Once More Unto the Breach
The group stepped out of the portal and into complete bedlam.
The moment they re-entered the human world, the girls were deafened by angry shouting and overwhelmed by the sheer multitude of people around them. They seemed to have emerged in the middle of a protest that was coming dangerously close to a riot.
“What’s going on?” Twilight had to shout to be heard over the crowd.
“Ya gotta ask?” Applejack yelled back. Indeed, the telltale green fog of negative energy was thick in the air; the sirens were feeding, or at least preparing to feed, although the three creatures themselves were nowhere in sight.
Sunset forced herself to focus and examine the situation. There seemed to be two sides to this conflict: an enormous group of adults near her and her friends, and on the other side, what looked to be nearly the entire student body of CHS, as well as most of the teachers and administrators. The group nearer to Sunset, many of whom she recognized as the parents and family members of Canterlot High students, were in an absolute uproar. Many were brandishing signs demanding that Canterlot High be closed down, and all were shouting about the unsafe conditions of the school.
“Two monster attacks in less than a year, and now this!” a woman screamed.
“Our children could have been killed!” someone else roared. The people had signs with vitriolic messages ranging from Math, not Magic! to CHS: Careless High School. From the various messages, Sunset gathered that the triggering event was their own mishap in the practice room last evening.
On the other side, the students were standing shoulder-to-shoulder, forming a human wall against the onslaught, protecting the school and the people they loved. It might almost have been beautiful, had they not been furiously screaming back at their parents and friends. The entire situation seemed ready to boil over into violence at any moment.
Sunset uneasily crossed her arms, unable to help feeling that this was at least partially her fault. CHS had been an ordinary high school before she stole Twilight’s crown. She had started all of this. Even now, her past actions were still being used to hurt people.
“We need to find the sirens!” Pinkie screamed through the noise. She pulled out her phone to see if Sonata had tried reaching out again, but had no new calls or messages. She hastily began composing a text, hoping against hope that one of the Dazzlings was still on her side.
“You’ll need your instruments first!” Twilight shouted back. “It’ll be no good if we find the Dazzlings and can’t use our magic!”
“They’re all inside the school,” Rainbow Dash yelled from right next to Twilight’s ear. “How are we supposed to get there?” Indeed, what amounted to two opposing armies stood between them and the doors of Canterlot High.
Star Swirl shook his head sadly. “A thousand years, and they haven’t changed a bit.” Though his voice was quiet, it carried easily through the cacophony.
“Don’t say that,” Fluttershy replied. “I just know we’ve made progress with them, but it’s not easy to turn your whole life around. Especially after a thousand years of acting a certain way.”
Star Swirl exhaled heavily. “For everypony’s sake, I hope you’re right,” he answered.
“Hey girls, up here!” Pinkie called. The group looked up to see that she had climbed onto the plinth of the Wondercolt statue, above and at least slightly removed from the near-riot. Fluttershy and Twilight needed a bit of help from the others, but soon the entire group except Star Swirl had joined her. It was a bit precarious, but at least they had a little breathing room.
“We need a plan,” Twilight said.
“I have an idea,” Sunset said quietly, “I’ll distract the crowd. You girls get to the school.”
“Sunset Shimmer,” Twilight said nervously, “what are you doing?”
“Just trust me,” Sunset said. “Don’t worry, I’ll jump back to Equestria if things get dicey. Go!” Sunset hissed, shoving Twilight none-too-gently. Once the others were safely out of the way, Sunset called out to the crowd. “Hey, everyone! Up here!” She waved her arms and did all she could to attract attention.
She had to shout several more times before anyone noticed her, but eventually murmurs of “Sunset Shimmer” rippled outward through the crowd, and more and more angry faces turned toward her. She was, after all, one of the very “monsters” that the people were protesting against.
Sunset climbed up a bit higher on the statue, out of easy reach. She just needed to hold out until the others got their instruments and used their harmonic magic to break the sirens’ hold again. As dozens of furious people swarmed the base of the Wondercolt statue, she really hoped that it would be that simple.
