Loyalty 7: フェーント
The next day, at school...
"WHAT?!" Rainbow yelled.
Applejack winced and dug in her ear with a finger. "Wanna try that a little louder?"
"We got all those bug freaks!" Rainbow cried in disbelief. "We took out Sunset Shimmer! Without her, there shouldn't be any more! Right? You said! Right?"
Twilight sighed. "Sunset Shimmer was the one summoning the Changelings to our world, but...if there were still any left here, then..."
"So what, they've just been runnin' around right under our noses all this time?" Rainbow demanded.
Twilight bowed her head. "That would seem to be the case," she said.
"Wonderful," Rainbow spat. "So all the shit we went through...it was all for nothin'?"
"It most certainly was not," Rarity said. "How many people would be dead if not for us? How much suffering would Sunset Shimmer have spread? We've done a lot of good for this city." She sighed. "And it appears...we have work left to do still."
"Rainbow-san..." Twilight looked at Rainbow. "I'm as upset about this as you are. Every new Changeling we discover means there's at least one more person I failed to save." Her eyes turned hard. "But right now, we need to focus on finding and eliminating every Changeling that's still in our world."
Rainbow met Twilight's gaze and nodded. "Right."
"Spike is out searching," Twilight said. "He'll let us know if and when he finds anything. In the meantime..." She shrugged. "In the meantime...just try to relax and stay calm. We can't let this disrupt our lives." She smiled. "Don't you have plans with Lightning-san this weekend?"
"Yeah..."
"And you have a date to look forward to," Rarity said.
Twilight winced. "R-right..." She swallowed. "I'd...forgotten about that." She shook her head. "In any case...if any more Changelings show up, we'll deal with it. I'll be reporting regularly to Celestia-sama. Just...be careful."
Loyalty 7: フェーント
After a long and exhausting day of school and club activities, Rarity took a long bath, then retreated to her room to relax with a fashion magazine and her favorite fashion news show.
//—despite criticisms that she's taken a backseat and no longer has an active role in designing her company's fashion lines. Although certain industry insiders have asserted for some time that Polomare-san never actually designed her own clothing lines in the first place—//
Rarity rolled her eyes. "Certain industry insiders, by which they mean every competitor she outperforms..."
//However, Polomare-san has addressed these criticisms and stunned the upper echelons of the fashion industry by unveiling this original dress, which she personally modeled at the Umagoto Gala last night.// The screen showed a tall, elegant woman with pale skin and dark lavender hair, styled in a beehive, clad in a slimming dress with a black bodice and a skirt of horizontal yellow and black stripes.
Rarity pulled a face. "Really," she said, shaking her head. "That's not going to help with her rather unflattering nickname..."
//On social media, many question the wisdom of this particular dress design when Polomare-san's detractors already call her 'Wasp Woman'.//
"Oneesan?" Rarity heard from outside.
"Yes, Sweetie Belle?"
The door opened. "Are you going to make dinner tonight, or do you want to order out?"
Rarity hummed thoughtfully. "You know? I believe we should order sushi this evening..."
As they waited for dinner to arrive, Sweetie Belle asked, "Oneesan? How...how do you think I can get Spike-kun to..." Sweetie Belle looked down, blushing.
Rarity raised an eyebrow. "I only know about a few of Spike-kun's interests, Sweetie Belle," she said. "And..." She grimaced. "I'm afraid you're not...likely to indulge any of them anytime soon." Nor would I want you to.
Sweetie Belle blushed. "You mean...the whole pervert thing that he gets his magic from? Yeah, I...I don't really want to..." She looked up. "But...there has to be something else, right?"
"Why don't you ask him?" Rarity asked.
"I couldn't...!" Sweetie Belle squeaked.
"Why not?" Rarity smiled. "Look...you obviously feel strongly for Spike-kun. Especially if you can ignore his..." Her smile tightened and her eye twitched. "Unusual traits. You just need to be direct with him."
"I'll try..." Sweetie Belle said.
Inwardly, Rarity sighed. *Poor little sister...it's a long shot Spike-kun will ever truly return your affections. You simply aren't his type...and I'm not certain I really want you to be.*
* * * * *
As the week passed, the mahoushoujo waited anxiously for trouble to brew. Pinkie returned to school on Wednesday, as did Brittany. Days passed, but Spike couldn't track down any Changelings, and the Shadowbolts hadn't been heard from for two weeks. Life settled back into a lazy rhythm as Saturday arrived.
