The Two Sides of Evil
Chapter 39: The Two Sides of Evil
“Midnight Sparkle?” The said woman enjoyed the expression on the face of her host, reveling every second of her fear. It wasn’t every day you get to scare someone out of bed like the boogeyman, and this was her shot at it. “No… it can’t be. You’re supposed to be gone. Defeated! You’re…”
“Still here and still alive.” The dark angel laughed manically, her body hovering a few feet off the ground. “I told you I’d be back one day. You might’ve banished me to the deepest corners of your mind. But I am a part of…” Her speech was rudely interrupted by a stick flying pass her. “H… hey! Stop that! I’m in the middle of my monologue!”
“Get… back! Get back!” Twilight threatened as she grabbed a few objects around her and began tossing them at her. “I’m warning you! I have a bucket and I’m not afraid to use it!”
“Hey!” Midnight cursed as the said bucket came, going through her body like a ghost. “Do you know how hard I’ve worked on this!? I’ve spent all this time crafting my perfect return dialogue! The least you could do is listen.” Another stick followed making her groan. “Quit it!”
“Go back to the darkness from whence you came!”
“Darkness? What is this? A fantasy action movie?”
“I’ve banished you before and I can do it again!”
“Oh for the love of…” A wooly creature came next and again it simply flew through her. “What the? Did you just throw a sheep at me?”
“Begone foul villain! Your days are numbered!”
“Will you just stop and listen for one second!?”
“NEVER!!!! Begone spirit! I banish thee back from whence thee came!”
“It’s ‘Thy’ came. And I’m not a ghost.”
“Your work is done! Pass on freely!”
Midnight sighed and made a show of crossing her arms and just hovering there, her chin resting on one hand. The fallen angel looked relatively bored.
This whole thing went on for a full minute with Twilight continuously throwing everything and anything she could get her hands on, shouting mantras and holy verses from various religious texts which probably existed at one point or another. She finally stopped when she ran out of stuff to throw. Either that or she was just too exhausted to do anything else. Her lack of breath suggested the latter.
“Are you done? Did you finally get all that out of your system?”
Twilight raised one finger asking for a moment of reprieve which she granted. “Just… give me… a second… to catch… my breath.”
The floating lady rolled her eyes boringly. “You want something to drink?”
“No, I’m good. Thank you.” She blinked back before returning to her usual demeanor. “No wait a minute! How are you here!? Why are you here!? You’re supposed to be gone!”
“I am never truly gone!” She swung her hand forward getting back into character. “I am always here at the deepest darkest corners of your mind! And…… and… wait. Didn’t I say that already?” The angel pulled out some flash cards from her back. “Hang on. I think I have it here somewhere. No… wait. These are out of order.” There was some mumbling, grumbling and fumbling before finally throwing her arms in frustration. “Arghh! Forget it. The moment’s gone. It’s gone!” Her body slumped. “I had a whole script written in my head. The perfect dramatic effect! Now it’s all ruined. Thanks to you. Stupid Twilight.”
The girl stood accused. “Umm… I’m… sorry?”
“Well you should be!” She scolded. “I’ve spent the last few years rehearsing those lines and perfecting my voice to match the whole event. I pictured it to be magnificent, gaudy and glamorous! My glorious return to the world! It was supposed to be awesome. Brimstone and fire, eternal night, phenomenal cosmic power at my finger tips and mortals trembling at my feet!”
*Beeh~~!* If the sheep in the pen could speak, they’d all tell the both of them to pipe down.
“And instead I get… this?” She gestured to the barn. “Not exactly what I had in mind.”
“Well in my defense: You were the one who decided to come out. And… wait… did you say you’ve been planning this for years? Why?”
The floating girl shrugged. “Well, I played chess with myself 1981 times and won 1981 times, played old maid and counted the number of times you blinked every single day. After that it was pretty much just plotting my return. I mean… what else was I supposed to do trapped inside the mind of a teenage girl? Not exactly a lot of interesting things going on with your dull life. Other than watching you make a fool of yourself in school. Those are entertaining.”
“That’s just sad.”
“Oooh~~~ And this is coming from a girl who rehearses her Nobel Prize acceptance speech in front of the mirror 120 times?”
“Hey! That’s private.” Twilight’s face froze. “Wait… does that mean you’ve been with me the whole time? Watching?”