“This is crazy,” Applejack shouted as they pushed through the mass of people who were too busy raging at Sunset Shimmer to pay them any mind. “The Dazzlings have got almost the whole city at each others’ throats! Just how powerful can those three get?” she asked Star Swirl.
Star Swirl shook his head. “The way they’re using their magic, it will keep feeding into itself. They grow more powerful as they cause more trouble, and cause more trouble as they grow more powerful. Theoretically, there’s no limit to how much energy they can gather.”
“Are you sure Sunset’s going to be okay?” Rainbow asked.
“No,” Twilight said uncomfortably, looking back at the enraged crowd, “but she’s giving us a chance. We need to break this spell. Star Swirl, how are you doing?”
“Just fine, Miss Sparkle,” Star Swirl assured her. His robes and belled hat had mostly survived the transition, though they had reshaped themselves to his human body. His face was deeply lined but strong, and his magnificent white beard spread down across his chest almost to his belly. The old unicorn had taken to his human form with an ease that spoke of past experience.
After a minute or so they broke through the first group of people and found themselves face-to-face with hundreds of Canterlot High students and staff. Luckily, as the sirens appeared to have arranged this to be two large opposing groups, rather than many bickering individuals, the students recognized them as being on their “side” and let them join the lines. From there, it was an easy enough matter to get through the remaining people and run for the doors. With great relief, they shut themselves inside, blocking out much of the noise.
“This is bad,” Rainbow Dash panted as they all caught their breath. “They’re really pulling out all the stops this time.”
“Come on, Sunset Shimmer’s counting on us,” Twilight prompted the others. They took off at a run for the practice room and their instruments, and to their surprise even the aged Star Swirl kept pace. Although it was the middle of the week, the school was totally empty. Anyone who would normally be here for classes was outside taking part in one side or the other of the protest.
“What are we going to do?” Fluttershy asked.
“First things first, we need to break the sirens’ hold on those people outside,” Twilight panted. She skidded to a stop at the door to the practice room. “Then we’ll have to find the Dazzlings and do something about them.”
“Leave that to me,” Star Swirl said grimly.
The door to the practice room was blocked off by yellow police tape, which Twilight hastily tore away. She pushed open the door and gasped.
The inside of the practice room was a complete wreck. There wasn’t a single piece of furniture unbroken, nor any flat surface that was not cracked and scorched. The eruption of dark magic had spared nothing.
Not even their instruments.
Twilight sank weakly to the ground. “No,” she croaked.
“Ah don’t believe it,” Applejack whispered. “How could we have forgotten that our instruments got wrecked in the blast?”
“The dark magic interfered with your thought processes,” Twilight said dully, her mouth running on autopilot. “It would be hard to remember any details from when it happened.”
“Now what do we do?” Fluttershy whimpered, thinking of Sunset Shimmer alone in the midst of the mob, risking her life in the belief that her friends would save her.
“Are there extras in the storage room?” Twilight asked. Even as she asked, she knew the answer was no. She and Sunset had been in there just yesterday, and there hadn’t been anything that could help them now.
Pinkie’s phone buzzed. Her heart leaped, then sank into her belly as she read the message from Sonata.
You shouldn’t have come here. Aria and Adagio think you’re all dead. You’re safe. Please don’t get in their way.
Pinkie’s fists clenched and her shoulders shook. She had no idea what she was feeling. It was some combination of sadness and burning anger that she was entirely unfamiliar with, and she had no idea what to do with it. All she knew was that they had to do something.
“Then we’ll just have to face the sirens without them,” Pinkie said. “Right now, the only way to save everyone is to beat the Dazzlings again.”
“You sounded like you had some sort of plan,” Rarity said to Star Swirl. “Care to fill us in?”
Star Swirl stroked his beard. “Not to sound arrogant, but I don’t think that you could help me. There’s Equestrian magic leaking into this world, presumably through the portal. I plan to tap into it and use it against Adagio, Aria, and Sonata.”
“You can do that?” Twilight asked, thunderstruck.
“Certainly. What do you think you’re all doing when you play your music? Ideally, I would like to subdue the three of them and bring them back to Equestria with me.”
