Not Like The Others
NINE MONTHS LATER
Among several other things, Twilight Sparkle considered herself an expert at staying calm under pressure. Not that she couldn’t say the same about her friends too, of course. With all the monsters they’d fought and adventures they’d had together, the three of them had pretty much rewritten the book on courage in the face of overwhelming danger. If such a book were to exist, that is. Was there a book about courage somewhere? Surely there must be a few about the epistemological concept, but what about specific metrics for measurement? Adjustment for situational and sociopolitical variables? How could she call herself brave compared to royal soldiers, or unwed mothers in economically impoverished areas, or postal workers, or…
The point was, she wasn’t scared right now. Nervous, perhaps, just a tiny little tad, but that was nothing worth writing a report about. The velvet curtain in front of her hardly compared to a cataclysmic natural disaster, and the shapeless roar wafting under its gold-tasseled rim didn’t sound one bit like a ten-thousand strong army frothing for battle. And while she was at it, the maze of girders and technomagical spotlights overhead did not in the slightest resemble the spindly limbs of a Tartarus-bound hellbeast, lying in ravenous wait for her to make a wrong move or say something awkward that she’d never be able to live down. Besides that—which basically didn’t count—what did she even have to be worried about?
Nothing, that’s what. Absolutely nothing. She felt fine. Perfectly at ease. Completely okay with the current state of—
“Two minutes, ladies.”
Once she landed from jumping about a foot in the air, Twilight rotated in place towards the stallion who’d just spoken, her heart hammering in complete contrast to how pristinely serene she actually still was. “Yes!” she told him. “Thank you. So much. Really, you’re just… awesome job. Is what you’re doing.”
Though he looked puzzled for a moment, the stallion seemed polite enough not to look a compliment in the tightly clenched mouth. “My pleasure!” he said, a bashful blush darkening his cerulean cheeks. “Any last thing I can get you three before the Mayor’s done with her speech?”
Twilight couldn’t see if Sunset meant to answer him, but she didn’t have to wonder about their other friend’s response. “Actually, yeah,” Starlight mumbled, crumbs spraying from her mouth as she gestured towards a near-empty platter of buttercup-and-banana sandwiches. “Could you tell whoever made these to pack a night bag and just hang out in the carriage till we’re done here? Because I swear to the stars I’m not leaving this town until him, her, or it is catering everything for me, forever.”
Over her stiffened shoulder, Twilight heard a low chuckle. “We’re fine, Noteworthy,” Sunset told the stallion. “And she’s kidding.”
“Less than you’d think,” Starlight added between bites. Noteworthy just laughed, friendly and cheerful as ever.
“I’ll pass on your compliments to the chef,” he said as he left. “And thank you all as well!”
With peace restored, Twilight had time for a deep breath and a quick shake of her head. She’d had a good train of thought going before, something about courage and bravery and a screaming mob of staring, rampaging...
“You okay, Twilight?”
“Mm-hmm,” she hummed at Sunset, pursed lips pushed into a smile. On the other side of the curtain, a magically amplified voice pitched higher with excitement, as did the uncountable throng of listeners cheering at every word. If Sunset noticed the sweat beading under Twilight’s bangs, she did nothing to draw attention to it—or at least was too busy coaxing Starlight away from the refreshments to bother. That was good. The more attention Sunset and Starlight paid to each other, the less anyone would point towards her. A few smiles, maybe a wave or two, and then this would all be over. Simple as that. Certainly no worse than a cave full of monsters.
“... without further ado, I proudly present: the bearers of the Elements of Harmony and Equestria’s resident heroes… Celestia’s Angels!”
Honestly, though, if she’d had the choice, Twilight really would’ve preferred the monsters.
At the Mayor’s booming command, the curtain rose and the spotlights fell. Half-blinded by the sudden glare, Twilight stood paralyzed, blinking and blushing as the deafening approval of hundreds—no, thousands—of ponies crashed over her. Ponyville was a small town by anyone’s standards, quaint and quiet with residents friendly as any Equestria had. On an ordinary day, Twilight rather liked the place—but today was the opposite of normal.
