August 5, AM: Hot Fun in the Summertime
Sunset couldn’t sleep that night.
She wasn’t sure why; it was raining, and the steady patter of the rain was something that she’d always loved. She’d loved it as a filly sleeping next to Princess Celestia, she’d loved it as a teenaged mare studying for her future, and it had been one of the few comforts she’d had while living in the abandoned warehouse while plotting her eventual conquering of the universe. It was something she loved, and now, next to two of of the people on this earth that she loved so much, she could hear the steady beat of the rain coming. It had been her personal nighttime serenade for so many years, and as she lay besides the gently dozing Twilight and Octavia, things should be right and perfect, should they not?
Getting up from the bed, something told her otherwise. She wasn’t sure if it was what humans called their “sixth sense”, or her unicorn’s sense of magical intuition. But something told her that the precipitation was unnatural. Sure, there was a logical, scientific reason behind it: it was part of Hurricane Everblue as it made its way up the California coast. But that was just it: Hurricane Everblue, by everything she’d noted, wasn’t anything that could be considered a normal element of nature. For starters, it was something more akin to the east coast of the US than the west; the waters of the northern Pacific Ocean were far too cold for a storm to be able to operate as it did. Secondly, even discounting the above, the geography of the continental shelf prevented such storms from occurring. There were only two recorded storms that had hit the California coast – Long Beach in 1939 and San Diego in 1958 – so any kind of cyclonic storm in California waters would be big news.
And yet Hurricane Everblue had chewed through most of California in the past few days, and was expected to make landfall and break up somewhere in the southern Oregon forests. That’s what the current records had predicted, but everything about this storm was wrong.
Sunset grabbed her laptop and headed downstairs for some research. Maybe if she just read about freakish things like this being happenstance somewhere else in this world she now called home, she could feel more at ease about it.
“Sunny, what are you doing up?” Seated at the kitchen table over a laptop and papers and drinking from both coffee and something that was decidedly not coffee, was Twilight Velvet. “Sweetheart, it’s three in the morning. You sure you want to be up?”
Sunset sat down and gave her mother a smile. “I could say the same about you.”
“Touche,” Velvet said with a hint of a smile. “Unfortunately, I’m looking over the security measures for our social services. Given the fact that we’re one of the largest counties in the state, you can imagine how many children we have in a fostering situation...certain fire-haired girls notwithstanding. What scares me is that our previous standards, which were good enough in the past, are antiquated compared to some of the southern counties, like Los Angeles or Orange.” She groaned, slapping a hand on a small pile of documents. “I’m lucky my predecessor retired – he’d have been excoriated by some of the things I’m reading now, and while the media might give me a pass on this, it’s only a matter of time until some of the local politicos decide to rake me over the coals.” She reached over to the bottle of cinnamon whiskey and poured some in her coffee. “Want some?”
Sunset blinked at that. “Um, Mom….”
Velvet giggled. “One, I’m sure I can count on you to not tell County Social Services that your foster- and soon-to-be adoptive mother gave you alcohol. Two, we’re at home, so it’s borderline legal due to privacy reasons, at least from that standpoint. And three, I trust you, Sunny. Frankly, sometimes you act like you’re older than Cady.”
“In that case, sure,” Sunset said, setting down her laptop and grabbing a mug from the cupboard. Pouring some coffee, she sat down next to Velvet, who poured in a bigger dose than she’d poured for herself.
“Careful, this shit’s potent,” Velvet cautioned.
Sunset laughed. “First drinking, now swearing? Are you trying to be a reverse role model?”
Velvet gave her daughter a loaded look. “Says the girl who’s already sexually versed, has been blackmailing people for years, and was an all-around terror? Sunny, you hardly need any practice from me. If anything, I’m glad that you’ve been able to get your sister and your cousin to relax a little more – sometimes I think they’ve got too much of your father’s family in them.” A thoughtful look crossed her face as she admitted, “Then again, given my behavior when I was your age and older, maybe that might not be too much of a bad thing at all.”
“Oh, how so?” Sunset closed her laptop and listened. In the past, she’d pay attention to every detail, in order to make sure she got the good blackmail material. Now, she just wanted to know more about this wonderful woman she now called her mother – well that and to maybe get a little bit of blackmail material, but she figured that Velvet was smart enough to keep the really good stuff hidden.
“Well, I’m sure you’ve heard about all the stuff that Tia and I did in high school, or how Luna spent four years trying to catch up. Then when we were at college, it was that all over again. While it didn’t cause Tia and Lu to go to blows like they did in the past, the effect of Tia’s previous relationship and the impact of Luna wanting to grow up a little too fast didn’t help either. I’m not going to go into detail because they do deserve their privacy and they are your teachers, but let’s just say that when you’re in your early twenties, drunk as hell and in a wet t-shirt contest your mother won’t hold it against you because she knows that all too well.”
Sunset drank the mixed coffee and whiskey; the bite of the cinnamon was sharp and masked the alcohol well. Seeing the even look on her face, Velvet asked, “I want the truth, Sunny, and obviously you won’t get in trouble: how much experience in life do you have? How much have you been hurt by your previous, uh, ‘caretaker’? And why don’t you feel that you can trust me enough to tell me?” Sunset looked at her, shocked. How could Velvet even think that Sunset didn’t trust her? However, the older woman explained. “You never talk about your past, like you’re deliberately hiding it. You’ve been living with us for nearly a year now, and you should know that we love you, Sunny. You are a part of this family and we will always be here for you. You have no need to hide anymore, not from those who love you.”
Sunset wasn’t sure of what to say. She couldn’t tell her everything, not yet – not until there was a way for her to explain without her family running into trouble. And to tell her everything she did since her arrival on Earth would still make things look woefully incomplete. Plus, what she had told them before, about a mentor that had picked her up practically out of nowhere wasn’t exactly a lie but without verifiable information was virtually indistinguishable from one. She found herself in the same trap she always was: afraid to lie to the people she loved, but unable to tell them the truth because it was so outlandish and dangerous.
“I had my first real alcoholic experience when I was thirteen years old.” It had been true in both senses of the word. As a filly, she had been given the wrong kind of apple cider at a palace celebration; Celestia had nursed the drunken Sunset back to sobriety and then had to explain what had happened to her. As a young human teenager, she’d gone to a party where alcoholic drinks had been served; it had been at Flash Sentry’s house and unsurprisingly, his parents weren’t home. She later found out that it was part of his plan to bed her even back then, but it could also be argued that Flash was beyond hope even at that age. “It was also the same night I lost my virginity.
“Look, you know I haven’t had it easy, and that it took me a long time to trust people, not to mention acting like a normal person. But it’s not because I don’t trust any of you – I don’t think I could have had any better of a life if it wasn’t for you all. And Twily and Tavi mean the world to me – having two people that I can always share my life with means everything. I just…I just don’t want you to think ill of me.” That much was true. Sunset would never want to hurt her loved ones if it was the last thing she did on this world.
Velvet, realizing she wasn’t going to get anywhere at the moment, changed tacks. “So, again we get to the question: what are you doing up so late?”
