16 - I'm Just as Real as, I'm Just as Dangerous as You, So Know You'll Find
“Twilight. Sparkle.” Sunset dragged the name out with purpose, staring at the purple girl that was hanging by the collar of her shirt. She was currently held aloft by another purple girl, though the two couldn’t have had more differences, “I was honestly starting to believe I was never going to hear from you.” She stood, strolling around the couch with a relaxed gait to stare at her boredly, “I hope I didn’t interrupt anything too life threatening to get you here.”
Dust took a solitary step back, dissociating from this conversation for the given moment. Sassing Rainbow was one thing, a solid pastime she’d say, but the absolute frigidness that emanated off of Sunset at the current moment was easily enough to make her decide against another jab about holding grudges.
Twilight glanced around the room in shock, frazzled state of mind spelled out as much on her face, “S-Sunset?!” She gasped, gaze now drifting over to Dash and Fluttershy, “...that’s why you weren’t with the girls.”
“H-hi, Twilight.” Fluttershy ducked her head a bit behind the couch, trying to use Rainbow as a barrier between herself and the new company.
Dash frowned, clapping a hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder and standing, “What are you doing here?” She stared at Twilight with an expression mixed between surprised and annoyed, “We’re already dealing with shit, we don’t need more crap.”
“...Was it a healing spell?!” Twilight blurted out without thinking.
“Excellent tact as always, Twilight.” Sunset pinched the bridge of her nose, “Aria, come on in. Set her down somewhere. Best shut the door before Dash’s parents complain that we’re letting the heat out.”
“You sure?” Aria scowled at the princess in her grip as she kicked the door behind her closed, “Wouldn’t want the sludge to ruin the carpets.”
“P-Please let me down?” Twilight smiled up at Aria nervously. She was stressed as is, and being held at the mercy of an enemy wasn’t helping that. The siren rolled her eyes and let her drop. Twilight, with all the grace and poise of a proper princess, landed flat on her face, not even having the respect to comically bounce on impact.
“Well she’ll certainly do so if she’s face down in them.” Dash deadpanned with a sigh.
“It’ll be fine.” Sunset nodded, “Just, yeah, let her in.”
“Hey, princess.” Lighting waved, figuring Twilight needed at least one non-hostile greeting.
Twilight pulled herself up, giving a brief greeting nod to Lightning, “I’m just… stunned. The girls said things were bad, but I didn’t know how bad!”
“Why?” Aria got in Twilight’s face, “Because we’re here, or because they don’t need you anymore?”
“Aria, easy.” Sunset shook her head, holding up a hand, “I think you’ve rattled her enough for the moment. No need to be so intense.” She sighed, looking back at Twilight again. Not quite glaring, but looking considerably unhappy, “Though I do want to know. Where have you been?”
Twilight sighed, wilting with noticeable guilt, “Canterlot, for the Hearth’s Warming pageant. I forgot my journal at the castle. I came rushing over here as soon as I saw your messages.”
There was a long silence that followed.
“Oh. Is that it?” Dash leaned over, smiling in a manner that was just a tad too friendly, “Hear that, Sunset? No big deal. She forgot the journal. That makes everything alright.”
Sarcasm befitting both of them, the other was able to hit the ground running, “Mm. Indeed, I can feel my scars healing as we speak. Amazing.”
“...” Lightning Dust rubbed her face in annoyance, eyeing the two.
Twilight shook her head with a frown, “I wish I had something better, I really do, but that’s just what happened. I’d much rather tell you that we were fighting a pack of Timberwolves or the latest bad guy from the Princess’s past was here to conquer slash destroy us, but...I’m not here to stare you both down and just come up with something to save face. I made a mistake at a terrible time that I couldn’t have possibly seen coming and because of that, I contributed to a larger problem that spiraled out of control. I understand if you’re both angry at me, really I do, but I’m only one pon- ehh, person. I just can’t be everywhere at once.”
“No kidding, you can't be everywhere at once.” Rainbow replied with an exhausted expression, “Even I can’t do that, but, you know...we figured that if we needed help, you’d be there.”
“I know...I’m sorry.” Twilight nodded smally, eyes dropping to the floor, “I sh-should’ve been here sooner.”
Her slow descent into a sob was silenced as Sunset sighed, stepping forwards and pulling her into a half-hug, “But you’re still here. Like Fluttershy is. Like the others aren’t.” The siren gave another frustrated sigh, “Damn it, why can’t this just be simple?”
“It's called being human.” Dash grinned ruefully, “Or pony too, I guess. Can’t ever just be pissed at someone for screwing up, not like this, I guess.”
“Unless they’re unrepentant asses though.” Dust added with a shrug.
“Weren’t you just hammering me about forgiveness a few minutes ago?” Dash deadpanned, leaning over from around the two.
Dust shrugged, “You should always forgive...when it's earned.”
