The Enemy of My Enemy
People tended to have different reactions when confronted with a creature that looked like she’d escaped through the gates of Hell itself.
Most people froze up in disbelief, unable to comprehend what they were seeing; it was like the ‘flight or fight’ portion of their brain had shut off completely when faced with something that logic said wasn’t supposed to exist.
Most people fainted or ran away, and they were the ones that kept their ‘flight’ portion of the brain active. Unfortunately, depending on what kind of creature they were facing, running away in a panic didn’t do them any good; they never got very far.
Most people switched into the ‘fight’ portion of their brain, figuring that if they were going to die they might as well go down swinging. Those fights didn’t tend to last very long.
Very few people pointed at the demonic hell beast and shrieked, “RAGING SHE-DEMON!”
Pinkie Pie wasn’t like most people, and ironically enough it may have saved her and her friends from being immediately gutted on the spot. The creature paused, lifting a delicate brow, as she simply stared at the pink girl. In record time, five different gazes turned on their friend, all of them absolutely blazing. If looks could kill, Pinkie would have died five times over.
Pinkie shrugged. “What? She is! She’s even more of a raging she-demon than Sunset!”
“Pinkie—“
Any retort that rose to the girls’ tongues died when the creature threw back her head and laughed. As if to make it all the more jarring, her laugh was the most beautiful sound any of them had heard; light, gentle, like bells chiming in the breeze. It would have been a wonderful sound, if it hadn’t been attached to something that looked like she’d crawled out of the darkest pits of the planet.
“Well,” she purred. “I can’t say I’ve ever gotten that reaction before. It’s nice to know I can still be surprised, but now I really must introduce myself. ‘Raging she-demon’ is such a nasty title. Lacking in originality, and all.”
And then, before the disbelieving eyes of the girls, the creature curtsied.
“The name is Venus,” she said. “Lovely name, isn’t it? I chose it when I came into this world because its goddess represents love and beauty. I thought it was rather fitting.”
She straightened up, and a chill passed through the group as they all realized that throughout the whole thing, her smile had never even faded an inch. That was probably not a good sign.
“You’re the first humans I’ve said it to, you know. I may actually grieve you when I’m done feeding on you.”
As if she’d spoken the magic words, the girls clustered even more tightly into a group, Sunset protesting softly as she was shoved right into the center—the most protected area. The creature laughed again and shot across the ground towards them, a blur of black and gray.
And promptly slammed into the magic shield that flared to life around the group.
“Hells yeah!” Applejack crowed.
The creature—Venus—went somersaulting through the air like a ball that had been thrown without any grace, flaring her wings to bring herself to a standstill, hovering warily. Red eyes were narrow now, glancing around the group as she tried to figure out what exactly had happened. In all of her time spent in this world, she’d never seen magic like this. She hadn’t even known there could be magic like this.
“As much fun as this is,” Rarity said, shifting nervously from foot to foot as the shield continued to shimmer around them, “perhaps we should…?”
Right. They’d brought their instruments for a reason. They’d had to improvise with Pinkie, but in the end a small, portable drum set looked like it would work just as well as the one she used regularly for the band. The pink girl gave Sunset’s shoulder an encouraging squeeze, and the former Equestrian took a deep breath.
Show time, she thought.
It was easy to do, when the magic pulsed through them all like a heartbeat. It may not have been much in this world, but it was still Equestrian magic, and it rose in response to the beast that threatened its bearers. When the magic flowed like that, it was easy to open her mouth and sing; like this, the song choice hardly mattered.
All that mattered was the magic of friendship that flowed through them all, and when they had so much of it, Venus suddenly didn’t seem as threatening as she’d appeared to be only seconds before.
The shield was still up, and as human ears shifted into equine and wings and tails flared to life, the magic that flowed around them began to change. Energy crackled and sparked as the intent changed from defense to offense. Sunset was lost in the singing, to the sound of the instruments, but she still felt the change; they all did, and they smiled.
That was good. If the change was happening, that meant they could do this without Twilight. It wasn’t something they’d known for sure until now.
But now they knew, and needless to say, it was a huge boost of confidence.
As if the magic itself could feel their confidence—and considering how tied into emotion the whole thing was, it probably could—the shield shuddered before a rainbow beam shot from the shield, a blast of heat and energy that slammed right into Venus’s chest. She’d never even had a chance to try getting out of the way.
The force of the beam was enough to send Venus flying back, and it was so strong that even if she wanted to her wings couldn’t keep her in the air. There was a crash as she dropped down into some of the trees in Everfree Park, and the shield flickered before fading away entirely as the girls watched her fall.
She didn’t rise.
“… Yay?” Fluttershy whispered.
If the magical blast to the chest didn’t kill her, the fall most certainly should have.
Venus hadn’t been hovering particularly high, but with how hard the rainbow hit her she didn’t need to be; the force was so great that she was thrown away from the girls faster than she could think, unable to flare her wings or comprehend what had just happened. The pain was brief but hot, burning through her like fire, and she slammed into the ground with such force that the trees around her shuddered.
