Finding a Place

by Battlecat

Chapter 22 - To Sing

I was floating in a universe filled with stars that looked as broken as I felt. Fragments of crystal and wood were floating in a debris cloud around me. Bizarrely, only the crate I used as an end table was intact, floating in empty space a short distance away. I curled up into a ball as the weight of my failure and mistake began to crush me. I felt tears flowing down my cheeks as I began trying to comprehend how badly I just screwed up.

“What was I thinking? What have I done?” I whispered over and over to the broken debris field.

“You did what we believed was necessary,” came the answering voice. “Even if it was a bad decision, we have to live with it.”

I uncurled a tiny bit to look and found Spark floating nearby watching me with sympathetic eyes. I curled back up in a ball.

“We bucked up Spark. All I accomplished was giving the Sirens more power.”

“That’s true Silver. Now we have to sort out the aftermath.”

“How can I face anyone?” I asked with growing incoherence. “I was really going to do it, I was ready to attack them and I would have used my knife if it came down to it. I would have risked ending three lives and been no better than the Scorpions. When push came to shove I resorted to violence and instead of helping, I wound up feeding them. The girls will hate me forever when I tell them. I can't keep this secret; they need to know the truth that I'm just another monster.”

I heard Spark's foot stomp on an invisible floor. “That's enough of this pity party Silver. Seriously, just stop it. Pinkie will be pissed you didn't invite her.”

I laughed bitterly but didn't respond. Spark continued his lecture.

“We will have to face the consequences of what we tried to do. Yes, the girls might reject us when we tell them but right now that doesn’t matter. The Siren's let it slip that they still haven't won. They told us they won’t have their full powers back until AFTER tonight’s performance.”

I uncurled and looked over at the earnest golden cat eyes of my partner.

“That is true,” I whispered. “But what good does that do us? We're unconscious . . . Ok I feel really weird saying that out loud but still, here we are.”

He chuckled. “We really have to adjust our worldview, don’t we? The fact that we are here right now suggests we aren’t totally gone. I think we can pull ourselves back to reality.”

“How? We’ve never even pulled ourselves out of a normal sleep at will. I have no idea how badly injured we are now.”

“Well we are still alive so let’s look at this logically. These lucid dreams didn't exist before we got magic. Ergo, this must a magical construct we are standing in. Magical constructs can be changed through force of will and magic which we must be doing to manipulate our dreams the way we do already. So we need to adjust this dream to push our mind back to the waking world.”

I finished uncurling and floated over to Spark. “It's a stretch but it's better than floating here moping. That was awfully simplistic line of thinking so I hope you have an idea about how to actually accomplish this feat.”

“First we need to pull ourselves together,” he said looked around at the debris field. “Our dream is shattered right now, probably representing the abnormal loss of consciousness and our mutual despair. We need to get this dream back to normal and under our control. Then we need to force ourselves awake.”

“How are we going to do that second part?”

“We’ll take a page from the way Princess Luna beat the Sakitan curse. All these mind manipulating magical things appear to be linked to memory. I think we can wake ourselves up through the memory of being knocked out.”

“That's so logical it might just do the trick,” I finished. “If we succeed, please don’t doubt your significance again; I would never have thought of this, Spark.”

Spark had a pleased expression on his face. “I'll try. I guess we'd better get to work.”

Thursday, November 17, 2016: Continued

For the second time this week I woke up to the sensation of the cold, unyielding ground pressing against my cheek. Unlike last time, there was no comforting voice or a hand holding mine for reassurance. Rebuilding our mind and waking up had been an exhausting task with several bumps and pitfalls along the way. Assuming we were actually awake, the bonus result was a potential method to wake up from sleep at will in the future.

“Guuhhhhhhh,” I moaned as I became aware of the pain in my stressed muscles. “Buck me this hurts.”

Suck it up, Silver. We've got work to do.
I know. Hold your horses.
Cute. Very funny Silver.
Shush, let me take stock. I'm not sure if our body still works.

My head was ringing from the effects of repeated electrocutions and my chest was aching. I looked down at myself and realized the barbs from the Taser were still embedded in me. It looked like the Sirens had just cut the wires rather than try to remove them. I resisted the urge to pull them out and scrambled to my feet. I needed to get to the car. I noticed shattered phone on the ground and cursed the fact that I wouldn't be able to call anyone. I grabbed it and my dagger before jogging back to my car. The sun had finished setting already which added to the urgency of my mission.