Today had been planned out for weeks, every infinitesimal detail checked and double-checked by every mare and stallion who’d helped set it up. Today was being talked about from Manehattan to Los Pegasus, radio-broadcast from Cloudsdale to Appleloosa, and simulcasted via an unprecedented network of long-distance scrying spells—half of them Twilight’s own design, for pony’s sake—all the way to Vanhoover and Trottingham. Today marked the end of Harmony’s Run, a goodwill tour around the kingdom sponsored by and starring its three most idolized, adored, and distinguished citizens—one of whom was starting to reconsider this whole world-famous-magical-supermare thing.
Oh, stop it, Twilight scolded herself, swallowing hard as the audience undulated before her. There’s nothing to be scared of! It’s just a pep rally!
And technically speaking, it really just was. Concluding the tour here had even been a concession on the part of Celestia’s advisors, chosen over a larger city like Manehatten or Canterlot primarily for the Angels’ sake. After all, this was kind of where it all began for them: where they’d first encountered Nightmare Moon before the Elements’ public debut, and where they’d stopped countless times since on their way to one mission or another. After six straight weeks in the public’s ever-present eye, a low-key visit with allies and acquaintances here had sounded like heaven to Twilight’s ears.
So really, could anyone blame her for being tense when quaint, quiet little Ponyville drew the single biggest crowd of the entire Run? Could she have ever anticipated word of their connections here spreading to every corner of the nation, or even the locals being treated like minor celebrities just for knowing the three of them by name? No, they couldn’t, and she really couldn’t have, but that hardly made her feel any better about it.
It certainly wasn’t a problem for the other Angels. Sunset looked positively radiant at center stage, greeting her fans with a regal wave and basking in their adoration. Ahead of her, Starlight took to the crowd with all the moxie of a rock star, kneeling at the stage’s rim so she could pass out hoofbumps to everypony in reach. It was only Twilight who hated this: all the attention, all the mindless praise she couldn’t help feeling like she didn’t deserve. Protecting Equestria was just what she did—what anypony would’ve done if they were an Angel instead of her. It felt wrong to brag about being special, especially when the whole kingdom already seemed to think they were.
“For the record, you still really suck at lying.”
All at once, the ruckus ceased, like someone had flipped a switch and simply turned the rally off. Until she looked up and saw Sunset in front of her, Twilight thought her eardrums had finally ruptured. Instead, a transparent dome surrounded them both, tethered by a wispy strand of magic to the tip of Sunset’s horn.
“In case you were trying to think of something you’re not good at,” Sunset went on, putting on a wry smirk to match her tone. Bit by bit, the tension seeped out of Twilight’s chest, along with the breath she’d been unconsciously holding in.
“Thanks,” she sighed, meeting Sunset’s stare with her best effort at a brave face. “And sorry. I know we’ve done this a million times, but…”
“But the venue’s overbooked and you thought this one would be calmer anyway, and you still don’t feel like you deserve all this even though you know way better than to think that by now, and the fact that you still do anyway just makes it worse.” Sunset flicked her eyes up in thought, shrugging her shoulders as she added on one last thing. “And on top of everything else, I messed up the Subtle Silence spell and didn’t make it invisible, and that’s honestly bugging you a little bit too.”
Twilight flushed an even deeper shade of red. “Are you that good at reading ponies, or am I that bad at lying?”
“Little of column A, little of column B.”
Another sigh ballooned in Twilight’s chest, as six weeks’ worth of fatigue forced her eyes shut. “I just don’t know how you do it,” she groaned. “I’ve never known. You and Starlight always know what to say and how to act, and I just… make it up as I go along.”
“And you don’t think we do too?” Beyond the blackness of Twilight’s eyelids, Sunset stepped into range for a friendly nudge in the shoulder. “We’ve been doing this nonstop PR thing for a month and a half, Twi. I’m a train delay and a couple nasty looks away from burning down a post office. Hell, Starlight probably has burned one down already, and we’ve just been too busy to notice yet.”