She landed right on her back, with enough force to snap her spine clean in two. Even for a creature as powerful as she was, the damage would have been enough to cripple her for some time, ending the threat she posed.
But the problem was that while the girls had seen the immediate effects of their attack on her, they didn’t see what came after the initial blast.
There was a reason Venus had been considered such a threat while she’d still been in Equestria, and it was the same reason why she’d been under the radar for so long in the human world as a threat until recently.
She lay on the ground, staring up at the starry night sky, and for a time the pain lingered as a burn in her chest. But then it changed… or, more accurately, it began to move. It continued to burn, a low, heated sensation as it seeped from her chest and throughout her body, traveling all the way to the tip of her tail and into her fingers. The pain that had started to build in her back faded as quickly as it bloomed, and gingerly she sat up, stretching out her wings.
No pain. She rotated her wrists, shook herself, stretched out her legs. Nothing hurt, she realized. She should have been dead, or at the very least badly wounded, and yet she was completely healed. Energy thrummed under her skin, warm and pulsing in time with her heartbeat.
After a moment, Venus smiled.
It was not a particularly nice smile.
“Well, well,” she murmured. “How about that.”
It had been a long, long time since she’d felt pure Equestrian magic flowing through her body like this; the magic she’d been sucking from humans simply didn’t compare, no matter how much of it she consumed. The method may have been different—she usually preferred to draw the magic out herself instead of being on the receiving end of it—but it didn’t change the fact that those girls had just filled her up on a blast of pure, unrestrained Equestrian magic.
It was so thoughtful of them, really.
Venus stood and tilted her head back, closing her eyes for a moment as she basked in the moonlight and the feeling of the magic coursing through her.
She’d have to kill the girls now, that much she knew. They all knew what she was, and for every person that would dismiss their claims as insane, someone with an interest in the magical would take them seriously and try to track her down. She’d done that song and dance enough times to know it would happen eventually.
But at the very least, she could make their deaths quick and painless.
“Is that it?” Rainbow asked when a few minutes passed and Venus didn’t immediately reappear.
“Don’t try to sound so disappointed, now,” Applejack muttered.
“I’m not disappointed!” the athlete protested. “I just—I dunno, I expected something more after all of that. She drains three people dry and makes a big deal out of revealing herself, and then she goes down in one hit? I feel like we’re fighting Sunset again! … No offense.”
“None taken,” Sunset sighed, well used to this by now.
“So yeah, totally not disappointed.” Rainbow waved a hand. “I just kinda feel like we’ve done this before. Though I guess it’s a good thing she went down so easy—“
That was when a funny thing happened.
One minute Rainbow was on the ground, talking and gesturing with her free hand in the group. All was well, her disappointment about what had just happened aside. The next minute she was in the air, and time froze for a single instant before Venus’s fist collided with her stomach and sent the rainbow-haired girl flying back. There was a sickening thud as she slammed into a tree with enough force that the entire thing toppled over.
Venus paused for a moment right in the middle of the girls, flexing her fingers and smirking. She sighed blissfully, flicking her tail. “Oh,” she hummed, “I really have to thank you girls. Well, except for the rainbow one—someone had to die for me to test this new magic.”
It was as if she’d spoken the magic word; in an instant Fluttershy shot off from the rest of the group and towards the downed tree with a scream of “Rainbow!”
Applejack’s eyes blazed, and she drew herself up, ears flattening before she launched herself at Venus, clearly intending to distract the monster while her friend ran to try and check on Rainbow’s condition. Too late Rarity screamed for her to stop; in her current state, the blonde probably didn’t hear her anyway.
And even if she had heard her and had tried to stop herself, it would have done her no good.
Venus grinned at the challenge and met Applejack halfway, a blur of black and gray that was so fast that it seemed like for a moment she simply vanished into thin air. Her hand slammed down onto Applejack’s back an instant later, and the farm girl hit the ground with such force that Rarity and Sunset staggered to keep their footing.
To her credit, Rarity reacted in exactly the way a good friend would have reacted after seeing someone they cared about tossed about like a rag doll. And to be fair, the thought of attacking Venus while her back was turned and she was focused on another target was a good one; Rarity could be disturbingly clever about this when she put her mind to it. The problem was that at the same time Rarity was blinded by emotion, and Venus was far more powerful than she had been mere moments before.
With a wild war cry that wasn’t even the least bit dignified, Rarity sprang forward and slammed into Venus’s back, wrapping her arms tight around the beast’s neck and completely forgetting about her instrument. It had its intended effect; Venus was briefly distracted from the whimpering girl on the ground and even staggered back a few steps, disoriented by the feeling of her wings being so thoroughly pinned to her body.
It was more of a victory than either Rainbow or Applejack had gotten, but it ended all too soon once it became obvious that other than jumping on Venus’s back and putting her in a chokehold, Rarity didn’t have much of a plan.
And Venus, it was rapidly becoming obvious, didn’t fight fair.
If Rarity wanted to dangle from Venus’s back and hold on, then she wasn’t even going to bother trying to shake the girl off. Instead, the succubus gave a little hop—and it was almost worth it, just to hear Rarity’s startled little squeak.