“No, you can’t!” Pinkie cried.
Star Swirl was puzzled by her reaction. “They are my responsibility, and I will deal with them,” he said soothingly. “You girls have done very well, but this should never have fallen to you in the first place. I am sorry for that.”
“But… but…” Pinkie thought desperately, but she could muster no rational argument. Rarity laid a caring hand on her shoulder, but Pinkie shrugged it off. “Alright,” she said. “Then let’s go find them.”
If the others thought that Pinkie’s abrupt shift in attitude was strange, they didn’t comment on it. As for Pinkie, she didn’t care what that old goat of a unicorn said. There was no way she was giving up on Sonata and her sisters.
This was a really, really bad idea.
Sunset had been glad to see her friends and Star Swirl pass safely through the distracted crowd, but now she prayed that they would hurry. People were swarming the statue, and her way back to Equestria was blocked by the throng. No one had tried climbing the statue to physically attack her—yet—but the threats and insults being hurled her way hurt nearly as much.
She told herself over and over that they didn’t really mean what they were saying, that they were being controlled by dark magic, but it couldn’t stop her stomach from twisting or her eyes from burning. She couldn’t afford to surrender to the negative emotions, either, or she would add her own Equestrian power to the sirens’ food supply.
That’s right, Sunset thought, clinging to the statue for support, keep your eyes on me. Don’t pay attention to the others. Oh, if I get out of this alive, they all owe me so many slices of pizza!
Sunset screamed and pulled her legs up higher as someone reached for her. If I get out of this alive… For the first time it occurred to her that she might not, and she suddenly felt sick with terror. Her stomach was clenching, her teeth were chattering, and, incongruously, her ears were itching. Perhaps itching wasn’t even the proper word for it, there was just a mildly unpleasant sensation in her inner ears. Some small part of her wondered what could be causing it.
Through her slitted, tearing eyes, Sunset noticed that the incredible amount of negative energy around the mob was being pulled up into the air. She followed its path upward to three almost-human figures hovering far above, nearly out of sight. Their arms were spread and moving in sync, as the Dazzlings did while singing, but no audible sound was coming from them.
Sunset rubbed her ear and realized what was happening. The sirens were singing at a pitch that humans couldn’t hear, drawing in the energy without being spotted. Whatever the reason, they were being more cautious this time around.
Sunset whimpered and pulled herself up a few inches more, away from the mob’s reaching hands. It would take an acrobatic feat worthy of Pinkie Pie for her to climb any higher up the smooth statue. She held desperately to the Wondercolt’s leg and trembled. Where were the others? Please hurry.
“Look, Adagio.” Aria had realized that their angry mob had shifted its focus. Following their attention, she spotted a familiar red-and-gold mass of hair clinging to the horse statue in front of the school. “There,” she pointed.
“Well, would you look at that,” Adagio murmured, hovering next to Aria, her translucent wings moving slowly. “One of them got away. Figures it would be her.”
“So what?” Sonata did her best to match her sisters’ nonchalance. “One Rainboom is no threat. She doesn’t matter.”
“She won’t matter to anyone if this crowd gets their way,” Aria chuckled darkly. “What do you say, Adagio? Should we give them a ‘push?’”
Adagio opened her mouth with every intention of saying yes. Spurring the mob on to tear Sunset Shimmer limb from limb—maybe literally—was the logical choice. As she tried to give the order, though, she remembered how hard Sunset and the others had worked to save them, and how kind and understanding Fluttershy had been while speaking with her. Something in her chest twinged.
“No,” Adagio drawled. “Sonata’s right, there’s nothing that little girl can do on her own. Besides, she’s certainly helping these people put out negative energy, isn’t she?” That was logical too, wasn’t it? With all the bad feelings she sparked in those around her, it made more sense to leave Sunset Shimmer alive. That was it.
“Ugh, I guess so,” Aria sighed. “Still, don’t you want some payback for what she did to us?”
“We can’t afford to waste the magic on her,” Sonata argued. “We need everything we can get if we’re going for Equestria.”
