past the two lovers, with dark visions of malice, strife, loneliness, and despair creeping into their minds. A cold first night in the human world and the empty prison within Gorath came to mind.

Aria’s hand clutched X’s and she grit her teeth, focusing all she could on her necklace as the chilling tendrils of dark magic threatened to grip her with the ice forming across her shoes. The grip of his hand gave her a moment of calm and she was keen to return the favor. No memories of the exile from Mako, none of the storm that took her mother away, none of Enjin or Starswirl, just her cousins; and him.

The sirenous song of love by Hymnia, pure in tune and devoid of lyrics set to it, pushed back the dark magic like an expanding bubble and caused Twilight and Zephyrus to stumble back. Pulled back to awareness with warmth embracing him to force the cold grimness away, X wasted no time in using the respite he’d been given. After all, this was an emergency if one ever counted as such.

Maybe it was the direness flooding him with endorphins or maybe it was the song magic cast over him, but he hardly felt the change this time despite it usually being utter agony to put on several inches in height and a good dozen or two pounds of tissue, muscle, and bone. His eyes briefly shut, a golden shadow forming around them, before snapping back open with the red iris recast from cinnabar to bloody in tint and the sclera around them turning dark gray.

Kaizer X lurched forward while throwing his arm forward as if he was punching with it. Golden light crackled along its surface and fired out in a torrent upon traveling down his arm and reaching his fist. Both Kaizer X and Aria Blaze grinned as the salvo of raw power smashed into Twilight and the entity surrounding her like a veil, and the impact had plenty of force behind it given how she went flying back and slammed into the side of a different roof.

However, while the blast certainly threw the monster back, the moment of which Kaizer X stepped forward to press the attack and let go of Aria’s hand to throw another beam-shooting punch; the golden graviton torrents that hit their target started to split. Like a rock splitting a river’s flow, the beams hit but arched around Twilight as though a bubble was encircling her.

Aria Blaze narrowed her eyes and glared through the bright flashes of light to see what was going on. What she saw gave her no joy as a westerly wind roared with gnawing, frozen teeth. The windigo, Zephyrus, the barely visible specter only made so by the bright lights and magic use casting a light upon it as a torch might illuminate faint mist, had positioned itself directly in front of Twilight and into the beams. It wasn’t as much blocking them as it was bending the space it occupied, causing the rays to warp around their intended target.

Recalculating herself, the siren clutched her necklace and focused home on Hymnia’s song once again. Love magic, a holy source and the antithesis to the evils that destroyed her mother’s life. If it worked then, it might work now. Aria stood beside her lover and let the melody flow from both of her hearts, free of lyric but full of conviction. She didn’t orbit him, nor did he orbit her. But they were two supports to the whole, standing together to keep the other propped up. Her magic surged and fired free after being fueled by the red smoke emanating from Kaizer X.

A wave of teal magic burst from Aria when she placed her hand on Kaizer X’s outstretched one, flickers of gold reappearing around her eyes as his power fueled hers and her power invigorated his. And while it seemed there was some sort of magical immunity that afforded the windigo resistance to the kaijin’s sheer force, the siren ripped that away as the teal magic wrapped around the golden torrent. The West Wind shrieked in an eerie cry, obviously in pain as he was shoved backwards.

Zephyrus writhed, knowing this agony only a few times before. He was loath to it then, for it drove he and his fellows away from their greatest prize and insulted their taint upon it with Harmony’s dreck. Appealing as salt would be to a slug. It drove the typically calm windigo into a frenzy as he shoved back against it, slowing its advance but not halting it.

It was only by Zephyrus getting aid from his own ally that he wasn’t ripped away from Twilight’s presence.

Within the assault, though her mind was fractured and in a panic, Twilight could only feel hatred for her tormentors for scaring and wounding her so and agonizing dread at what they might unleash upon her world. She was frantic, stressed, spiteful, terrified, and hateful over her harm. The perfect combination for several types of truly dark magic. Green and black smog filtered out of her and into the necklace she bore around her neck. A siren she was not, but she had accessed magic, she had practiced magic, and she was using magic. Call it fooling the necklace, call it tormenting the power into submission, call it whatever one wanted. But she did something desperate in a bid to save her own life and that of the screaming, agonized spirit trying to protect her.

Twilight, in a rare moment of clarity, gripped the necklace casing she bore and ripped it in two. Tightly gripping the siren necklace, which was becoming dark as midnight from absorbing the black and green smog she glimpsed coming out of her and zephyrus, she sobbed and cringed. There was an idea in her head, but it was dreaded. After this, she might not ever be fully human again. Never human in a world she wished to remain so to save everyone else. She tried to make the sirens human to remove their threat and make them fit in. She tried to remain human even while learning magic. To be what she protected and worried for, so she could experience it. A half-frozen tear leaked from her face, an apology to her family and world.

Dark magic from two distant battles, one on the concert with the alpha siren taking her stand and one between shrunken titan’s hatred, fueled into her. She drew in all that malice like a sponge. Whimpering, Twilight jammed the necklace into her upper sternum, the small spurs of ice that had formed on the gem digging into her flesh to anchor it in. The ice dug into her flesh and secured the magic directly to her body.

Where there was once a white out from gales of blizzard-like winds, there was a spark of violet light before a total black out in the sphere of space around Twilight. The onslaught from Aria Blaze and Kaizer X had never let up and further worked to obscure what was going on. But what was happening in terms of magic was becoming obvious.