Almost.
Then that strength and speed from the Equestrian magic kicked in, and Venus slammed herself into the ground so hard that the pavement of the sidewalk cracked and crumbled. Sunset flinched and choked as dust floated in the air, and after a moment Venus got to her feet and shook herself off casually, stretching her wings with a cheerful hum that was entirely unfitting for the situation.
Rarity was still on the ground. Like Applejack and Rainbow, she didn’t look like she was going to rise again anytime soon. She was still breathing—Sunset and Pinkie could faintly see the rise and fall of her chest. But with the way things were going, she wouldn’t stay breathing.
Venus ever so slowly tilted her head towards the two remaining girls, smirking. Without even realizing it, Sunset stepped between the monster and her friend with a glare, ears flat and hands curled into fists even as she shook.
“Sunset,” Pinkie hissed, and for once there wasn’t even a hint of laughter in her voice. “You need to move.”
“I can’t do that.” Sunset swallowed. “You need to get to Fluttershy and Rainbow.”
“What—“
“Rainbow needs help.” There was no point in whispering; Venus was right there, watching them with a small smirk. She hadn’t even moved. “Fluttershy needs someone to watch her back while she’s helping Rainbow, and Rarity and Applejack need someone to help them up.”
Pinkie’s eyes widened. “H-Hey, I can’t leave you!”
“It’s not leaving when I’m telling you to go,” Sunset snarled. It wasn’t even just about Rainbow. Certainly, the athlete was hurt, of that the redhead had no doubt. Venus had badly wounded all of her friends in simply one attack. But they were still alive and breathing, if only for the moment.
At this point, it wasn’t about fighting. It was about keeping Venus distracted so her friends could run.
Sunset didn’t look back at Pinkie; Venus was moving so fast that it had become blatantly obvious that taking her eyes off of her for any reason was a horrible idea. She missed the internal debate her friend had, but whatever conclusion she came to she clearly didn’t like it, as she let out an enraged, wordless shriek of frustration. The former Equestrian’s ears flicked however when she heard footsteps racing away from her and towards where Fluttershy was trying to help Rainbow, and despite the situation Sunset smiled.
Well, she’d gotten Pinkie Pie to listen to her. She was pretty sure that was something worth bragging about.
Even as Pinkie ran away, however, Venus didn’t move. She continued to watch Sunset with that odd little smirk, the only sign that she even cared for the pink girl at all being that her ears perked to track her by sound. “That was very stupid, you know,” she whispered. “You’ll only buy her a few seconds at best.”
Sunset swallowed and willed herself not to shake, trying to ignore the pained, panicked whimpers of her friends as they realized what was about to happen. “A few seconds is still better than nothing.”
“Brave and in love, oh my.” Venus laughed. “I do like that.”
Wait, in love?
Sunset didn’t even blink before Venus was right in front of her, literally inches between them as she trailed a clawed finger along her cheek and down to her chin, tilting her head ever so slightly. That smirk became a smile. “I would have enjoyed feeding on you,” she sighed. “Alas.”
Sunset knew what was coming.
It didn’t make it any easier when it actually happened.
Venus’s finger retracted as if it had never been there, and Sunset didn’t even have a moment to breathe before the back of the monster’s hand slammed into her cheek with so much force that if she hadn’t had a body overflowing with Equestrian magic, her neck would have snapped right on the spot. The pain was still blinding, and Sunset’s vision briefly went dark as she was sent flying through the air, tumbling into some bushes and vanishing completely from sight.
Venus absently flexed her fingers and sighed; this was annoying, she mused, turning to survey a groaning Rarity and an Applejack that was trying—and failing—to stagger to her feet with a choked gasp of Sunset’s name. Normally the force she’d used would have killed a normal human, but these girls were brimming with the same magic that had powered her this far; clearly it would take more to end their lives than she’d anticipated.
Well. So much for quick and painless.
“Hey! Tall, dark, and scary!”
Pinkie’s shout made Venus’s ears swivel, and blood red eyes shot up to meet blazing blue as the pink girl set herself between her and her two friends. “Why don’t you pick on someone who can fight back?” she challenged.
Venus smiled lazily, flapping her wings idly. “You think you can fight me?”
Pinkie grinned, and if there was any fear in her, she didn’t show it. “I definitely think I can try.”
When Sunset had gone flying, she hadn’t known what to expect. Some part of her thought Venus had hit her with enough force that she would slam into a tree like Rainbow had, while another part of her figured that with the direction she was currently traveling she would end up slamming into the ground after tumbling through the bushes.
Absolutely no part of her thought for even a moment that when she finally landed she would slam into something warm, soft, and distinctly human shaped. That same something shrieked in startled surprise, and a moment later Sunset found herself shoved off of whatever she’d landed on and onto the ground. The stab of pain that traveled down her neck and into her spine from the movement abruptly brought back her vision, and with a choked groan she rolled over onto her side to try and ease it, wrapping her arms tightly around her stomach to keep herself steady.