Adagio and Aria shared a surprised glance. “When did you become smart, anyway?” Adagio asked.
Sonata folded her hands behind her back and smiled innocently. She felt like she had ice water flowing through her veins. If Sunset were still here, and calling attention to herself, that meant that the others had ignored her warning. They were still planning to try something. Unseen by her sisters, Sonata’s hands were clenched and shaking. “What’s the next move, Adagio?”
“Now we change our tune a bit,” Adagio smirked. “We need these people to find the portal for us.”
“Since someone didn’t think to look and see where she was getting dragged off to,” Aria jabbed at Sonata.
Sonata winced. She hadn’t been able to resist peeking, and she knew exactly where the portal was. The others couldn’t know that they were hovering almost directly above it.
“We’ll tell them that all of this trouble started with the portal,” Adagio instructed. “We convince them that they need to find it and seal it off so that no more ‘monsters’ come through.”
“Wait, seal it off?” Sonata asked, stalling for time.
“Gah, obviously we won’t actually let them seal it off,” Adagio snapped. “Now get to work!”
Twilight and the others re-emerged from the school, their minds racing as they tried to think of a way to combat the sirens’ magic without their music. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as she spotted Sunset, who was no doubt terrified but still okay.
“Something’s happening,” Rarity observed. “They’re moving away from Sunset Shimmer.”
The faint sound of singing drifted down to them, causing the girls to gasp and look around. As always with the sirens’ magic, it seemed to come from everywhere at once, fully-composed and complete with instrumentals. There was no way of knowing where it was coming from, but the sirens were nearby.
“Now what?” Fluttershy whimpered.
“Check it out,” Rainbow said, “it’s like they’re looking for something.”
“Listen to what the sirens are saying,” Twilight said. The lyrics were too faint to hear them all, but the message was clear. The song was blaming Equestria for all of the school’s recent troubles.
“They want these people to find the portal for them,” Rarity realized.
“That won’t take long,” Twilight replied, “it’s not exactly well-hidden while it’s open. Let’s get Sunset Shimmer and come up with a plan, and maybe try to direct the people away from the statue while we’re at it.”
With the mob of people now driven toward a new goal, making their way back to the statue was easy. Sunset quickly spotted her friends and hopped down to the ground to join them.
“Sunset, are you okay?” Twilight asked, gripping Sunset’s wrist. The poor girl was shaking where she stood.
“F-fine,” Sunset answered, her voice trembling. She swallowed and took a deep breath. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure, dear?” Rarity asked concernedly. She certainly didn’t look fine.
“I can have a meltdown later,” Sunset said tersely, “right now we have bigger problems.” She pointed up into the sky, where she’d spotted the sirens earlier.
The girls followed her finger and their eyes widened. The Dazzlings were in their half-siren forms, proving that the power they’d absorbed from the Rainboom’s song had restored a good portion of their previous strength. The Rainbooms, meanwhile, were powerless. They were in a lot of trouble.
At almost the same time as Sunset Shimmer was pointing them out, the sirens noticed that something was amiss down on the ground.
“What’s with them?” Adagio pointed to a small group clustered near the base of the horse statue who didn’t seem to be searching for anything. One of them had Sunset Shimmer’s unmistakable red-and-gold hair, and another…
“No,” Aria growled. She squinted, and Rainbow Dash’s prismatic hair came into focus. “They should be dead!”
“Who’s the geezer?” Sonata asked. She hoped her face wasn’t turning visibly green.
Adagio gasped. “Even after a thousand years, I’d know that ridiculous hat anywhere,” she said through gritted teeth. “Star Swirl the Bearded. He should have died centuries ago.”
To the others’ shock, Aria started to laugh. “Star Swirl the Bearded?” she asked incredulously. “Even if it is him, what do they think he’s going to be able to do in this world?”
“We underestimated him once,” Adagio reminded her. “That’s how we wound up here in the first place.”
Aria’s laughter stopped and she glared down toward the ground. “No more mistakes, then,” she said coldly. “No more underestimating them, and no more assuming we’ve won. We hit them now, and we hit them hard, and we don’t stop until we know for sure that they’re all dead.”