* * * * *
After school, Twilight met up with Flash at the entrance. They left their school bags in a coin locker at the train station, then headed out. Over the course of the afternoon, they visited two museums, watched a movie together, and had a light dinner at an okonomiyakiya two stops from Umadakara.
"I had a lot of fun today, Sentry-san," Twilight said with a smile. The two of them stood outside the bookstore. "Would you like to come in for tea?"
Flash shook his head. "Nah...I'd better get going. I'll text you later, okay?"
"Okay." Flash turned and left. Twilight watched him for a minute, then headed inside. "Tadaima!"
"Okaeri!" Velvet greeted. "How was your date?"
"It was fun," Twilight said. "I'm still on the fence about..." She blushed. "Whether or not I want to call him my boyfriend, but...Sentry-san really is a nice guy." She sighed. "Is Spike upstairs?"
Velvet shook her head. "He left around noon. I haven't seen him all day."
* * * * *
Rainbow sat on a bench, a towel slung around her neck. She was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.
"Here," Lightning Dust said, thrusting a bottle of cola into Rainbow's view.
"Thanks," Rainbow said, uncapping it and taking a deep swig. She replaced the cap, set the bottle down, then started toweling herself down. "That was some workout, huh?"
"Just like old times," Lightning Dust said. "You know, those new girls you're hangin' around with...don't you ever worry about them crampin' your style?"
"Not really," Rainbow said with a shrug. "Besides, they're cool. They're good friends...we're good friends. I'd risk my life for any of them."
"Wow."
"Yeah." Rainbow smiled. "I mean sure, they're not the kinda gals I figured I'd be friends with, but...that's life, y'know?" She picked up her drink again and chugged the rest of it down. "You know, if you wanted to...you could enroll at Umadakara, maybe kinda...y'know...pick yourself up, get straightened out..."
"Straightened out?" Lightning Dust asked. She frowned. "The fuck's that supposed to mean?"
Rainbow grimaced. "I just meant..." She sighed, looking down at her empty soda bottle. "I'm worried about you, y'know? Your whole parkour thing...it reminds me of how you broke your neck back then..." She looked at Lightning Dust. "Why'd you cut me off, Dusty? You coulda called..." She swallowed heavily. "It really hurt..."
"Dash..."
"It's just...you could do so much with your life! You're an amazing athlete. You could...you could go pro, do anything, be anything! Why throw all that away to be a part-timer and do all this crazy parkour shit?"
Lightning Dust frowned. "I guess I just don't live up to your high and mighty expectations," she said. She got up to walk away. "Later, Dash."
"Wait!" Rainbow cried, holding out a hand. "I didn't mean..."
Suddenly, Rainbow's eyes felt heavy and her body felt sluggish. "Dusty...wait..."
Rainbow pitched forward off the bench and crumpled into a heap on the ground.
Lightning Dust stood watching her. With a sigh, she walked over to Rainbow Dash, thrust her hand down the other girl's shirt, and stole the silver locket that hung around her neck. Pocketing it, she sprinted away.
Faint tears glimmered in her eyes as she ran off into the sunset.
* * * * *
A light, warm summer breeze rustled the leaves of bushes and trees. Overhead, in the dark curtain of night, a sliver of waxing moon cast its silver glow upon the haze of neon and pollution that clung to Pony City like a shroud.
Spike had been following Flash Sentry for almost an hour. At first, it seemed as though he was headed for the Ikkakujuu District on the north side of Pony City, but he'd suddenly changed course and headed for Hoshigusa Park.
The park was mostly deserted this time of night, save for the homeless camps in the northwest corner. Spike followed Flash to an empty section of the east side of the park, surrounded by trees and bushes, with a tranquil pond full of frogs off to one side. The frogs croaked quietly as the leaves rustled around them.
"I know you're there," Flash said suddenly. He turned, his eyes scanning the tree line. "You're not in the trees..." He frowned, his nose twitching. He snorted. "You sneaky bastard...you've been right behind me this whole time, haven't you? Drop whatever spell you're hiding behind and tell me what you want."
Spike frowned, but held his spell. Flash laughed. "Don't bother pretending you're not there. I can smell you."
Spike dropped his Indifference cloak and crossed his arms. "Hey, I took a bath today."