Working quickly I shed my shirt and pulled out a first aid kit. I had fairly extensive first aid kits at home and in my vehicles since metalwork and martial arts both resulted in regular cuts and bruises. I carefully extracted the vicious barbs left behind by the Taser, then cleaned and bandaged the punctures and the surrounding burns as best I could. I was just getting started on the drive over to the amphitheater when I heard the sound of rock music in the distance.

That’s got to be the concert starting.
Crap, we’re running out of time.
We still have a chance to make this right Silver.
I hope so. Let's get to that park and gear up.

I careened through the streets at high speed towards the park while praying the police weren’t around. I pulled up as close as I could, considering how many people were at this bonus free concert. This time I wasn't holding back and I pulled out the gear I had gathered from home. I strapped on a light breastplate and a lightweight steel helmet. They were items I wore for tournament sword fighting back in Manhattan. The twin short sword was strapped to one hip and I had a small round shield on my back.

Rounding out my ensemble was the combat gloves and Lunar Iron bracers the portal had given me. They were a gift from the Equestrian portal and I wasn't going to walk into this fight without them. It wasn't great protection by any stretch of the imagination but it would have to do. At least it might help against another Taser hit but I knew if the Siren's had a gun as well, I would be screwed.

As much as I wanted to fly to save time, I needed to conserve my limited magical ability. I ran across the parking lot towards the amphitheater where the performance was taking place. It was actually the same park where the Halloween incident occurred. Fireworks shot into the sky as I entered the park, and I suspected those were from Trixie’s band. Did the girls not win their half of the competition? I cursed my petty foolishness at turning off my phone earlier but it was moot now that it was destroyed.

I slowed down when the familiar sound of the Siren's song began. I immediately felt the pressure of their spell building against my mind. I transformed without any hesitation and the pressure decreased from painful to merely uncomfortable. It didn’t go away completely but it was at a level I could manage for now.

Under control Spark?
Surprisingly, yes. This isn’t going to be easy.

Running up the hill felt like pushing against a river but at least my head didn’t feel like it was in a vice. I stayed low and crouched down when I reached one of the hills overlooking the stage. I could see the Sirens down on the stages singing. The red gems on their necklaces were now glowing brightly with magical energy. I could feel their song weaving an enchantment over the crowd which was dropping into a silent trance as the Sirens sang.

Do we charge in? We're running out of time.
Wait. Look back at the other side of the amphitheater.

I moved my attention over where Spark indicated and I spotted the girls and Spike gathered in a small group. Everyone except Sunset was dressed in some sort of crazy outfits that were an insane riot of color. They were staring down at the stage with worry on their faces as they watched the sirens with their instruments in hand. Then a white and blue car pulled up driven by Vinyl Scratch. I watched in utter disbelief as the car suddenly folded and changed shape, turning into what looked like a sound and light system.

A prickling sensation pulled my attention back to the stage just as the sirens became engulfed in ribbons of blood red magic. They never faltered in their song as they grew pony ears, longer tails and finally the cocoon exploded, revealing a set of wings on each girl. The confusing part was the appearance of the wings. They were actually quite pretty with translucent patterns that almost reminded me of fins. Unfortunately, the magic from the Siren's music was increasing in intensity and the pressure on my mind was getting harder ignore.

Spark, how are you holding up?
I can't hold this together much longer.

It was that moment I heard the Rainbooms start to play, interrupting the Siren's song. The pressure I was feeling pushing against my mind evaporated completely. The girls were playing a song I'd never heard before and it washed over me like a warm blanket. I watched them pony up, their ears, wings, and hair exploding into existence with a wave of magical energy. Unlike the past performances, I could see new colored streaks had appeared in their hair and I wondered what was different this time. I felt myself humming along with the song quietly.

Keep humming! Their song is making this easier.
Will do.

The sirens suddenly started singing again and their amulets began to glow painfully white. I felt the magic pushing against my mind but I kept my focus on the Rainboom’s song which seemed to help protect me. The Siren’s eyes turned blood red and a faint glowing bubble of energy appeared around them. Then three massive glowing manifestations burst out of their necklaces into the air. These were anything but natural. They looked like a twisted cross between a pony and a fish but with jagged teeth and eyes. Each manifestation was the size of a car and had a massive version of the necklace gemstone embedded in its chest.

