Chronicles of the Spectrum

by Blue_Thunder

Reverse Psychic

Much like previous videos, Rainbow spent the entire week running ideas back and forth between Sunset's home and the Apple family farm Sweet Apple Acres just outside of town, as well as tossing some ideas out the window along the way.

When it came time to practice, Rainbow had supervised rehearsals at the lunch table to make sure Aj's acting was better than it's been in the past. And it was.

Finally, on recording day...

~~~~~~~~~

Rainbow had set up a tableclothed table by a booth in the wide walkway of the inside of the outlet mall. On it, sat a holder for a glass ball, and the ball itself; both of which were graciously volunteered by Pinkie, who seemed to have plenty to spare. On the table sat a paper card. It read "Madame Shimmer tells you your past memories. $2 for the last week, $5 for the last month, $10 for the last year and $20 for anything beyond that. Money back if I'm wrong." Rainbow's handwriting was surprisingly neat. Beside the note was a jar to hold the payments.

Aj walked over and saw the card. "Fancy set up."

"You ain't seen fancy yet, Aj. Just wait until Sunset comes out of the bathroom. She went in to change a little while ago into the outfit we prepared for her."

"Oh really? Will I be shocked?"

"Only if you touch it. Sunny's worn less to more formal gatherings than this." Rainbow tilted back in one of the prepared seats. "Got the tablecloth on sale from the two-bit shop down the way there. And the table... I moved from the eatery."

"Stolen?" Aj asked.

"No. Borrowed without permission. But, with every intention of giving it back." Rainbow winked at Aj. "Have a seat."

Aj sat down opposite Rainbow. "Just so Ah ain't missin' nothin', what's the ball for?"

"Show. She has one just because. The real thing will be more like palm reading. Or look like it anyway. You all set for your part?" Aj nodded. "Good. Because here she comes." Rainbow pointed to Sunset, who walked from the restroom wearing a red and gold outfit. It had lace, chains, beads, a veil, a ribbon for her hair, gold pants that looked baggy and red and gold babouches.

"Sweet Cider at Hearths Warming that is one fancy get up ya got, Sunset."

"Blame Rarity. She insisted I look the part." She folded her arms and looked at Rainbow. "Only once. All of this is waaaaay too restricting."

"Don't look too bad to me," Aj argued.

"You didn't spend the first 20 years of your life not being required to wear clothes," Sunset countered. Then, she blushed and turned away.

"Wait, really?" Aj and Dash asked in unison.

"Well, clothes were more reserved for the high society life than normal commonfolk. When I went to Equestria to steal the crown, I wasn't wearing anything but my saddlebags. I had to find a cloak in the closet the mirror was in. And I bet you when Princess Twilight came after me, she was wearing the same as me."

"But why, though?"

"Do you put clothes on your horses Aj?"

"Uhh, blankets, saddles, bags, an' the like."

"Right. That's about as dressed up as horses get." Sunset got into one of the free seats. "It was uncommon for a pony to wear anything. Some were actually vehemently against it, save for balls and galas and such."

Aj stood and stretched. "Huh. The more ya know Ah guess. Ahmma go get some snacks. Gimme a holler when y'all're ready to film."

"Actually," Rainbow started, "have you got any ones and fives? Gotta make it look like we have people biting this."

With a sigh, Aj deposited her bills into the jar on the table. "Better?"

"Don't worry Aj. You'll get it all back. Promise." Sunset smiled and took her rightful seat. "Oh, before you go..." She reached in and handed back a five and two ones. "Start with the two, then gimme the five when you're more interested during the video."

Aj retrieved the money, waved, and walked off.

Rainbow looked at Sunset. "Well, it's just us here now."

"Not quite..." Sunset said, pointing down the hall. A dark skinned guy with black hair, jacket, pants and shirt beneath walked over to the table. "Can I help you?"

"Oh, hold on." Rainbow took out her camera. "Mind if I record this?"

"Not at all," he replied. He watched as Rainbow set up her camera.

"And can I get a name?" Sunset asked.

"Shade," he answered. "Shade Walker."

"Alright, Shade. Tell me what you'd like to remember."

Shade looked at the paper in front of him. "Hmm..." He put two dollars on the table. "Where was I friday morning? Around ten."

Sunset held out her hand. "I need to read your hand for that one." He put out his own palm up. "No, the back of your hand." He, confused, turned his hand over. She took it and held it with both of hers, feeling his veins as she moved about the back of his hand. "Friday morning... Ten... You were... Writing a ... a letter. "Dear Aurora". You left it on the counter beside an apple and half drank glass of milk."

"How do you know that happened at ten?" Shade inquired.

"After you signed it, you looked at the owl wall clock above and beside the fireplace. I believe you were running late." Sunset released his hand. "So? How close was I?"

"Remarkable..." he replied. "Your words were accurate. 100% accurate. Color me impressed, Sunset." He stood. "Well, thank you for this experience. I look forward to your future endeavors." With that, he walked off.

Rainbow closed the camera. "He was... weird."

"Oh, he's just a customer. I honestly didn't expect to have those doing this."

"Right? Should probably call Aj over now." Rainbow found Applejack by the pretzel rotary.