Sunset finished off her drink, then told her, “Couldn’t sleep. Plus, I wanted to know how much the hurricane will affect Twily’s birthday. This is important for her, and all our friends are coming, so I don’t want it to be ruined.”
A soft smile came over Velvet’s countenance. “Are you and Tavi ready for this?”
“As much as we can be,” Sunset admitted. “Tavi’s taking her out to breakfast while Pinkie comes over to help with the decorations. Everyone should be here by about two in the afternoon.”
“Okay, that should be plenty of time for the Fire Department to prepare.”
“Mom….”
“Just kidding, sweetheart. Now go get some sleep and worry about it in the morning, okay?”
“Uh, you just poured me some whiskey and coffee. I’m going to be wired for a while.”
“No, you just had whiskey and decaf. Trust me, I’d like to get some sleep as well,” Velvet said with a wink. “So get upstairs and get some sleep, young lady.”
Sunset grinned, then got up and kissed her mother on the cheek. “Okay, I know when I’m beat. Night, Mom.”
“Pleasant dreams, sweetheart.”
“Bored,” Medley Trance said to no one in particular. “I need to be entertained!”
“Med, shut up!” Contralto hissed. “I’m trying to sleep!”
“Well, you could sl—”
“Finish that sentence and you’ll have watchstanding duties every evening we’re not on a field op, understand?”
“But Alto!”
“That’s an order, Med.”
Medley sighed. “Fine, fine. I’ll just go outside and play with myself in the rain. Then if I get sick, I can say it’s your fault because you didn’t play with me.”
“Whatever,” Contralto mumbled. “I’m not sure we can get sick anyway.”
Frustrated, Medley slipped on a t-shirt and gym shorts then headed to the door. Taking the time to flip off Contralto – who probably didn’t see anything because she’d drifted back off to sleep – she stepped out into the rain. It was warm and soft, like a lover’s kiss, and that only frustrated Medley all the more; it had been at least a couple of days since her last fun, and the SIREN she’d been with only agreed to it since her girlfriend had been on duty that night. Medley smiled; if only Petty Officer Smoke had known Medley had slept with her partner the night before.
She walked away from the barracks, down into the central courtyard of the facility. Still surrounded by construction equipment and the appearance of something being built above ground, the truth was that the subterranean complex was nearly complete and ready for full operations. Once finished, the new SIREN base would be impregnable to anything short of a full nuclear strike, and anyone intending to raid it would be dead before they even reached the second level.
Medley had stopped in the middle of the courtyard, to see another woman, lying down on a towel, letting the rain fall on her. She was gorgeous, and Medley found that she couldn’t take her eyes off the woman’s curves; she was wearing gym gear that left almost nothing to the imagination, from the soaked white t-shirt sans bra, to the hints of black, lacy underwear that partially showed through the gray of the RCN gym shorts. With the water pooling around her, she looked a lot like the famous image of Ophelia lying in the river as she drowned, and something about that turned Medley on fierce.
Still, she knew this woman and had to be polite. “Fancy meeting you out here, Lt. Spike.”
Lieutenant Sonnerie Spike, leader of the SIREN Team Two, grinned without opening her eyes, her chiffon-pink hair framing her honey-brown skin and soft reddish-orange eyes. “You like what you see, Seaman Trance?” Medley didn’t say a word, but she didn’t have to; the fact that she stood there in the rain, over the lieutenant, said it all.
Sonnerie opened a delicate eye and grinned brashley. “I’ve had my eye on you, Seaman Trance...or is it Medley? Do you know how...unfair...it is, watching you enlisted girls having all the fun and me being the lone officer? Unattached? Unentertained?” She sat up, the rain flowing down every curve of her body, caressing it, practically worshipping it. “Am I so unsightly that I can’t have anyone of my own, Medley?”
“I….” Medley’s earlier interest turned into an acute need. “No, ma’am—”
“You can call me Sonnerie, or just Rie….” She then ran a delicate finger across her lips, licking it with the desire of someone who knew exactly what she wanted. “Or is there something else you wanted to call me?” She stood up, letting Medley have a full view of her feminine bounty. “Too bad there are those fraternization rules preventing enlisted and officers from, well…‘fraternizing.’”
A pout came to Medley’s face, one she didn’t even know she had, but Sonnerie just giggled and said, “However...you and I are both seduction specialists, correct? We have to be, in order to get the information we need. But...those skills get rusty if they’re not used, don’t you agree?” Medley nodded, almost as if an involuntary motion, her body on automatic, her mind entirely focused on the sexual being in front of her.
Sonnerie bent down to whisper in Medley’s ear, “Seaman Trance, I am out of practice. And as an officer, that just won’t do. So, I request – no, I order you to assist me in getting up to speed.” She sealed the deal with a gentle nip on the girl’s ear, and said, “Now, if you follow me, I know just the place where we can practice unimpeded...set the place up just for my needs, you know?” Sonnerie ran her hands down the front of Medley’s shirt, then stopped just at the drawstrings of her shorts. “Would you like me to repeat that order?”
“No, Sonnerie,” Medley said, a wild smile coming onto her face. Maybe this night won’t be as bad as I thought. “Shall we?”
“Oh, yes we shall,” Sonnerie sighed huskily. She could feel herself getting wet over the thought, and it wasn’t due to the rain. “We’re going to make this a day to remember, Medley,” she said, just before her lips touched Medley’s.
There weren’t too many things Sandalwood liked, he told himself. For starters, being a boy with a name that was originally male but mostly used by females, didn’t help much – that was his mother’s fault, he knew. Secondly, he loved having his grass-green hair in thick, ropy dreadlocks – until Jungle Beat sported the same hairstyle, and he took shit for that. Lastly, most of the student body at CHS thought he was gay, because he was one of the very few boys in the school who wasn’t in a relationship and hadn’t been a member of The Club. Of course, the truth had been far more nuanced than that.
For starters, he could proudly say that he was one of the few with an alibi; granted, he was still kind of miffed that Cloud Kicker had moved away, but supposedly she’d found true love...and given that she’d once admitted to him that she might have made their affections more permanent if it wasn’t for the fact that she’d fallen in love with Vinyl Scratch. Sandalwood found that to be bullshit; he didn’t think Cloud was the kind of girl who could love anyone.
“Heya, Woody,” a voice rang out. Sandalwood turned to see his father, Proposed Idea, walk into the room. “Got those pancakes done, son?”
“Yeah, sure thing, Dad,” the boy said, expertly sliding some pancakes off the griddle onto a nearby plate. “So, how long are you going to be gone?”
“Should be gone for about a week; two tops,” the man said. “Going to meet with some fundraisers. If I’m going to run against Quorum Call in the next election, I need to be at the top of my game, and for starters that means meeting with these folks.”
“Plus, the wives will need to be entertained, and that’s where I come in.” Into the kitchen came his stepmother, Sweet Pastry. An elegant and refined woman, Pastry had been the one to make his father happy after the divorce. Besides, it had been years since he’d seen his real mother since she moved to Seattle, and though he kept in contact, it had been Pastry that had been a help.