Zephyrus could divert X’s powerful attacks because as a windigo without a solid form to knock around, he only truly had one weakness which X, as someone not using magic, couldn’t or wasn’t currently exploiting. And even then, it might take far more than what an expression of friendship or love might entail given the cyborg from earlier in the week and the forest nymph from decades ago was only able to wound him without using some great expression of Harmony’s power like that in the Elements.

Aria Blaze’s song could harm him, potentially even banish him with enough strength. It was a reason why Zephyrus was so keen on getting one siren disabled early on, to keep them from forming up. But a mutual declaration of expressed love with her beloved did make for an acceptable substitute. He was nearly forced out of Twilight and into who knew where…. Until Twilight stepped up and made use of the strife coming from the concert at Adagio’s song and the battle at the pier between old enemies.

Oh, Zephyrus was beyond intrigued now. Well beyond what potential he thought Twilight had. What raw power this youth command! She was forcing a siren heart to obey her, far more than just enforcing the barrier around it upon her behalf. Her strife and fears, fed into her by he and his compatriots all this time, had paid off more than he hoped. Twilight hadn’t just forced Sonata Dusk’s heart to obey her, she’d destroyed its will to oppose her in any form and the strife had raped the magic into becoming hers. The dark magic spewing forth from the corrupted heart was as intoxicating as it was invigorating to Zephyrus.

The siren heart wasn’t meant to absorb and amplify this level of dark magic, but then again neither was a mermare unless it was forced upon them. Zephyrus reveled in it, the success of his group’s progeny. The princesses of Mako had given them the tickets to revenge, and their name was one of Harmony’s own champions.

A black wing burst from the veil to release a shockwave. Twilight Sparkle’s magic shoved back against Aria’s, holding it at bay as if this duel were siren to siren; as Zephyrus worked against X’s wrath.

It was now a deadlock….

=============

Far away, the outburst of dark magic had not gone unnoticed despite the free-flowing song magic on the stage otherwise making it elusive to many. While those allied with the Sirens and Hunters knew exactly what was going on, that there was a plan to keep everybody near the stage while Aria Blaze’s plan was put into motion; someone outside of the loop took notice. After all, magic was very similar to radiation.

Godzilla Junior perked up and after some sensing about to determine direction, his uncanny ability to pick up energy sources at a distance was definitely not failing him. Dark magic spike, exactly like what Anguirus described. It was in some ways similar to what the siren was putting off, only much more noticeable and much more… pure, if that was a word to use it as. Light magic and dark magic, to him, was a bit like comparing hot and cold water. The stage was blotted with both, but the fact there was so much of both made the signatures less distinct. This was very, very clearly almost entirely dark magic with only some of the other present.

He brought up the phone he’d been loaned, the one belonging to Sunset Shimmer. Remembering the sequence showed him, he pressed a few buttons carefully and called the first number on speed dial.

“Hello? This is Mr. Gojo right?” A youthful masculine voice responded, the sounds of music obvious in the background even as Flash Sentry tried to muffle it.

Godzilla Junior briefly perked his brow at his number being first on the list, but disregarded it, “This is. Is Anguirus or Peachy Keen near you?”

“One sec-“

A muffled shifting was audible through the mic before similarly muffled voices seem to say, ‘Put it up here’.

“This is Anguirus,” the Guardian Beast replied, somewhat awkward using a device he had seen used but never handled before, “What’s going on?”

“Dark magic spike, exactly like how you described. It’s a ways away from the concert. Same direction one of the sirens ran off to. Gonna go check it out,” Junior responded as he started after it, moving further and further away from the radiating magic he didn’t know was shielding him from someone else’s sight.

“Be careful, Chief,” Anguirus noted before mumbling slightly, “… Remember your promise.”

“If she’s there like the last time there was one of these spikes, I promise I’m not going with the intention of killing her. I don’t think she’ll be happy to see me if I come upon her though.”

Anguirus swallowed but nodded, pausing briefly at as if to realize his affirmation wasn’t exactly translated through the silence on the other end of the phone, “I know that. I wouldn’t ask you not to defend yourself. Just… Try and restrain her if it comes to blows.”

“Anguirus, nobody realizes more than me right now the value of lost family. I’ll do everything I can, old friend,” Junior noted as he made a sprint for the dark magic, covering a full block in a few moments.

“Thanks, just be careful-“ Anguirus cringed as the phone let out a low shriek. He tested at it again, putting it back to his ear despite the buzzing.

“Godzilla? Chief? Junior? Can you hear me? Hello?”

Flash Sentry, brow furrowed, stepped up and held a hand out, “Here, let me see if I can help.”

Anguirus handed him back his device, but only frowned when he saw Flash tilt his head.

“No service?” Flash Sentry muttered with clear confusion, “We’re right next to the tower though how could there be no service?”

He started to look towards the cell phone tower, Anguirus following his line of sight, and was clearly perplexed by the sparks he saw shooting out of the top of the tower. There almost seemed to be somebody up there but they couldn’t make out who.

Their attention was dragged away by someone stepping up to the front of the stage. Adagio Dazzle was stepping forward with purpose in her eyes and her necklace burning bright.

Author's Note:

Proof reading by Lance-Omikron
Artwork by the lovely Faith-Wolff

Part 4 due in a day or two.

Oh, and here's a vector of "Frostbite Sparkle"

Comments

[Marebook7]

Poor Sci-twi...

[ZeroGs]

i have been waiting for this chapter and you didn't disappoint i have chills from what is going on

[Vman-0]

Oh, this is some good stuff, Tarb! I look forward to seeing the next few chapters, friend. 9/10, would read again.

EDIT: As one Marebook7 says, though, Sci-Twi got dealt a really bad hand by fate... I wonder how she'll get redeemed.

