Angels and Demons
Feeling returned to Sunset before sight or motion. A throbbing over her left eye, and a painful tenderness to her legs and chest. Two stiff, grainy bed sheets entrapped her atop a mattress that hissed and whirred mechanically.
Muttered conversation could be heard. Something nearby gave a rhythmic beep, and in the distance a man loudly demanded a sponge bath.
A hospital.
Sunset knew enough to squint as she opened her eyes. White sheets, white walls, white ceiling, and white floor, all feeding each other reflections of the barely-shaded white light bulbs above.
Blue Luna. She sat with her chin in hand, leaning listlessly and staring to the snow-clad city outside the window. Her foot tapped with pensive thought or irritation.
Sunset slowly flexed her toes and fingers. Nothing broken, or so it seemed. What happened? There was a concert…
The blue head turned, bringing their gazes together. Sunset smiled.
Luna did not. “Good morning, Dipshit.”
The glare and words sent a chill down Sunset’s back. She cringed, stammering efforts at a question before Luna cut in.
“Nope. No, nada, non, nope to your wide-eyed-and-confused routine. You’re not an evil kid anymore. You’re not a normal kid, either. You’re a grown-ass adult and you should know better.”
“What happened?” Sunset managed.
“Do I seriously have to explain?” Luna growled. She relented at Sunset’s pleading look, though turned her gaze back to the window. “God, I can’t even look at you, and I don’t even know where to start.”
“Neither do I.” Sunset rubbed her face, then jerked her hand back with a pained hiss. Black eyes. “Loud music… we had a fight…”
Memory returned, but it was like recalling a dream. Was it even real? None of them had acted like themselves. Arrogant, angry, spiteful. Just like…
...Like the Battle of the Bands.
The sirens, now strong enough to afflict Sunset. Strong enough to send a theater of two hundred into a free-for-all.
Sunset stared into the uncomfortable white ceiling. What would happen next week, at Canterlot Mountain? A crowd of thousands… but to what end? She had to make a plan with the others. Applejack, Twilight…
There wasn’t much time. Sunset sat up too quickly for the pain to warn her. She cried out as bruised muscles stretched across her back, then immediately cramped her into an agonized hunch. Tears hovered in the corner of her eyes as she stared to Luna, now looking back with cool indifference.
“Don’t try to stand,” Luna said. “Legally, you can’t leave the room.”
Sunset tried again. “What happened?”
Luna huffed. “To you? I don’t know. Other than you got the stuffing knocked out of you, so go cry a river. That little party you were at had everything bad you could think of. Alcohol to minors. Concealed weapons that got pulled. Date drugs, bought and sold. There was a riot when the cops showed and a fair chunk of the building got burned. Somehow nobody died, but there are bullet and knife wounds. You had drugs in your system on top of everything, so have fun explaining that to Celestia.”
Sunset made to speak, but Luna interrupted with a snapped, wordless roar and a side-arm slap to the window. Luna pushed off of it – not as angry now, but with a grimacing pain to her face.
Still plenty angry. “College makes you dumb. I get that. I wouldn’t even care if it was just you and me. But you know how shitty it was to be on Celestia’s side of the conversation when the hospital called? She didn’t say anything at first, she just kind of leaned against the counter and started crying. She almost fainted when the nurse handed the phone to the cop. But then when she had to speak, she was perfect: ‘Yes ma’am, thank you sir.’ Now she’s calling in favors to get your dumb ass off the hook, so whoopie for you. Consequence-free again. All it cost was a proverbial knife to your mother’s gut.”
“Aunt Luna...”
“Don’t ‘Aunt Luna’ me,” Luna snapped. “I can’t deal with this. I’m getting her. Think about what you’ll say.”
Probably for the best, Celestia did not come back immediately. Time enough for Sunset to finish piecing her memories of the concert. Her phone had mercifully been left at her bed-stand, giving her quick access to thirty-seven messages of wailed apologies from the other hunters. Sunset responded calmly, giving reminder to the group of exactly what happened, and that forgiveness wasn’t even needed. They were hypnotized by the music; nothing more.
...Except Adagio. Or at least, Sunset didn’t remember Adagio being affected. Nor had the ex-siren sent any texts.
A nurse interrupted as Sunset began scrolling for her number. Sunset didn’t question the pills, and the nurse kindly attempted to hide his contempt for the ‘druggie.’ A man’s voice called from the hallway, clarifying he wanted a sponge bath from a young female worker, and the nurse sighed and walked out just as another person came in.
Quiet as a mouse’s ghost, Celestia loitered at the door until Sunset made eye contact. Sunset beamed, and Celestia answered with a sad, stressed little smile.