Aria looked back and forth from the various members of the group, shrugging, “Apologies aren’t about thinking how to put it. You go to the person you screwed over as soon as you can and you admit you screwed up and do whatever you can to make things right. Just be genuine, it's not hard.” This earned her several stares of surprise, “What? So I’m a little abrasive. I’ve been around for over a thousand years, you think I’ve never screwed up with someone?”
“Uh...right.” Rainbow nodded smartly, blinking several times.
Sunset laughed, “Oh, stars...needed that.” She shook her head, smiling at Twilight, “It is good to see you. Friendly faces are kinda in demand right now. Sorry about the cold greeting.”
“No, no. I understand. I probably would’ve reacted the same way if I was in the exact same position as you. Worse probably. The stress of all that…” She shook her head as Sunset started to frown lightly, “But let’s not go there.” Twilight raised her hands, shaking her head as she shot a glance at Aria, “So, um, not to sound too, well-”
“You wanna know why I’m here.” Aria deadpanned, staring at her flatly.
“Well.” Twilight paused with a nervous grimace, nodding timidly, “Y-yes.”
“Well, right now, Adagio and Sonata are moving us out of the gutter we were stuck in and into a new place that’s less of a hole in the ground. Though as for why I’m here, it was to meet up with Sunset because she and ‘Marred’ here are helping us out after you all blew our Hearts to atoms and marked us for death.” She blew out a breath, “I’m Aria by the way, thanks for asking.”
“Can we not freak out the person offering to help us?” Lightning shrugged, “Just, y’know, putting that out there?”
“Ma-wait!” Twilight had nearly sunk into the cushions of the seat next to Fluttershy after that, “D-death?!” She squeaked out, at the very least looking regretful now.
“Aria…” Sunset sighed, giving her a look.
Aria frowned a bit, looking away, but said no more on the subject.
“The amulets.” Sunset continued, gesturing to her own, “They’re what kept them alive up until recently thanks to a curse. Note, they no longer do so, but us having destroyed them guaranteed that they wouldn’t have made it past the second week of January, give or take a week otherwise.”
“Thankfully though, Sunset here was happy to provide curse-free replacements, provided that we didn’t try and pull another risky stunt like that. Frankly, I have no problem there. It was a last ditch effort to force our way home anyway.” Aria waved it off.
“What? You’re a siren now?!” Twilight snapped her gaze over to Sunset, now fully noticing her amulet, “And you saved… Aria,” She stumbled over the name of the siren she’d technically just met, “And the other two from dying? Oh, Lumen…” Twilight bit her lip. “We...we didn’t know anything about…”
“Yeah, I did.” Sunset nodded, “During Dash and I’s hospital jaunt, the spirit of Crescendo, the previous Queen, visited me… even by Equestrian standards that’s a strange sentence.” She stared distantly for a moment, returning her focus to the matter at hand, “She made me a deal. I prevent her race from going extinct, and she’d make sure I didn’t die. In turn, that meant taking up her role.” She gestured to herself, “I think my answer was obvious.”
“So...so you’re a siren queen, then.” Twilight rubbed her forehead thoughtfully, “I’m not really sure what to say, at this point. I don’t think I would’ve been able to see any of this coming.” She leaned forward in her seat.
“To be honest, we couldn’t either.” Dash sighed, “But hopefully this’ll be the last surprise for awhile.”
“...” Dust looked between them suspiciously, “...by the time it hits you?” Aria’s snort of amusement went mostly unnoticed as Twilight and Dash just stared at Lightning in confusion, “Nevermind.” She mumbled into her sandwich.
“Anyway... What I was going to say originally was that I shouldn’t have left you with the girls, Dash being the clear exception.” Twilight gave a smile to the girl in question, earning an equally tired nod in turn, “However… I don’t think I can say that now. It seems that a lot of good came out of this, in the end. I just wish it didn’t come at such an awful price, though.” Her face scrunched up as she went over it all in her head again.
“Well...we’re out of CHS now, so there’s that.” Sunset nodded, “We’ve both transferred to Crystal Prep Academy and will be officially attending after break, but…”
“Crystal?” Twilight smiled, eyes brightening for a moment.
“Now there’s more magic disasters coming at us.” Dash groaned, “It sounds like there’s some kinda shady group hiding in the background and messing with people using dark magic.” She waved it off, “Oh, and important note, I’m going by Marred Spectrum now, in public at least. We kinda don’t want to be recognized if we’re seen in a crowd.”
“...Damaged Rainbow?” Twilight giggled softly.
“Panicked. Play on my real name was the best I could come up with.” Dash shrugged, “Kinda liking it so far, but I’m still Dash everywhere else. I’m not one of you ponies that changes their name like it's nothing.”
“Speaking of.” Sunset nodded, “Sunset Stanza. Not an alias. That’ll be permanent now.”
Twilight nodded at the duo, “Alright then, Marred and Stanza it is. Secret identities.” She chuckled, earning a slight smile, “But anyways, dark magic’s never really a good thing en masse like this. At the very least, as I’ve experienced it.” She added, looking to Aria.