“Dead?” Sonata squeaked.
“Dead,” Aria confirmed. “You with me, Adagio?”
Adagio grimaced and forced down the rising feeling of uncertainty in her stomach. “I’m with you.”
Aria and Adagio swooped toward the ground, leaving Sonata with no choice but to follow after them. Sonata’s throat constricted and her chest tightened as she raced to do battle with the people she loved.
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Oh man, this chapter was amazing! Good to see Aria's taking things seriously now. No more gloating, no more hiding their hand. Here's hoping she keeps that up and doesn't monologue for them and just goes for the kill.
Don't get me wrong, I hope she fails, but there are so few villains that really do just go for the throat, instead of those who taunt in battle and give the opponent a fighting chance. Most villains say 'Tell me why I shouldn't shoot you' and I really like the ones that just shoot.
Damn...
That's all I have to say about this particular chapter.
Well that and it's great to see Starswirl being an actual character instead of a legendary myth long lost to us...
Now the question becomes: will Aria back down in the wake of Adagio's inevitable change of heart?
DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!!! COme on Sonata, come on Adagio, don't be evil, you got this, you can save people...
I don't think Aria would though...
Pinkie, give me the knife, I need to stab Aria for a sec.
Sonata may have to withdraw
When Adiago and Sonato come around, I doubt Aria will last 10 seconds.
5401910
Just shooting is great! My favorite villain ever was probably Diaboromon from the digimon movie cause he just up and shot them mid transformation sequence.
5402071
Also, that was the whole point of the character of Scott from Austin Powers. When Dr. Evil had Austin at his mercy, he said "What, are you feeding him? Why don't you just kill him? I mean, I'll go get a gun, we'll shoot him together. It'll be fun! BANG! Dead. Done."
5402106
Anyone doing something like that always gets major villian cred points from me.
The parents have all rights to be upset, but I wonder why the students protest? I though kids were supposed to hate school.
5401910
what about shooting and then dropping a one-liner? that's even better than just shooting.
5402266 Ah yes, the Evil Dead / Duke Nukem approach. I'm a fan of that as well.
5402259 Yeah, we hate school. But we love our little cliques. Losing that school would mean breaking up the groups to different schools.
Sonata, spineless bitch.
5402351 Cause I'm sure you'd stand up to the two people who've been your sisters for 1000 years in an unfamiliar place, one of whom has just expressed murderous intent.
5402357 outside of the murderous intent and one thousand year relationship? yeah, i would. i've done it a couple of times. once in florida, and another down in Texas.
5402374 So... if you would stand up to someone under different circumstances than the one Sonata's under, then what ground do you have to call her spineless?
This next chapter shall be interesting.:D
5402374 I'd do it with the murderous intent and thousand year relationship. Thing is, I would never be in that situation in the first place because I would have ditched them forever ago. Anybody who has the backbone to stand up there wouldn't have put up with a thousand years of their crap at all.
5402328 I can see that.
I saw the chapter tite and immediately thought of "Dear Brother" by Puscifer.
>two characters speaking on the same line
>eye twitches
Aside from that, pretty good stuff. Looking forward to what appears to be the upcoming climax.
I hope Sonata betrays her sisters
Yea, I mean, they are evil and such.... maybe it's just my headcanon but really don't think that Adagio can make her arms dirty
5403454 If she does, Adagio better do so with her.
C'Mon Adagio, you know it isn't right. Speak up and end it; Aria has yet to show any real inclination to object to your orders. Tell her to stand down, and she likely will.
5403068 Ah, yes. That's what is known in the biz as a "typo." Thanks for the catch.
5402750 Not familiar with the song (or the band, really), but it looks like they used the same Shakespeare quote as I did.
Can't blame them, it's a good one!
5404749 Ehhh, conventions, festivals, I forget what they called it. At any rate, see: Three's a Crowd.
they all owe me so many slices of pizza!
I wonder how they're going to react if they catch wind that Star Swirl created them Sonata is wonderful. that is all
What is this darkness?!