[thatguyvex]

One bad decision after another leading to quite the fubar situation. The Wendigoes manipulations have worked all to well, and at this juncture I'm extremly fearful of what'll happen to Twilight or Wallflower at this point. Hoping Wallflower can do something to save Twilight, while not getting herself killed in the process. As usual you certainly do well with writing intense emotions, both across the positive and negative spectrum.

Also glad both Irys and Anguirus spoke up about each other. Hopefully that'll make a difference.

[diverseinterests47]

This.....was rough. I'll save my final judgement for when the final part is posted, but The Bridge is continuing its streak of being very difficult to read. I get you have to put the characters through absolute hell so the happy ending feels more satisfying, but it's getting to be a little much.

[redandready45]

This wretch… Aria sneered and snarled. Where did she get off trying to ride the high and mighty, ‘I mean you no harm’ horse while doing such evil to them?! Granted her own beloved once did the same, but given the rage she felt coming off her mate when he saw Sonata’s condition; Aria couldn’t imagine X being remotely secure with that old choice if he knew the fallout. When he told her to give the heart up without a fight that first time they met, it felt genuine. She hated his guts for it at the time, but she could tell he wasn’t going to be spilling hers for complying.

This, this just came off as this dumb witch knowing she was in the wrong and trying to excuse it to herself. Patronizing her intelligence all the while, like Aria couldn’t tell she wasn’t genuine. Aria Blaze was disgusted even before her attacker violently vomited from getting gut punched so hard.

If only Aria knew what Sci-Twi was about...

Not that she would ever trust Sci-Twi, but she wouldn't be so brutal.

[The Voice in the Water]

Oh Twiggels… I wonder, if you somehow come out of this alive and understand exactly what you've done, are you ever going to be able to forgive yourself.

Amazing stuff Tarb.

[TheDino27]

Damn I'm lucky, yesterday only I decided to finally read the two earlier parts and today you drop the third ! And they're damn good too ! Honestly can't wait for the next chapters ! Sad that they take this long to come out but hey, perfection can't be rushed I suppose.

Anyway, I found a few sentences and dialogues that are misscolored or have faults in them (at least I think):

“I kept up a sprint for a full twelve seconds without crashing into anything and busted the board with a kick. Oh, and Jackie here busted the bricks.”

Misscolored, you gave it Junior's color instead of RD's.

“The sirens have been singing for a while, and it’s been permeating the entire audience. This place is magically saturated. While their bodies have adjusted to look human like what happened with Sunset Shimmer and I, the same thing happened back in Equestria with them. I guess this means transportation here didn’t cancel it out.”

Not colored, should have Celestia's.

“Brought him for that,” Junior chuckled as she motioned to Anguirus.

Last I checked, Junior is still a male. Meaning that the "she" should be a "he".

“This. Isn’t. Yours!”

Not colored, should have Aria's.

Had he not found Wallflower and got her involved

I do recall Sci-Twi to be female, meaning that the "he" should be a "she", unless the "he" is supposed to be Zephirus in which case, simply ignore that one.

And that's all the faults I found, if there's anything wrong with this feel free to correct me.

[Moongaze14]

Wow. This chapter was so worth the wait. I’ll be honest, it was very sweet watching both sides relax in the calm before the storm. Adagio is stabilizing and forming friendships with Twilight while deepening her bonds with X as an in-law and Gloriosa and Gigan. Meanwhile, Angirus and Junior bonded as teachers of the Mane 7 with their security being paramount to them. It’s also sweet that Junior and Celestia are comfortable enough to joke and tease each other about royal titles and that he’s willing to contemplate sparing Irys for Anguirus’ sake after reminiscing his reconciliation with Xenilla.
The fight scene between Sci-Twi and Aria, while awesome was hard to watch. On the one hand, Aria is well within her rights to be pissed at Twilight since the latter unintentionally traumatized Sonata due to the windigos machinations. Meanwhile, Sci Twi wants to protect her world, family, and even the Sirens by turning them human, completely unaware she’s a tool for vengeful spirits that don’t care about her. Seeing Aria use martial arts to brutalize Twilight made me wince and sympathize with her. Sci Twi transforming into Frostbite Sparkle while awesome, is also tragic since a kindhearted young woman who was destined to be a guardian for good perverted her own magic to turn into the Windigos tool out of self defense to protect herself from Kaizer Aria. I genuinely hope with every fiber of my being that Sci Twi gets a happy ending and frees herself from the windigos.
P.S: Faith did an amazing job drawing Frostbite Sparkle. Gonna drop her a more thorough comment on her DA. Be right back. Can’t wait for the next chapter and the special

[Supersonic]

Top gear style recap 48 Part 3 (from Goji's POV:)

Tonight, Lea gets a hug, I carry a lot of things, and Sci-Twi gets a case of frostbite.

[hydra30]

Human Twilight will have a lot to answer for when this is over

[redandready45]

10354380

It is amazing how Aria is scarier when she's fighting for someone she loves rather than fighting for a wicked cause.

[ShogunGhidorah]

I played "One-Winged Angel" when I got to Frostbite
trust me, it fits so well. (that and, you know, she has one wing.)

can't wait for Part!

[Curtis Wildcat]

Eeeesh, I felt cold just reading this.

...Or it could've just been the air conditioner. Either way, I'm still getting chills. 😟

[TheDino27]

10354609
Who would have fought that fighting for something that truly matters to them make someone more dangerous in a fight, eh ?

[redandready45]

10355302

Well, here's what Terry Pratchett once said:

"If you ever find yourself with an arrow pointed at you, hope that the person who has you in his mercy is an evil man. An evil man will torment you. An evil man will lord over you. A good person will kill with hardly a word."