“I’m aware what you ponies are like around it.” Aria shrugged it off without much worry.
“I suppose you intend on helping them out then?” Twilight asked, turning back to Sunset now.
“Considering that we seem to be dealing with cultists?” Sunset raised an eyebrow, “Yeah. Between everything that’s happened up until now, this is at least somewhat common ground to take on.”
Dash frowned with a shrug, “Annoying to happen at all, but she’s not wrong.”
Sunset hummed, “We were just dropping by to talk to Fluttershy. After this, we needed to go meet up with Starry and the rest of this group to talk about everyone’s powers. Training and the like… but given the change in situation, maybe it’d be better if you came with us.”
“Wait, her too?” Dash looked over, realizing that both Dust and Sparkle might be tagging along with them now.
“Cool, I’m coming too.” Aria volunteered herself to chaperone. “...what? You saved our lives and I was an Argonaut before the kingdom fell! You know, a soldier? Like it or not, you just earned yourself what sounds like a strongly needed bodyguard.”
Sunset stared, slightly at a loss over the fact that an ex-enemy she hardly knew the name of last week was now more or less swearing to save her life sometime in the future.
“Well, I’d ask to come too, but…” Fluttershy stood, “I need to be heading home now. My parents will start to worry, especially given the power plant incident and lightning strikes should be on the news by now.”
“Alright. We can meet up another time. ‘Shy, just…” Sunset tilted her head, frowning a little, “Stay safe? There’s weird things going on and...I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“You too.” Fluttershy smiled, “If you need any help with all this, I’ll be there in an instant.” She nodded again, assuring them she could make it home before walking out the front door, calling one final goodbye to everyone.
“...WAIT!” Twilight gasped, looking over to Sunset and Rainbow, “What incident?!”
Tirek was unsure for how long he waited in silence. A promise of freedom from Tartarus, from the Lord of Tambelon no less, was not a gift one easily sat on. If anything it made eternity seem to drag on for even longer. Most would say such a thing were impossible, but then again most hadn't gained the ire of Grogar himself.
Tirek blew out an impatient sigh, pacing around his limited space. Any wandering past the plateau boundaries would result in a variety of punishments from the internal keepers of Tartarus. Not to even say what wait on the outside of the entrance of the prison proper.
“Ey! T-wrec! Been a lon’ time, an’t it?” A voice called out across the plateau, shouting the name of the powerful demon before him across it. Soon enough, the dreaded form of a donkey in a jester’s hat came into view.
“...I knew Lord Grogar was upset with me.” He muttered in annoyance, “But I was unaware he seeked to punish me further for my failings.” Tirek turned, glaring from under his hood to eye the approaching donkey contemptuously. Of course only now he heard the ringing of the bells on that ridiculous hat.
The donkey clearly hadn’t heard his grumblings. “Well! An’t you just the luckiest one to be rescued by Grogar’s right hoof. Hangin’ with the big shots now!”
“In case you’ve forgotten, Bray, I’m one of Lord Grogar’s originals. Are you implying that I am not a ‘big shot’?”
“Nah, you’re definitely a big shot a’ight. Down in one great big rainbow-y shot.”
“I was wondering how long this conversation would go on before I had to state how much I despise you.” The demon deadpanned down at the donkey.
“Oh really? That’s gonna be a new world record! Now c’mmon, the boss has orders for us.”
“Please tell me they don’t involve you.” Tirek shook his head, grunting in near pain.
“Lucky guess there ma’friend, we’re going to a place you’ve prob’ly never seen.”
“Do not call me of all demons your friend, and how do you intend to get me out of this pit?” He raised an eyebrow, “Is it just you? I suppose a breakout is off the list.”
“Oi!” The donkey barked out, lifting his head, “I an’t just some brute who’s comin’ around faffin’ about! How ‘n this bloody rift do ya think I got myself in ‘ere?”
“Is it too much to assume that the bat finally tossed you in this hole?” A mocking smile crossed Tirek’s lips, knowing full well that would hit a sore spot.
Bray’s large ears rose, and his eyes narrowed, “If Grogar wad’nt expectin’ ya to do ya job, I’d leave ya flat on ya flank fur that. Lumensia’s consort ain’t got nothin’ to do with dis!” A rift opened up behind the donkey as he looked upon the horribly weakened centaur with a pedantic expression. “Now ya comin’ or wha’?”
Tirek snorted in mild amusement, “Well it's about time I was offered my way out. What am I to expect of this world?” He cast a glance back at Bray, “And what more do you have to offer to me in terms of assistance, you coming with me and all?”
“I already live in the place. It’s… ah, definitely not whatcha’d expect. They livun’ two legs there.” Bray said, “And someove’m are dumb as a pile ah rocks.”