Still blind to the world, Twilight leaned into Sunset and accepted a one-legged hug. “It’s okay to be tired,” Sunset told her, “and it’s okay to be nervous too. Remember how scared Starlight was her first night at school?”
Twilight nodded. Of course she remembered—it had been her first night at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns too, and the first she’d ever spent away from her parents. She’d lied awake for hours, utterly petrified but too embarrassed to tell anypony, until she heard somepony sniffle in the bed next to hers. On that bed’s other side, Sunset had heard it too, and so it was the three most famous mares in Equestria first met: huddled around a stub of a candle, facing a pigtailed filly who’d hardly said a word through all of orientation, and holding her hooves as she softly sobbed about missing her family and wanting to go home.
“And look at her now.” Outside of the bubble, Starlight bounded across the stage, whipping the crowd into a frenzied, inaudible chant. “None of us would be the ponies we are now without each other’s help, and even if you don’t think you’re special, the rest of us all do. So don’t worry about rubbing in how amazing you are. That’s me and Starlight’s job.”
Twilight bit her lip, trying to hold back a grin. “Now you’re just being mushy.”
Sunset huffed in mock offense. “Oh, I’m the mushy one, Miss Element-of-Kindness?” she growled as she pulled Twilight in for a powerful noogie. Twilight couldn’t help but giggle as she squirmed away, so much that even the damp, squishy sound of somepony intruding on the Subtle Silence spell couldn’t ruin the moment.
“‘Sup, nerds,” Starlight said, the dome rippling around her neck where she’d stuck her head through it. “Whatcha doin’?”
“Braiding each other’s manes and talking about our feelings,” Sunset replied, prompting Starlight to make a face and gag.
“Ugh, please. Not on a full stomach.” She glanced at Twilight, her blue eyes suddenly piercing as her brow lifted ever so slightly. “You good, boss?”
Smiling at Sunset, Twilight nodded again. “I’m good. Enjoying yourself out there?”
“Nope,” Starlight said through a toothy grin. “Friggin’ miserable. Wanna jump in?”
Even with laughter still glowing in her cheeks, Twilight’s stomach turned over at the thought. Encouragement notwithstanding, she didn’t feel quite that good yet. “I… think I’m good there too.”
Starlight’s brow shot up again. It seemed she’d been hoping Twilight would say that. As Starlight ducked away again with a wet schlorp, Sunset looked at Twilight again, gesturing with her head towards the dome’s crest. Once Twilight gave her implicit permission, she lit her horn again and let the Subtle Silence spell run out. The clamor hit Twilight’s ears like a runaway train, but this time it all felt exciting—even a little exhilarating. When Sunset strode forward to meet it, Twilight went with her, adrenaline blazing in her chest and Starlight’s call-and-response chant booming in her ears.
“What do we think of monsters?”
“HORSEAPPLES!”
“What do we think of horseapples?”
“MONSTERS!”
“Thank you!”
“THAT’S ALL RIGHT!”
All things considered, she’d fought Tartarus-bound hellbeasts a lot worse than this.
===
Compared to the morning’s mainstage event, the private party that followed it seemed oddly subdued, despite said party’s best efforts to the contrary. Not an inch of Sugarcube Corner had been spared their host’s overeager touch: streamers, balloons, and welcome banners plastered every wall and even the ceiling, all of it laid over by thumping blasts of music and the sweet scent of the pastry shop’s famously delicious wares. The attendees were just as chaotic as the decor, packed shoulder-to-shoulder as they laughed and danced together. If the event had a theme, it was “death by sensory overload”. Anywhere else with any other ponies, Twilight would’ve been wracking her brain for an excuse to escape.
But here, for the first time in the whole Run, she finally felt like she could relax. All the cameras and tourists had gone, ushered away with a friendly wave and a raincloud from the local weather team trailing behind them. Only the cheerful occupants of a sleepy little farm town remained now, their presence alone enough to leave her wonderfully at ease every time she and the Angels visited.