I got up to my feet, drew the sword and strapped my shield onto my arm. Everything was happening so fast, I had to be ready if I needed to act. I could help grinning when Fluttershy unleashed a blast of butterflies into Sonta's manifestation, sending it reeling backward. Rarity did the same to Aria with a stream of diamond shards. Twilight unleashed a burst of magic at Adagio but she countered with a long high note, pushing the attack and Twilight back.

This is the turning point Silver. We need to go! NOW!

I began to run down the hill, focusing every spare bit of my mind on fighting against the Siren song. There was no doubt in my mind about what I had to do and why I was doing it now.

“You!”

The other two siren manifestations joined Adagio in a powerful harmony. The girls were sent tumbling to the ground, sprawling and cutting off their song.

“Won't!”

I dimly saw the microphone roll over to Sunset's feet just as I jumped into the air and began flying towards the manifestations as fast as I could.

“Hurt!”

“SUNSET SHIMMER! QUICK! WE NEED YOU!” yelled Twilight.

“MY!”

Sunset bent down to pick up the microphone but the Sirens weren’t planning to give them a chance to regroup. Not when they were on the verge of winning. The manifestations dove towards the girls with open jaws ready to attack.

“FRIENDS!”

Spark and I screamed together in our as we whipped past Adagio's manifestation at full speed, flicking the blade of the short sword across her monstrous incorporeal visage. I was relieved to see a stream of glowing red magic started to flow out of the wound like mist. Adagio screamed with rage and the three siren monsters turned their focus on me. I hovered above the girls, ready to fight. I needed to hold the siren's attention while my friends regrouped.

“This time I’m ready,” I snarled at Adagio. “Bring it on horse face.”

I heard shouts of surprise and encouragement from my friends below but I couldn't take the time to answer. I had to focus on surviving this battle against three car-sized monsters. Sonata was the first to lunge at me but I spun out of the way. I managed to smash her face with my shield while dodging her attack. She whipped her tail against my head, clipping my helmet with a painful blow.

The impact sent me into a tumble so I dove down and soared past the girls to gain speed. I noticed Sunset’s face was uncertainty as she slowly walked over to the other girls with the microphone in hand.

“You can do this Sunset!” I shouted while I flipped in midair to avoid Aria's attempt to sink her teeth into my leg. There was a loud screeching sound of scales on metal when Aria countered by whipping her hoof at me, cutting deeply into the chest plate. I responded by slashing my sword along her offending arm.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Adagio dive in towards Sunset with a murderous expression on her face. I dove after her and whipped my sword through the big fin on her back. She screeched with pain and turn with impossible speed to try and bite me in half as I flew past. I flipped over and pushed my shield right into her mouth which closed around it. I was eye to eye with Adagio and she glared at me with pure rage. She shot up into the sky, dragging me along by my arm and shaking me around like a rag doll. I swung my sword against the inside of my shield several times to sever the straps holding it in place. When they finally snapped I dove towards the ground while Adagio tried to get the shield out of her mouth.

A new beat started emanating from Vinyl’s massive sound system. Then I heard Sunset begin to sing.

“You're never gonna bring me down
You're never gonna break this part of me
My friends are here to bring me 'round
Not singing just for popularity”

There was something special in this new song and it drew my attention like it was calling me. I deflected another attack from Sonata and slashed her tail fin before diving lower and closer to my friends. Sunset pulled Twilight up to her feet and they both began to sing together in perfect harmony.

“We're here to let you know
That we won't let it go
Our music is a bomb and it's about to blow”

The other girls finished getting up to their feet and joined the song while I flew overhead ready to fight again. I watched Adagio finally spit out the shield. I readied my sword and prepared for the siren’s next attack. I hovered there exhausted with my magic running out but ready to fight with everything I had left. The three sirens regrouped overhead and dove towards us prepared to finish everyone off.

“And you can try to fight”

I was ready to fly up to intercept the attack but a glance from Sunset and Twilight while they sang together changed my mind in an instant. When I saw the relief on their faces I stopped and listened for a tiny moment. I realized what a fool I had been.