“So aside from being bipeds, no different from Equestria.” Tirek scoffed in arrogance, “Will I have magic to scavenge? I’m going to need my strength back...again.”
“Act’ully. There an’t any o’ that Goddess’s ley lines, as far as I can tell. But I’ve gathered a group ah followers ta… prepare for ya.” A smile crawled across his face, expression slithering into a thin grin.
“Going back to cults, are we?” The centaur chuckled, stretching as he cracked his knuckles, “Excellent! Well then, let’s get started. I’m as eager as our master is to wipe out these remaining blemishes.” Giving a final glance around the tundra, he stepped forwards into the rift, Bray following not long after.
It was a slow day in South Canterlot. With Winter Break now starting, most Crystal Prep students were heading out of town on vacation, if not gone already. Most Canterlot High students, on the other hand, were either on varying levels of lockdown by their families or literally on lockdown by local law enforcement. The few that fell out of the circles of protection, lockdown, or vacation mostly mingled in this area of the city, the strip malls and relaxed air giving a peaceful contrast to North Canterlot’s constant bustle and towering skyline.
“Wha-you can't pay?!” The serenity of the December afternoon was shattered as a loud voice echoed out of one of the many small diners that peppered the area. A few heads turned towards the doors, briefly wondering who had just tried to cheat the owner out of a meal before moving onwards with their day. “Even with the discount I offered from last week?! You came in here with no cash and still ordered, you brat?!”
“I've had a stressful week, alright? Lay off.” The snide voice spoke back, “Look, I know a great way to handle this.” The annoyance melted a way, a kind smile painting itself in its place.
“It better involve payment.” The man sneered down at the mulberry-haired teen.
Sour Sweet smiled, waving with a calming gesture, reaching into her bag to retrieve something, “Not to worry. I have this.”
“What in the world is-do you intend to pay me with a rock?! Why you insolent-” The man was cut off as the room suddenly flashed in a distorted aqua, a sudden migraine slamming into him right before a sense of vertigo nearly dropped him to the floor. Everything suddenly felt distant and blurry.
Sour was at his side before he tumbled, tool hidden away again as she put on a face of worry. “Are you alright, sir? I understand you're upset, but even so. No need to lose your footing like that.” A quick sleight of hand acquired something more for the charade.
“I was...upset?” He responded in confusion, eyes clearing as a reel of energy whisked from his head, vanishing behind Sour Sweet.
“Someone tried to come in and snag free food from your establishment. Unfortunately they got away after I called them out on it. Was able to stop them from making off with your wallet though.” Sour’s predatory grin looked far more innocent to the jumbled proprietor as she held out the leather bound item for him.
“I don't remember...oh! Thank you so much, little one.” He sighed in relief, taking it from her, flipping through it to check the contents, and smiling as he spotted all the cash and his family photos still present. “I suppose I owe you then, don't I? Tell you what? Next time you stop by, how about I give you 50 percent off whatever you order?”
“How could I turn down an offer like that?” Sour answered wryly, shaking his hand as she made her leave, slate clean once more, ‘Never gets old.’ She snorted as the door closed behind her, ‘Least I've put this thing to better use than what's-her-face ever did.’
Feeling like the day was taking a turn for the better, the Shadowbolt unlocked the dirt bike she had chained up outside the building, before riding out into the street. Not her first choice for transport, but if it had two wheels and a motor, she'd take it. Especially given the recent circumstances with- “AHH!” Sour was dragged out of her thoughts as a sedan sped around a blind corner, narrowly missing her as it's brakes squealed.
The car skidded to a stop, shouts of surprise being heard from within. Sour took more of a spill as she slid, tumbling off her bike and sliding into a snowdrift across the street. “...ugh.” Sour Sweet groaned pitifully, anger flaring up in her at the last voice she wanted to hear.
“Ohmygoodness! Ohmygoodness! Ohmygoodness!” Twilight slammed the door behind her as she darted out of the car, primal fear sketched into her face.
“Nice going, Spectrum!” Aria barked as she leapt from the car as well, darting over to Sour’s prone figure. It was around now that said girl recalled that she was laying face down in the snow and probably should stand up. Aria had barely reached her side before Sour was already climbing back to her feet, devilish glare burned across her face. “Wh-what?!” The siren stumbled back, seeing the girl rise with nary a scratch on her.
“What in God’s name is wrong with you?!” Sour shrieked, pupils microscopic as she screamed at the group, now fully out of the car and all looking sheepish at best. “You total maniac! Were you even watching for traffic?! Which one of you was driving. It-” Dash looked away on instinct, causing Sour to dart right up to her, grabbing her roughly, and forming a fist, “You crazy bitch! You nearly killed me!”
Sheepish to terrified in no time, Rainbow wilted under the fiery glare. “I-I’m sorry!” She squeaked out, eyes dilating as Sour wound up a punch. “I’m really sorry?!”