Sandalwood set the plates on the table in front of his father, his stepmother, and his own spot. He then went over to make a fourth batch. After all, the last person in the house hadn’t gotten up yet.
Then there was a yawn, and a voluptuous girl wearing nothing but a long t-shirt and underwear wandered into the kitchen, headed straight for the coffee. As she was not wearing a bra and had on lacy underwear, she may as well have been undressed.
“Coffee? What did I say about coming to the table dressed like that?” Pastry asked.
“Oh, this shit’s good,” she said as she drank from her coffee mug, pointedly ignoring the woman. She reached over and patted Woody on the shoulder. “Good job, little bro.”
“Thanks,” Sandalwood said, blushing.
“Coffee Cream, I asked you a question,” Pastry said.
“Mom, I swear it’s probably nothing Idea or Woody haven’t seen via porn or in real life. Besides, I’m 23; I’m fuckable and I get to flaunt it.” She sat down at the table, looking at her mother and stepfather. “Besides, we’re family, right?”
Pastry sighed. “Dear, you know Idea is running for office, and your behavior could be problematic for the campaign. You know that someone like Senator Quorum Call will use anything he can find to attack him.”
She rolled her eyes. “Mom, I’m studying pre-med. If they’re going to pick on a college student, you guys can easily say that the Call campaign goes after families and has no sense of dignity. Trust me, the public’ll eat it up.” She turned to Sandalwood. “What do you think, bro?”
Sandalwood looked flustered. “I guess,” was all he said.
The family ate in relative silence, with the morning radio playing on, delivering the day’s news. Finally, Idea finished eating and looked at his watch. “We’d better get going, sweetie,” he told Pastry. “Our flight leaves in an hour, and the taxi should be here any minute.” The minute he finished his words, a horn sounded outside. Both adults got up.
“You guys going to be okay?” Idea asked.
“Eh, we’ll be fine,” Coffee assured her stepfather, giving him a genuine smile. “It’ll be great to spend time with Woody, just me and my little bro.” She reached over and put an arm around him.
“Okay, but remember what I said, Coffee,” Pastry told her daughter. She gave both her daughter and her stepson pecks on the cheek and said, “We’ll bring you back some souvenirs from Boston.”
“You do that,” Coffee commented with a wink, watching as they grabbed their bags and headed out the door.
Walking to the taxi, Pastry said, “You know, despite the fact that Coffee cannot behave herself at times – I blame my ex for that – she really does love Woody. He’s the little brother she always wanted, I guess.”
Idea nodded as the pair reached the taxi. “I know, and I’m glad. I just hope that she doesn’t get jealous when her little brother finally finds himself a girlfriend.”
Sandalwood and Coffee continued to eat their breakfast in silence. Finally, he picked up the dishes from the table, then put them in the sink and began to wash them. Strangely enough, he felt relaxed – relaxed and yet excited for what was to come next. A second later he felt arms slither around his waist and voice whisper in his ear, “They’re gone. We can relax now.”
Sandalwood turned to kiss Coffee, the action long and deep until both were breathless. “You don’t know how much I’ve missed that,” he told her.
She smiled and ran a finger across his chin. “I’ve missed you, too.” The two then kissed once more, the actions and emotions of two lovers who had been together for years, which wasn’t off the mark. After all, their relationship had started three years ago when Sandalwood had just started puberty and exploring his body, and Coffee came home, half-drunk and walked in on him in the shower. As they were both home while their parents were on vacation, the two talked, smoked some weed, got a little drunk and the next morning found themselves in the same bed, horrified to realize that they’d given each other their virginity that night – the twenty-year-old woman and the thirteen-year-old boy. They slept alone in separate beds the next night, but talked about it the next day over some fine bud and booze, and upon that moment, an agreement was reached: in public, they’d be step-siblings. When they were alone together, however, they became a pair very much in love.
Even now, they had discussed their future as of late: Sandalwood intended to do his college years in Rhode Island, the only state in the union that would allow their relationship to be. Likewise, Coffee intended to intern there as well, and once all went fine, they would make their relationship permanent. At this point, the seven years of difference between the two were unimportant to them, and now that he was sixteen, he was well at the age of consent. And to the beautiful girl in his arms, this wasn’t Coffee Cream, his stepsister. Right now, that person didn’t exist. This was Coffee Cream, his long-time girlfriend, and the girl he wanted to marry as much as she wanted him.
She broke off from the kiss, albeit reluctantly. “As much as I want to continue this, Woody, unfortunately I have a tutoring session with Emerald Blaze in a couple of hours.”
“So you’re saying you don’t have time for me?” He kissed her on the neck, tracing a path down. She sighed in pleasure, her body shuddering with delight.
“You know you’re the only man I could ever love,” she told him, looking him right in the eyes.
“You know you’re the woman I intend to marry,” he told her, kissing her on the neck. His hands went down, then under her shirt, removing it.
“So, your bedroom or mine?” he asked.
“The guest bedroom,” she breathed. “For the next week or two, it’ll be our bedroom.” Slipping off her remaining clothing, she allowed him to pick her up and carry them across the house, headed towards the stairs, the guest room, and utter ecstasy.
“You’re being quiet,” Twilight said to Octavia as both sat, looking over their breakfast menus. As her part of the plan to keep Twilight out of everyone’s hair while they prepared for the birthday party, Octavia was dragging her cousin all over the place. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, sorry, just thinking about Sunny,” Octavia answered.
“I know. I’m kinda worried about her, too. You should’ve been there yesterday: Rose was very unstable and yet Sunny went in to try to help anyway. Rose’s girlfriend Berry told me that Rose tried to hit on Sunny and didn’t know that Sunny’s straight; even still after she carries a torch. And then Berry told me that Rose was going to make a pass at Sunny again, but Berry wasn’t worried because Sunny’s...well, you know.”
The teen musician sighed. “Can you explain to me why every one of our friends that we met through Sunny is certifiable? There’s the triplets, who were here and gone; Lyra, who seems to think that unicorns are actually real; Trixie, who acts like Fluttershy when she’s not talking in the third person like some ego-tripping athlete from hell; and now these two. Plus that lunatic in San Fran – Sweet Pea? Oh, and don’t get me started on Pinkie!”
“That’s not nice, Tavi,” Twilight admonished. “We just happen to know a lot of...unique people, is all.”
“No, unique is Chammie and Fleur – and don’t get me wrong, I like them. Who we know is clearly classified as weird.”
“Tavi, what’s wrong?” Twilight said that so clearly that her cousin focused on her, violet eyes to violet, almost not noticing the waiter as he arrived. They both quickly gave their orders, and as the waiter wandered off, Twilight began again. “This isn’t like you. I’ve never known you to really say anything bad about anyone, Blueblood and Vinyl Scratch being the exceptions.”
“I….” Octavia paused in mid-speech. Instead, she spooned more sugar into her coffee, drank, then set it down and did a breathing technique that Cadance had taught them both a long time ago: inhaling as she brought her forearm close, then moving it back as she exhaled.
“Okay, I haven’t seen you do that in years,” Twilight told her. “You’re worrying me.”
“Twily...do you love me still?” Octavia asked.