“We’re under attack! Quick, sound the alarm, prepare the retreat—“
“Shut up Sonata, we’re not under attack! It’s just… oh.”
I know those voices, Sunset thought, but instead of saying anything she simply closed her eyes and tried to focus on her breathing, hoping that doing so would help the pain ease and cause her tremors to fade. Maybe, she thought hazily, this was all her imagination, a hallucination caused by pain and the apparent hopelessness of their situation.
Footsteps approached her softly, and a toe nudged her none too gently in the ribs. She groaned in protest, batting it away.
“Oh my,” a voice above her murmured. “I remember you.”
I definitely know that voice, Sunset thought, and with that her hope that she was imagining this whole thing disappeared as quickly as it’d come. It was shattered completely when the foot made contact with her ribs again, and with an irritated grunt she grabbed the offending foot and shoved it away with as much strength as she could muster, ignoring its owner’s yelp as she opened her eyes.
“Knock it off,” she rasped. “Don’t you have some respect for the dying?”
Sonata Dusk tilted her head, studying Sunset intently as she shoved her hands into the pocket of her hoodie. “You look pretty alive to me,” she chirped.
“We could change that,” a voice growled off to the side. Judging by its low tone and rough sound, that would be Aria Blaze.
“Now, ladies, please.” And that, Sunset thought with a pained sigh, was Adagio Dazzle; the fact was only confirmed when the leader of the sirens knelt down so the two of them were roughly eye level. “I’m sure Sunset Shimmer has a perfectly logical reason for disturbing us tonight.”
“Did you hear the part about me dying?” Sunset muttered, taking a risk and gingerly rolling over onto her stomach. Her ears perked and swiveled, but she couldn’t hear anything that indicated Pinkie and Fluttershy had fallen. For a moment, she dared to hope.
“You still look alive,” Sonata said doubtfully.
Sunset ignored Sonata; it seemed like the best course of action, and while stumbling upon the sirens was an unexpected annoyance, they weren’t a threat. Even in her weakened state, it was clear that they were only unhappy to see her. If they had any desire to attack, they hadn’t acted on it yet.
“She’s ignoring us,” Aria muttered.
“Oh, forgive me,” Sunset snarled, her already thin grasp on her temper snapping completely. “I’m just busy trying to make sure my friends are still alive!”
In truth, she’d been hoping that Venus would pursue her when she’d gone flying. Clearly that hadn’t happened, which now meant Fluttershy and Pinkie were the only girls left standing. Sunset could hear something going on, faintly, but not enough to know what any of it meant; she must have been thrown quite a distance to not hear anything clearly.
“Still alive, huh?” Adagio turned her head towards the noise, narrowing her eyes. “Well, that explains that. I thought I heard a fight.”
Sunset nearly asked why the girls hadn’t done anything if they’d heard what was going on. Nearly, until she remembered who she was talking to. All too clearly she remembered why they wouldn’t have done anything. Beyond the fact that the sirens simply didn’t seem to be good people, the Rainbooms were probably pretty low on their list of favorite people at the moment.
“So,” Adagio said, straightening up and giving herself a small shake. “Who are you fighting? Must be something very nasty, to send you flying like that.”
“Do we care?” Aria asked. After a moment, Sonata raised her hand and nodded eagerly, indicating that she cared. She was soundly ignored by her two companions.
Sunset sighed and, finding that the pain had faded at least somewhat, gingerly got to her feet. She stumbled a bit to keep her footing, but much to her everlasting relief didn’t fall flat on her face. “I’m not sure what she is,” she sighed, “but she said her name was Venus. We hit her and she just came back even stronger than she was before.”
Why Sunset was actually indulging in the sirens’ question, she couldn’t say. But she was glad that she did, because at the mention of Venus something very interesting happened.
Adagio stiffened at the mention of Venus’s name, muttering something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like “Oh, hell.” Aria paled and backed up a few steps, glancing in the direction Sunset had come from nervously. Even Sonata, who most of the time didn’t even seem like she paid any attention to her surroundings, nervously tugged her hood up and over her head as if trying to conceal herself.
“… You know her.” It wasn’t a question.
“If by ‘know her’ you mean ‘crossed paths with her and then stayed out of her way’, yeah, we know her,” Aria said, glancing towards Adagio as if to make sure that what she’d said was acceptable.
Adagio gave her a brief nod. “We don’t exactly mix,” the siren leader said. “It’s a little difficult to feed off of negative energy in the same territory as a succubus that feeds off of love and friendship, and then leaves her victims comatose once she’s done with them.”
Succubus. She was a succubus, and she fed off of love and friendship.
The magic the girls used was powered by love and friendship.
Sunset swore viciously at the realization, and Adagio hummed. “Now you get it.”
“Your friends are gonna die,” Sonata added, in a voice that was creepily singsong. She was only voicing what Sunset herself had already realized, but the reinforcement of the idea made her insides turn to ice.
They didn’t stand a chance against Venus. They’d never stood a chance against Venus, not when they were powered by the very thing that she used as a feeding source.
Your friends are going to die, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it, a voice that sounded suspiciously like her demonic self whispered viciously. And then you’ll die along with them.