“But we have got the light of . . .”

I didn't have to fight alone anymore, not when I had these girls as my friends. I shouldn’t have doubted them and I needed to have faith just like I had counseled Sunset. At that moment I felt the growing magic flow in towards me and pull me into the song. I landed next to Pinkie and began to sing; supporting the music I had never heard by instinct alone.

“. . . Friendship on our side!”

The exhaustion that had been dragging me down vanished as the magic flowed back out of me to support the massive spell that was forming. It held within it a powerful feeling of warmth and belonging. The sirens were diving towards us faster so I gripped my sword tighter, ready to re-engage them if I had to. Sunset and Twilight raised their hands and touched their fingers together.

“Got the music in our hearts”

A massive wave of rainbow energy exploded from their fingertips.

“We're here to blow this thing apart”

The spectral sirens were caught in the rainbow shockwave and were sent tumbling through the sky like they'd been hit by a freight train.

“And together, we will never”

I held on tightly to my sword, drawing comfort from the familiar weapon and put all my effort into supporting their song.

“Be afraid of the dark”

With my sharp eyes, I could clearly see the rainbow hit the physical Sirens on stage. They stumbled back from the impact and the red glow in their eyes faded away.

“Here to sing our song out loud”

A magical glow surrounded Sunset Shimmer and she floated into the air.

“Get you dancing with the crowd”

I saw her begin spinning as ears sprouted on her head and her hair grew down to her ankles. There was a huge smile on her face as our eyes met. I saw that confident smile I saw in my dream when she saved me from the Siren’s first song.

“As the music of our friendship”
“Survives, survives!”

I felt something lifting me off the ground and soon I was floating with the girls in the air with a forest green aura surrounding me. Each of my friends had a similar aura around them, running the full length of the rainbow. All I could do was keep singing and just let the magic guide me.

“Got the music in our hearts
We're here to blow this thing apart
And together, we will never
Be afraid of the dark”

A massive rainbow shot up from where we were floating and into the clouds. I caught a glimpse of a sphere forming above us but I turned my attention back to the crowd when I heard more voices joining in the song. They were singing along with us and each other. The Siren's spell over the other students appeared to be broken.

“Here to sing our song out loud,
Get you dancing with the crowd,
As the music of our friendship,
Survives, survives, survives!”

I looked up and saw a massive spectral Alicorn pawing at the air with its hooves with a glowing rainbow mane and tail behind it. The manifestation’s horn pointed at the stage and bathed the spectral Sirens and their physical ones with a beam of pure white light. I saw the manifestations explode and at the same time the glowing red light from the sirens flared and then faded out.

We descended to the ground and all our pony features faded away, mine included. When the light faded I saw the sirens stare at the ground in horror and quickly gathered something up into their hands. When they started singing their faces fell with horror when their voices cracked and sounded off key. They kept trying to restart the song and their verses but their voices refused to cooperate.

“We will be adored . . . Tell us that you want us . . . We won't be ignored . . . It's time for our reward-”

The crowd quickly turned on the Sirens with loud booing and thrown items. The sirens dropped whatever they were holding and ran off the stage and disappeared. I slammed my short sword back into its sheath and turned to face the girls. Before I could speak, Sunset and Twilight had engulfed me in a huge hug. I winced at the contact against my skin that I had been trying to ignore.

“I can’t believe you did that again, Silver!” Sunset said. “What is it with you and dramatic entrances?”

“Thank Celestia you're alright,” Twilight added. “Where did you disappear to Silver?”

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly, keeping my hands to myself and not returning the hug. “After our last encounter at school, I made a terrible decision that almost screwed everything up. I have a lot to answer for and I fear you're not going to like it.”

"Everything will be ok Silver. I don't know where I'd be without you," Sunset whispered.

Before I could answer her, Rainbow Dash walked over and looked me in the eye. “You have nothing more to answer for than the rest of us. I was a huge jerk earlier. I would blame stress or the Sirens but that’s not an excuse the way we treated you. You always have a place with us, even if it’s just as a voice of support.”

“Maybe,” I replied dubiously, pushing my anxiety aside for the moment. “I won’t hold you to that until I’ve explained what I was going to do. Right now we have a crowd to deal with and I want to know what the Sirens dropped on the stage.”