Twilight blinked, took a drink of her own coffee, then blinked again. “What kind of question is that? You are my cousin, my best friend and have been as much a sister to me as Cady has for my whole life! Of course I love you, Tavi – I can’t believe you’re even asking that! What the heck brought this on?”
“I remember this girl who was shy and always used to rely on me for help. I don’t see her anymore. Now I see a girl, brilliant and fierce, able to stand on her own two feet...and doesn’t need me.” She then looked out the window of the restaurant as she added, “I used to feel like the one who was always there when you needed me. Now I feel like the one left behind.”
“That’s a lie and you know it. Yes, like I told you before, Sunny’s been an influence on both of us – you and me. And we’ve been an influence on her as well...you were just talking to her yesterday, weren’t you?” Twilight reached over and took her cousin’s hands in her own. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t need you anymore. It’s never going to mean that. You and I grew up together – we’ve spent practically all our lives together. You are just as much my best friend and sister as you are my cousin, Tavi.
“I know it’s been a lot of change dumped on all of us this past year. But things are going to stabilize soon. And it’s not as though you’re alone. You have a family that loves you and is always there for you. We’re not giving up on you, Tavi, just because Sunny’s in the picture. Don’t ever think that, okay?”
Octavia’s smile seemed sincere, but the truth of it was, she wasn’t sure if it ever could be. And part of her mind repeatedly told her that it was all the fault of one person and one person alone: Sunset Shimmer. The family fraudster. The cousin coveter. The sister stealer.
Within her heart, a part of Octavia knew it wasn’t true and tried to stick up for the soon-to-be-adopted cousin she cared about so much. But within the deepest recesses of her soul, a dark, bitter flame built, one that hungered and threatened to snuff out any light, and could only be sated by blood.
The blood of Sunset Shimmer.
“I cannot believe this!” Sunset fumed.
“Sunset, dear, please calm down,” Rarity pled. “I know this is important to you – it’s important to all of us – but it is unfair of you to blame Pinkie for having a last-minute medical appointment!”
Sunset sighed. “Yeah, I know. Sorry.” Sunset recalled the incident, a mere thirty minutes ago, when an angry and sullen Pinkie Pie showed up, apologizing that she couldn’t come back until later, because she ran out of her prescription and she had an appointment today to get her dose adjusted. Given that Sunset hadn’t even known she was on meds, it came as a surprise.
Rarity nodded. “I don’t think I’m the one you need to apologize to, but...I understand. I know that Pinkie tells everyone that she’s been cured of her maladies, but she’s only confided to her closest friends that she still needs lithium doses for...other things. I’m sure she didn’t mean it as a slight to not tell you, darling.”
“She shouldn’t have to; she’s entitled to her privacy if she doesn’t want to tell me,” Sunset replied. “Not offended. Though I am worried now that you’ve mentioned it. How bad are we talking?”
“That’s something you’ll have to bring up with her aunt and uncle, I presume,” Rarity answered. “I don’t know myself, though I do know that the last time she didn’t have it filled, it was...well, nevermind. I do believe we have other things to busy ourselves with, do we not?”
“You’re changing the subject,” Sunset accused.
“Yes, I am,” Rarity stated. “Sunset...I think you need to talk to Pinkie about this, and just her. It’s...personal and private and something you should know.”
“Well, well, well,” a voice purred. Sunset and Rarity looked forward to see a girl with long blonde hair standing there in an aggressive posture. Her lavender eyes radiated a disgust, and her mouth was an angry jag of hate. “So, dumped the other carpet licker and got yourself a new one? Tell me, does she bump your ugly? Because she sure as hell don’t make you look good, skank!”
Rarity blinked. “Excuse me? You don’t think that….”
Lavender Lace grinned. “Not to you, cute stuff. Honestly, if you weren’t dating the bitch here, I’d do you. You’re too good for this cunt.”
Sunset took a step forward. “Look, I don’t know who you are, but I don’t appreciate you insulting me or my friend, got that?”
“You really that stupid, Shimmer? You already forget what I told you about coming into my territory, you prissy CHS bitch?”
That seemed to ring a bell. “Oh, now I know who you are. You’re Lavender Lace, right?”
“Yes,” Lavender snarled, cocking a fist back, “and you’re dead meat!”
The girl took a swing immediately, and Rarity stepped back instinctively shielding herself. She then heard the slap of flesh against flesh and knew that the other girl had successfully thrown a punch. That success was soon put in doubt a second later as Rarity removed her hands, and now viewing Lavender trying to pull her hand back...and Sunset, with her own hand clamped around the other’s.
“I’m not a violent person by nature,” Sunset hissed as she clamped down harder on Lavender’s fist, “but you could have hurt my friend here. And while I generally take a dim view of solving problems by fisticuffs, when it comes to my friends, I’m not one to give quarter.”
Rarity thought she heard knuckles pop as Sunset increased the pressure; the look on Lavender’s face clearly indicated that she was feeling some pain. Whatever had happened in the split-second she missed looking at the incident, it seemed to have put things in Sunset’s favor – not that such an outcome was ever in doubt.
“So here’s what I’m going to do,” Sunset told her. “In a second, I’m going to let go of your hand. And then you’re going to walk away and never bother me again unless it’s to apologize. The same thing goes for my friend Rarity here. And after that, you’re not going to lift a hand against a single person unless it’s in self-defense, whether it’s in your school, or not. You want to be the bully of your school? Trust me when I say that’s just a splinter of a moment on top. Sooner or later, you’re going to piss off the wrong person or people, and when you do – and it will happen – your fall will be hard and painful.” In the distance, Sunset saw another girl running towards them, this one with short, dark fuchsia hair and a terrified look on her face.
Sunset threw her opponent back, then looked at the other girl as Lavender crashed to the pavement. “Get her out of here, if you will. We don’t want to cause a scene here.”
“YOU FUCKING BITCH!” Lavender screamed as she held her hand. “YOU FUCKING BROKE IT!”
“No, I bruised it,” Sunset said calmly, though her voice seemed to radiate an authority that could have only come from her true nature. “If I wanted it broken, that would be more than easy.” The newcomer looked at Sunset with fear, and Sunset’s frown softened. “Don’t let her get in any more trouble, okay?”
“C’mon, honey,” Fuchsia told her girlfriend as he helped the tough girl to her feet. “Let’s get to the car.” The look on Lavender’s face was one of impotent rage, eyes filling with tears but unable or unwilling to allow her opponent the pleasure of seeing her cry.
As the two walked away, Sunset sighed. “I’m sorry you had to see that, Rares. I remember who she is now, and if this were the old me, I would have done so much worse. Now, I just wanted her to leave me alone, but she wasn’t going to listen to reason.”
“Are you so sure about that?” Rarity asked.
“Bullies rarely listen to reason,” Sunset told her friend. “Trust me, I know that all too well.”
In the FBI’s conference room in the Canterlot Federal Building, Shining Armor and Sandalwood gave the report they had on their investigation’s progress. “And that’s the cursory evidence we have so far,” Shining told the others involved. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that the SIRENs case and the serial killer case are somehow tied together, though the chances of that are infinitesimal.”