As a sip of punch spread over her tongue, Twilight leaned back in her seat and let the sights and sounds of the party wash over her. She’d lived in Canterlot since she was born and would always consider the Royal City home, but more than once she’d wondered how settling down someplace like this might suit her. There’d be no crowds, no politics, only occasional monster attacks. She’d even noticed a open listing on the Town Hall announcement board, for a two-room apartment above a library housed in an oak tree. What could possibly beat living above a library?
A sudden bray of laughter reminded her of at least one thing. Across the crowded room, Starlight’s horn showered blue sparks into a tub of water, an impish grin stuck to her face along with smoking flecks of the apple she’d just vaporized. She took aim again as another target flew into her sights, and drew another snort out of the sky-blue pegasus hovering above her when she blasted it apart with a sizzling magical bolt. Ponyville might fit Twilight to a T, but Starlight would stick out here like a sore hoof. If a few hours here got her riled up enough to start exploding produce, Twilight shuddered to think what a few years would do to her.
Truth be told, Starlight had always been a bit of a wild card, even as a gunshy little filly. She’d stuck to Sunset and Twilight like glue for weeks after they first met, silent as a mouse until the day a particularly bratty bully on the playground induced a memorable lesson in diplomacy. Of course, in Starlight’s case, “diplomacy” involved headbutting the poor colt in the muzzle and loudly promising the same to anypony who ever picked on her friends again.
The years—plus a few gentle reminders from Sunset and timely Full-Body Freeze spells from Twilight—calmed her down a little, but Starlight’s identity never faltered after that. She’d traded her pigtails for a messy, tomcoltish mop, and grown into a fantastically confident mare with a healthy penchant towards explosions, not to mention—her professors begrudgingly admitted—a preternatural gift for bodily-kinesthetic magic.
Near the shop’s front counter, a trio of mares had noticed her putting that gift to good use, among them the scowling, Stetson-bedecked earth pony who’d stocked the apple-bobbing tub in the first place. True to form, Sunset quickly intervened on her friend’s behalf, grabbing the cowmare’s attention again with an inaudible comment that neither she nor the stunningly dressed unicorn next to her could help chuckling at. The way she went about it, Sunset made persuasion and flattery a veritable art form, one she’d perfected through a childhood spent talking Twilight into their classmates’ social favor and Starlight out of their teachers’ rather consistent ire.
As long as Twilight had known her, she’d been the beauty to her brains and Starlight’s brawn: the filly every colt dreamed of winning over, the young mare who won by a landslide when she ran for class president, and now the public face of the Angels beloved by every one of Celestia’s star-struck subjects. In private, though, Twilight also knew her as a sensitive, steadfast friend who still struggled to keep her ego in check despite her phenomenal magical dexterity, and who’d lay down her life for any mare, stallion, or foal who needed it—most of all the two mares who’d stood by her side every step of the way.
More to the point, she adored Canterlot as much as her hometown of Manehattan, and took to the big-city lifestyle perhaps even more than Starlight did. Though she knew her friends would support her decision if she chose to move away, Twilight couldn’t bear the thought of leaving them behind just yet. Besides, in terms of coffee shops per square foot, the Royal City beat Ponyville by a mile and a half. It wasn’t a deal-breaker by itself, but it certainly dulled the fantasy a bi–
“Omigosh… it’s really her!”
It took Twilight a few seconds to shake herself back to the present, and a few more on top of that to attach the voice she’d heard to its owner. She didn’t recognize the unicorn filly her gaze eventually fell on, but the curly-maned foal sure as hayfire recognized her.
“I told you they were here!” she squealed over her shoulder. “Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, it’s Twilight Sparkle!”
From within the mob crowding the dance floor, two more fillies popped into view—one of whom Twilight did know. With a name like Apple Bloom and a mane as red as her namesake, the earth pony could only be Applejack’s little sister, so the pegasus shoved up against her shoulder must be Scootaloo. And now that she thought about it, she remembered seeing the unicorn somewhere around town before—probably with Rarity, if their matching off-white coats were anything to go by. Hadn’t she mentioned her name once, and something about a club or a secret society…
“We did it, girls! We’re in!” On Apple Bloom’s cue, the fillies jumped up in the air and slapped their hooves together, their shrill cheer loud enough to drown out even the music. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER PARTY CRASHERS! YAAAAY!”