“Alright, not happening!” Sunset shouted, pushing the two a part with a cold glare, “Sour, we’re sorry about Marred’s shit driving, but I’m not letting you hurt her!”
Sour Sweet snarled, pulling back and staring at the other venomously, eyeing her in what almost seemed to be fear, “It's Stanza, right? You’re those new girls…” Her eyes darted over to Twilight, “And you’re already hanging out with that loser, Sparkle? Seriously?”
Twilight glanced first at Sunset, then at Sour Sweet. “Huh?” She asked, before realizing, “O-Oh! I’m not the Twilight from this world. Sorry.”
“Twilight!” Marred threw up her hands in shock, “You don’t just say that to random people!”
Sour’s eyes narrowed in an instant, “...you’re another one of those freaks, aren’t you?” She spoke lowly, a burning hiss in her voice, “You get the Hell away from me!” Sunset had little time to react as she was shoved roughly, the girl righting her bike and zipping off just in time for Aria to miss her jacket, grabbing at air instead.
“Shit.” The siren blushed in angered embarrassment, “Sorry, off practice.”
“Ugh, it's alright…” Sunset groaned as Dash helped her up, sending Twilight an unimpressed look, “I know you were in a tight spot back during the Fall Formal, and magic kinda got out of hand then, but you don’t confess to every stranger you meet that you’re an alien, Twilight.”
“W-Well what else was I going to say?! You seemed like you knew her!” Twilight said, blushing brightly, “I panicked a little!”
Dash sighed, “Something was off with that chick. More than just the anger spike we saw back at CP.” She bit her lip, thinking to herself, “Another one what? She knows Twilight?”
“Pretty sure Nightshade and friends said the same thing.” Sunset agreed, “And Twilight, next time, just...do anything other than admitting to being an extraterrestrial?”
“Got it. Sorry.” She nodded, shifting from foot to foot.
“Well, whatever that was, I’m going after her.” Marred punched a fist into her palm.
“We don't need to get distracted again, Marred. The girls are waiting for us.” Sunset shook her head, “She’s just some angry alpha bitch. It's nothing.”
“All due respect, Stanza?”
“Am I not gonna like this?”
“Last time there was an angry alpha bitch attending a school that involved magic-?”
“Point made.” Sunset nodded in hesitant agreement, “Just don’t make me patch you up again. You’re mom’s actually in town to kill someone this time.”
“Thanks. Besides, they’re waiting for you. After all, you’re the magic genius here, you and Twilight now that she’s here too.” Dash grinned with a nod, “You’ve got Aria with you too in case you need to hide a body, so I’ll take the car to counterbalance safety.”
“This plan is terrible.” Lightning spoke up, earning several looks as they noticed she was still in the car. “...what? There’s been way too many magical things going down for me to take this in stride. For all I knew she was gonna stand up and her mask would’ve torn off to show a monster from They Live.”
“...You can take Lightning with you.” Aria suggested, not having denied the previous statement from Dash, “Groups and phones. Safer, sans your driving that is.”
“Dammit!”
“Sounds good.” Rainbow agreed. “Based on the street signs, looks like the meetup isn’t too far from here. Dust and I will go find what’s up with Sweetie there, and then we’ll meet up after!” Not waiting for a response, the grayscale girl hopped back into the borrowed sedan, and took off after the other, Lightning shouting about speed.
“...Sweetie?” Sunset deadpanned, “I’ve heard more creative nicknames.” With a nod, she led the reduced group down the sidewalk from there.
Aria raised an eyebrow at her, shooting a knowing, crooked smile at Twilight.
“...What?” Twilight asked, the look going right over the book princess’s head.
Dash, in the meantime, hadn’t had nearly as much trouble finding Sour Sweet again, “There she is.”
“I know, I’m in the car with you.” Lightning deadpanned, “Why are you telling me this?”
“Shut up.” Rainbow frowned, “Let’s just see where she’s going.”
“I can see you’ve been missing me dearly, Cap.” Dust gave a sidelong grin, “Looks like she’s heading back to your new school.”
“Yeah, hugs and kisses, Lightning Rod.” Came the deadpan reply, roll of the eyes thrown in for good measure, “Prep? Why would she head there on break?” Dash pulled the car to a stop, pulling into a spot down the road from the school in between two other cars still covered in snow.
“Yeah, that’s pretty weird.” Dust nodded as they watched the girl ride around back of the school. They followed after about five minutes later. Peeking around the back corner, they spotted her bike chained to one of the soccer field lights. More importantly however, they found the back door propped open with a brick. “And that’s more along the lines of ‘worrisome’.”
“Yeah.” Dash hopped up the steps and peered inside, “No one I can see, come on.” She gestured, slipping inside. “Let’s see if we can find out where she we-” The sound of a door slamming shut led to the end of that statement.
“Found her.” Dust chuckled, picking up a light jog to the end of the corridor, leaning around it as the noise came again, followed by an angry grunt.