“Not as small as you might think, Agent Armor.” Shining Badge reached for a dossier folder that was in front of him. “We’ve had some of our analysts in the Los Angeles Division look into it, and you might be right.”
“Excuse me, boss?” Hardline interjected, the look on her face one of complete surprise. “The SIRENs are attacking civilians now?”
“Not quite. What I mean is that the Extremist Intelligence Unit recently had some information on a potential private military contractor company. Given that the last indicator out of the CIA was that said group, named ALICORN, was involved.” Badge paused while several other agents in the room laughed. “Yes, I know, stupid name. But not so stupid when you realize the kind of people we’re going to be up against.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, that isn’t going to be our problem at the moment.
“No, what is going to be our problem is Hurricane Everblue. It’s expected to pass just to the east of us, but ‘just to the east’ is still enough for some major damage to town. For the next two days I’m suspending all investigations while we assist local authorities in dealing with this crisis. That doesn’t mean that if you run into something significant, you should ignore it; rather, that life and safety come before apprehension. Remember that our first order of business is to protect people, not catch the bad guy.” He looked to his side. “Hardy?”
Hardline looked at the others. “We have a list of the agencies that you’ll be assisting during this crisis. Those of you who are on loan from other agencies, you’ll be going back to them temporarily, though you’ll still be under FBI auspice instead of your parent organization’s. Keep in mind that unless it’s a major bust, let the locals have the collar – makes interagency cooperation a thing and prevents us from doing any extra paperwork. Now, as for myself and the boss, he’ll be here in the office keeping tabs on all of us, while I’ll be on heavy standby in case things get squirrelly.”
“You think they will?” one of the other agents asked.
“Oh, I know they will,” Badge insisted. “Perps always use natural disasters to make things worse, whether it’s looting, a chance to settle old scores without supposedly getting caught, or a million other things. While this town might seem sleepy, mark my words: the next few days are going to be an absolute bear. And that’s without contemplating all our other issues, folks.” He reached up and rubbed his eyes, looking weary ahead of time. “Okay, call it a day and be rested and ready for tomorrow, got that? Report in via phone, and do what needs to be done. Dismissed.”
As Shining got up from the table, he asked Sandalwood, “And now to get some shopping done before it’s too late.”
Sandalwood rolled her eyes. “Yes, and only you would consider getting your sister’s birthday present on her birthday and when stores are shutting down due to the hurricane.” His smile fell, and she laughed. “C’mon, if we get going now we might be able to make it to Books & Sewing Machines before they close.”
He nodded but added, “No idea what to get her, though.”
Sandalwood sighed. “Did it ever occur to you why I know your sister so well?”
“Not really, no.”
“You’re really dense sometimes, you know that?”
“Wow, that looks good, girls,” Velvet told the two in her kitchen.
“Thanks, Mrs. V,” Applejack said as she added another candy apple to the white chocolate and apple cake she’d baked for Twilight’s party. “Pinkie’s not the only one ‘round here that can bake. Ma taught me how.”
“Well, color me very impressed, Applejack. But you, Rainbow, are the surpriser, if I may say so: I haven’t had empañadas since I was a kid back in San Diego.”
Rainbow blushed slightly as she pulled the pastries out of the oven. “Wellllll...my grandmother insisted that I learn how to cook, given that it’s tradition. Mom wasn’t too happy about that, but she learned why arguing with Rainbow Fiesta is a bad idea. Besides, whenever my parents aren’t around, someone’s gotta cook for me an’ Scoots. Eating out all the time’s just not healthy.”
“Maybe I should have you come over and cook dinner sometime, Rainbow.”
The teen made a distasteful face. “Sorry, but I got a rep to maintain,” she said with a smile. “Maybe if I make something at home...I’ll bring the remainder by next time.”
“That would be wonderful. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll check on the others.” Velvet left the kitchen and walked into the living room, where a second group was settling up. Cadance, who had taken the day off of work, was now directing two of the girls’ other friends helping to decorate the house. A bit of a ways from them, a third one was setting up a chocolate fountain.
“Lyra, don’t pull so hard!” Trixie shouted while she was arranging bunting.
“I’m not the one pulling – you’re the one pulling!” Lyra shouted back.
Bon-Bon gave both of them a glare. “Girls, if you’re not careful, you’re going to fall and end up in my fondue!”
Cadance went over to the table where the fountain sat. “I think we need to move this a bit aways.”
“Good idea – you grab one end, I’ll grab the other,” and with that, both managed to move the chocolatey goodness out of the harm of two arguing friends.
“How are things going in here?” Velvet asked. “It looks good.” She looked over at the fountain, and Bon-Bon laying out an assortment of things to dip and sticks to dip with. “I swear, I’m going to gain so much weight tonight.”
“Tell me about it,” Trixie grunted from her perch as she tied some balloons together. “I don’t have half the hyperness that Lyra does or the regimen of Bonnie, so whatever’s going in me tonight’s going straight to my hips.”
“You know, you can just get your lazy ass out of bed and come jogging with me in the morning,” Lyra told her.
“Excuse me? You’re calling me lazy? You?” Trixie laughed riotously. “Besides, the Great and Powerful Trixie doesn’t do ‘running’. We can go do laps in the pool.”
“The Great and Powerful Pain in the Ass better get back to work, or else we’ll never get done!”
“Bạn biết bạn là hai kẻ ngốc, phải không?” Bon-Bon spat, looking up at her girlfriend and said girlfriend’s best friend.
“Do I want to know what you just said?” Lyra asked.
“No, you don’t. Now get back to work, guys! We’re running out of time here!”
Cadance looked at Velvet and commented, “I think you’d better call Tavi and have her stall.”
“Already on it.”
Coffee Cream looked at the girl she was tutoring. “Well, your work’s improving, but if you’re going to bump up your grades, you really need to pay attention.”
“Why?” Prismatic sat in her chair, painting her nails and giving her tutor the least amount of attention possible. “My parents are loaded, and they’ll always be there for me. And if not them, then my trust fund.”
“Except your parents aren’t in town right now, and they told me to do whatever it takes to get you to listen,” Coffee growled. “So what’s it going to take?”
Prismatic looked away from her nail polish and gave an easy eye towards Coffee. “You really want to know what it’s going to take?”
“Yes, I really want to know what it’s going to take.” With that, Prismatic leaned forward and whispered in her ear. Coffee pulled away and said, “What?”
“That’s what I want. And my parents are out of town, so you’re going to give it to me,” the teen said, matter-of-factly. “You see, I already know what I want out of life. That’s why my parents are trying to get me to improve my grades – they think that doing that means that I’ll change my mind.” She bit down gently on one of her fingers, a motion making clear what she wanted. “But let’s just say I’ll have a lucrative career ready for me when I’m eighteen. Of course, I’ll need the practice, so that’s where you come in.”
“And if I say no?” Coffee snarled, an angry look on her face.
“Oh, I don’t think you’ll say no. After all, what will your parents think once they find out that brother and sister are as close as close as can be – and by that I mean the only thing separating you two is the occasional thin layer of latex.”
“What?”