Oh, yeah. Rarity had definitely brought up Sweetie Belle before, right after talking about the migraine she was liable to have later. In retrospect, that anecdote made a lot more sense.
“Is Starlight here? She’s gotta be here, right?” Scootaloo bounced in place as she spoke, her wings fluttering with unrestrained elation. “Rainbow Dash swore she’d be here!”
“Forget about Starlight! Where’s Sunset?” Apple Bloom propped herself on Sweetie Belle’s shoulders, shading her eyes with a hoof as she frantically scanned the crowd. “What kind’a party is it if Sunset Shimmer ain’t here?”
“Omigosh omigosh omigosh…” Sweetie Belle mumbled, gaping up at Twilight with wide, glassy eyes. “I’m in celebrity heaven…”
“Um…” said Twilight Sparkle, craning her neck up to look for Sunset and Starlight. Help, said her eyes once she found them, her meaning more than clear enough to remain unspoken. As her friends excused themselves from their own conversations, Twilight smiled at the fillies and tried to look dignified—or at least, as dignified as one could look with a cup of lukewarm punch in hoof and almost two months of sleep deprivation packed under their eyes.
“Oh!” Yet another voice joined the fray, tinged with soft notes of melodious panic. “Oh my, oh goodness… girls, please, where did you–”
Fluttershy reached Twilight just as Sunset and Starlight did, already stammering out an apology by the time Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash followed their respective companions over. “I’m so sorry, Twilight!” she gushed. “I told Applejack and Rarity I’d keep an eye on their sisters, but I just turned around for a moment and then they were gone! I hope they’re not disturbing you, o-or ruining your party, or…”
“It’s fine, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, opting to interrupt the poor mare rather than wait until she hyperventilated to get a word in. “They’re–”
“Can we have your autographs?” the Crusaders screeched in unison. Sunset bit her lip, and Starlight started rooting around for a pen.
“... they’re fine.”
Swaying with relief, Fluttershy pointed a meek smile at Applejack as her runaway wards piled over each other to reach Starlight first. “Thank goodness,” she said. “This ponysitting thing is harder than it looks.”
“Believe me, darling, you don’t need to tell us twice…” Rarity muttered, backed up by Applejack’s defeated sigh. “Once again, Miss Shimmer, I envy your patience.”
Sunset leaned over to catch the permanent marker Starlight tossed her way, the Crusaders following underneath it like kittens chasing a butterfly. “It comes with the territory,” she said over them, laughter twinkling in her eyes. “And it’s always nice to know we’re appreciated.”
“Well, of course you are!” Scootaloo squealed, mesmerized by the glossy scribble Sunset had left on her safety helmet. “You guys are the coolest ponies in Equestria!”
“Oh really, squirt?” Rainbow Dash landed with a thump, winking at Twilight before Scootaloo could turn around. “So what am I, chopped celery?”
Scootaloo’s ears fell flat as she realized what she’d said. “W-Well… okay, maybe second coolest,” she mumbled as Twilight gently floated her helmet into writing range. “But that’s still pretty awesome!”
Twilight smiled as she signed, finishing her name with a loopy heart like she always did. Sunset had said it best: feeling like a celebrity did have its perks. Once she’d left her mark on Apple Bloom’s hairbow and Sweetie Belle’s flower-patterned notebook, Twilight moved to put the marker back wherever Starlight had found it, but found her path blocked by a mass of frizzy pink hair and an ear-to-ear grin.
“Ooh, ooh, me next, me next!” the mare shouted, thrusting a photograph of the Angels up on the Harmony’s Run stage into Twilight’s face. Twilight blinked in surprise, then snorted as she uncapped the marker again.
“Don’t we sign something for you every time we visit, Pinkie Pie?” she asked once she was done. Pinkie Pie bobbed her head in agreement, cackling with glee as she bounced over to Sunset.
“Yep! Fifteen times and counting! You guys should visit more often so I can get more!”