No, Sunset thought.
No.
It couldn’t end like this.
“Well, you have fun with that.” Adagio waved her hand, turning her back to Sunset. “As entertaining as this has been, we really must be going. Now that we’ve been found out, we’ll need to scout out a new location.”
Sonata pouted, her mood changing so quickly that Sunset was hit with a case of emotional whiplash. “Awww, do we have to? I liked this spot!”
“Just come on, Sonata.”
“Adagio! Aria’s being mean!”
“I’m always mean!”
Sunset watched them go. Even as her mind raced, trying to turn around every possibility she could think of into a situation where she and her friends survived the night, she couldn’t help noticing that for all of their bluster and pride the sirens didn’t look… well. Good, exactly. They were hardly on death’s doorstep—it had only been a few weeks since the Battle of the Bands, after all—but the clothes they wore still hung a little too loosely from their bodies. The hair that had been immaculate weeks before was now slightly tangled and ragged around the edges, and the long sleeves of their hoodies could easily conceal any dirt or bruises.
No, the sirens clearly weren’t dying. But they weren’t thriving, either.
And just like that, Sunset’s mind latched onto an idea. It was a bad idea, all things considered, but at this point a bad idea was better than no idea at all. “Wait!” she called out.
To her everlasting relief and shock, the sirens paused. Sonata actually swiveled around to look back at her.
Sunset took a deep breath. “Help us,” she said. “Help us—get away from Venus.”
“Are you insane?” Aria barked, whirling around. “Didn’t you just hear what we said? Besides, even if we wanted to help you—which we don’t—it’s not like you have anything to offer us to—“
“You’re starving, right?”
Just like that, a deathly silence fell. Taking it as a good sign, Sunset plunged on. “You’re hungry,” she said. “I’m just guessing, but this is probably the first time in years that you’ve only had to depend on food for sustenance. You’re okay right now, but I can still tell you’ve lost weight. You’re having a hard time finding food.”
The silence stretched on. None of them had interrupted or stopped Sunset yet, and she took that as a sign to continue. “Your hair is dirty, too,” she continued. “You haven’t had a chance to properly wash and maintain it since the Battle. And I imagine it’s not just your hair; I bet those hoodies are to conceal just how bad you’re starting to look without being able to bathe regularly.”
She paused, swallowed.
“And… I’m sure there’s more,” she whispered. “You aren’t the only ones in this situation. You just said you have to find a new location to camp. You’ve probably had to fight for some places, or defend yourselves. How many bruises would I find if I rolled back those sleeves?”
“Get to the point,” Adagio bit out. Unlike her companions, she hadn’t turned around.
But she was listening.
“Help us get away from Venus. You don’t even have to fight her, you can just… distract her or something. And I’ll help you. I have an apartment, you can eat and clean yourselves up.”
There was another beat of silence, in which Sonata and Aria just stared at Sunset while Adagio tilted her head back, looking up at the sky. Finally she groaned, running a hand over her face.
Adagio didn’t say a word, but Sunset knew then that she’d won.
The girl called Pinkie Pie wasn’t human.
Venus didn’t know what she was, exactly, but she certainly wasn’t a pure-blooded human. No human could keep up with her speed the way the girl had managed to do so, and no human could distract her as thoroughly as Pinkie had done so. It had ultimately ended the way every encounter with these girls ended—Pinkie in the dirt, dazed and broken, groaning—but it had taken far longer than it should have considering Venus had Equestrian magic flowing through her veins.
That only left the quiet yellow one. Hopefully she wouldn’t be as much trouble.
“Fluttershy, run,” Rainbow rasped as Venus advanced on them. Fluttershy thoroughly ignored her friend, supporting the battered girl and doing her absolute best to get them both away from the approaching monster. Her absolute best wouldn’t be enough, and Venus bared her fangs in a horrid smile.
Soon it would all be over. She just had to get the quiet one down, and then kill the rainbow one…
“Hey, Venus!”
The shout of someone blatantly using her chosen name, and using it with a tone of familiarity, made Venus’s ears shoot back and down. She turned with a snarl, only for the sound to die on her throat as she realized who was approaching. “Adagio Dazzle,” she purred, changing her posture completely. “It’s been far too long since the last time we met.”
It hadn’t been long enough in Adagio’s book, but she wasn’t about to tell Venus that. She shrugged, coming to a stop a few feet from the succubus and aware of the fact that Sonata and Aria flanked her on either side. “We were just in the area,” she said. “Heard sounds of your handiwork, thought we’d say hi.”
“Hi!” Sonata chirped, waving cheerfully. Aria elbowed her hard in the ribs.
“Just in the area.” Venus chuckled, absently running her tongue over her fangs. “Are you and your sisters hunting in this area? If I’m interfering with your feeding, I apologize.”
This was by far the most disturbing thing about the succubus; for how little she cared for humans overall, seeing them simply as a source of food, she had always treated her fellow beasts with something akin to respect. It wasn’t the same thing, of course. Venus truly believed she was stronger than the sirens. But she wouldn’t pick a fight with them unless she had a reason.