This dynamic does play out in different ways with the same characters.

When Monster X was hunting the Sirens, he was content to just take their gem and leave. He was just a mercenary doing a dirty job. He could care less if the Sirens were evil or not.

When Monster X went after Princess Twilight, thinking she was the fiend who had violated Sonata, he was ONE scary motherfucker. Because he was going after someone he thought was a monster.

When Aria was defending her gem from Monster X, she was keen to beat him up and ditch him.

When Aria was wailing on Sci-Twi, she did it without mercy, because in her own mind, she was beating on the animal who harmed her family.

Aria and X can't really be called "good". But when they feel they are morally right, they will not play around.

Zephyrus, meanwhile, a creature without any conscience, is content to torment others. Instead of killing Hymnia, he was content to use the poor mermare as a play toy. He was all too eager to torture Aria for shits and giggles. And while Aria was happy to kill Sci-Twi, Zephyrus kept her alive for no other reason than utility.

In the "Black and Grey" struggle that Sci-Twi finds herself in, it is the "black" that saved her life.

[KRMebius]

Will shit midnight Sparkle only as frost demon great
The golden skull dragon vs frost demon nightmare Sparkle vs king of Kaiju three way free for all? Great chapter and soon the climax

[Tarbtano]

10355331
Lovely thought experiment!
I will clarify that Aria, while extremely enraged at SciTwi and keen to beat her down; wasn't going to kill her. And Zephyrus didn't as much 'save' her as he used Aria's beat down to finally make SciTwi give in and go through a berserk, extremely painful transformation into his ultimate tool. And it was Zephyrus who put SciTwi on this path of conflict to begin with

[redandready45]

10355554

Lovely thought experiment!
I will clarify that Aria, while extremely enraged at SciTwi and keen to beat her down; wasn't going to kill her. And Zephyrus didn't as much 'save' her as he used Aria's beat down to finally make SciTwi give in and go through a berserk, extremely painful transformation into his ultimate tool. And it was Zephyrus who put SciTwi on this path of conflict to begin with

Yes, but Zephyrus' manipulation of Sci-Twi proves my point: a well-intentioned person can be very, very dangerous.

Zephyrus was able to manipulate Sci-Twi by feeding her a half-truth of monsters from another dimension that would destroy her world. I say "half-truth" because the Sirens and the Dark Hunters, while fascinatingly complex characters, can be lumped into a category of "villain" for their past and current misbehavior.

Being naïve, antisocial, and seeking validation in her life, Sci-Twi would jump at the chance to be a hero, and do things she would never imagine doing, because she sees them as just.

And the Dark Hunters and the Sirens aren't too different in that regard: they committed some very serious crimes- kidnapping a princess, attacking a bunch of civilians, and holding that princess hostage- because they honestly believed their actions were justified.

[Vman-0]

10355588
Well, I think Sci-Twi is definitely going to need therapy after this... Though, essentially stripping someone of their power is questionable and should get some sort of punishment.

[redandready45]

10355724

Being made into the puppet of an ice demon is not remotely fun.

[Vman-0]

10355730
And that's probably punishment enough... And yeah, she is a poor girl. :(

[CrystalMaster76]

Hot damn does it feel good to have mostly positive things to say about a Bridge chapter again.
So before we get into any specifics, I'll point out that I love how reality ensues this chapter is for all parties involved. Adagio mentions early on that there are too many unknown factors at play for the plan to be secure, and while true for them, it's especially true for the Defenders. The Defenders are operating with extremely minimal information, it's only thanks to Irys that they have wind of the Windigos at all. So naturally their plan of go in and roll with the beats starts backfiring almost immediately, Junior being a bit overwhelmed by the Siren’s magic, Eventide’s interruption, Anguirus keeping Irys a secret until the last minute due to Lea’s state, having to rely on the Kaiju getting the hang of technology very quickly and, from Part 1, Dash racing off solo to follow Goji and Irys’ battle. The lack of information has crippled their ability to effectively handle the situation. The most obvious singular example is of course SciTwi’s belief that she’s some kind of hero leading her directly to a brutal beatdown. Ironically for the ones who made the initial statement, the Hunters actually suffered from this the least since most of their plans go off as intended, though with some unfortunate results. Just a massive cascade of all parties shortcomings collapsing in on themselves and approaching total chaos...which of course makes the real winners the Windigos.
The duo planning scene at the start contains one of my only real quibbles with the chapter, there’s some parts of it, especially in Adagio’s thoughts that feel a bit too recappy. We already know some of this and while I understand the motive behind it, I maintain the story should still be written as if there haven’t been a lot of IRL induced delays. Aside from that it’s great to see most of the players contribute their thoughts or actions, but the highlight is the duality of Angirus and Irys revealing that they know of each other to their respective teams. It’s ironic that the relative newcomer comes forward willingly while the long time friend keeps his mouth shut and has to be prompted, though he obviously had good reasons.
Lea’s growing instability is handled well here, the parallels to young Celestia is a striking image. My issue with her remains that mind hacking is overdone in the Bridge and she’s one of many by this point, but it is still handled well.
The bit about the butterfly effect versus canon felt unnecessary, a bit on the nose and recapy for my liking. I find these sort of things work better when understated, just a physical description of the stage that we know matches the one from Rainbow Rocks would let the uncountable differences speak for themselves.
That said, the Defenders arrival has a lot of good details, reinforcing why they don’t trust the Sirens, the magic sensitivity of various members, but most importantly that they don’t know how the magic charging in this world works, another lack of information induced kneecap to the group, as they don’t really need to worry about Junior’s usual size related fears. The talk about Junior’s image issues was also rather comedically effective. 
We get some mostly on point observations from both the Sirens and the Rainbooms about each other, mentally absorbing new info before making a move. Peachy does the lion’s share of the thinking here and she manages to deduce a good chunk of the truth very quickly, especially the connection between Eventide and the Rainbooms. Always good to have an individual whose one way to contribute is through their intelligence, actually showing a lot of intelligence. Of course the Siren’s have the advantage of an actual detailed plan...which Eventide promptly throws into chaos by acting up early, interested to see what prompted her. Of course Aria’s not there and that’s because of…
Aria vs SciTwi. I’ll be blunt, this is my favorite fight in the series. Equal parts brutal, satisfying, horrific, tense and gripping all the while. SciTwi is a naive and arrogant young woman who has deluded herself into thinking she can handle the responsibility of magic and defending people, and it’s pretty telling that the defense of innocents barely crosses her mind. It’s about her not ignoring something, it’s about her being scared of ignorance, she’s not completely selfish of course, but she’s made this conflict all about herself and how she can affect things. Hearing her think of using thievery and mind alterings just shows the crucial lack of appropriate morality grounding her actions. She’s so bad at being a hero that it makes it very satisfying to see her get the beatdown she does. Yes the Windigos are the real monsters here, but the arrogance and stupidity on display from SciTwi and Wallflower makes them almost equally as punchable. After spending the entire arc up until now seeing Aria and Adagio, and others, deal with the suffering Sonata has gone through, every punch, every kick, every bone in SciTwi’s body that Aria breaks is incredibly cathartic. 
But that;s the trapping, revenge certainly feels great, but it can come at the sacrifice of efficiency if one isn’t careful. Aria Blaze...was not careful, she went all out to cause as much pain as possible, but things would’ve worked out so much better if she’d just gone for some head slams against the wall for a knockout blow. Instead she pushes SciTwi to the emotional breaking point and leaves her wide open for ark magic to take hold, resulting in Frostbite Sparkle and a…