“Every literal step of the way.”
“Even when… at home?” Her face turned pale.
“Yup.” Midnight grinned. “Even when you sing solo to Dirk Thistleweed when no one’s looking. Which, by the way, you can’t do. Low tones are just not for you, girl.”
“NOOOO!”
“Oh relax. You actually look cute when you sing.”
“Enough!” Twilight snapped back silencing the room. Though the sheep hardly bothered anymore. She pointed her finger at the dark angel, summoning the power from her geode readying to pony-up if she had to. “It’s time to send you back where you belong! You are not taking over my body. I’m a lot more powerful than I was before. So if you wanna to take my magic, then you’ll have to fight for it.”
The smile on the sorceress hardly move if at all. She looked amused. “Oh please. Don’t be so dramatic. You’re starting to make those stupid cartoons actually sound smart. If I had the power to take over your body, don’t you think I would’ve done so already?”
She was right of course. If she could’ve taken over her body all along, they wouldn’t be having this conversation at all. Heck she could’ve done so when she slept.
And as a person of logic and reason, Twilight allowed her guard to drop for a bit. “So… you’re not here to take over my body?”
“Oh no. That’s still the end game.” She admitted oh so plainly which made her host flinch. “I’m just not doing it right now.”
“So why are you here? More importantly… why did you show up now?”
Midnight took a glance at her fingernails before she replied. “Not a clue. The moment you stepped out of that portal, I felt a surge of magic. It flowed into me and it gave me enough power to manifest myself in your head. And now I’m free… sort of. I’m still tethered to your mind though. Regretfully.” She grumbled that last part. “And as for your first question: I came to tell you that you… are an idiot.”
“Excuse me!?”
“You nearly blasted yourself with that stunt you pulled by the gateway. Mixing two magic together? That’s like smashing atoms at the speed of light expecting it NOT to go ballistic upon impact! You’re lucky all you got out of that was a few bumps and bruises. Even I’m not that stupid.”
“Well what do you think I should’ve done?” Twilight countered. “Opening a portal of that magnitude requires a lot of magic. The bracelet was pretty much drained from using it the first time. And the only way I can get that amount of power is by drawing from two different sources. By expanding the whole pool, I could triple the amount of power I could generate. It was a good idea at the time.”
“A good way to lose an arm or a leg.”
“And you’d know better?”
Midnight laughed. “Honey, I once tore a rift to Equestria with barely any effort. Opening a portal to a place half way across the world is child’s play.” That was also true. “Come on now. If an old shaman from the past can open a portal with just the bracelet, you should be able to do it too. I expect my host to do better.”
Twilight raised the black gem still attached to her wrist. “It’s not like this thing ever came with an instruction manual.”
“That’s no excuse for blowing yourself up. Come on Twilight. You’re smarter than this. Instead of doing trial and error methods, why don’t you use that head of yours?”
“I am!”
“Really? Because it looks more like you’re just going with your gut. And we all know how that ended.” She flew in closer, tapping one invisible finger on her nose. “You of all people should know that the best answers are the ones you can’t see…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
The dark angel laughed. “You’re a smart girl. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
Before Twilight could ask more, another voice interrupted smashing the door open. “Twilight?”
“Fla-” A strong pair of arms wrapped around her cutting her mid-word and raising her up.
“Oh thank goodness. You had me worried for a minute there!” The boy breathed what sounded like the longest and heaviest sigh of relief he ever made as his hands squeezed tightly around her not willing to let go. But thankfully he did so bringing her face close to his. “Are you ok? Do you feel lightheaded? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine!” She pulled herself out of his grip, gasping. “Mostly, anyway. But Flash, you can’t be here.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’s here!” She pointed to Midnight who smiled sweetly at her. Flash turned in her direction but shrugged.
“Who is?”
“Midnight Sparkle. She’s…”
The dark angel stuck out her tongue, muttering something akin to an insult. “Part of your mind, remember?” Flicking dirt off her shoulder, she decided to vanish.
Flash looked around but saw no one. Other than the sheep who were giving him the stink eye for making a racket. “That hit must’ve knocked a few screws loose. Come on. Lie down and get some rest.” He gently pulled her down with little resistance. “The next time you try experimenting on your magic, don’t do it alone.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. But I had to try.” She replied weakly, rubbing the side of her head which she found to be aching.