An unmarked door swung ajar from between a set of lockers. “Dammit!” Sour hissed furiously, mumbling angrily as she stormed the other way. Something about a sledgehammer mixed in with various profanities.
Disappearing from sight down another hall, the two nodded to each other. A better chance wouldn’t present itself. They scampered around the corner and down to the ajar door, slipping in, Dust sticking near the door itself to keep some level of watch.
“...holy shit.” Dash muttered as she looked around the dim room. The space was set up as a makeshift bedroom. To one corner sat an old couch, a blanket thrown across the cushions, with an uncovered pillow laying on the floor nearby. To another corner was a rickety desk with an old cathode computer monitor providing a gentle glow and buzzing for the odd atmosphere.
“Does she...live here?” Lightning blinked, looking around in muted shock. “I thought this was the rich kid school. This is...like, Griffonstone levels of ghetto.”
Rainbow fell out of her stupor for a moment, giving her companion a look, “Because I totally exude wealth.”
“You’re an exception. All things considered.” She shrugged back, looking around in curiosity, “She’s got good taste at least.” Lightning shrugged, gesturing to a bass guitar laying in a makeshift stand.
“God, look at that thing. Does it even play?” Rainbow gawked. The dull red bass had duct tape holding it together in several places and most of the strings clearly needed replacing to say the least, “It looks like it was fished out of a dumpster.”
“If someone’s actually living out of their school, then it's a pretty likely possibility.” The other nodded with a shrug, “So what are we looking for?”
“A connection. To the cult or something else.” Dash replied, moving over to a box that was poking out from behind the couch, “Aha, this might be something!” She grinned impishly, unfolding the flaps and peering inside, “!...”
“What?” Dust flinched, not expecting the sudden surprise from Rainbow, “Cap, you find something?” She leaned over, catching sight of Rainbow shoving a pink t-shirt back into the box.
“We need to go. Now!” She stood, moving to the door.
“Oh, leaving so soon?”
Dust and Rainbow both froze, looking over to the doorway. Having failed her lookout duty, Lightning Dust now had Sour Sweet glaring over her shoulder. “YIPE!” The teal girl fell on her ass, scooting back into the couch, “How’d you do that?!”
“I don’t think you have any authority to be asking questions right now.” While her face was blank, her eyes were burning in rage, her purp-turquoise eyes narrowed at Dash specifically.
“...shit.” Dash winced, standing, “Shit.” Another nervous glance at the box didn’t go unnoticed by Sour Sweet.
“Of course you find that.” She sneered, hefting the sledgehammer in her arms menacingly. Not a swing had been taken yet and Rainbow was already feeling deja vu.
“Lightning, remember what you said a minute ago, about the whole living thing?” Dash chuckled nervously, backing up somewhat.
“Living out of the school?” Dust’s response caused Sour’s eyes to snap over to her, gaze hardening.
“Yeah...this, uh, this is starting to fall in place for me.” Rainbow stared at the approaching girl, “The others all look different because of the dark magic. Nightshade and all of them, Indigo Zap and pals.”
“They look different?” Dust asked, moving to the left and hoping Sour wasn’t actively gunning for her. “Haven’t really seen them yet.”
“Well, yeah but, you’d know them by their old looks, you’ve seen them at the Games and all. That and whenever we ran across each other.” Dash got a nod in response, starting to pick up the pace in talking now, “Well, if they showed up looking different, skin color and everything, that’d be noticed pretty easily. So, for the girl that claims to be ‘the queen of her castle’ and knows everything that goes on here, you’d think we’d have seen her at some point, right?”
“...” Dust nodded again, giving Sour a strange look, eyes darting over her again. “...you actually gonna hit us with that thing?”
Sour sneered, lowering the hammer, “Ugh, no. I’m not a monster. Besides, that’d make a mess in my room. However, you went sticking your noses where they don’t belong. On one hand I could deal with this easily and not give you a second thought afterwards.” Her eye twitched dangerously as black spiderwebs starting shooting across her sclera, mouth pulling back into a fanged grin, “But frankly, I’m still pretty pissed off. Not just at you, but in general, and you’ll make excellent stress dolls!” She laughed as her hair billowed upwards into a plume of red and yellow fire, skin rapidly reddening before them.
Lightning Dust’s jaw dropped, a weak squeaking sound escaping her throat.
“Well...dammit.” Was the best Dash could come up with at the moment, biting her lip as she held up her hands, “L-look, let’s talk about this! You’ve got magic just like her! We can help you!”
“I have no interest in talking to anyone affiliated with that body snatcher!” Sunset Shimmer shouted, red wings fanning out behind her. Dash had time to scream and leap back before she was on them.
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Oi! I’m first ‘ere so dun steal mah spot!
:O
so that ended well, now all they have to do is escape with there lives.
Ok i take this means the students who attacked Sunset and Dash were arrested? Why didn't you put that in one of the chapters?
Or did i miss it?!