Celestia held up a brown paper bag as she approached the bedside. “I made you lunch.”
“Mom, it’s not what it looks like,” Sunset said urgently.
“Of course, sweetie,” Celestia said in a tone of motherly resignation. “If anything, it’s my fault.”
Luna leaned against the door frame and sent in a deathly glare as Celestia went on.
“I talked to the police.” Celestia’s voice was breathless, her close-eyed smile trembling. “They couldn’t identify the drugs in your system and don’t know that you did anything violent, so they’ve agreed to let you go. As soon as the doctor okays it, we’ll pack up and head home.”
She opened her eyes and released a sigh. “I’m not mad. It’s alright, and it will be alright. I’m sorry.”
“Mom–”
“No. Listen.” Celestia sat down by the bed and took Sunset’s hand, staring to her with sadness. “I’ve been a terrible mother. Bringing you into the business, letting you go off with guns… of course you made mistakes. You barely had a home life before gallivanting off on your own. No normal childhood to learn things and help keep you grounded. No real experience with adulthood, and barely any as a daughter.”
Celestia shuffled in place. Her voice grew stronger, but more brittle. “We’ll make it right. We’ll move you back home. Back to your old room. You can skip a year or two and still keep the college credits.”
Sunset blinked, too wrong-footed for more than a, “What?”
“A part time job, to keep you busy.” Weak hope entered Celestia’s voice. “Donut Joe still owes me for the pastry exorcism. No monster hunting, of course. A girl your age should never have been involved. There will be curfews and such, but isn’t that alright? We can be mother-daughter again. Would that be so bad?”
“Yes!” Sunset erupted. They both recoiled, with Sunset hastily adding, “I mean, no, but listen to me! I said it’s not what it looks like.”
Sweetie, I–”
“Listen. To. Me.” Sunset gripped Celestia’s hand. Green eyes of certainty locked her mother’s gaze with the last word. “Please.”
Celestia closed her mouth. Then she opened it, and closed it again. She settled back in the chair, her broken smile replaced with a stern frown.
“I’m listening.”
Sunset seized the chance. She sat up gingerly, and spoke earnestly. “I didn’t take any drugs. Maybe their song affected my body, I don’t know. And I wasn’t involved with any of the creepy stuff Aunt Luna mentioned. I went there to check out the sirens, and yes, they’re the same sirens from C.H.S. They have their powers back, and it’s worse than ever because I used to be immune.”
“Are you serious?” Luna growled.
“I can’t make this up!” Sunset gestured wildly, ignoring the protests of her sore body. “They’re performing at the huge venue by Canterlot Mountain next Friday. Thousands of people. I don’t know what they want or what they’re trying to do, but it’s going to be a massacre if they do what they did with us.”
“Ugh. I hate getting hypnotized, just… ew.” Luna shivered and grimaced, but then turned her glare to Sunset. “I gotta say, if you’re lying to get out of trouble, I am straight up kicking your ass when I find out.”
“I’m not,” Sunset breathed. Her eyes moved desperately between them. “If I’m lying, kick my ass. But I’m not, and a lot of people are going to get hurt if we don’t act.”
“Who is ‘we?’” Celestia asked guardedly.
Sunset answered without pause. “Me and my friends. Rainboom powers, a mad scientist, an ex-siren… we can figure it out between us. What they want, how to not be affected, and how to stop them.”
Celestia sighed. “So back to hunting.”
“Mom, it wasn’t even hunting that got me into this mess.”
Celestia made a noncommittal noise and looked sidelong to Luna. “Thoughts?”
“Abstain,” Luna said with a tight frown. “You both know I’m way unqualified for this.”
“Please believe me,” Sunset whispered.
Celestia closed her eyes. She took three slow breaths, then turned her soft pink gaze back to her daughter.
The words came even more quietly than Sunset’s. “I do.”
Then, with a bargaining smile, “Can you let my group handle it?”
“I really can’t,” Sunset said honestly. “People are in danger. Like, a ton of people. Don’t ask me to walk away, you know I won’t. Not when I can help them see next Christmas.”
Celestia’s smile grew broader. She reached over and stroked two fingers through a lock of red hair. “My hero.”
A hard swallow. “I lose sleep over you, Sunset. I hear about you fighting werewolves and mole monsters, and I lie awake wondering if I was right to show you the business. I want nothing more than to keep you safe forever. But how many people would have died if I stopped you? Applejack, Sour Sweet, and more. It would be selfish of me to hold you back.”
“This time, though, we work together.” Celestia said it with authority, getting a chuckle from Luna. “I’ll set up a meeting with the other faculty. Come, and tell us everything. Work with us to formulate a plan. If thousands are at risk, this is a much bigger problem than our usual and it deserves a matching response.”
