A Rare Scoot: Twin Princesses of the Layer

by ManlyDerp

Première: To show, not tell

Night time in Canterlot is truly a beautiful sight. The capital of ponydom remains still and quiet as the loveliness of Luna’s moon shines upon all those brave enough to hit up the celebrity filled nightlife. The few ponies who slumber through it do not know what they are missing; for this is one of the grandest sights a lady could ever ask for! Oh I’m so grateful I’m allowed to grace this city with my presence once again! The stars are magnificent, the view is magnificent, and the town as a whole is simply fabulous!

“Um, Rare? Help…”

That…however, is not fabulous. This whole situation is most certainly not glamorous in the slightest.

I sigh as I envelop my purple mane companion in the frosty blue glow of my magic. Poor dear can’t fly yet you see, so I have to be the one to lift her up to this vile rooftop. I know a rooftop is not a place one normally visits, but all the same you should not leave what is yours in such a horrid condition! Who knows what could have been up here! Ewewewew! Oh, I would have never set hoof on something so dirty and unclean if given the choice.

Sadly though, rarely are we given choice in our lives. The young dear and I are on this rooftop for a reason, a serious one at that. I am here because of it, the thing that will decide whether I make it in this world or not.

'The Layer' and the ‘Angels’; my grand stage and my top of the line dress…or as most ponies know it, my battlefield and my weapon of choice.

Such a simple thing it seemed at first, a simple toy that I could manipulate to become the talk of the town. It quickly spiraled out of control into pure non-organized chaos, however, when I foolishly failed to see its beauty originally. This sport has engulfed my life now, and I’m unfortunately taking Sweetie Belle’s dear friend along for the ride.

Said friend quickly straightens herself as she approaches my side. “Thanks.”

I give her a sideways glance. “Think nothing of it dear.” Then I hardened my gaze forward. The bell in the distance chimes five times; signifying the change in the hour. It should now be midnight, and we are the only ones on this gable. Well, it appears as though our guest is late. Such a pity; it’s not nice to keep a lady waiting after al-

Clipclopclipclop…

Ah, fashionably late. I can respect that.

A unicorn mare joins us on the rooftop. Her silver mane flashes and glows with the moonlight, and her lime green coat sinks into the darkness of the night. Again, such a pity; green is such an unpleasant color for a pony, and her mane is simply a mess! Is this what Canterlot considers in nowadays?! Oh this will simply not do! Once I’ve made it to the top, they’ll be a few changes around here I can assure yo-

“Rarity of Ponyville I presume.” The unicorn states in an almost threatening manner. Cute.

The darling seems to have a bad habit of interrupting my thoughts. I also find this cute.

I shuffled around in my black turtleneck sweater; my clothing of choice for such a chilly evening. “That would be me dear, and this is my darling assistant Scootaloo.”

The little filly in the matching sweater, always lively even in the dead of night, proceeds to jump up and flutter her wings as hard as she can in a bid to be seen. The unicorn on the opposite side of the rooftop, however, kept glaring at us. Oh I do hope she stops that soon; her lovely face might stick that way!

“You must be Moondancer I presume?” I asked; already well aware of the answer. Who else would be occupying a rooftop at this hour after all?

Moondancer merely scoffed at us. My, she is not making a good first impression to her opponent of all ponies.

“Yeah that’s me. Moondancer; Ranked #13 on the Canterlot Circuit, and your Ranked #29 last I checked, right?” She stomped her hoof in anger. “What the hay are you trying to pull taking on somepony over twice your own rank?! You’re going to get creamed girly!”

Silence filled the field of battle, but it was short lived as Scootaloo I started laughing. I held a hoof to my lips in order to hide my ladylike chortle, but always energetic Scootaloo quickly fell on her back and kept kicking herself into circles in her fit. Quite an adorable sight if I do say so myself.

It seems Moondancer did not like our pleasantries. “W-what in Celestia’s name are you two laughing about?!”

Deciding to let her in on the secret, I allowed the last few chuckles to escape my system before responding. “Well, Ms. Moondancer, you see Scootaloo and I placed a friendly wager after our last fight. We are both used to the accusations that we are ‘out of our league’ by this point, as all our opponents have said the same every time, but it is always said to us in new and imaginative ways! So, Scootaloo has won the bet by perfectly predicting that you would use the word ‘creamed’ in your dialog. I voted for ‘uncouth,’ so I have lost and now owe her an ice cream cone, where the other way around would involve her cleaning my store. I must say, I’m quite disappointed in you Ms. Moondancer. I would have thought a Canterlot pony, let alone a unicorn, would have used more civilized words when addressing others.”