8759626
You realize I could have beaten you?
8759750
Lightning confessed, and Stanza and Marred went to the police department to hear her out and not press charges. All the explanation that was needed.
Ahhhhhh, Sour Sweet again.
Take down the bitch Stanza, you can do it! Take down the Sour Bitch!!
8759753
Nay! Nay I say!
8759802
I had finished the chapter at least 3 minutes before you posted your comment.
So Sunset was actually Sour Sweet........
Then who the hell is with Twilight and Aria?!
8759827
Human Sunset, kiddo. Stanza is still with Aria and Twilight.
8759756
Yessss I know that. But I wanted to see how the students reaction how Photo Finish reacted when they arrested one of her friends and all.
Would been so good to see how they reacted and all.
Still want to see the CMC, i know their friendship may be broke for good, and hope Rarity sent off Sweetie Bell, this wasn't done to merely drive Sunset away but to destroy her.
8759847
Fitting that all into this chapter would've required several sporadic jump cuts between short scenes. Best to save it for a longer scene where a group is present rather than several short ones.
That's a mean cliffhanger :( But since Rainbow/Marred has a demon form now, I'm betting we're gonna get a demon vs demon fight here and an even bigger mess for Sunset to sort out...
Huh. Did not expect that.
8759880
so it will be done? Sorry just want to see it so bad! How everyone reacted to who is arrested for such a terrible crime, be fantastic, they assaulted the wrong girls went too far, and now they have to pay the price.
8759838
right......
PERSONAAAAAAA!
I'm pretty sure this is wrong.
The derivative of Velocity is Position, that's correct, but Acceleration is the first derivative of Position, not the second derivative. You're only taking the derivative of Position once to get to Acceleration, so as far as Position is considered its only the first derivative. I think what you meant to say is that Acceleration is the second derivative of Velocity, because you're taking the derivative of Velocity twice to get Acceleration.
F'(v) = s
and
F'(s) = a
Therefore:
F''(v) = a
Where v = velocity, s = position, and a = acceleration
8760026
Yes
8760058
>Is really just supposed to be incomprehensible muttering.
I've been working on this stuff for half the day and I'm pretty sure its just fried my brain. Our work starts with position and moves up to the jerk from there.
s(t)
s'(t) = v
s''(t) = a
and s'''(t) = j
I think... I dunno. The homework is done for the week and I need to recover.
8760256
No no it is your story after all.
I have a very detail oriented mind, so little things like that pop out at me more than most.
Later in the story you start referring to her last name more, so I guess it works out.
Is Rainbow a siren as well now?...if so why does she not have a musical name?
Sorry if I came off as rude. Friends and family often tell me I am too blunt.
8760292
I'll answer this one for Uria. No, Rainbow is not a siren. She's actually going by an alias instead because of the way she looks.
8760292
Hey, no worries. I can be that way a lot too, and it can be hard to tell intention through a comment's section.
Huh. Adds a lot of irony to the earlier alpha bitch statement.
i think i lost the plot sometime after dash going spoopy magic angel of death.
help?
8760398
I enjoy a good bit of foreshadowing
So Demon Shimmer is now a separate entity than Stanza now ooooh this is not going to end well for someone.
8760058
It is wrong, but you're wrong about how it's wrong.
[unnecessary background info]
So, we're basically talking about Zeno's Paradox of the Arrow and making it into a non-paradox by finding a way to (pseudo) divide by zero. Thus: Calculus!
The paradox is that if you take a snapshot (zero time passes) then nothing moves, and if it doesn't move then it can't have a velocity, but any interval of time is just a succession of snapshots, so if there's zero velocity in all of the snapshots, there must be zero velocity over any interval, meaning nothing ever moves. Thus Zeno concludes that the universe itself is a lie, Parmenides is awesome, and so forth.
The solution is to realize that while something can't change in zero time if the thing is changing in general then a tendency to change still exists. You find the tendency by dividing the difference at two points (in time, in this case) over the interval between the points (in time, in this case, again), and taking the limit as the interval goes to zero.
Then you call it the derivative.
[/unnecessary background info]
The derivative is the change. The "change" bit here is key to getting it right.
Velocity is the change in Position = Velocity is the derivative of Position.
Acceleration is the change in Velocity = Acceleration is the derivative of Velocity.
The error was that Uria had Position as the derivative of Velocity instead of the other way around. It's correct in Uria's comment.
-
For my next lesson I'll teach you all about the square root of negative one. It's all about rotations, you see. Multiplying by negative one flips things 180 degrees around the origin, and multiplying by it twice flips it 360 degrees ending up back where it started. The important lesson we learn from this is that taking the square doubles the rotation. This means that to find the square root we need to get half of the rotation. Thus we're looking for a 90 degree turn. Of course there are two possible 90 degree turns. By convention, the number "one rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise" is called "i" and the number "one rotated 90 degrees clockwise" is called "-i". This is because that way the positive i point up when represented on a chalkboard.