Prismatic reached over and grabbed her phone, then set it for gallery. “You know, you should really be careful where you go.” The image on the screen was of her and Sandalwood in a very compromising position. “So, tell me – what’s more important: satisfying my needs, or destroying your family and spending time behind bars?”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, I would. After all, I’m just a rich, spoiled bitch – I’m so flighty and vapid that naturally people will believe me because I’m too stupid to lie.” She went back to polishing her nails. “Look, I’m not looking for whatever it is you two have – you two love each other? Fine, get your rocks off. I just want to have some fun.” She then leaned forward and smiled. “Plus, your brother’s not the only one I’m interested in. Really, you should be flattered.”
He could feel it. Even this far away, he could feel it, and it filled him with an incalculable, terrible anger.
The Black Garden – it now lay in ruins. Worse, the remnants of the lands were being protected by a damnable object whose origin and power were uncharted. At his current strength levels, there was no way that he could assault the thing directly without wasting time and energy. In order to show whatever it was the error of its ways, in order to crush the fools who placed it there, only one path led ahead towards victory.
Tirek almost smiled. Walking through the Everfree forest now, he could almost feel the comforting touch of the malevolence and violence that lived within it. Of course, it wasn’t true evil, per se; it was just nature at work – cold, hard and brutal, but just nature in and of itself. And in the general area itself, the sweet darkness that he’d felt earlier. As he’d gotten closer, he’d realized it wasn’t a fount or an artifact or so, but a living, breathing creature. And whatever it was, it was strong in the dark disciplines, strong enough to possibly even topple an alicorn. Given that it existed as well, it was smart, enough so to stay hidden from those simpering princesses that ruled the land. That meant whatever it was, was likely intelligent, which meant a potential ally or…
Tirek laughed. “He needs no allies,” the cruel centaur claimed to himself. “He only needs power, yes? For it is power that makes everything grand. Yes, that is all he needs.”
With that, Tirek continued his slow trek towards Canterlot and his path towards domination.
“Damn it….” Of all the places he could have landed, Cloudcover thought, it had to be in the middle of the Everfree. It was bad enough that he thought he could get away with taking a shortcut over the cursed forest while on his flight from Nimbusville to Cloudsdale. But then he had to run into that turbulence while he was in the middle of his flight, a twisted snarl of air that slammed him down to the ground. He’d managed to recover from that, but in the process, he lost his gift that he was bringing to his mother; and worse, he sprained his wing. It hurt like Tartarus right now, but as the old saying went, any landing you can trot away from….
Looking around, he noticed that at least he landed in a clearing. From what he knew, guards from Ponyville and Berryville patrolled their portions of the forest; just as important, there was a zebra shaman named Zecora who lived in the forest and was one of Princess Twilight’s advisors. If he could find his way to either the guards or the zebra, he should be fine, he figured.
Though my wife’s going to kill me, he groaned as he slowly made his way down what seemed to be the clearest path. She spent a fortune on crystal roses while she was in the Crystal Empire, and they cost a fortune and oh, I’m repeating myself, aren’t I? He sighed; it was a bad habit of his and his wife, a schoolteacher, never quite let him off the hook on that. Still, he loved her, and he cherished every moment he was with her.
“Means I need to find the nearest patrol or that zebra, soonest,” he said to himself. Taking a careful step and finding it didn’t agitate his injured limb, he started off at a slow but steady trot down the path, out of the clearing and into the cathedral of dark, twisted trees that made up the Everfree. It made him nervous to walk amongst the unusual noises, chirps and chitters of the wildlife, but he figured as long as he stayed on the path, he’d be reasonably safe. But as the path meandered on, it became less defined, with the cobblestones being broken up by weeds, until he found that there were few demarcations that there had been any thoroughfare to begin with.
Instead, he found himself in front of ancient, crumbling ruins, and a massive castle with scaffolding all over it. Various construction equipment could be seen, as well as a sign that read
CASTLE EVERFREE RECONSTRUCTION SITE
CONCRETE MIXER CONSTRUCTION CO.
BY ORDER AND PATRONAGE OF
HRH PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE
“I’m at Castle Everfree?” he yelped, getting a very bad feeling about it all. The castle had been abandoned until the events of the war between Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon, the one that trapped Princess Luna in the moon itself for a thousand years. This place was dark and sinister, and even though Princess Twilight was trying to improve its image – her intentions were, if he remembered reading the newspaper right, was to rebuild the castle as a museum to commemorate the history of that dark time, and to restore the village with the intent of having it become a new town.
Curiosity overcame the stallion, his wounds forgotten in the interest. Walking past the security barriers, he started to head towards the castle, and into it. There was rubble all over the place, and at the same time, tons of construction scaffolding and the like. In the main throne room he found two thrones, those of Celestia and Luna, as well as a third one in the back, the reasons for which he couldn’t discern. He spent a huge amount of time looking around the place, and by the time the sun started to head towards the horizon, he realized he’d gotten too lost in his focus to realize that he’d wasted the whole day looking at the castle...on the bright side, though, the slide was fun.
Finally, he climbed up to the castle’s sole intact tower in the hopes that he could signal somepony. By now his absence would’ve been noted and there would be others looking for him. As he opened the aged hatch to expose the sky, he clambered up the last part of the stairs to step out into the air. The violet band of twilight started to cover the sky, one half of the sunset sky covered in Luna’s stars, while the last rays of light of the sun started to slip into the horizon beyond. It was a beauty that he could appreciate, had he not been in his situation. He then looked around, stepping away from the hatch, heading to the far side of the tower. From here, he could see the bunch of lights that was Ponyville at night, and from the looks of it, it didn’t look more than a mile or two off. If he was very careful, he could reach it.
“Or he thinks he can,” a voice said behind him, guttural, dark and chilling. Cloudcover turned to see a figure standing there by the hatch, looking straight at him. Indeterminate and mysterious due to the cloak it wore, there was something nevertheless unsettling because of its presence. “He thinks that because he is found, he is safe.”
Cloudcover dismissed his fears as just idle panic; this person clearly had to be a guard sent to retrieve him. “Oh, thank Celestia you’re here! Listen, I know I wasn’t supposed to wander around here without permission, but I thought it would be safest to be seen from a location where I’d be found easily. Plus, I’m sure timberwolves and other monsters tend to not walk around the grounds, so….”
“Monsters do,” the being before him said, and he could see the barest hint of a smile; it wasn’t a friendly one, however. “He should know. He is one of them.” And with that, he opened his mouth.
What Cloudcover felt in the next few minutes was something he never thought he would know: sheer and utter horror, combined with steady weakening as a fine white mist slipped away from him and down the gullet of the creature before him. He couldn’t run away; the creature stood by the only way out. Likewise, he couldn’t fly away; his wing prevented any flying and likely he couldn’t even just glide down. At the moment, he was feeling worn out, though, too worn out. Was that mist floating away from him his strength? His magic? His life? He didn’t know. And a second later, as he leaned against the parapet, he could barely keep his eyes open.
“There, much stronger,” the creature said, reaching up with spindly legs – the type that minotaurs had – and pulling the cloak’s hood away with strange, spidery hooves.
