Velvet Underground

by MagnetBolt

9 - Attitude City

Velvet looked down at the filly. A pony who knew how to handle foals might have tried treating her as an adult (if a tiny one). An even wiser pony who’d seen the filly throw massive pyrokinetic spells around would do whatever they needed to do to keep her happy and calm.

“Do your parents know you’re here?” Velvet said, demonstrating that despite her precognition she was flexible enough to insert her hoof firmly into her mouth.

Sunset’s cheeks puffed up and she made a noise like steam escaping from a kettle, stomping her hooves.

“I don’t need parents! I’m Princess Celestia’s personal student!” Sunset was trying her best to look intimidating. “I saved your lives! You should be thanking me!”

“I’ll thank you if you help me up,” Night Light called out, from the canal. “I can’t reach the walkway, and the ice is starting to melt, and I could really use a boost!”

Sunset rolled her eyes and yanked him up with telekinesis, dropping him on his head.

“Thanks,” Night Light mumbled, true to his word.

“I was doing something actually important and I drop it just to come out here to fight monsters for you imbeciles, you know,” Sunset huffed. “You’re clearly in over your heads.”

“Sorry,” Velvet said. “I just find it hard to believe that Agent Clearwater would have sent for, well…”

“The most powerful sorceress you’ll ever meet?” Sunset asked, glaring at her. “Yeah, I’m surprised she was smart enough to do that, too! Now where is she? I should be dealing with the pony in charge, not her…” Sunset sniffled and motioned with her hoof imperiously. “Underlings.”

“She’s dead,” Velvet said. “That pile of rubble that used to be the cafe? She stayed behind so we could escape.”

Sunset opened her mouth, as if about to make a cutting remark, then turned without saying whatever she was thinking.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know if you two were close, or…”

“Don’t be stupid. I barely knew her. I just helped her hunt monsters once in a while.” Sunset rubbed at her eyes, still facing away from Velvet, not letting her see her expression. “Come on. We’re going to the museum.”

---

Velvet panted, already out of breath. The crowd closed ranks until there was no clear path through. Night Light caught up as she came to a stop.

“Where’s the filly?” Night Light asked.

“I don’t know, I lost track of her,” Velvet said. “She keeps teleporting ahead when she gets slowed down.”

They could see plumes of smoke over the heads of the ponies around them, the tourists excited and trying to figure out what was going on and the locals speaking in hushed tones, worry evident on their faces.

“I think I see her,” Night Light said, pointing. Sunset was arguing with a pony in uniform.

Velvet pushed through the crowd, making apologies along the way.

“There you are,” Sunset said, once they got up to her. “Explain to this... this peon that we’re on official business.”

“Is this your child, Ma’am?” the uniformed pony asked. “You’ll need to explain to her that the museum is closed at this time. There’s been a fire.”

“And like I tried to explain, it isn’t a fire, it’s a monster attack!” Sunset snapped. “Show them your Night Guard badges.”

“Uh…” Night Light looked at Velvet.

“Badges?” Velvet asked.

“You don’t…” Sunset turned on them. “You have to have papers or something!”

“We’re not actually members of the Night Guard. We’re sort of… deputies? Contractors?” Night Light looked at Velvet for help.

“Technically I don’t think we’re anything except concerned citizens,” Velvet said, after thinking for a moment.

“You’re both so useless!” Sunset snapped.

“That’s no way to speak to your parents,” the uniformed pony said.

“They’re not my parents!”

“Now honey, that’s rude,” Velvet said.

Sunset looked up at her, shocked.

“Just play along so we don’t get arrested,” Velvet whispered.

“But- whatever.” Sunset huffed and looked away.

“I’m so sorry, officer,” Night Light said. “All the confusion just has her in a bad mood. We were really looking forward to going to the museum today. Do you know what happened?”

The uniformed pony immediately looked happier to be dealing with adults. “Well, sir, like I was telling your daughter, there was a major fire. I don’t have more information than that right now but we’re keeping ponies away right now while we assess the damage to the building. There’s some concern that it might collapse, so we’re maintaining a perimeter.”

“That’s really too bad,” Night Light said. “Will we still be able to see the Gallerie del’Solarium?”

“Oh, of course, sir.” The guard smiled and stepped aside, pointing down the path he’d been guarding. “I’ll let you through, but make sure to follow the correct signs. There’s a walking tour that’ll take you over some of the more important bridges.”

“Like the Bridge of Whinnies?” Night Light asked.

“A wonderful structure,” the guard agreed. “I’m sorry about the museum, but I hope you enjoy your time in our beautiful city.”

“Thank you for your help,” Night Light said. “Let’s go, girls.” He ushered them down the way the guard had pointed and around a corner.

“What was that all about?” Velvet asked. “How did you even know about those places?”