Oh deary me; that seemed to set her off.

She looked absolutely furious. “You…you! I will destroy you!” With that ‘threat’ she quickly levitated a familiar looking pair of goggles and matching headband to her head. “Well? What are you waiting for girly? Pull it out!”

“My my; such impatience Ms. Moondancer. That is not befitting of a lady.”

Scootaloo continued her giggling as I continued my jabs at Moondancer. This will be infinitely more amusing then what’s to come you see.

“S-shut up!” Barked Moondancer. “J-just pull out your damn ‘Angel’ already lady so I can be on my way!”

I raised my muzzle into the air. “Hhmp! Well, awfully rude for the one who chose our time and place. Midnight on a rooftop? Really? Dear, and I really shouldn’t have to tell you this, but someponies need their beauty sleep.”

Her giggles finally running out, my little filly assistant grumbled to herself. “I don’t want any beauty sleep…”

“Well, even if that wasn’t the case Scootaloo darling, I feel just awful for having to keep a young filly up this late at night. So you see Ms. Moon-”

Steam exited the dear’s nostrils. My word, for whatever reason is she angry about? Oh, wait, that's right. It because of me, and I'm enjoying it ever so.

“Quit, talking, and, fight me!” She once again snarled.

I offered her a little bow. “Oh, but I must insist that you be the first one ‘up to bat’ as they say. I’m sure you want to show off your Pegasus or Griffon ‘Angel’ so badly. I wouldn’t want to spoil its grand entrance! *gasp* I’d dare say it would go against my very nature if I were to deny you that!”

Moondance blinked from behind her visor. “H-how did…”

Scootaloo quickly cut her off. “How did we know you have a flying ‘Angel’? Well, you did call us out to the rooftop of Pony Joes’ for our battle. Not much to do here unless you have a pair of wings to take advantage of the extra space! Rarity didn’t even need me to tell her that!”

I quickly patted the dear on the head. “Oh there there Scootaloo; your always very helpful! Don’t ever belittle yourself, understood?”

My assistant blushes wildly. “T-thank you Rar-”

“Oh gag me with a spoon!” Moondancer called out, making a motion like she was about to shove her hoof down her throat. “Knock off that damn drama and fight me already!”

On command, Moondancer’s saddle bag suddenly burst opened and a small object started circling her head. With the light of the moon illuminating all, the object appeared to be a stripped bare Pegasus doll that lacked a mane, tail, or any defining features. It remained flouting by Moondancer’s head; waiting further orders from its master’s mind.

Moondancer began her obviously rehearsed speech. “This is my Bullet, maggot, and it wil-”

Before she could finish, I shrieked out in horror, causing her to jump and Scootaloo to roll her eyes.

My eyes were wide in shock. “Oh my goodness! W-what have you done to that poor ‘Angel’?!”

Moondancer looked at the monstrosity she dared to call her ‘Angel’ and shrugged. “I just made it more aerodynamic.”

I nearly fainted! “I can see that darling, but you did it at the cost of its soul! No, Ms. Moondancer, I’m afraid this is unacceptable. I’m afraid this fight has become personal now.” I stomped my hoof to finalize my decision.

Moondancer’s face went a darker shade of red in anger. “What’s that supposed to mean?!”

My own saddle bags were shrouded with the radiance of magic as I began to fish out my own goggles and headband. Tacky though they may be, I’ve grown used to them over the past few weeks. “What I mean, Ms. Moondancer, is that I was not looking forward to this ‘brawl’ at all. I enjoy showcasing my talents in front of an audience; with a crowd whose breath I take away with my very attendance! A solo competition such as this is simply of no interest to me, so I was hoping to beat you and be on my way.”

She made a motion as if to object, but I held out a hoof to silence her. “But don’t you fret dear; your hideous ‘Angel’ has changed my mind. You will now be esteemed by my full strength. Maybe seeing an ‘Angel’ of such beauty as mine will help you see the error of your ways.”

Ah, red looks so much better on Ms. Moondancer. Placing the angelic visor upon my head, I quickly began the show.