“Agreed,” Sunset said. “Mom, thank you. I...”
A loud sniff caught her off-guard. Sunset wiped her nose on the grainy sheet and tried again as hanging tears blurred her vision. “I mean… thank you. For trusting me.”
“You’ve given me every reason to,” Celestia said, though gave a wet sniff of her own. She reluctantly stood, and beckoned to Luna. “We’ll see what we can do to get you out of here. See you soon.”
The sisters left, and the moment passed. Sunset returned to her phone, tapped Adagio’s name, and held it to her ear. Only with the third ring did she realize she wasn’t quite sure what to say.
Answer came on the fourth. “Nobody calls anymore, Sunset. Just text me.”
“Wanted to make it personal,” Sunset said, then quickly clarified. “Um, in a good way. I’m checking on you.”
A droll shrug somehow sounded through Adagio’s words. “If you want to apologize like the others, don’t bother. I know how siren music works. Consider the evening forgiven and forgotten.”
“Were you affected?” Sunset asked. “I saw you in the crowd and you didn’t seem to be fighting… did your sisters talk to you?”
Adagio grumbled, “Wow, she doesn’t even ask if I’m injured.”
“Sorry,” Sunset winced. “Are you okay?”
“Something happened with Applejack and now my butt hurts.”
A nonplussed frown found Sunset’s face, and a laugh came over the line. “Joking, joking. I am intact, thank you for asking. And as to your question…”
Adagio paused. It took her a few seconds to go on, but the described feeling could not have been comfortable. “I was affected, yes, just a little slower than you. I tried to make my way forward to stop the music, but it seems I fell for it while I was in the crowd. Getting so furious for no good reason… very chilling to be on the receiving end of all that. Next thing I knew I had blood on my fingernails and was running from the cops.”
“I understand,” Sunset said. “We need to figure out how to stop them. Are you still in?”
“‘In’ against the darling sisters who gave me free tickets to my own humiliation?” Adagio gave a haughty sniff. “Very much so. Keep me in the loop.”
Sunset smiled grimly. “Will do. I’m gonna check on the others. You take care.”
“You too.”
Adagio clicked the hangup button as she spoke. No idea if the words got through to Sunset.
Whatever. Adagio tossed the phone onto her bed, pulled out a pocket mirror, and began preening. Eye shadow, hair… she had the dorm to herself with the others convalescing elsewhere, but that was no reason to get sloppy.
Her phone played a custom chime. A text from Aria.
She could wait. Adagio wasn’t finished. Lipstick, makeup…
And flawless blue gem, set in a choker at her neck.
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Oh no...
Well, I am both saddened and not surprised at this turn of events.
I wonder, will Adagio side with the sisters that abandoned her (albeit somewhat deservedly) or the friends that fought by her side and forgave her? By the side of the one she hopes to love?
I'm still rooting for SunDagio
... And you were doing so well.
9669311
You mean "Adagio", right?
9669338
Edited, thanks!
Well. At least Sunset got them to listen. As for what Adagio is plotting, I suspect layers within layers. The question is where it ends, and if I'm putting too much faith in her.
And there's the question of picking up something in Sunset's bloodstream. Could just be an anomalous reading from the magic, but a chemical layer could explain how the sirens bypassed her resistance.
9669419
Given the substance non-identification, I'm guessing either supernatural shenanigans or mind control.
"Yes, she was doing drugs at the party, officer."
"What kind of drugs?"
"...drugs drugs."
And I'm eagerly anticipating discovering where on the scale of "Gotta get power" to "Have cake, eat it too" to "Sudden but inevitable rebetrayal" Adagio will end up.
I just hope it doesn't have, you know, an explosive or corruptive failsafe or anything.
So, has Adagio turned back to the dark side? Or is she attempting to play double agent, where no-one but her knows her true loyalties? Be careful, for that way lies only loneliness and anger from those you wanted to help.
*Click's tongue*
Welp. Here's hoping that Adagio is playing double-agent. If not, then I don't see how the Monster Hunter crew can deal with these new Dazzlings, since they've just gotten a minimum plus-one-thirds power boost on top of the gains they've already made.
As for these Blue Gems, I wonder who their sponsor is? Who's the man behind the curtain here? They've got some muscle, so it's no small player. Tirek? Maybe the Storm King?
That's probably bad.
Oh boy.
Oooh dear.
Huh, interesting.
GOOD. GOOD.
Yeah, mind fuckery is, a whole THING.
Naaaaw, this is nice.
Uuuh...
This just got personal.