We interrupt this review to bring you Crystal gushing over Faith’s artwork. Okay, so Void Twilight is already the best design in FIM with her dark color pallet that never dips into blackness and inferno hair and raven wings just, hmmm, I love it. Frostbite takes everything that worked about the original and just ups it even more. The ice compliments the glasses and horns color, the haggard pose and only one wing shows how unhinged she is, the blood carries the ominous unknown of whether it’s a natural part of this form or just from the beatdown. The colors of the inferno hair work just as well as a windswept blizzard just...everything. Everything about this is straight aces, some of Faith’s best ever work and all the props to her. Right up there with Azusa and Junior at the lake.

...complete shift in the battle, with X arriving to shake things up, Twilight intentionally digging her grave even deeper, and Wallflower’s arrival on the horizon. Complete with Adagio making her move on stage elsewhere and the lead in to Junior verses Irys from the part 1, and we’ve got the perfect storm (teehee) for the final part coming soon. 

My favorite chapter of the arc so far, well done. 

[sonicandmario826]

Man harsh seeing Twilight get beat up like that, but it’s understandable by Aria did it. Too bad it’s really working against her right now. Wallflower could also be a real problem with her stone.

[Evowizard25]

Now comes the time to comment. That was a fantastic way of getting things rolling. The character interactions between everyone was done well and helped build on what's to come. Lea's problem is definitely done superbly as my concern grows as much as the cast.

The fight was the real highlight of this chapter. Once again you prove to have a great handle on how to create exciting action and suspense. As well as giving each side their own way of getting through this fight. Sparkle's transformation was gleefully horrifying as it should be. As well as in escalated the battle. I just worry about Sonata and her heart. Hope they can rescue it.

Overall great chapter.

[Temnizziv]

The hand placed upon her cousin's shoulder however was a reminder of how circumstances had changed. X had supported her cousin enough times to more than earn Adagio's trust. He had done so the moment he returned after Sonata's desecration, and had done so when Aria presented her ploy. Adagio looked between the couple and gave X a brief, somewhat knowing nod of acknowledgement when he noticed her. Mermares rarely took foreign lovers, but there were exceptions and the sirens were nothing if not exceptional. She approved of him around her cousin, not like they needed her blessing to produce all the love magic she found last night.

Rarely take Foreign Lovers? Does this mean lesbian relationships between Mermares are common?

And he was just the beginning of them seeking new allies, as much as she might be aloof to admit it upfront. After all, even if her goals of regaining her grandmother's throne as Queen needed more consideration after the bombshell Princess Twilight dropped via Eventide, her aunt and mother had instilled the alpha siren with a near unbreakable air of authority. And being a good leader meant knowing when to accept outside help even if she had spent years thinking such notions were preposterous, after so many had turned them away. Gloriosa had no real incentive to put up with the level of abnormality which had been thrust upon her, and Princess Sparkle and even less incentive to be half as helpful as she was. And yet, they had a secure holding because of the aid of her favorite human of whom Adagio could admit to growing attached to. And the pony princess, with her eyes intently focused upon the siren leader as if she was mentally taking notes with enthusiasm, had more than endeared herself to them. Should she still become Queen of Mako after all, Adagio would be quite content having Twilight as a future foreign ally.

Good display of Adagio's character development since the Enjin arc. Learning to be a tad bit more humble, rebuild her bridges with family & forge new ones with her friends to even forgiving Starswirl. Even if she's still being Dagi about it, it's always nice to see character development carry over.

"It’ll be your first time on a big stage, so you'd better," Adagio grinned and gave her a thumbs up before looking to Gigan, "And I won't take offense to you having your eyes elsewhere, but do you have it operational?"