Cloudcover looked at the red face and graying hair of an ancient...whatever it was...and realized that something was wrong – very, very wrong. He then looked away from the creature, looking down...and noticed his cutie mark was gone. Three clouds in a row superimposed over a shining sun. It had always been there, but now, his flank was the same light gray it had been since the day he was born. His head drooped further, not from shock, but exhaustion. It felt like it was taking every bit of energy he had to just keep breathing.
“And so now he knows he cannot run, cannot hide, cannot flee. This is destiny,” the strange, demented monster approached, “and he cannot fight it. None can. But if he wants to escape...he shall be helped.” The creature approached, laid its hands on the stallion, and only the densest of foals could not comprehend what was about to happen next.
“No, please!” Cloudcover pled, hoping for a miracle. “I have a wife! A family! You can’t do this!”
“Oh, but he can,” Tirek said, lifting the pegasus over the parapet. “And soon, all of Equestria – and then Equus itself – shall follow.”
Unable to fly, unable to escape, Cloudcover could do nothing but scream as he went over the side of the tower and the ground rushed to meet him…
...and then no more.
Tirek sniffed the air, ignoring the new tang of blood. He’d been led false. Now that he had more magic, he could tell there was a great amount of dark magic here, much more recent than when Nightmare Moon turned these castle walls into an abattoir. But whomever the magic owner was, said caster was not here. He knew he’d have to search more, and though he couldn’t find the trail now, it was only a matter of time. Yes, he smiled with a grin that almost bordered on happy, only a matter of time.
With that, he descended Castle Everfree, headed back towards the forest. It would be a long march, but he knew that somehow, the path still led to Canterlot.
Looking at the sunset sky over Rainbow Falls, Twilight looked at her friends and said, “We probably should get to our hotel, then find a place to eat around here. Tomorrow’s going to be another long day.”
Raspberry mock-pouted. “Well, I’d go with you, but you asked me to be your representative at the restricted goods exchange and that goes on in ten minutes at town hall.” Her horn glowing with ebon power, she pulled a long checklist out of her saddlepack. “This list looks very long, Twi. You sure you have everything on it?”
The alicorn shook her head. “Not really, but I’m hoping the chance of human materials and equipment won’t show up. Now that we know the mirror was left empty and alone for so long, there’s a decent risk that something contraband from Earth made it here, something that could really cause problems in Equus, like guns, for instance.”
“What’s a gun?” Pinkie asked.
“It’s a hoof-held, er, hand-held weapon,” Twilight explained, “similar to griffin shoot-sticks, but more on the power level of a cannon. While I was over there, I got to see some examples of how they worked, and if they got over here, they could be real problems.”
“Well, darling, could shoot-sticks be based on these ‘guns’?” Rarity said with distaste. She’d been present for the latest talks between one of the more civilized griffin kingdoms and Equestria and she went with Princess Luna to a demonstration of the weapons. They were loud and created a ton of soot, but they were, without a doubt, dangerous.
“It’s possible, but I hope they came up with them on their own,” Twilight cautioned. Turning back to Raspberry, she asked, “Do you want me to order something for you and send it over?”
“If you don’t mind. I get the feeling I’m going to be really busy tonight.”
“Well,” Fluttershy said with a smile, “I can bring you something after I eat and then keep you company afterwards. I don’t mind.”
Rainbow sighed. “Look, I said I was sorry for trying to trade you, Fluttershy!”
“You’re lucky I knew you just made a goof up and weren’t trying to violate the 1163 Anti-Slavery Law,” Twilight said with a grin.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, Miss Lawyer,” the pegasus grunted.
“I’d really appreciate it, Flutters,” Raspberry said. “Both the food and the company.”
“Oh, it’s no problem. Will a daisy and dandelion club sandwich be okay?”
“Perfect,” the mulberry unicorn said with a smile. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to town hall.”
Raspberry walked a few blocks south of where her friends were, then stopped in front of a building that looked very similar to town hall back in Ponyville. Opening the door, she asked the receptionist present about where the room was, and she was directed downstairs to the basement into the room the community usually used to hide from the various disasters that seemed to hit Equestria at least biannually.
Maybe I should have Twi suggest to Mayor Mare about putting one of these in the basement of our town hall, she thought. You never know when some huge, evil badflank wannabe is going to come through and play Paraspritezilla through the whole place.
As she entered the room, she looked at the portly stallion with the glasses, pinto coat and the boutonniere. “Mayor Bigspots?”
The stallion looked at her. “Yes, I’m he.”
She smiled. “Archmagus Raspberry Sparkle of the Mage Guild. I’m here to represent her highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
“Ah, Princess Raspberry, a pleasure to meet you,” he said, bowing. “Or do you prefer Archmagus Beryl when on duty?”
“Just Razz is fine, thanks,” she said, waving it off. “So where do I sit?”
“Actually, if you’ll follow me, please,” Bigspots said. “We haven’t even started yet and two individuals have already started to bicker about their trade. I tried to get them to listen, but I think this might take someone with both Guild and royal authority.”
“Sure, lead the way,” Raspberry said, and she followed him, where a pair of ponies argued. One of them, she knew: Bedazzle, the town mage for the village of Blue Savannah, out in the Derby Grasslands. The other one she couldn’t peg, but from the look of him, he was a scholar, possibly a mage, though she hadn’t met him if that was the case.
Bedazzle heard the approaching hoofsteps and turned to see Raspberry approaching. “Oh, hi, Razz!” she said.
“Mage Bedazzle, as much as I would like to chat, I’m on duty right now, so you can refer to me either by my rank or royal title,” Raspberry said gravely, practicing the sober attitude that Luna had said would be necessary for her mage duties. Given the level of arguing she’d seen, it was best that she let them know who was in charge, even if meant violating what she’d told Bigspots a second prior.
“I’m sorry, my lady mage,” Bedazzle apologizing and curtseying at the same time.
“Well met, lady mage,” the other pony said, pushing his glasses back onto the bridge of his muzzle. “I’m Mage Sunburst, recently assigned to the Crystal Empire by the Guild.” He bowed, and she nodded in reply.
“I’ll handle this from here,” Raspberry told Bigspots, “and then I’ll meet you back at the entrance so you can show me where to sit afterward. Would that suffice?”
“It would indeed, lady mage,” Bigspots said to him, then wandered off.
Seeing him depart, Raspberry turned her attention back to the problem at hoof. “Okay, what seems to be the problem?”
“Well, Sunburst here wants to trade for a copy of Tome of Transmission: The Ultimate Guide to Teleportation, Blinking and Other Magical Means of Movement,” Bedazzle explained. “It’s an old copy, and very rare. But he wants to trade that...piece of junk...for this!”
“Lady mage—”
Raspberry was reminded why she hated using titles, just like Twilight did. They got in the way of ponies being ponies. “Look, let’s just drop the titles, okay? Just...just keep it professional, you two.”
“Sure thing, Razz,” Bedazzle said.