“I read a guidebook, remember?” Night Light said.

“Good work getting us past the perimeter,” Sunset said. “You’re not as useless as I thought.”

“Thank--” Before Night Light could finish, Sunset pulled him down to her eye level with her magic.

“Don’t ever call me your daughter again. I don’t have parents.”

“Understood,” Night Light squeaked. Sunset let him go.

“You could help instead of yelling,” Velvet snapped. “Why don’t you just teleport us to the museum?”

“...I’m not allowed to teleport other ponies,” Sunset admitted. “I haven’t got it perfect yet. I can teleport myself okay but anything I bring with me, um…” She looked guilty. “It sort of breaks. But I’ll get it right once Princess Celestia gets back to teaching me instead of having me on this stupid assignment in the middle of nowhere!”

“Veneighs isn’t the middle of nowhere,” Night Light said. “It’s the third largest city in Old Unicornia.”

“And if I was on assignment here, I wouldn’t complain!” Sunset snapped. “I’m- you know what? I’m not going to tell you.” She smirked. “You aren’t part of the Guard. You don’t get to know all the top secret stuff I do.”

Velvet rolled her eyes. “Which way is the museum?”

“That way,” Night Light pointed. “Towards the um, the ominous plume of black smoke.”

---

Sunset tugged on the stubborn door, the frame warped by temperature extremes. It rattled, either locked or stuck.

“Hold on,” Velvet said, pointing to a door a few paces away. “I think we can--”

Sunset tore the door off its hinges, tossing it aside.

Velvet opened the second door easily, the smooth hinges not even making a sound. “I was saying we could go this way.”

“My way is faster,” Sunset said, holding her head high as she walked inside.

Velvet sighed and closed the door, Night Light shrugging at her expression, both of them following the filly inside the staff entrance.

“This is starting to bring back memories,” Night Light said, looking around the ruined hallway. The ceiling was black with soot, tiles warped and cracked under their hooves. “You don’t think they’re still here, do you?”

“If they are, we’re going to come up with a plan,” Velvet replied. “I don’t think drain cleaner is going to work this time.”

“You don’t need a plan when you’re strong,” Sunset said. She stopped at a junction, looking both ways and frowning.

“That way,” Velvet said, pointing.

“Why that way?” Sunset asked.

“My father works in a museum, so I’ve spent a lot of time in service corridors like this,” Velvet explained. “Since they have to go behind exhibits, they’re kind of like a backbone for the whole building. The wider hallway means they probably use it for moving exhibits.”

“I’ll go first,” Night Light said. “I can read the signs.”

“You can?” Sunset asked, looking at the Neightalian plaques.

“On the trip over I memorized a few phrasebooks,” he explained.

Sunset made a pleased sound. “You two aren’t as useless as I thought. Just get behind me if there’s trouble, okay?”

Night Light nodded and walked ahead, reading out the signs.

“Ancient Roam, um… this one is Pegasopilan art… Oh! The Ponieta! I always wanted to see that!” He reached for the door until Sunset cleared her throat. Backing away and blushing. “Sorry. Um… I think it’s this one. It’s labeled as the Temporary Exhibition Hall.”

Sunset yanked the door open, and a plume of black smoke escaped, sending all of them into coughing fits.

The damage in the staff hallway was nothing compared to what they found outside it. Black, steaming rock covered part of the floor, still radiating heat despite the chill from the glacier of ice cutting off half the room. Inside the ice, Velvet could just barely make out dim shapes that looked like ponies.

“They must have woken up while there were tourists in here,” Night Light whispered. He looked like he was going to be sick.

“This is volcanic rock,” Sunset said, tapping a hoof against the black stone. “The ice thing didn’t like fire. No way it was able to make magma.”

“Lava, actually, since it’s on the surface,” Night Light said. Sunset shot him a look. “Sorry.”

“I don’t think they’re here,” Velvet said, after a long look around the room. Nothing was trying to kill them, which made for a nice change of pace. “Why didn’t we hear about all this when we were at the cafe?”

“They wouldn’t want to send up an alarm and frighten the tourists off,” Sunset scoffed. “Idiots.”

“I don’t understand, though,” Night Light said. “This museum had the Sun’s Heart. It should have been able to keep the pookas locked in stone, right?”

“It’s supposed to be a big gem shining like the sun. Do you see it in here?” Velvet asked.

“No,” Night Light admitted.

Sunset’s horn lit up, and a wave swept across the room.

“There’s a bunch of weird chaos magic in here,” she said. “But I think I feel something familiar over here…”

She walked across the room, picking a path between the cooling lava and the floes of ice. Sunset yanked a door open, and light flooded in from the next room.

“Don’t hurt us!” somepony yelled.