From my second saddle bag, my ‘Angel’ burst forth in a brilliant display of movement. The crimson suit wrapped around its frame shined in the moonlight, it's pink mane and long robotic wires waved in the night air as she made her descent, and with a resounding ‘clank’ she righted herself at my side. With a quick twirl on her hooves; she cleaned herself of the dust that had collected on her and readied herself into a battle stance. Though she only comes up to my knee cap, she was my prized creation; an ‘Angel’ with pose and grace, yet fast and strong. A true lady is never defenseless you see. Her entrance encapsulates all these beliefs and, as Scootaloo’s critical eye scanned the performance and rewarded me with an approving nod, it was just as wondrous and awe-inspiring as it always was.

Lifting up a hoof, my ‘Angel’ jumped up into my grasp. "This is my Hikaru. Quite an interesting name, isn’t it? In Neighpon, it means ‘glowing’ or ‘shining’; a perfect name for something that came from me.” I smiled at my assistant. “Darling little Scootaloo came up with that one.”

“Aw, it was no problem Rar- *yawn*”

“Oh my; I guess I really should wrap this up, shouldn’t I? You parent’s will be awfully sore at me if I let a filly your age stay up any later than this.” I returned my attention to the fuming Moondancer. “I’m sorry dear; but let’s get this over with, shall we?”

Moondancer attempted to say something but it seems a cat caught her tongue. I imagine I am simply making her too angry to speak. Well, if she wanted ‘nice’ Rarity she wouldn’t have tried to challenge me at midnight.

Something dawned on me at this moment. “Oh my, I almost completely forgot. Scootaloo, dear? Can you set up ‘The Layer’ for us?”

Scootaloo nodded groggily as she reached into her own saddle bag and brought out a shining blue gem. With no abandon, she hurled it into the sky above us and it exploded into a brilliant rainbow of colors. The sparks quickly faded to the ground as a dome took shape between Moondancer and me, completing ‘The Layer’. Excellent, the field has been set; time to work my magic.

Taking her ‘Angel’ into her green magic hold, Moondancer flung it into the barrier. “Bullet! Take her down!”

Why am I not surprised? “*Sigh* Really darling? That’s your entry phrase? It’s almost as brash and clunky as my friend Rainbow Dash’s.”

I think I’ve about hit the limit of Moondancer’s tolerance. “Cram it lady!”

Another sigh escapes my lips. “Ah, why can’t this sport have more refined ponies in it like me? Very well; Ms. Moondancer I’m afraid I’ve had enough of you this evening and it has become quite apparent that you have had enough of me. Let us end this shifty.”

I sat on my haunches, fought desperately to ignore how dirty this rooftop is, and gripped Hikaru in both my hoofs gently. I refuse to sully her with my magic or to fling it haphazardly as others fling theirs. No, Hikaru must enter ‘The Layer’ gracefully as an actual angel; she must soar on the wings I foolishly took from her.

Throwing her into the air, I allowed Hikaru to fly.

“Angel Wings! Please guide me and Hikaru!”

Hikaru flew through the air with grace before spiraling into the dome. As she pressed through the protective shield, she corrected herself and landed majestically on her hoofs. The beauty of her entry was lost on the lime green unicorn, who simply laughed it off.

“Hahaha! Oh, who are you to be criticizing my own entry when yours sucks just as badly?!”

With half-lidded eyes, Scootaloo responded. “Ms. Moondancer?”

She shot her a glare that the poor filly neither earned nor paid attention to. “What is it kid?”

“Three, two, one, *yawn* go.”

“…what?”

Moondancer’s Bullet was quickly assaulted with a flurry of bucks and punches from Hikaru. The dear tried to correct herself by mentally ordering her ‘Angel’ to retreat to the sky, but once you’ve been captured by my darling Hikaru, well then the game is simply over I’m afraid.

“N-not fair!” Moondancer sputtered, trying desperately to correct her mistake.

I remained sitting as I moved Hikaru with my mind; our bodies becoming one and her punches my punches as our pace increased. “I’m truly sorry dear, but once both ‘Angels’ have entered the arena, the battle is on. Scootaloo only reminded you of this and nothing more.”

Another yawn escaped Scootaloo’s lips. “Air, En I’ Rare.”

“Ah, thank you dear.” I replied, nodding to her. There's a reason she's by my side.

With a quick mental push, Hikaru danced to the music within my mind. She jumped skywards as Bullet tried to make a hasty retreat. With a quick grab, the pegasus ‘Angel’ was quickly subdued and brought back to the rooftop harshly, leaving an indent.