The girls looked worried at my statement but nodded in agreement. I scooped up my shield from the ground nearby and examined it as I followed the girls towards the stage. I shuddered at the sight of the steel that was bent and punctured by Adagio’s jaws. That could have been my body if I had made a mistake during the fight. The steel of my breastplate had a long gouge halfway through the metal from the hoof strike. I pulled off my helmet and examined at the dent from the impact of Sonata’s tail. Any one of those attacks would have been enough to put me in the hospital or worse.

“You ok?” asked Pinkie, suddenly popping up beside me. “You just went pale as a ghost.”

“This is the most gratitude I've ever felt to pieces of armor,” I replied, indicating my chest plate and shield. “My father made these for me to use in tournament fighting and wearing them probably just saved my life.”

“I'll throw you a 'Yay, Silver didn't die again party!' if you like,” she said with a worried giggle.

I laughed. “Maybe but I think a 'Sunset has magic now party' would be more upbeat.”

Her eyes widened with excitement. “We can do both!”

I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around and saw Vinyl Scratch looking at me. Her eyes were unreadable, concealed by her glasses. She gave me a thumbs up with a huge grin on her face before holding out her fist. I didn’t leave her hanging and I gave it a bump with my own fist.

“Thanks for stepping up to help my friends, Vinyl.”

She nodded and gave my shoulder a friendly slap on her way past before continuing on toward the stage.

Did we just make another friend?
Possibly. Wait, we’re missing something.

“How did you avoid falling under the siren's spell, Vinyl?”

Vinyl grinned and tapped her headphones. I stared in disbelief as realization struck like a punch to the face.

I smacked my forehead. “You mean all I needed was a pair of earplugs to protect myself from their song? For Luna’s sake, how did we all miss that?”

Nobody had an answer for me, but from the abashed glances, it looked like everyone else had been caught off guard by the simple loophole as well. When we got to the stage, Dash, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity stepped forward to address and distract the crowd. In the meantime, Twilight, Sunset and I knelt down to look at the fragmented crystals on the stage.

Sunset picked up a particularly large fragment and examined it. “Guess that explains why these necklaces were so special to them. They got upset when I asked about them on the first day.”

“Without those pendants and the magic you brought here from Equestria, they're just three harmless teenage girls,” Twilight concluded.

I glanced around the stage and ran my finger through a funny looking spot of moisture. When I examined the red liquid more closely I gasped and looked more carefully at the floor. There were dozens of small wet spots, splattered about in small lines where the Sirens had been standing. I felt a wave of guilt flood through me when I turned to show Twilight and Sunset.

“This is fresh blood,” I said quietly, showing them my finger. “They’re hurt. How did the Sirens get injured?”

“I . . . I honestly don't know,” Twilight replied. “Their physical bodies were never touched. Maybe backlash from the manifestations when you attacked them or cuts from the pendants exploding?”

“Maybe. What do we know about –”

Before I could ask Twilight my question I was interrupted by the one voice that was driving me up the wall lately.

“Rainbooms Rule! That . . . what are you doing up here?”

Sunset, Twilight and I looked up from where we were crouching towards the stage entrance. Flash Sentry was standing a few steps away having stopped short when he spotted me. His expression was a mixture of disgust and worry while he looked at us. Twilight and Sunset were simply confused as she looked back and forth between Flash and I. For my part, I was just tired of everything. If my fear was correct, we did not have time to entertain Flash’s idiotic behavior.

“Helping Twilight,” I replied tersely in a weary voice before turning my attention back to the matter at hand. “Twilight, what about -”

“She doesn't need your help,” he interrupted. “Come on Twilight, I need to talk to you.”

“You're going to have to wait your turn,” I replied. “This conversation is time sensitive.”

Flash Sentry snorted. “That's not your call. I think you need to stop wasting everyone's time.”

“Flash, what is with you?” asked Sunset. “You never acted like this when we were dating.”

“Back then it wasn’t complicated,” he responded. “Well until you got weird and mean before we broke up. I don’t want -”

“For Luna’s sake Flash, can you shut your trap for two minutes,” I interrupted, fighting the growing urge to put his lights out. “I’m sorry, but this is more important that your chronic insecurity.”