Is Dagi flirting with Gigan? I mean, she sounds like she likes Gigan having his eyes on her.

Back at Sunset Shimmer’s residence, the party was setting out on a plan far less dire. The Rainbooms were packing their instruments and gear as Peachy Keen, Godzilla Junior, Mothra Lea, and Anguirus watched on.

While not as jarring a cut as the start of the Ki Seong arc. I still recommend a segment line to better clarify when a transition is being done.

Junior placed a hand upon her mid-back and gently nudged her with his shoulder in a calm, if unhuman gesture, “Twilight is safe where she is. We contain the sirens and counter the growing dark magic, and then move to that issue.”

One small detail I like in this arc that I haven't talked about before is the inhuman mannerisms you give the transformed Kaiju in EQG. Helps give the notion that they're unused to being Human.

"... You’d have a lot less scars if it weren’t for me too… Too many powers at play, too many causing problems," she muttered, "Don't thank me for throwing you at problems."

The pathos in the conversations & interactions within the Defender Kaiju has been one of my favorite aspects in this arc. It's not too often that we delve into the personal history of these characters back on Terra & how they feel about it in hindsight.

The musical showcase was quite a sight even for an opening day. In another time, another possibility where the intrusion of outside forces from another realm might have altered events and people, the sirens would have turned this town festival into a full-on battle of the bands. Their music would have whipped people up into a frenzy, taking control and being worshiped as they had in centuries past in Equestria. Unbeknownst to the van pulling up behind the stage, it only took one fateful encounter at a mall to set off a series of events that climaxed in a clash of titans deep within the Everfree. But exceedingly few knew about it, nor the implications and alterations that followed. If one asked around town a few might remember an accident happening in the hospital some time ago that was taken to be a gas explosion or maybe inquired about the peculiar crater resembling a handprint shoved into a cliff wall at a rural park some miles away.

Do have to agree with Crystal that this section is too wordy & re-cappy. It's better to let the differences speak for themselves.

-I’m going to squish someone… If I change, I'm going to crush so many. Like ants, they would be like ants; I can’t possibly keep track of how many there would be! It would happen in an instant, one moment they’d be listening to music, in the next – so many of them ground into the concrete before they could even scream! If I change, I’m going to kill someone. If I change I’m going to kill so many!-

Also agree with Dive. While the context is understandable, and Crystal has a point that change doesn't happen overnight. It's still annoying to see an issue that had already been resolved in the previous arc rear its ugly head. Not to mention it's been a month since the last arc in-universe so there was time for Junior to get used to it.

Junior studied it for a time and grunted slightly but did shake his head, “Seen them worked, never really used one myself. Know what they’re for though.”

Now you gotta imagine Junior with his own Twitter Feed. "That feeling when you try diplomacy, and somebody just bodyslams you. #NotAGreatGuygan"

“Oh… Oh, you read the classics too?” Twilight noted with a raised brow, perhaps trying to fish for some sort of topic to distract them as the song hit its fevered pitch; though she was genuinely surprised.

On the note of our Sailor Scout wannabes. While I don't sympathize with their cause as Crystal pointed out how horrible of a hero SciTwi acts & Wallflower making the choices. I can buy their friendship, and the circumstances on how they got here.

Whether they knew it or not, very likely the latter, they were dabbling in a mermare tradition of issuing a confrontation. While the average of their kind was no more dangerous than your typical equestrian, there were some amongst their number who were quite gifted magically. Causing a dispute with one of such or between two of them could be disastrous, and was the whole reason why queenship challenges, which commonly involved such above-average heavy hitters, were magically restricted. In olden times, before the pods were unified by her grandmother and ceased their nomadic foraging and raiding lifestyle, music magic contests were frequent as a means of keeping conflict from escalating too far if two rival groups met. Fight with your magic through your music.

Excellent bit of worldbuilding without bogging down the plot. Rather logical how duels are conducted between two powerful beings without causing too much collateral.

“And now I’m impressive to you? My my, we’re making progress,” Adagio snickered as she backed out of sight on the stage but kept her eyes on the Rainbooms, “Well then, phase 1 complete. If this group brought any kaiju-“

More flirting with Gigan & Dagi. Jesus Christ, just kiss already you two! But let's see, counting all the ships with Gigan in the Amalgam'verse. Gloriosa, Adagio, Mane-iac, Biollante… Four potential suitors. Gigan is sure putting in that work to succeed Junior as the Harem Protag.

“... Just like you fixed Sonata?” the venom in the voice wasn’t a subtle drip; it was a surging wave.

For my take on this fight. Yeah, it was brutal on SciTwi. But all it takes is a minute to see what happened to poor Sonata, and SciTwi had this coming.

The north wind roared again as a tear ran down Wallflower’s face. The wind seemed to dig in, almost slithering inside her from breathing it in. It brought up images, horrific images. Flashes of red across purple skin, shattered glasses, and dead gray glossing over violet eyes. Wallflower’s eyes widened in abject horror as she bore witness to the sound of her friend, her only friend, getting beaten to death. Unseen to her was the outline of a windigo cackling as Boreas reveled in her despair and agony. The lonely ones who’d tasted companionship always granted him the second sweetest nourishment, for there was only one better.

And now we cut to Boreas commenting on the suffering of Wallflower. To touch upon the Windigoes briefly. While not my all time favorite villains, they do work decently for their type.

Aria Blaze’s mind was a span of whitenoise in dumbstruck shock. She tried again and was yet once more repulsed. Again and again, with the blowback pulse causing Twilight to get shoved back down into the frosted ground the more the siren tried to reach through what was like an invisible pane of glass. The same barrier that once protected them was now being used against them.