“Well, you’ll be happy to know that whatever it is you tried up there might’ve actually worked.”
Her eyes cast over him, confused. “It did?”
“Yeah. Right before that explosion, I got this.” Flash pulled out his phone which the point seemed to be lost on her.
“You… got a text message?”
“I got over 50 text messages.” He exclaimed with a sigh rubbing one hand down his face. “Look. All of them were sent yesterday or the day before that, but they came to my phone today. I don’t know what you did. But for a few seconds there… I got a cell reception.”
Her eyes widened in realization which she responded by pulling out her own phone. And as luck would have it there were more than 30 text messages left unread, all of them came from her friends on the other side. And a few dozen more from Timber.
“We got cell reception.” She turned to the boy, a smile slowly crossing her face. “Flash. Do you know what this means? We can send a message to our friends!”
“I know, right!?” His face was equally ecstatic as hers. “I knew you could do it.”
“Was there any doubt?” Twilight smugly replied. “Come on. We need to redo the process. We can… ugh…” But her body went limp the moment she rose, falling right onto the boy.
“Whoa. Easy now.” Flash winced as the ache on his leg resurfaced. “You shouldn’t be moving after what you went through.”
“But… the portal.”
“It’ll still be there tomorrow.” Gently he placed her back on the hay bale, tucking her in with one hand behind her head. “We can work on the details then. For now, just get some rest.”
“But… the others.”
“I’m sure they’re safe wherever they are.”
(Canterlot) (Warehouse docks)
Sunset watched as the so-called rehearsal party played through. It was a rather clever little thing. The workers here put a bunch of crates, unused cardboard boxes and leftover planks, put on a few light-bulbs as spotters and draped the whole thing with a pretty looking carpet, creating a perfect imitation of a pageant show runway. They even had music playing in the background performed by an actual DJ. It wasn’t DJ Pon-3 but the guy had some skills on the board. To think they’d have all of this put on in such short notice and in a warehouse in the docks no less. You wouldn’t possibly believe that such an event was taking place in the back alleys of the city. She saw Rarity heading to the ‘backstage’ preparing to strut over at the beginning of the music.
But sadly, that strange ominous feeling she had a while ago didn’t subside. In fact, it might’ve gotten even stronger. Every cell in her body was warning her of danger but nothing ever happened. People here went on about their business and barely even gave her a passing glance. A few of the designers opted to let her try out one of their outfits but she declined them.
Sunset quickly brushed it off thinking that it was just some leftover adrenaline from the fight with Hoity. That battle under the castle really shook her to the core. It must be messing with her systems somehow. She decided to just leave it be and hopefully things will get back to normal.
Well… as normal as things can get around here.
Vice Principal Luna hasn’t called back either. And not that she’d want to answer it. She wouldn’t even know how to explain the whole thing to her.
‘Oh hey Mr. Sombra. Your son may or may not be trapped under a ton of rubble along with our friend after fighting a giant multi-headed shadow monster. But don’t worry. They’re totally safe…… maybe…… probably………… hopefully.’
Yeah. No thanks. She’d rather face a horde of Timberwolves in Equestria.
“Very impressive.” Someone spoke up to her. “You wouldn’t think something as classy as this would be held in such a decrepit place.”
“You can say that again.” She answered, noting his familiar face. “You’re… Trenderhoof, aren’t you?”
The blonde boy nodded, flashing a practiced smile. “The one and only. But please, call me Trend. Everybody does.”
“Right…” Sunset blinked. “Wait… weren’t you eliminated from the pageant show? You were kicked out on the first round. I saw you.”
His face turned sour. “Yes. That was quite a blow to my brand and my ego. But thankfully I can still play a role and have my face on the show at the very least.”
“Really? How?”
“I signed up as a model for Vignette. With the lack of people modeling, they need all the hands they can get. She said that I have just the right build for this suit she designed.” Was it worthy to be called a suit though? It looked more like a bunch of belts tied together just to make the shape of a shirt. You can still see parts of his skin suffocating out of the smaller areas. “In fact, almost everyone modeling here are those who resigned and eliminated from the show.”
“Really? All of you?”
“Yup. Every last one.” He nodded plainly. “I’ll admit that I wasn’t into the whole leather thing at first. I’m more of a soft-cotton man myself. But I’m actually feeling quite comfortable in these. Why… just moving in them makes me feel lightheaded.”