His expression turned angry and he launched into a tirade of shouting. ‘WHERE DO YOU GET OFF –“

“BE QUIET!” Twilight snapped at both Flash and me with authority, cutting off his rant before he could go on. She then continued more gently. “Just stop, please; Flash, I’ll talk to you in a minute. I’m sorry Silver; you had a question for me?”

Mercifully, Flash’s mouth closed and he crossed his arms. He was looking a bit ashamed of himself which was a first. Granted he had just been told off by Twilight so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. I was just as guilty of going off course, though.

“I'm sorry about that Twilight," I said in a small voice. "I was going to ask, what do we know about who the Sirens actually are? They’re hurt, potentially by my hand so I need to know: are they inherently evil or are these pendants something more than just a focus? Is there any precedent for an artifact to manipulate someone's behavior? Like the One Ring from Lord of the Rings?”

My guilty conscience was making me grasp at any possible idea, even one from fiction. I just hoped I wasn't wrong. Twilight looked confused by my example and I remembered she hadn't read the books. She considered the question and her expression turned to one of horror.

“The Alicorn Amulet! It’s a power amplifier that increases aggressive and violent behavior the longer somepony wears it. The gem set in it looked nearly identical to these ones.”

“Sweet Celestia,” Sunset whispered. “Somepony found that monstrosity?”

“Trixie's counterpart acquired it and attacked Ponyville before I became an Alicorn. She was just short of seriously harming ponies when I managed to stop her by tricking her into removing it. If these pendants work like the Alicorn Amulet did, the Sirens might actually be innocent creatures.”

I looked over at each of the girls and then focused on Sunset. “That’s enough evidence for me. Make sure these fragments are secure before you leave. I’m going to track the Dazzlings down to make sure they get the first aid they need. However, I have a question that I need you all to answer. Do I offer them the same chance we gave you, Sunset? All of us are in this together and if I'm going to offer them a chance I want us all to be in agreement.”

Sunset looked into my eyes with a surprised expression on her face, which softened. She ran her finger along the groove in my armor from the hoof strike. “I’m beginning to see where you might fit into the magic of friendship Silver. After what they nearly did to all of us tonight, you still want to extend an olive branch. I say go for it.”

Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack had turned to listen and were nodding with agreement.

“Some of my biggest regrets are the enemies I couldn't help back in Equestria,” said Twilight. “It's worth a try.”

“Ah’m not going to trust them, but ah don’t see any reason not to give them a chance to prove us wrong,” said Applejack. “Everything worked out pretty darn good with Sunset.”

“If they step out of line I'll give em heck,” Rainbow Dash added. “So bring em in. I haven't regretted trusting you for a moment.”

“Wait, you’re not just going to get revenge?” Flash interjected, looking completely bewildered by their support for my suggestion was receiving and looked a the group of girls. “You all believe this guy is going to go and be NICE to these Dazzlings after what they did?”

“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, Flash Sentry,” I replied as I got up to my feet. "I don’t need more people in this world who want to hurt me. Girls, at worst, I'll try to ensure we have a truce with them so we don't have to worry as much about retribution. I’d better get going before their trail goes cold.”

I picked up my broken shield and turned towards the exit. I wound up facing Flash and his eyes widened when he got a good look at what I was wearing. His mouth was opening and closing without any sound coming out. My armor was actually battle damaged now, with several gouges from the siren's attacks, my shield was bent with tooth holes in it and my helmet had a massive dent in it. I lifted my sword half out of its sheath and replaced it before securing it. I was about to leave when there was a tap on my shoulder.

“Wait, why can’t we come with you?” asked Rainbow Dash who had come up behind me. “They're not going to be able to hurt us.”

I gestured out at the audience filled with excited people. “First of all, the Rainbooms need to bring this house down with another song. The crowd looks like they want you to perform so -”

Suddenly Trixie popped up next to us with a furious expression on her face. “You may have vanquished the Dazzlings, but you will never have the amazing, show-stopping ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

She threw a ball at the ground which exploded into a cloud of smoke leaving us all choking. When the cloud cleared she was climbing off the wall at the back of the amphitheater. She fell off the other side but I was just staring absolutely speechless.

“What the hell was that about?!” I yelled with between coughs.

“Trixie thinks she should have won the semi-final round,” said Rarity “And honestly, she's right.”