~~~~~~~~~

Sunset was behind her table with her hands and eyes fixed on the ball atop the bright red and gold cloth that adorned the furniture. Beyond it sat two chairs. Applejack walked up and had a seat. "Howdy Sunset. What was that guy about earlier?"

"Shade Walker? Oh, just a customer. One of ... " She paused to glance at her jar of bills. "Many this morning."

"Customers?" Aj asked, tilting her head. She noticed the card and held it up. ""Madame Shimmer tells you your past memories." You're a psychic now?"

"No. Psychics tell you the future. I tell you the past. If you once had the memory, then I can see it with my maaaagical pooower. Or something."

"So.. you're a reverse psychic. That's a neat angle, Sunset. But how accurate are you?"

Sunset sat back in her chair. "Tell you what. Half price for best friends. Drop a dollar and let me try your hand."

Aj laughed a little. "Ye're kiddin' me. No way can you do that. Heck, Ah'll drop ya the dollar on the case of it bein' impossible." She dug in her wallet and put in the required bill. Then, she held out her right hand palm up.

"Left hand. And the back of it." Aj chuckled and obeyed. Sunset closed her eyes and took a breath. Carefully, she grabbed Aj's hand and felt its every line. She turned it over and traced Aj's hand with her fingertips. "You know? I kinda need something to look for here."

"Oh, uh... Breakfast. Yesterday mornin'."

Sunset placed Aj's hand on the table. "Blueberry pancakes with maple syrup and two butter squares. Big Mac only has one butter square because he doesn't like butter. And Applebloom has three because she really does."

Aj's mouth hung open. "How do you know all that?"

"I was invited to your house a few saturday mornings, Aj."

"Oh right. Uhh..." She paced a hand on her chin. "Alright, then how about ... tuesday night last week? Say... 5 pm." She held her hand out as before.

Sunset took it in her own and looked between the fingers. "Let's see... You were... feeding the horses some hay. Applebloom asks you if she can ride one with you and you deny her on the count of they're being fed right now. She later gets distracted with her friend Scootaloo coming over to help plan their next movie outing. After the horses are fed, you go into the house to check up on her."

"A-Amazin'! How long are ya gonna be in the mall?"

"Until 5 or so."

"Alright. Ah wanna test your accuracy here." She stood up and walked away.

The video jump-cut to another time of day. Aj came and sat back down. The jar on the table was much fuller than before.

"Welcome back, Aj. What's this test you have?"

"Ah went an' wrote a few numbers down. Ah want you to tell me what they are." She placed another bill in the jar and put her hand on the table.

"Okay... but you're really wasting your money here..." Sunset held Aj's index and thumb of the right hand and narrowed her eyes. "The first number you wrote was... 12... Simple... Then you went and wrote down the number ... heh. one hundred twenty three million four hundred fifty six thousand seven hundred eighty nine. Took a while, and you also were really tempted to write the number short hand. And third number is... Are you really going to make me say this?" Aj nodded wit a smile. "Alright..." Sunset took a deep breath. "3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105-" She took a second breath. "-82097494459230781640628620899862803482-" A third breath. "-5342117067." Sunset finished with a sigh and dropped her hand. "There. All done. But why would you make me recite the first 100 digits of pi?!"

"Because there's no way you'd have it memorized." Aj folded her arms.

"I see... Are you satisfied yet?"

"Nope. One more test. If ya pass this one, Ah'll believe ya." She stood and walked off, leaving Sunset shaking her head.

Another jump-cut. This time, to Sunset's clean up. She was in her casuals with her fancy clothes in a bag with the table cloth. The jar was so full of money it was surprising.

Aj came back with a lack of breath. "Alright, you. Last one."

"Sorry, Aj. I have to go. Maybe tomorrow at school?"

"No. Now. Ah bought something today. What was it and how much?"

"Are you serious?" Aj nodded once. "Fine." Sunset put a finger against Aj's forehead. "You bought a yellow two-piece swimsuit, immediately returned it, bought a green two-piece in its place, went to try it on, found it a bit too tight, but kept it anyway because it makes you feel good. The yellow one charged you fifteen ninety nine plus tax, the green one costed you twelve ninety nine plus tax. The clerk asked if you wanted it gift-wrapped and you said no. You also kept the receipt in your front right pocket and you are still wearing the swimsuit under your clothes. Can I go home yet?"