“Hey, you keep throwing down like this, and I’ll open a Tartarus gate down the road just for the excuse,” Starlight said, leaning over the picture as it reached her so she could scrawl her name into an open space. “Seriously, killer party, Double-P.”
Pinkie shined her hoof on her chest and held it in front of her, blowing imaginary smoke from her sole. “What can I say?” she intoned. “It’s a blessing and a curse.”
“Truth be told, we all chipped in for this one,” Rarity said. “You’ve been so awfully busy this past year, we thought a more… intimate event might lift your spirits.”
“Just our way of sayin’ thanks, I suppose,” Applejack added. “For all that y’all do for Equestria, and for bein’ so good to us little folks in Ponyville.”
“The pleasure’s all ours,” Twilight assured her, Sunset and Starlight chiming their agreement. “You’ve been wonderful hosts, and I’m so glad we’ve all gotten to know each other so well.”
A chorus of “Same here!”s and “Absotively posilutely!”s made its way through the group, and ended with Fluttershy’s sudden gasp.
“Oh my goodness, I almost forgot!” She took to the air for a moment to get a better view of the party, her eyes lighting up when she found somepony out of Twilight’s view. “Over here!” she called out to them. “Come and join us!”
As Fluttershy settled back down, she leaned in close to whisper to Twilight. “She just moved to Ponyville a few weeks ago. She’s a little… eccentric, but she’s been dying to meet you and your friends. If it’s not much to ask, would you mind if I introduced you to her?”
Without the Crusaders screeching in her ear, Twilight felt her nerves settling down and her good mood returning. “Of course I wouldn’t,” she said, confirming her answer with an amicable shrug from Sunset. “I’m sure it’ll be a pleasure meeting, uh…”
The mare caught Twilight’s eye immediately—or rather, it was kind of impossible for her eye to catch on anything else. She stood frozen at the party’s edge, a cobalt blue rock in a blurry sea of bodies, eyes bulging and mouth popped open like the whole crowd had kicked her in the gut as the gap in it closed behind her. She didn’t seem to respond to Fluttershy’s cheery wave, nor look at any of her other Ponyville friends. Mostly, she just stared, unblinking and unbroken, long enough to make even Sunset crinkle her brow.
“This is Trixie,” Fluttershy told them, seemingly accustomed to her friend’s comatose state. “And Trixie… well, I suppose I don’t have to tell you who Celestia’s Angels are!”
Twilight swallowed hard and put on a wan smile, her hoof halfway lifted in greeting. Trixie still didn’t move, or—as far as Twilight could tell—breathe. “Actually, I may not even be introducing you at all,” Fluttershy continued, now speaking to Twilight again. “You probably didn’t see her much, but she actually went to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns too, just a year behind you three! Isn’t that right, Trixie?”
A small noise escaped Trixie’s throat—a cough, perhaps, or at most a winded moan. Her jaw quivered in sync with her legs, and beneath her pale two-toned mane, her face flushed from white to scarlet red.
“She’s, um…” Fluttershy murmured. “She’s kind of your number-one fan.”
As the Angels’ number-one fan graduated from wheezing to outright babbling, Starlight cleared her throat and stared pointedly at Sugarcube Corner’s front door, matching Twilight’s sentiments exactly. Had she been a religious mare, she would’ve prayed to Celestia for any way out of the single most awkward moment of her sapient life—and in light of that, would later remember what happened next as among the most ironic.
Before Fluttershy could drag her dumbstruck friend within drooling distance, Twilight felt a familiar pulse of magic vibrate through her flank. When she looked at her fellow Angels, she saw exactly what she hoped she would: their cutie marks flashing like lighthouse beacons, chiming with each pulse like divine bells of heaven. The three of them shared a look in the time it took the Crusaders to gasp in awe, and just as quickly came to a unanimous, all-too-welcome decision.
“Well, that’s our cue!” Twilight said, her disappointment much less feigned once she turned to face the rest of her Ponyville friends. “Thanks for the party, but we’d better get going!”
“Awww!” Pinkie Pie’s face fell, almost as far as Trixie’s shot up like a firework. “But you just got here!”