I pinched my nose, irritated at the distractions. “You'll have to tell me about it later. You need to get up there and show them your best. As I was saying, the other issue is I’m going to have to pony up to track them due to the head start they have. I should be able to gain some ground by going over buildings as a shortcut which will make it hard for you to keep up.”

Assuming you’re up for it Spark.
I feel like I could fly a marathon at the moment.

“That does make sense,” replied Twilight. “Can you use your portable phone thingy to keep us posted?”

“Right, crud. Umm, could I borrow someone's phone?”

“What happened to . . . oh.” Sunset’s eyes widened as I pulled the remnants of my phone out of my pocket.

“One of the prices of my earlier stupidity,” I said sheepishly. “Don’t worry; I won’t let them damage yours.”

Sunset handed over her phone with a smile. “You'd better not. Make sure to check in every fifteen minutes. If you don’t, I’ll use the phone tracking app to find you. Stay safe; we need to talk later.”

I nodded and gave her hand a squeeze before running towards the back exit from the stage. Once I was out of sight, I immediately released the magic into my body. The night brightened once again as my eyes changed and the wings sprouted on my back. I felt incredibly energized as I took to the sky with a flurry of wings and soared off towards my car to grab the first aid kit.

You know, I can smell the blood on our finger.
Wow, I never realized that. This transformation comes with a better sense of smell as well?
Honestly, it's the first time I've noticed it. Good timing, I suppose.
This should make it easier track them down.

I flew off to the car as fast as I could. Time was of the essence.

Author's Note:

Yeah, I kind of like that one song from Rainbow Rocks. It’s a great moment. With the Battle of the Bands over, it’s time for the story to really being to veer off into new ground. I figure absorbing Silver's magic and his encounter with them made the Siren's more aggressive and less likely to sit around and gloat while their enemies regrouped. That's my interpretation and I'm sticking with it!

And phew, that was a tough series of scenes to sort out. This part of the arc was quite the challenge to write so I hope you enjoyed it!

Comments

[Black_Adam]

The story is great so far. I am really looking forward to see where this is going.
I wonder what the next chapter's going to be about. Anon-a-Miss?

[BlazeXDemon]

Awesome story update soon
Question is there going to be a friendships game and the everfree forest..... will silver
Pair up with sunset shimmer or a harem?

[Battlecat]

7918109 - Thank you very much! Honestly, I've been looking forward to getting to this point in the story ever since I started writing it. Can't comment on what's next except to say that I have plans.

7918156 - Thank you for your kind words! The first question is easy since I do have adaptation plans for the other two movies including one or two scenes sketched out but don't expect them for a while. As for the other question, that will be remaining my secret.

[Nightshade1228]

Wow great chapter i really like what your doing with the dazzlings adding them to the circle makes me happy i normally dont see stuff like that but yea also my final answer is sunset and silver ship and if im wrong well damn you had me fooled but yea cant wait for the next chapter i cant wait to see how long this story is going to be i love loooooong stories

[Battlecat]

7918266 - Glad you enjoyed it! Like I said in the author's note, this was a tough one to get right. I promise the answer to your other bit of speculation will show up in the next 6500 words or so.

As for the length of this story, it's already 6 full chapters more than my original outline! Luna help me, I just can't stop adding more.

[Nightshade1228]

7918292 im glad you've written so much its really turning into an amazing book so far and i cant wait to find out if im right, this book really has not been dissapointing what so ever honestly keep up the great work

[Battlecat]

7918532 Will do! I appreciate your support.

[Blackshadow of Abys]

it's almost time for the friendship game, and camp everfree but what after will you flow the story more freely after the EG movies.

[Battlecat]

7919088 - The other two movies are actually a long way out as far as my story plan goes. An event like the Friendship Games feels more like it would be scheduled for spring and we're still in November. It's scheduled already as far as the school year is concerned but there's a long road between now and then. So, if I'm reading your question correctly, I can at least inform you that there are a lot of free-flowing chapters right around the corner.

[goldenrise365]

Flash needs a reality check. This time, he actually saw Silver helping the girls. He just needs to cool it and lay off.

[Battlecat]

7920173 - It's amazing what a person can willfully ignore. I suspect his reality check is about to be cashed in.

[goldenrise365]

7920454

I hope so. I hate when people are blind to the truth.

[Powerfull3000]

Detalles.