Flash snickered. "Coulda fooled me. So..." He frowned. "You're Twilight Sparkle's little brother, right? Spike, was it?"
"I'm Spike, yes," Spike said. "I'm not her little brother, though."
"But she said—" Flash blinked, then smirked. "Oh, so that's how it is." He grinned. "I smell it on you. Your testosterone levels...your adrenaline...you're radiating danger." He leered at Spike. "You couldn't make it any plainer if you pissed on her to mark her."
Spike took a step back. "What the...?" He shook his head. "You're sick!"
Flash shook his head. "Sorry, kid. You're way out of your league. Twilight wants a man, and you're just a kid." He crossed his arms. "Word of advice, kid. Stick to that pretty little bitch you were with at Jungle Land. Leave Twilight to the big dog." He turned his back...
The edge of a kunai landed on his throat. "What did you call Sweetie Belle?" Spike hissed dangerously.
Flash smirked. "I warned you."
Whatever happened next happened too fast for Spike to see.
When he woke up, it was past midnight, he was lying flat on his back in a completely deserted park, and he hurt all over.
Title card for this chapter:
Stats
Page generated in 0.027 seconds
Total duration
948 users online
570,949 hits today, 2,571,732 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Okay, now I'm a little more interested in Lightning because of that show of emotion.
5738402 I'm more interested in Sentry. Just what IS he?
Huh, interesting chapter. Nothing too big happened, other than Dust stealing Rainbow's locket and Flash's smell ability. And wow, Spike really doesn't like people badmouthing the ones he cares about, huh? That's nice.
Also, I do wonder who Vespia might be impersonating...
5738465 I currently harbor the thought that he's some kind of ninja. I'm starting to think he did something to Spike other than knock him around a bit.
We will see...
I'm still trying to figure out what Flash did, and also OoOoOoOo I think lightining dust kinda regrets what she did
What's up with Sentry? And could Dust have more feelings that she let's on?
5738465
5738505
5738557
5738560 There are hints as to what Flash is. If you're reading closely.
5738588 Smelling emotion, calling Sweetie a B*tch, talking about marking... Diamond Dog.
5738618 Yyyyyyyeah no. Try harder.
5738624 Hmm, so he's...The only other canine creature I can think of is the Timberwolf.
Ooh. Flash Sentry and Lighting Dust getting character development. Your work has pleased the Time Lords
5738588 I am not always good at figuring things if I am not familiar with them. I just think Flash is a non-human magical being.
5738642 Try thinking outside of the "must be from MLP" box.
Flash sounds like a dog demon, but I'm just spit-balling here.
So the Wasp Changeling replaced Polomare? Anyone else think that she might actually make her own clothes, unlike her first target?
Well, this is going to make things interesting....
Dang!
5738618 Keeping 5738725 in mind, I'm leaning towards Werewolf, myself. The only big issue with this I have is that the moon is explicitly Waxing instead of Full.
5738815 FINALLY someone got it! Flash's abilities aren't necessarily tied to the phases of the moon per se...more on that in future chapters.
I'm still not sure what flash is though, the only thing that comes to mind is a werewolf bc of the sense of smell, but for some reason the ending made me think he could freeze time....idk I'm probably wrong though
It wouldn't be the Loyalty arc without some betrayal. And the Shadowbolts have a new bargaining chip. Of course, that doesn't work all that well when you still suck at bargaining. We'll see how that goes.
Also, Flash Sentry appears to be the local equivalent of a Diamond Dog, or some similarly canine-themed entity. Interesting. Another ninja clan? Some chthonic entity of the deep darkness? Something similar to Starscream? Whatever he is, those ties to Luna or some other ominous "Her" make him bad news. Now, will Twilight listen to Spike, or will she dismiss his warnings as jealousy?
Oh shit. Flash, the Waifu Stealer emerges.
Sigh...any excuse to say waifu.
Mannnn.. Why do you ship FlashLight? It hurts. A lot. Anyway, great chapter.
So you do have a heart. Slipped her a sedative though.
Whoa whoa whoa! Low blow!
OK, whatever Flash is, he's strong enough to take on Spike so well he can't even defend himself, shit. Hm, Moon seems to be a factor, Werewolf maybe? Then why didn't he trans, oh, right, only transforms when the moon's full, never mind, unless it's a voluntary thing, I dunno.