Adagio dearly hoped she wouldn’t find a reason.
Aria shrugged. “We aren’t feeding here anymore,” she said. “Cleared out a school a few weeks ago.”
Venus tilted her head to the side, ears perking as snow white strands of hair spilled about her. “And yet you’re still here?” she asked. “I’m surprised.”
For whatever reason, Venus’s charm—her ability to shift into whoever a person loved and, failing that, taking the form of whatever qualities that person found most attractive—had never had an effect on the sirens. It meant they saw her as she truly was; and at the moment, a hoof was pawing absently in the dirt as her tail swished. Adagio kept a sharp eye on the signs. Venus wasn’t agitated, not yet, but she was baffled.
Adagio slid her hands into her pockets, taking over the conversation with a silencing look at Aria. “It’s been ages since we’ve stayed in a city,” she said lightly. “We thought we’d stay and enjoy what it has to offer before moving on. We figured since you were here too, we just wanted to make sure we wouldn’t intrude during a… delicate moment.”
Like right now, the leader of the sirens thought, but for the moment Venus seemed to have written the girls off so thoroughly that she didn’t even seem annoyed by the interruption.
Venus, for her part, finally seemed to have decided how to word what she wanted to say, and she absently tapped her claws against her chin. “You know, it’s the strangest thing,” she said. “The three of you look like the sirens, you sound like the sirens, you even move like them. But I don’t sense any magic coming from you.”
Oh, hell.
“Well,” Sonata began before Adagio or Aria could stop her, “that’s ‘cause our pendants got destroyed a few weeks ago! So now we’re like, normal human girls, I think.”
“Sonata,” Aria hissed, but it was too late.
“Normal human girls?” Venus prompted, lifting a brow.
“Yep, we don’t have our magic anymore! So now we’re helping Sunset Shimmer and her friends get away from you!”
There was a long, long moment of silence after Sonata spoke. Venus took a moment to glance around, noting without a word that the prey she’d had so thoroughly cornered was no longer present. Adagio groaned.
“… Was I not supposed to tell her that?” Sonata asked, in the tone of someone who didn’t quite realize how badly she’d messed up.
“Why do we bring her places?” Aria asked sadly.
Venus was still calmly looking around, as if to confirm that the girls she’d been only moments away from killing were, in fact, gone. Adagio took a small step back, seeing a window of opportunity. “Run,” she whispered to her fellow sirens.
“But—“
“Run!”
Thankfully, even Sonata listened when she was told to do something more than once and when Adagio’s voice was that urgent. Adagio held no illusions about their chances against the succubus, especially now that they had no magic of their own to call upon, but they could at least try to run.
Try and fail. Juiced up on Equestrian magic, Venus was far faster than the three of them could ever hope to be; a blur of black and gray shot past them and landed right in front of them, and too late Adagio skidded to try and slow down, Sonata and Aria slamming into her back and sending them into a tangled heap on the grass. With an animalistic snarl Venus launched herself at the trio, clearly intending to make them her victims if she couldn’t go after her original targets.
“And the sound that we hear in our hearts, makes a crescendo!”
The shield shimmered to life only a moment before Venus would have made contact with the sirens, and moving at a much faster rate than she had been before sent her flying back much more roughly than before with a frustrated shriek, magic sparking to life at her fingertips.
Adagio didn’t know what she’d expected to see when she opened her eyes, but it sure as heck wasn’t the Rainbooms forming a protective barrier around her and the other sirens. It was laughable, really; even if they were all standing, they looked like a gentle breeze could blow them over, and the shield wouldn’t last. But they hadn’t gone running the minute they’d been safe, either.
They were too nice for their own good, really.
The shield dropped right as magic began to glow along Venus’s hands, and Sunset sucked in a breath as she realized what was about to happen. “Girls!” she cried, and they drew more tightly around the sirens as Venus unleashed her magical blast with a scream that was purely primal.
To their credit, it didn’t distract them from their singing. A similar beam shot from the group, colliding midair with the blast Venus had unleashed, sending off sparks and waves of heat that flattened the grass around them and made leaves sway in the wind from the nearby trees.
Now, Equestrian magic was a funny thing in that it really didn’t follow any hard rules. In that way it was a bit like water; it could be used for any task, and it could be molded into any form. All that it depended on was the strength and intent of its user. Even magic that fundamentally came from the same source could be used in combat against itself; all that mattered was how strong the wielder was, so that someone could be overcome.
It just so happened that while being blasted with Equestrian magic had boosted Venus considerably, it hadn’t actually put her that far above the girls in terms of actually using that magic. And the girls themselves, while having used their magic longer, were still only as strong as they were because all five of them were channeling it.
And when one magic blast couldn’t overpower the other, what happened next was simple: the magic shorted out, and an explosion occurred.
Sunset felt it before it happened; she suspected all of the girls did. It felt as if the magic was pulled from them, leaving them gasping and stunned at the sudden drain. The beam that Venus had been using abruptly cut off as she, too, choked, feeling the same loss that the girls did.
A moment later, the world went white.