Him too? Strange. Rarity said the same thing earlier.
“Will all the models please ready themselves backstage?” Vignette called out. “There’s only so much time in the day and we don’t want to waste a single minute of it. Je veux que tout soit parfait.”
“That’s my cue.” Trenderhoof nodded and gladly skipped his way on the so-called backstage along with Rarity.
“Break a leg.” She gave the boy a cute tap on the shoulder and again her powers activated. It was strange. Almost like her magic was going haywire. But what she felt that moment was strange in its own way. There was a mysterious emotion coming from Trenderhoof. Like a mixture of anger and violence. She couldn’t see what was going in his mind but the torrent of emotions was enough to get her worried. “Ok… something is seriously off here.” And no she was not referring to the odd fashion sense around here, even though that warranted attention on its own.
Slowly and quietly the former unicorn snuck away from the crowd just as the music picked up.
She made her way to the dressing area where many of the designers’ best attire were put on mannequins. It would appear that everyone had gathered at the runway for the main event and left everything unattended. She turned over to the dresses, looking at them with part confusion and part disgust. Like everything else around here, they were all made out of leather, painted black, and with more buttons and belt buckles than actual fabric. It was as if everyone was trying to copy one another. Sure they might have different appearances in the slightest margin but even that didn’t change the fact that they were still all the same.
“Something about these clothes seems a bit off.” Sunset couldn’t really tell why other than their mysterious appearance naturally. There was no way in Tartarus she was gonna wear something like that, fashion or no fashion.
But just as she approached, she began to feel something faint hidden deep within the leather.
It wasn’t apparent until she got really close but it was definitely familiar.
“There’s magic in these…” Her finger tapped on the leather… and then everything faded black.
…
Sunset looked around finding herself in darkness. It was as if a black hole swallowed her up leaving her in perpetual night. Yet strangely enough she wasn’t afraid. That strange feeling just now was definitely Yaztec Magic. The same kind of magic that has been going around the city lately. There was no doubt about it.
But why would Yaztec Magic be infused with the clothes here? She recalls that the royal guard back in Equestria imbue their armors with magical enchantment to improve their protection and enhance their strengths. Even a few unicorns wear clothes adorned with some semblance of magical powers, but those are mostly for appearances. Even Starswirl wears such clothes to improve on his powers.
“Intruder? In our domain?” Suddenly a familiar sickening voice echoed behind her. Sunset turned back and noted a pair of eyes watching her from the ground. It rose up, forming a head from the shadows, before another came forward.
“It is the one who brought our master such pain.” A second voice chimed.
“A blot, a blight, a mess, a stain!”
It was Kaaz the Cruel. All three of her heads staring down at her, snake like heads rising and fangs pointing at her.
“Help!” A cry came out bringing Sunset out of her shock. She looked down at where the long heads were poking and found its massive body. But what made her cringe in horror were the faces protruding from it. Terrified expressions of different people gasped as they very slowly sunk into the massive blob. They were all crying out, pleading for help as their arms struggled to pull them free.
Sunset took a step back returning her gaze to the monster’s heads before they lounge at her.
…
Her hand shoot away along with the rest of her body. She let out a wide gasp, holding her fingers for a moment before bolting off back to the catwalk.
xxxxxxxxxx
Rarity felt giddy. It wouldn’t be the first time she had to prance through a runway but these brief moments before the main show always manages to excite her. She enjoyed it. The strutting, the applause, the amazement of the crowd. They were all intoxicating for her.
“Alright. Places people.” The manager backstage announced. “First group, enter after the lightshow starts. Second group will follow after. Third and fourth when the red light turns on. Remember: Strut, strut, strut, pose, turn, strut and hold. No mistakes now. Remember, there’s enough room for the catwalk for everyone. So no pushing. Once you reached your placements, you have to hold that position for about 20 seconds.”
Oh honey, please. This isn’t my first rodeo. Do you know how many catwalks I’ve done? Those planes in the airport couldn’t even match me.
“Ok. We’re starting in three… two…”
Right. Posture Rarity. This is your moment. Time to show the amateurs what a real designer can do on stage.
She was last in the fourth group so there was still some time before she had to move.