Sorry, got carried away there.
More on topic:
I'm glad that they didn't stay mad with Twilight. I like that that this is a universe where people understand what's involved in apologizing. In canon everyone forgives so quickly that no one seems to know how to make an actual apology. Last chapter and this chapter we have people who actually understand how apologies work.
On the same subject, I totally get wanting to stay angry with someone because it's simpler.
I really want to see what happens when Sci-Twi comes into the picture because they could totally use someone doing the science of magic right now, and with their help they can probably avoid certain future . . . ahem . . . boo-boos
-
While I know there's no plan to use her, I suddenly find myself with a desire for mind-whammied Wallflower to become part of Stanza's group.
Not Wallflower A: "So who is she?"
Not Wallflower B: "She says her name's Wallflower."
Wallflower: "No, I said that I've heard some people say my name's Wallflower. I don't remember. I don't remember much. I'm pretty sure I liked gardening even before I forgot, but other than that . . . I just know that something terrified me. Sometimes I think about trying to find my family or the people who knew me, but what if they're the ones I'm running from?"
Not Wallflower A: "So you've just been hiding for--"
Wallflower: "As long as I can remember."
8760922
Just wanted to say that "Searing Sunburn" is honestky somewhere on a level that I could see being used in canon in some manner... sounds like the kind of nickname that Lightning or another would label Sour with
Ain't it a shame,
I'm not a figment of your ailing old mind.
8761252
8760046
Between these two comments, I think that counts as a correct guess. Though I'll still accept a third answer if someone names the song proper.
8761866
Life Will Change.
I literally listen to this song every day.
8761866
~You'll never see it coming~
Edit: If I'm honest, the music alone is what got me to play that game, yes I know that's not the song.
8761896
👍
8760855
I think that Cinch will bring Sci-Twi in, but not in the same way as canon. Magic has harmed Cinch's family in this universe, and with the throw down that's incoming, I would like to think she doesn't want another one. I hope she pulls Marred and Stanza aside and implores them to get Sci-Twi to drop her experiments or, failing that, bring her on board the investigation.
8763053
Happens. No worries
Surely Twilight will assist the remaining three Rainbooms by explaining the situation to them once the immediate crisis is averted right?
Also, why doesn't this fic have a Tropes page yet? Though I do suppose if you make one for this fic you need to make ones for the rest of the Dainnverse.
8767162
Suggesting this deserves a Tropes page is a very high honor in my eyes! Thank you!
8771996
Hmm... Maybe because if they had simply talked to one another instead of being passive-aggressive, Sunset's manipulations wouldn't have worked in the first place?
Quick question: Did something happen to Sunset’s bike and I just didn’t notice/forgot? It was only mentioned like once in chapter 1 or 2 and Sunset and Rainbow have been taking Rainbow’s parent’s car everywhere since Sunset got murdered, ressurected, and made Queen of the Sirens.
8771996
I have a theory (maybe was proven true, I haven’t even then second half of season 7) that the magic of friendship cannot be forged by any means and attempting to fake a friendship to get it just wouldn’t work because their friendship isn’t true, and stealing it (ex: Demonsets and Midnight) will pretty much just corrupt everyone who tries to use it which is why Tirek couldn’t steal it during he even saw of Twilight’s Kingdom. Twilight, being the Princess’s of Friendship, would know this and since Sunset was able to pony up at the end of Rainbow Rocks without a magical artifact she knew that Sunset’s reformation was true and sincere. The other girls though, they wouldn’t know that because of their inexperience with magic. So basically, while it seems painfully obvious from Twilight’s (or the reader’s) perspective that Sunset is innocent, from the eyes of the rest of the mane 5 it looked like Sunset had been faking the whole time just to gain their trust. Rainbow just had faith that her friend wouldn’t betray her like that.
Sorry about any spelling/grammar errors, auto correct hates me.
... That last line took me a stupidly long time to process
Like a full day
Every time I read this line I think, "You're playing with the big boys now":
9044010
Glad to know I'm not alone in that.
9048431
I'm reminded of this
It's always bothered me, is this a reference to something? I feel like I should know it, but my mind just continually draws a blank.
9377393
Possibly
I think that one of the most often overlooked aspects of a good reveal is the setup.
Like, with a good reveal you should be able to look back on the story and see things that now make more sense with the new context. Take Empire Strikes Back for example, "I am your father" puts a whole new meaning on Vader's single-minded pursuit of Luke throughout that entire movie. He basically completely disregards the entire rebel alliance and only pursues routes that lead to the goal of "get Luke Skywalker".
This was also done well. Choice of vehicle, hair-trigger temper, living at the school, preferred method of manipulation, socially isolated by design and having the self-image of a ruler, all of it screams Evil Sunset. Seriously, good job.
Yeah talk about deja vu and furthermore God I feel stupid I just realized now that luminescia is Luna and celestia's name squished together