Nice twist that a Siren can no longer remove the gem. You've got me intrigued.

In Equestria, Twilight Starla Sparkle was Harmony's champion; even if she didn't know it. In this world, she'd be an engine for the great Grogar's ambition; driving them to the path of restoration!

An Engine like Enjin… *is shot*

Zephyrus grinned and clapped slowly as Twilight Sparkle screamed out in a mix of spite and terror at her attacker. Tears of fear and pain rolling down her face, Twilight meant to shout ‘Get! Back!’, ‘I hate you!’ , or something to either effect.... Instead all that came out was a howling shriek before a wave of frosted air and telekinesis slammed into Aria Blaze and shoved her into the ice wall from before. Coughing and gagging from getting the wind knocked out of her, Aria stumbled back up but quickly dodged out of the way when Twilight raised a hand and thrust it towards her.

Nice work in detailing Frostbite!Sparkle like an Humanoid Abomination. Solidly presents how unpleasant possession by a Windigo is.

Yes indeed, she was smitten.

Like a certain degenerate couple on this site!

“... N-No…. No no no,” She muttered to herself, eyes wide in abject horror. All the worst fears, spoken and unspoken, were coming true.

And now Aria knows for a fact who's after them. I wonder how all this emotional build-up will pay off by the end of the arc.

Far away, the outburst of dark magic had not gone unnoticed despite the free-flowing song magic on the stage otherwise making it elusive to many. While those allied with the Sirens and Hunters knew exactly what was going on, that there was a plan to keep everybody near the stage while Aria Blaze’s plan was put into motion; someone outside of the loop took notice. After all, magic was very similar to radiation.

And of course Goji senses something is up & runs off. Much to the distress of our Hunters.
Goji: Something fishy is going on. I'd better check!
Hunters: Damn, it's Godzilla!

That's the end of my commentary for Part 3. Overall, a well done build-up part to the climax of this arc.

[Tarbtano]

10364257

Rarely take Foreign Lovers? Does this mean lesbian relationships between Mermares are common?

Yep. When you're options are physically leaving home to stay with someone you may not know well and stay with your culture, most choose the later and that's why most mermare reproduction amounts to 1 night stands. For romance, most look to other mermares.

Good display of Adagio's character development since the Enjin arc. Learning to be a tad bit more humble, rebuild her bridges with family & forge new ones with her friends to even forgiving Starswirl. Even if she's still being Dagi about it, it's always nice to see character development carry over.

Yep, she'll always be prideful and perhaps a bit arrogant, but she's taken to lightening up. Gone from alpha-bitch to a queen bee.

Is Dagi flirting with Gigan? I mean, she sounds like she likes Gigan having his eyes on her.

She does and she is, if anything because they get along better than they let on and she finds it fun to toy with a guy not going gaga over her

One small detail I like in this arc that I haven't talked about before is the inhuman mannerisms you give the transformed Kaiju in EQG. Helps give the notion that they're unused to being Human.

Thanks, I was taking inspiration from Twilight's mannerisms in the first movie and expanding on it.

Also agree with Dive. While the context is understandable, and Crystal has a point that change doesn't happen overnight. It's still annoying to see an issue that had already been resolved in the previous arc rear its ugly head. Not to mention it's been a month since the last arc in-universe so there was time for Junior to get used to it.

More a matter of he was having some fears because he wasn't able to resist the ambient magic as good as he could in Equestria so it was hitting him full throttle. The fear was tempered as he got used to matter, but here it's meant to be brought back up as he can't ignore the risks. It's less he still sees himself as a monster and more he knows he could pose a serious threat to others if he changed back at a bad time.

The pathos in the conversations & interactions within the Defender Kaiju has been one of my favorite aspects in this arc. It's not too often that we delve into the personal history of these characters back on Terra & how they feel about it in hindsight.

Thanks friend :D
It's a big reason I went ahead and made all the kaiju Showa levels of sapient and able to talk and form relationships to one another. It gives them an ability to form such pathos and histories, especially given these two especially formed the backbone of not only their faction but also the canon fusion behind The Bridge's Amalgam'verse as a whole.

Will do the rest latter as I got my hands full, but many thanks!

[Zillafreak825]

Wow. FROSTBITE SPARKLE. That's intense. Poor girl.

[Ultimate Warrior of Zera]

I was really sad when Junior was worried about transforming and squishing everyone. I was also sad when Aria couldn't remove the necklace.

It was an awesome fight scene.

[FallenAngel2012]

Holy Shitake mushrooms! Finished part 3. One more to go. So, there’s a lot to unravel here, cause it’s all three groups colliding together with each different character having a spot light.
First off, I wanna give credit to Iyrs and Anguirus for being honest to their teammates about the other(well, cept Anguirus didn’t want to tell Lea, cause past problems) Thank you for avoiding the liar revealed later on trope!
Second, Celestia Dammit Sci-Twi you stupid, moron. Not gonna lie, Aria beating the crap out of her was a bit satisfying. Yet unjustified when things got out of control and then the transformation of Frostbite Sparkle. Big Yikes!
Thirdly, (you can skip this if you want it’s so random XD). When I was reading (At my Fred Meyer) the part where Aria uses her love magic, I was hearing ‘I don’t want to wait’ by Paula Cole playing in my store. And I was ROFL I don’t know why?! The timing was awfully perfect set to this “the power of love” moment.
Okay. That’s all I got for now. On to the final part. Aaaaaaaand I bet things are gonna get worse before getting better

[Thebobkiller]

So.... what happened to both Spikes in all this?

[Seraphem]

Mermares rarely took foreign lovers, but there were exceptions and the sirens were nothing if not exceptional.