Any redder and Moondancer’s face may give Big Macintosh a run for his bits. “C-cheaters!”

I tilted my head to the side and Hikaru did the same. “Where have I cheated darling?”

“Y-you had help!”

“You were allowed help as well dear.”

“You started the fight early!”

“No, you started it late, and not fashionably either.”

“Y-you…you!!”

I raised a hoof and cut her off once more. “Dear, look at your screen. It’s already over.”

Just as the words left my lips, Bullet’s life bar disappeared from my vision as she was crushed into tiny pieces of plastic; small sparks of magic leaving the remains. Hikaru, meanwhile, returned to me without a scratch on her. As she exited the layer, the dome collapsed in on itself and returned to a blue gem once again. In the spatial distortion left behind in its wake, the rooftop was repaired and Moondancer’s Bullet retuned to its original, and ugly, state.

Moondancer punched the rooftop with a hoof. “D-damn it…”

Scootaloo trotted over and picked up the blue gem with her teeth. After stashing it away in her lightning bolt saddle bag, she approached Moondancer. “Hey, Moonsomething, *yawn* cough up the ranking pin… please.”

The unicorn grumbled as she tossed the pin marked #13 in front of Scootaloo with a flare of her horn. Scootaloo quickly stashed it away and placed our #29 pin in front of her before returning to our side of the rooftop.

I levitated the dear’s tired form onto my back. “Thank you darling. I’ll make sure to get your ice cream tomorrow.”

She grumbled something before curling up into a ball and falling asleep. Darling reminds me so much of my Sweetie; no wonder the two became fast friends.

As I levitated my visor off my head and quickly combed my hair, I bowed to Moondancer before exiting the rooftop. Oh I’m sure she swore some profanity before I left but I couldn’t care less. Another battle successfully won and another major jump in the rankings. I am getting one step closer to my goal.

“Zzzzzz…”

While I listened to the filly's steady snoring, I reflected back on how this whole mess started; how these dolls had, overnight, become my whole world. How I rose up from the ashes of failure and become even more radiant then I was before, and how Scootaloo and I became fast friends ourselves over the most unlikely of shared interests.

Yes; truly this has become a hectic month.

…but looking at the little filly resting on my back, I couldn’t be happier.

And I owe it all…

…to the Angelic Layer.

A Rare Scoot: Twin Princesses of the Layer
A Fictional Story by Manlyderp.
I do not own Hasbro’s MLP or Clamp’s Angelic Layer

One Month Earlier…

Comments

[factorydash]

This story is Awesome.
please continue with it, i really want to know how these Angels came to be.
oh, yeah and i hope the next chapter of A Cog in the Machine comes out soon.

[Peregrine Caged]

Since this was so short, I figured I'd just go through it to get a general handle on your style. Help's me to see any mistakes/errors/potential improvements in the long piece I'll give an all out critique for.

While it is written in such a way as to be accessible to just MLP fans, I imagine this piece would have had a lot more impact on me if I was familiar with the crossover property. Though after this, I think I might try and check that out. Sounds nifty.

Structure and grammar wise, you're not half bad. There are a few typos and errors a good comprehensive full read through edit would easily eliminate. Just take a moment and read it through carefully, you'll see 'em.

The first person perspective approach was well chosen for the tone and well executed. *applause* Though (and for the life of me I can't find them now!) there were a couple passages that sounded a bit odd. Maybe, if you can/are willing to while you go through an edit you might read aloud. I'd imagine you'd hear them. It's a bonus of the 1PP too, it should sound very natural to you when reading it out. So if it doesn't, clearly there's a mistake to fix!

Otherwise, you didn't break the cardinal rule: this didn't feel like a waste of time. I don't think I'll favorite it (but I'll read future installments, you betcha), but I did enjoy it and it makes me look forward to your longer piece. 'Til then, take it easy.

[ManlyDerp]

886144
Thank you so much for this! While this story was only intended to be a side project that I could play with while writing the meatier A Cog in the Machine, that does not mean that I do not care for it equally as much! I try to put my heart and soul into everything I write and I try to also be just as anal when it comes to editing, so I'll take your suggestion to read it out loud to heart after I get the next chapters of both fics out! After their out (which will be soon for both I assure those reading!) I'll go into full on editing mode for both of them before continuing. Again, anal
...and I only now realize that using that word next to that Rarity emote may not have been the smartest of ideas