Oh boy. Oooh boy. The Windigo Gem.
9669812
I suspect at least A Windigo. Think back to last chapter, there was mention of a lot of cold and aggression. And what are the Windigoes associated with? Cold and hate. Which is ironic considering the phrase burning hatred.
Nuuuuuuuuuu
Freezer burn is a thing though.
Honestly, I think playing double agent suits Daj. Perhaps she thinks this is her chance to get back to the roots of their music powers. Also, her situation at the time of the other sirens' offer wasn't exactly conducive to saying "no" -- it might have been honorable, but surrounded by chaos and cops closing in it also would have been near-suicidal. I don't think Daj is the type to let an opportunity go to waste, either -- the easiest way to take down someone when all you have is a small dagger is to cozy up next to them and wait for the right moment to stab 'em in the back.
9669812
Eh There’s stuff to do with death so either Grogar or Sombra.
9669812
Last chapter confirmed it was Tirek. Adagio asks and they said it was in the song.
9671957
Eh didn't realise he'd gotten so many other response, nor quite how old it was. Read through Celestia Hunts, and now Sunset Hunts, in the past 24 hours, as I just found them.
Solid, enjoyable, good laughs, wasn't trying to dredge, just commenting, 'pologies.
9671986
No prob, thank you.
I smell a tripple cross. She picked up for Sunset(and, implied, the others) but made Aria wait, she 'hoped her words got through' to Sunset, and it wouldn't fit the arc if she double crossed them. I think 'you thought I was going to pretend to be on heir side to help you but actually I pretended to pretend to be on their side to help them' is a more reasonable outcome. Plus, y'know, entertaining as all hell. The absolute roller coaster Sunset is in for on the next few chapters is gonna be wonderful.
Okay, I have to ask a semi serious question: do you have children of your own? Maybe younger siblings? Because the only thing that would make the bone I have to pick with you easier is if I can chalk it up to not having any real life experience on the matter.
There us no way in Tartarus you can expect me to believe Luna would be THAT vicious to Sunset the moment she regained consciousness in a hospital bed from being physically assaulted. There is anger born of worry, there is dissapointment and then there was THAT.
I was dissapointed with how you handled the chapter with the Sphinx but this straight up made me angry. And that's a real shame because I still love this story and respect you as a writer but again this REALLY frosted my butt.
I was seperated from my brother for a few years, I'll spare the details but let me tell you if my mom and I had found out he was in the hospital the first thing we would have done would not have been to insult him and assume the worst. I only managed to keep my language family friendly because A) My reaction likely stems from a lot of emotion and will likely cool off after venting in this comment and B) Luna made some effort to soften up EVENTUALLY.
But this was still equal parts baffling and irritating Dan, I'll likely get over this but in the meantime I am genuinely dissapointed in you.
9693973
Sorry this one didn't click with you. For what it's worth, this is very much anger born of worry and guilt. Luna went through a "holy shit she's at the hospital is she dying holy shit" panic, then as she was coming down from that learned Sunset was under suspicion of criminal activity. So we have adult-guardian anger stemming from:
1. We thought you were seriously hurt
2. You're in trouble with the law
3. You were in a place you should not have been
4. I was worried sick
5. Your mother was worried sick
#5 is especially poignant for Luna, knowing full well Celestia felt it all worse than she did and with an extra dose of "am I a bad parent?" guilt. Luna is assuredly the more brusque of the pair, and felt that Celestia's tendency to internalize her problems and remain outwardly calm might let Sunset off very easily considering what the sisters went through for several hours. Given all that, and knowing Sunset is out of immediate danger, I can definitely see Luna exploding.
I'm sure you know by now that setting and tone changes from chapter to chapter in this fic. I hope you find later ones more enjoyable.
9694408
Apology more then accepted Dan. Honestly I am rather embarassed at how this seemed to trigger me like that and will gladly make every effort to avoid reacting like that in the future.
Adagio noooooo...
I mean, it seems like she's definitely not communicating about whatever she's up to. Maybe there's a good reason?
I want her to be on their side at least, but I'm really not sure whether she is.
Again, I love the family relationship here. Yeah, Luna read her the riot act, but that was a mix of quiet, being passed at making Celestia worry and likely some lingering self hatred for her own dumb decisions as a kid being projected into Sunset for doing something stupid and dangerous. And yeah Celestia went full mother hen mode, but once Sunset broke the mental train tracks... Celestia listened and trusted her and they worked this out reasonably.
Now Adagio... you have no idea where she is on this. Intentional double agent? Pawn that doesn't quite raise the score? Or legit turn coat? At least for now.
Things are taking up but still making time for what makes this story so great.
Hmmmmmm...