“Sorry, guys,” Sunset said, no less firmly than Twilight. “Wish we could stay longer, but, well… duty calls!”
For the first time, Trixie spoke in something approaching Equestrian. “Twili… thastwilisperk…”
“Literally,” Starlight added. “Calling right now.”
Not for the first time, Twilight thanked her lucky stars for the unflappable ally she had in Applejack. “Say no more, y’all,” she said, a knowing smirk perched on her lips. “Don’t leave the world unsaved on our account.”
“Do come back in one piece, though,” Rarity reminded them, herself just as understanding. “Good company is hard to come by.”
Sunset nodded her appreciation, and Starlight threw in a wink for good measure as they clustered around Twilight’s sparkling horn. The moment the teleportation spell was ready, Trixie found her voice again.
“Ohcelestiawaitpleasedon’tgoyetIdidn’tevengetto–”
For the good of all Equestria, Twilight didn’t let her finish. With a pop and a flash of light, Celestia’s Angels left the building.
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Good chapter! I like the way you handle this crossover.
7061456
This is an AU story. The Our Town, equality thing, revenge and stuff didn't happen in this fanfic. The ponies have got different lives, so they can't really be considered OoC.
Now, for Twilight, we know her main traits, so they can be put here, but for Sunset and even more for Starlight, what do we truely know of their mindsets?
That is a great bit of imagery.
Also, poor Trixie...
I really like the three roles Twilight gave the Angels. Sunset the Beauty, Starlight the Brawn and Sparkle the Brains. And if you think about it, it even fits in the cannon.
Sunset manipulated a whole school in fearing and following her. I always imagined this that she mostly used her charisma and people-skills for this, things that are in my opinion part of the skill set of a Beauty.
Starlight who can forcefully rip a pony's identity of their flanks, self-levitate and fight an Alicorn to stand-stil is obvious Brawn.
And lastly, the studious Twilight is Brains. Knows a lot about everything and more. Also knows many different spells but is not as strong as Sunset or Starlight (but still very strong for an unicorn)
Wonder if Trixie's going to be a Syndrome-type character.
I like the backstory of how the girls came together originally. Nice twist on Starlight's friend separation issues.
So, Trixie as a stand-in unicorn for Ponyville? Makes sense, they'd need one.
You know, I want to believe that a version of this is canon.
After all, what are they on a break from? The obvious answer is clearly being secret agents.
Yea. Wasn't a fan of this one. Just kinda threw all the other characters out if nowhere without precision and only thing mentioned really was that they have been there several times before. Was hoping for something more nostalgic but new at the same time that doesn't show how they are also the the elements and what not.
I liked the beginning as it kinda eluded to a deeper story and feeling behind but overall was kinda boring and and not captivating.
damn unicorns stealing the show...
*shakes cane*
Oh, I am loving this!
Awesome work!
And Trixie as their number one stalker fan!
Priceless!
Anypony else now wanting them to get the CMC as their apprentices and see EXACTLY how much damage happens?
The rest of the mane five, the CMC, and even Trixie enjoyed the party. I was hoping that, with the Elements down to three Bearers in this AU, the cast would be small enough to leave room for Spike to do more than jack shit. Oh, well.
I both loved and hated the party scene. It's neat how you were able to use [and balance] all twelve of those characters without anyone's presence feeling stilted or shoehorned. Of course, that level of skill must be nothing new to your usual readers. Will any of the Ponyvillians serve a purpose, though?
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Minor spoiler, I suppose, but Spike has a slightly bigger role with the Angels here than he does in the canon show, I'd say. He just didn't accompany them on the Harmony's Run tour. There'll be a non-zero number of scenes later in which he's a non-useless active participant in the group.
As for all the folks from Ponyville, they're pretty much just cameos for this one chapter. I figured it'd be fun to show this AU as less divergent from normal canon than you might first think, in terms of Twilight's relationships with regular canon characters.
So... Spike is Bosley?
And will there be awkward shipping occurances? 
OMG I WANNA READ THE NEXT CHAPTER ALREADY!!!
Six month checkup.
Gg, Trixie. Gg.