Velvet and Night Light ran over. The next room was full of light, no trace of the lava and ice inside, even the air seeming clear of the lingering smoke. A dozen foals cowered behind a single adult pony, the older pony wearing a sweater and thick glasses that screamed ‘teacher’.

Above them, casting the light, a gem shone like the Sun.

“That must be the Sun’s Heart,” Night Light said.

“Don’t worry, the monsters are gone,” Velvet said. “We’re here to help.”

Night Light looked around the untouched gallery. “The pookas must have avoided this room because of the gem. They got really lucky.”

“Yeah,” Sunset agreed, before ripping the Sun’s Heart free of its housing.

“Sunset! That belongs to the museum!” Velvet admonished.

“It belongs to me now. We need it more than they do.” She looked at the scared foals. “What? You’re safe! Get out of here and go home!”

---

“I can see why Princess Celestia decided to make you her student,” Velvet said. “Yelling at scared foals. You’ve really got a way with ponies.”

“Shut up,” Sunset said, her cheeks red. “I don’t get along well with ponies my own age. We need the Sun’s Heart if we’re going to stop those monsters, right? Letting it sit in a museum is dumb, and those ponies were dumb for not trying to escape.”

She patted her saddlebags, the gem wrapped up tight in the cloak she’d been wearing.

“With this, I can definitely beat them,” Sunset said.

“We should send a message to Princess Celestia to tell her what happened,” Night Light suggested.

“No!” Sunset snapped. “What are you, stupid?”

“We need her help,” Velvet said, gently. “There’s nothing wrong with asking for help.”

“That’s not the point!” Sunset sat down and rubbed her temples. “We don’t have a good way to contact the Princess. Even if the message isn’t intercepted, it’ll take days to get it there and back and I don’t want monsters running around for that long.”

“What else are we supposed to do?” Velvet asked.

“We could try and figure out what they want,” Night Light suggested.

Sunset nodded quickly. “Yeah! Good idea. Easy to tell you’re the smart one. We’ve got a trump card to beat them, so we just need to figure out where they’ll go and ambush them!”

“Well… they eat pony magic,” Velvet said. “But they didn’t stay in town to eat everypony here.”

“Maybe they’re worried about attracting too much attention,” Night Light suggested. “If they’re weak from being imprisoned they might want to find somewhere safe. Like cockroaches running away when you turn on the light.”

“That would make sense,” Velvet agreed. “They don’t know where Celestia is. For all they know, she could be in the city. That might be why we only saw one of them. They scattered in all directions.”

“I wonder how many ponies they’d need,” Night Light muttered.

“How many ponies they’d need for what?” Velvet asked.

“To match Celestia’s power,” he said. “To break the curse, they’d probably need as much magic as Princess Celestia. They won’t go after her directly, so they’ll have to eat magic from other ponies.”

“...An alicorn’s magic,” Sunset whispered. “Oh no.”

Velvet blinked. “Oh no?”

“We need to go, now,” Sunset said. “If they don’t know yet they might find out soon. The only advantage we have is that she’s been kept secret!”

“Who’s been kept secret?” Night Light asked.

Sunset took a deep breath, looking pained. “There’s another alicorn. And I abandoned her to come here.”

Author's Note:

Welcome to Attitude City, Sunset Shimmer's home town.

Comments

[darkhabit]

So... Sunset was assigned to princess Lovebutt?

[nemryn]

Shouldn't Sunset have papers-or-something?

[djthomp]

“The most powerful sorceress you’ll ever meet?” Sunset asked, glaring at her. “Yeah, I’m surprised she was smart enough to do that, too! Now where is she? I should be dealing with the pony in charge, not her…” Sunset sniffled and motioned with her hoof imperiously. “Underlings.”

And then Velvet takes it as a personal challenge to make a more powerful one.

“You don’t need a plan when you’re strong,” Sunset said. She stopped at a junction, looking both ways and frowning.

And also teach her that this is entirely the wrong strategy.

Sunset took a deep breath, looking pained. “There’s another alicorn. And I abandoned her to come here.”

Oops. RIP Cadance.

[FanOfMostEverything]

“I can teleport myself okay but anything I bring with me, um…” She looked guilty. “It sort of breaks.”

I could see that being useful. Sometimes you want to scramble something on the subatomic level. Pookas, for example.

Hopefully this experience will teach Sunset some slim modicum of humility. And maybe the remaining pookas will throw themselves on the mercy of the Crown.

[Asolem2]

“You don’t need a plan when you’re strong,” Sunset said. She stopped at a junction, looking both ways and frowning.

You do when your opponent is stronger

[redmar]

Sunset should try to think thngs a bit mor through since she definately isn't strong enough to beat a fire/earth based Pooka that can create lava. I think the fourth Pooka is a fire/air based one which wouldn't be good for Cadance.