The air abruptly rushed out of Adagio’s lungs as the blast threw the girls back, and five very heavy bodies slammed into the tangled sirens with so much force that they actually rolled across the ground. That was nothing compared to what it did to Venus, who was thrown away with such force that she completely disappeared from their line of sight. The girls heard a muffled thud as the succubus landed somewhere that sounded a good distance away from them.
They waited, barely daring to breathe.
Venus didn’t rise, and she didn’t attack them with more Equestrian magic. It seemed that for now, the sudden magical drain and explosion had done the job their earlier attack hadn’t.
“… Yay?” Fluttershy whispered for the second time that night.
“Well,” Applejack said, “ya happy, Rainbow?”
Rainbow just groaned.
You'd think that since magic in the series has no set rules, it would be easier to write about. You would be wrong. 
As mentioned in the story itself (but not given much detail), Venus is named for the Roman goddess who represented love, beauty, sex, fertility, prosperity, and desire. I was originally using the name as a placeholder until I could think of something else, but I ended up liking it quite a bit, so for the sake of my sanity I'm just going to assume that the history and mythology of Equestria Girls is more or less in line with the real world to make the name still viable.
In the next chapter: discussion is had, more is learned about Venus, and the suggestion comes up that they might need Twilight for this one after all. After what she's been through the last two chapters, Sunset's a little nervous about that last one.
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Awesome chapter! Loved the battle. Venus, as we now know her, is one scary lady. I also like how you've kept Sonata ditzy, yet also made her somewhat sociopathic. It's both cute and disturbing. Adagio and Aria were fun to read too, especially their exasperation at Sonata's cluelessness. Hope to see more again soon!
6011164
Thanks very much! And I'm glad that you've enjoyed how the sirens are being written so far. Sonata so far has been a lot of fun especially, and we'll be seeing more of her in later chapters.
Awesome chapter! That battle was a lot more intense and and higher-stakes than I thought it would be, I've gotta' say. I did suspect that the magic blast would backfire if they used it on Venus; they're lucky to have gotten out alive at all! I also love the touch of the magic reinforcing their bodies as well. I personally headcannon that native equestrians are naturally more resistant against blunt damage due to the natural magic within their bodies, so that's pretty cool to see a form of that idea here. ^-^ (Plus it allows for more intense scenes without breaking the suspension of disbelief!)
This chapter would make for a really awesome visual novel. If I had time, I would totally do that... xD
Oh, by the way:
This line just about killed me. xD
Not only that, it's Harmony magic, the mother of all magic.
And great! Now the big bad has an even BIGGER head start in terms of power.
OH FUCK NO YOU DIDN'T!
PinkieShimmer?
What in the world are the odds?
ARIA is afraid. That's bad news.
AHAHAHAHA! Surprise, Venus!
Pinkie in the dirt
Fucking hell, Sonata.
That could work.
So now EVERYBODY is powerless! Normal-Human-Party at Pinkie's place.
Great battle, great way to introduce the Sirens, and to both establish the threat Venus poses while simultaneously giving them a chance of success that's not Venus holding the idiot ball. ETA on the next chapter pls? I need moar.
No kidding, right? It means you get to make up your own rules, but then again, you have to make up your own rules. But I am getting a kick out of this story. The EQG universe needs more adventure stories!
I'm kind of curious as to how the sirens are going to be much help without their powers. Like Sonata said, they're basically human now.
6011426
If you can believe it, the fight scene I posted here was actually toned down; I originally wrote at something far more graphic and violent because at the time I was in a foul mood, but then I realized it broke suspension of belief even if the girls had Equestrian magic helping them survive the fight (which is a headcanon I subscribe to, personally; the idea fits really well and it gives me a way of getting the girls battered without them ending up dead). And all I have to say is if this fight was more brutal than you expected, I'll be interested to see your thoughts when I post the final confrontation between Venus and the Dazzlings at the end of the story; I may need to use the Gore tag for that one.
6011495
First, thanks a lot for catching that error! I went back and edited it, so thank you again for that. The "in love" line was actually supposed to be another SunLight hint building off from chapter one, but I guess I wasn't clear enough about that.
Ah well, live and learn, and Venus is only half right anyway. At this point the best Sunset has is a crush that she hasn't figured out yet, but Venus toying with her head like that is going to make Twilight's presence very interesting for her.
6011630
Glad you're enjoying the story so far! And yeah, I hear you; literally the only established 'rule' we have for magic in EQG is that for the girls it's driven by music, and... that's about it. So a lot of freedom otherwise, but then you have to try and make it fit in with the fact that otherwise there are no rules. It was certainly a fun experience to write.
6011990
That'll actually be a plot point, so it'll be addressed and handled in the next few chapters.