Aj paused and took a step back. "Yeah, sure. Just try not to follow me around. There's no other way you could know all that."

"Believe what you will, Aj. See you at school." Sunset walked off screen.

~~~~~~~~~

Everyone crowded around Rainbow's phone at the lunch table on the following day. Aj and Sunset stood the closest. When it finished, the two sighed and sat beside each other. "Well done on your acting part Applejack," Rarity complimented.

"Thanks. Had Big mac an' Applebloom help at home on their spare time." She took a drink of her apple juice.

"You guys nailed it!" Rainbow added. "You two seriously did. I almost didn't want to edit out stuff, but you had to go and write the first hundred digits of pi. With her shorter breaths, I took out a couple frames so it'd jump a little to the next one. That guy showing up was a nice surprise though."

"Sure was. Think I made a believer out of him, too."

"What guy?" Fluttershy asked.

"There was some dude dressed up all in black and had some serious curiosity. Sunset divined his past and he was satisfied." Rainbow took a small bite of her apple slice. "And, we donated the money we got from everyone other than Aj to Fluttershy's wildlife center. All to a good cause, huh."

"That's nice of you to do that," Twilight said. "Maybe there's a way to monetize our powers like that as well. I'll try and look into it."

"Alright, so we knocked out mine, then Flutters'. Then Twilight's and Rarity's. Sunset got Aj's help. So, Aj is getting Pinkie's help. I have a small plan in the works for you guys. Won't be anywhere near as elaborate as this one. You two got any ideas?"

"Do you know how hard it is to move a cannon without wheels?" Pinkie asked.

"I do!" Twilight interrupted. "You had me help you get some of those things to liven up the party during the Friendship Games. In boxes, but wheel-less all the same."

"And they were heavy, right?" Aj asked. Twilight nodded.

"I got it!" Rainbow nearly shouted. "I'll give Pinkie the starting details and see if she can work with them. Aj, you're alright to push, pull, lift, carry and bear 50+ pounds right?"

"Like it ain't nothin'."

"Good. We'll need that for this."

Comments

[ShadowLDrago]

Y'ever consider getting a proofreader?

[Blue_Thunder]

9354659
Was there somewhere I flubbed?

[ShadowLDrago]

9354664

Several I'm afraid. The most notable one of Aj instead of AJ.

[Blue_Thunder]

9354668
How do you mean? Aj is Applejack, right? One word? If it were Apple Jack, then I would.

Edit: Wait, has it ALWAYS been AJ? Why would they need both capitalized? I've always done lower j. You are the first to call me out on that.

[ShadowLDrago]

9354677

Fair point, that's just how I've always seen it written.

[Blue_Thunder]

9354679
Still a good story though, right?

[ShadowLDrago]

9354683

Yes. But, a proofreader would be useful.

[Zapper Frost]

"I got it!" Rainbow nearly shouted. "I'll give Pinkie the starting details and see if she can work with them. Aj, you're alright to push, pull, lift, carry and bear 50+ pounds right?"

There is absolutely no way those enormous cannons weigh anywhere near 50 pounds
derpicdn.net/img/2015/10/30/1012292/full.png

[Blue_Thunder]

9354808
And yet, both Pinkie and Twilight had trouble sliding them across the floor in wooden boxes.

[Zapper Frost]

9354863
Well them being able to move them could just be chalked up to cartoon logic. But irl the lightest cannon I could find is 1800 pounds or 800 kilos.
And judging by the picture alone those cannons are definitely made of metal.

[Blue_Thunder]

9354880
Okay, so it's not that I overestimated it, I low-balled it. That said, we've seen Aj bury a wooden steak far bigger than she is, and toss a massively boulder like it's nothing. I think carrying a cannon is wellness within her power.

[Zapper Frost]

9355046
I know but I'm just saying that you underestimated the weight of pinkie's cannons

[Blue_Thunder]

9355082
Ah... I got you... Noted. And we'll call that Rainbow's underestimation, because I totally know better. <_< ... >_>

[Zapper Frost]

9355102
memegenerator.net/img/instances/53239424/yeah-suuure.jpg

[Dashie04]

Be honest, how long did it take you to type out the first hundred digits of pi?

[Blue_Thunder]

9355377
Since I did it from the youtube video, several minutes of pausing, tab flipping and typing. ^^;

[Queensarrow]

9354808
You know, that picture doesn't make me think those are made of metal. They make me think plastic of some kind. Maybe there is metal reinforcing parts of them but not the whole thing.