“Absolutely,” Sunburst agreed. “Anyway, I found this object ages ago that I’ve been studying. An ancient relic that I think dates back to the time of The Longest Night. It makes this loud sound, and I think it was meant to be a clarion call for troops. I was planning to show BD how it works, but for some reason, it just doesn’t.”
“Because it’s a piece of junk!” Bedazzle said. “I really doubt it’s anything from the Civil War era, Burst. For all you know, it could be something from the Discordian era.”
“True, but if so, then it’s still a worthy piece of magic to study,” the stallion countered. “And weren’t you working on a monograph regarding ancient artifacts, anyway?”
“Only if they really are, Burst.”
“Okay, mind if I take a look at it, Burst?” Raspberry asked. “BD, I don’t need to see yours, since I own a copy myself. Good book, though Long Travels definitely got the bit about blinking wrong.”
“Yeah, who wants to tear holes in spacetime to travel, anyway,” Bedazzle muttered, shivering at the thought.
“As for mine, here it is,” Sunburst said, floating his up in his magic field. A second later, the hue changed from gold to black as Raspberry took a hold of it and brought it into sight.
The object was clearly made of metal, and girded with wood that had mostly rotted away. It was L-shaped, thick and slablike on one end and a thin, hollow tube on the other end. The remains of an arc of metal seemed to bridge the two pieces at one end, and it seemed to block another crescent-shaped piece of metal.
“Where did you find this?” she asked.
Though she didn’t look at him, Sunburst replied, “I went back to my hometown of Mooreglade to say hi to friends; it borders the south end of the Everfree. While we were there, one of the town’s fillies got lost in the forest. We found her, but during the search I found this object in a dried riverbed. Given the direction of the gully, it likely fills only when it storms heavily in the forest, and the riverbed passes by the ruins of Castle Everfree, according to a map I later looked at. Additionally, a thousand years ago, Mooreglade was a staging base for the Lunar Army during the Civil War, so it could have just been buried over the years.”
She noticed strange symbols on the side of the object: 南_大型自動_銃. Most of it was worn away, and what could be read was completely illegible to begin with. “And these sigils?”
“At first, I thought they were Moon Runes, the code developed by the Lunar Army to communicate in secret during the war,” Sunburst told her. “But that didn’t make sense at all. I then thought it might be one of the Eastern languages, so I contacted colleagues at the Inari and Joseon embassies, but the latter said it doesn’t look like raccoon runes. The fox at the Inari embassy was able to read only one part,” the stallion told her, taking the object in his magical grasp and turning it so the bottom of the flat end could be read. Sunburst then used his magic to highlight three runes, 小石川, so Raspberry could see them. “Tamamo said that it means ‘River Pebble’, but she doesn’t know of any place in her homeland that bears that name. She said it’s possible that it refers to a secret project, but that for the time period, the foundries of Inari weren’t advanced enough for this level of metalworking; and in any case, it was about a century before foxes and ponies established diplomatic relations.”
Raspberry looked at the object, and for some reason, Twilight’s words warning about equipment from Sunset Shimmer’s world arriving in theirs. But this doesn’t look anything like a shoot-stick, and it can’t be one of those ‘gun’ things Twi mentioned, Raspberry mused. I’ve seen shoot-sticks, and this is way too small to be one.
Meanwhile, Bedazzle, who had been watching the goings-on, thought about it. “Now you have me interested, Burst. Why didn’t you mention those symbols before?”
“Because I was too focused on the loud noise it makes, I guess,” he admitted. “Why, are you still interested?”
“Yup!” she answered, floating her tome over to him. A second later, the strange metal object was passed over to her.
“Well, looks like you two got that squared away. Now, please, enjoy the rest of the market and try not to give me any more headaches, okay?”
“You got it, Razz,” Bedazzle chirped, while Sunburst merely nodded.
Relieved that one issue was solved, Raspberry went to go join Bigspots, who had Fluttershy standing next to him carrying a picnic basket. Good, food’s here, she thought, glad to see her friend. Her mind briefly wandered back to the mystery item now owned by Bedazzle, but as she approached Fluttershy, the smell of good food hit her nostrils.
I’ll have to suggest to Twi that we look at it later, Raspberry thought while giving Fluttershy a greeting smile. Might not be dangerous, but never hurts to check, right?
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Ohhhhhhh, boy. This does not bode well.
Not at all.
Raspberry, you should know better than to say stuff like that.
Koshikawa South Large Automatic Gun?
Why do I feel this will be "No Time To Explain" given the earlier Destiny references?
7102629
Not a Destiny reference.
well...he's not completely wrong about the language being Moon Runes.
IT UPDATED
*raves*
The plot, it thickens.
Question. Why did you use Human!Shimmer's decal for the transitions to Sandalwood and Coffee Cream?
EDIT: Never mind the question. I just looked back at the other chapters and noticed that you use that same decal as a generic "Other people who aren't that important" transition. Sorry that I forgot that
7102702 Is it this then?.
Considering this grimoire, I kind of thought so.
7103323
Yup. Now the question is, how did it get there?
Wait, there's two Sandalwoods?
Fuuuuu....policewoman Sandalwood is gonna die by mistake, isn't she?
7103460 or the male Sandalwood could die because of the mistake. Or both.
Tell her now!
7103460
There's four Sandalwoods, actually:
- male Sandalwood (official name for a background character in EqG)
- female Sandalwood
- pony Sandalwood
- DJ Martinez (a.k.a. AAG Sandalwood)
There's also DJ's biological grandmother Sandalwood, who was her namesake initially. But she's been dead for a long while now.
Though by the same token, Sunset is similar to DJ in that they're both ponies effectively adopted and brought into human society with brothers who are cops...only difference is DJ isn't hiding the fact she's an alien horse with magic powers
great update!
7104118
Au contraire: DJ's human, she's just pony-shaped.
I have to say, you haven't lost your touch. I just binged the last three chapters and I'm reminded why I loved this series SO MUCH!
I don't know why, but I have it in my head the this story will end with the SIRENs kidnapping Twilight or Octavia, Sunset turning into a demon out of anger and Rd, Pinkie, Aj, Fluttershy and Rarity betting on how many of them she kills.
I can't tell what the human object is. Some sort of weapon?
7110710 It's a gun, likely a pistol or similar handgun. Apparently, the shoot-sticks are more akin to the longer guns (rifles, shotguns, etc.).
7131253
Actually, shootsticks (also known as fire lances, handcannons - in the old sense of the word - or handgonnes) are an early form of firearm.
7131418 Huh, ya learn something new every day
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ww2 jap handgun interesting, Nambu or type 33, i think now get back to AAG
Rule one if you swing a punch and your opponent caught your punch you should not have thrown it. My dad told me that.
why is sandalwood a women when she is a men in canon ?
also, sometimes sthey are describe as a men as well.
I don't get it !
And she does this kind of thing with family ?!
10795098
There are two Sandalwoods in this series:
1. The canonical one (aka "Captain Planet") green-haired guy
2. A female character that was created long before the canonical Sandalwood showed up. The character is, equivalently, the analogue of DJ Martinez from All-American Girl (whose birth name is Sandalwood).
And yes, apparently some guys would do things like that with family. There are countless stories.