6014084
Oh wow! Funnily enough, I can actually believe it. I can see where the scene could have easily become much more intense. Especially since Venus has claws (gutting was mentioned). Not to mention the sheer brute strength- bones can only withstand so much before they break. But yeah, now I'm really curious what the original draft looked like! xD (I'm a terrible person)
I love darker fics, actually, and do actually love a good bit of appropriately-used violence. Honestly, I was surprised that you took it as far as you did because most fics I've read that weren't focused on that element have really toned-down fights or half-hearted fights with minimal impact. They rarely go the full measure, which sometimes hurts the writing. (not that I'm saying every story needs to be a violent blood-fest; not at all. However, the more realistic and dire everything is set up to be, the more the fight scenes need to be in line with that.) Knowing that their lives really are on the line in this fic is exciting, since now the stakes are raised and a mistake can indeed be deadly. The suspense will be heightened because of it! :D
(Thanks a lot! Now I'm already excited for the final showdown, and I have to wait! xD )
I lol'd. XD
I'm liking how this story is shaping up. Like others have said, the fight with Venus ended up being a lot more violent than I was expecting, but I happily rolled with it. Lucky for the Rainbooms that the Sirens just so happened to be bumming around in the park, otherwise things might have turned really ugly. What follows should prove interesting now that the Rainbooms and the Sirens have joined forces, tenuous though their relationship may be.
Will be looking forward to future chapters!
6015809
Thank you very much for your comment! I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far.
6016396
I'm curious about how is Sunset going to repair the Dazzlings ' amulets for the next fight. A little help from Twilight and Starswirl's journal?
6020554
I don't want to spoil too much of the story, but yes, Twilight is definitely going to have a hand in helping the Dazzlings get their powers back. She won't be particularly happy about it, but Venus's threat level doesn't leave the girls with many other options.
Minor nitpick:
Check out Rainbow Rocks's end credits: they are all "ponied up" (to use the novel's phrasing) together while singing "Shine Like Rainbows," without Twilight.
They also transformed individually in each of their teaser shorts released before the movie. They never actually used magic in any of these instances, but you had this line only as they are transforming, not as they are using magic.
6023993
Ah, that's bad wording on my part.
I meant to imply that they didn't know if they could "pony up" and use the magic in a combat situation without Twilight's presence, but it didn't come across that way. My mistake.
6034076
This story will be focusing on only one monster, yes.
I'm leaving the door open to come back to the idea if I ever want to, but this story in particular only focuses on one monster and the Dazzlings.
6034350 Awesome, and rather well played!
I have to say, this chapter was also very good; I love how Sunset ended up bumping (or rather, crashing) into the Dazzlings, and the plan of escape. There's been a lot of discussion about the fight scene, but I found it just perfect - tense and harsh, but not so over-the-top or brutal that I couldn't more-or-less see it happening in-show. You have my attention!
6036968
The fight scene was the one part of the chapter I was the most nervous about, so I'm happy to see that so far it's gotten a very positive reception. I hope you continue to enjoy future chapters!
MOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6040523
Glad you've enjoyed it so far!
No promises on the next chapter, but I'm working on it.
Finally had time to catch up on my favourite aspiring writer's new project
I have to say, I was a bit worried about the use of the Dazzlings in this fic. I can't really explain why, but I just don't really like them in any fic - they were bad enough in the movie. I'm generally scared away from any story that has one of their tags (may it be romantic, redemption or anything else), but for Rad's sake I was willing to give them a chance.
Of course my worries were quickly erased as Rad's smooth writing style took over me. Your phrasing and writing style have definitely improved since I read your first fic way back then. You were also quick to grasp character concepts of the Mane 6 as well, I was worried this might be a problem since until now you mainly focused on Twilight and Sunset. Maybe you could give us a little bit more interaction between characters - but no doubt it will be a focal point once the Sirens start staying at Sunset's place.
Also, I was delighted to see Sunset being the main character and taking charge in Twilight's absence - it was always something I believed she would do as she has a very strong personality. I am also happy that you didn't push the Dazzlings-are-now-heroes thing... it's something that just won't work out.. in my opinion at least. They are much better anti-heroes, as you pointed out in the author's notes. Oh, and Starswirl's journal entry at the Prologue was very spot-on, it set the basic tone very well. And of course it wouldn't be you if you didn't smuggle a little bit of SunLight into the story!
(yeah I'm kinda jealous of Twilight...
)
Anyways, I'm really happy you took the time to write this, and I can confidently recommend this to anyone!
Oh, I just realized you're still having your vacation. You will have a lot of writing to do when you get back, as we will be demanding regular updates!!
6071158
Well, now I'm back from vacation, so work on chapter three will resume shortly.
6088507
Something about this exchange tickles me pink.
Love this
Looked through the comments and it seems everything I wanted to say has already been said, so I'll just leave you with a "can't wait for more" and a promise to leave better comments on future chapters
Their toughest fight yet.
Patiently waiting for continuation! This is good! I had the sorta same-ish idea about this kinda story so I want to see how this turned out!
well shit!!!
Does Venus have a small crush on our little piece of Pie? I'd love to see that Harley and Joker relationship go on. After all, we all know Pinkie is jack full of love and friendship!
Anyway, I can't wait for more! Hope that update will be soon, but work at your own pace and all!
—NotSoSadReader
I actually love situations like these. Situations where the girls can’t just rainbow blast an enemy and have to actually fight. Wish we saw more of it.