Wait.... given all female that... doens't really make sense given they kind of have to....

not like they needed her blessing to produce all the love magic she found last night.

Gee, whatever could they have been doing to produce all that?

Once upon a time she had nothing but scorn for the bearded sorcerer who banished them here

To be fair....... pretty much anyone who spends more then five minutes around Starswirl starts to find him irritating.

Eventide Hymn, ready in her showy disguise,

Which isn't in the picture of the scene...... granted that would kind of give away the 'twist'

She glanced at Princess Twilight and rolled her eyes in minor annoyance,

Okay....... yeah I know what is coming in this and... save this for future details about this plot thread.

Anguirus nodded, “… The albino Gyaos. She's here.”

Okay, good to see his finally opening up and..... yeah I do get not wanting to bring it up with lea having her issues already, and it's just..... those issues feel not as well developed enough to really.... hard to get the right way to phrase it.... that I think this stuff is suffering from just how much focus is being put on the Hunters and Sirens, and so these plot lines aren't getting the focus they need to be built up right and feel natural would be the best way to put it. We aren't really seeing enough of what they are doing to really have this all click together and work as a natural plot progression rather then feeling kind of like something just there to add tension and conflict, since we only really see these plot threads when they are doing so.

This might as well be a Tuesday

Oh please no.... this city doesn't have the sort of planning, knowledge, and questionable insurance providers that Ponyville has.....
Yeah mostly only funny if you read the Twilight Gets a Puppy fic series, where it's become a fundamental part of the universe that bad things always happen in Ponyville on Tuesday, to the point most of the town spend the whole day inside their panic shelters just to be safe or makes sure to schedule any out of town trips to take place that day.

And it's just Ponyville,for Canterlot the day of dread is Friday..... but usually only when a Sparkle Sibling is in town.

In another time, another possibility where the intrusion of outside forces from another realm might have altered events and people, the sirens would have turned this town festival into a full-on battle of the bands. Their music would have whipped people up into a frenzy, taking control and being worshiped as they had in centuries past in Equestria. Unbeknownst to the van pulling up behind the stage, it only took one fateful encounter at a mall to set off a series of events that climaxed in a clash of titans deep within the Everfree. But exceedingly few knew about it, nor the implications and alterations that followed.

Well okay Uatu.....

“Lot of... magic. Body’s trying to absorb it,”

Come on full on Kaiju fight! You gotta top Sunset Shimmer Hunts the Undead! And that had a Kaiju sized Tirak fighting C'Thulhu!

“Took a literature elective to get out of gym,”

Why couldn't I do that!?

Wallflower gulped as she remembered the only attention she ever got in her first and second year was the exact opposite any would want in high school. Hazing, insults, body checking in the hallways, spiting her at the one dance she ever dared attend until very recently.

Okay that is just unfair, and grasping at trying to make Wallflower's whole thing in the special make sense. We never had a single word or mention of Sunset doing anything to Wallflower beyond what every did to her, ignore her and forget she even existed. Sunset was a bully yeah, but she targeted the ones who there was a point to target, Wallflower was such a non-entity I'd be surprised if she even noticed.... which would be kind of an interesting twist, Wallflower was more hurt that despite tormenting every other student in some way, Sunset didn't even notice her enough for even light or minor bullying.

Maybe it’s the reason Zephyrus found me just like you found the stone

Contrary to a bit of a joke, her mentor Starswirl didn’t use this place as a magical disposal ground

He spread it around to multiple random dimensions rather then just dump them all into one.

Eventide Hymn sang,

Just can't resist joining into a musical number, huh?

she was just about the only one who could control magic reliably in this world of chancy users

Much pride we sense in this one....... and as dark a world as it would be, this better be a world where Star Wars never existed, because as noted... a geek of Twi's level has no business not having seen it and noting how utterly Sith she's being.

“... Just like you fixed Sonata?” the venom in the voice wasn’t a subtle drip; it was a surging wave.

Hi Twilight, I'd like to introduce you to Consequences.

Aria did the last thing Twilight expected a sea witch to do.

No one expects the magic user to have a decent STR score.

Why do you think wizards carry around staffs? Sure good foci for magic, but also, make very good tools to beat problems down with if they get too close.

The lonely ones who’d tasted companionship always granted him the second sweetest nourishment, for there was only one better.

Where's Harry Dresden when you need someone to shove a few thousands thuams of the Fires of Creation itself down some bastards throat?

High above, Zephyrus watched on from his hideaway with bemused intrigue.

Yes Twilight, you look just so 'good' and so much like not the monster in all this.

-Yep, can’t finish this on my own.-

Ya Think? Still.... amazing fight scene, really nice back and forth and now........... amazing 'oh shit' moment!

And high above, cast from the toy pistol-like object Aria was holding that she’d fetched from the bag, a bright white firework streamed upwards before bursting.

Good back up "Oh shit I need help!" signal, though likely smarter to have someone keeping track of her to move in in case she didn't get a chance to set it off.

“... N-No…. No no no,” She muttered to herself, eyes wide in abject horror.

And now at least one side knows what it is they are really dealing with.

He started to look towards the cell phone tower, Anguirus following his line of sight, and was clearly perplexed by the sparks he saw shooting out of the top of the tower. There almost seemed to be somebody up there but they couldn’t make out who.

Damnit Gigan what did you do?

Alright! the foreplay is over, it's time to make with the actual fighting, and deal with the real threats rather then just run around in circles with no one knowing what is going on!

[Atomic croc48]

damn. first rule of magical girl fight club, don't talk about magical girl fight club. also a sweet moment with X and Aria