But just as the light dimmed in the area, a pair of hands grabbed her, one covering her mouth. It pulled her into the changing closet as she muffled a scream.
“Shhh!” Sunset’s face finally came into view calming the girl down as one finger pressed against her lips.
“Sunset!” She raised her voice just barely above a whisper. “What in the world are you doing?”
“No time to explain. You need to take those clothes off. Now.”
What?
“What!?”
“Do it!”
“I will most certainly not. These are designed by Vignette. Removing them now would be a direct insult. And I will definitely not be streaking like some lunatic.”
Sunset sighed but understood her situation. She quickly reached out grabbing one of the clothes that the models left behind. “Fine. Put these on.”
“What? These things?” Her expression contorted with disgust. “The shirt is too large, and those pants are a social disaster waiting to happen. These colors don’t even match.”
“Will you just change!?”
“Sunset! You are starting to unnerve me. What in the world is going on with you?”
“I’ll explain later. Right now you have to trust me and change out of those, right now!”
“Alright alright. I’ll change. But be warned, I am making a sacrifice here.”
“I’ll be sure to take note. Now hurry!”
“Hang on. There are a lot of belts and buckles on this…” It took her a full 2 minutes to finally get it off and done her new attire. “Ugh… I really hope no one sees me in this.”
“Come on! We don’t have time!”
“Sunset! Will you please explain to me what in the world is going on? And why are we sneaking?”
“I’ll explain everything once we’re safely away from here.”
But just as the two of them were making their way to the back door, Vignette’s voice boomed over the speakers. “Excellent work everyone. Bravo. Bravo indeed. You all look splendid. Keep this up and a few of you might actually work as a professional model instead.” The crowd giggled softly. “We’ll do one more rehearsal without the music. But on the side note, there’s one last gig that we all want you to do.”
Sunset paused and quickly hid behind a pile of clothes, watching the whole thing go down.
“Now. Once you’ve all assembled, you must all raise one hand to the sky and shout out this phrase.” Vignette said with a knowing grin. “Won em ekat zaak.” The confused look on their faces were seen. “It’s a new catchphrase that Hoity’s working on. Think of it as a new brand slogan. Go on, raise your hands and say it loud!”
No one seemed to understand it but they complied nonetheless.
“I should be on that stage.”
“Rarity, shush!”
One by one, those on the catwalk slowly raise their hands up. And in one jubilant voice they shouted.
“Won em ekat zaak!”
“Again!” Vignette repeated.
“Won em ekat zaak!”
“Again!!!”
“Won em ekat zaak!”
“One more for good measure.”
“Won em ekat zaak arghhh!!!” And then like clockwork, the models on stage fell in agony. Their pained expression illuminated for all to see. Their clothes stretched out as if the leather itself came to life, black tendrils sprung forth before digging into their bodies, poisoning their very bodies. They shouted and screamed but it was all deafened by the music that boomed in the background.
“My… word…” Rarity gasped, one hand over mouth. “What’s… happening to them?”
“Remember that bad feeling I had earlier?” Sunset said with dread. “Well… let’s just say I was right.” They paused and listen as Vignette stepped forward, admiring the agony of her victims. It seemed like a strange sight as the other designers and workers didn’t seem to care one bit on what was happening.
“Good work everyone. That was eXcELlenT. noW rIsE.” Through her strangely exaggerated words the models who were screaming earlier rose back up, their eyes blank, snot and drool coming out of their faces. “Very good. hOiTy will be moST plEaSed. NexT week’s show wiLL reAlly be something. NoW all WE hAVe to do is…” Her good mood suddenly faded when she realized one spot remained empty on the catwalk. “WHeRe iS nUmBEr 14?” She turned to her minions. “wHErE Is RARITY!? AnD whERE is thaT REdheAd SUNsEt!?”
“She… disappeared before we could grab her.” One of the burly men whimpered.
Vignette’s eyes turned dark. “WELL FIND HER! Find them NOW!”
“We need to go. Now.”
Rarity couldn’t agree more. But in her haste, her shoe heel snapped. She cursed a little too loudly which prompted all eyes to turn to them. “Ah… ahehe…… oops?”
“GeT tHEM!!”
“RUN!” They bolted towards the door they came through only to found themselves barred by a burly security guard. There was something wrong with him. Tendrils suddenly became visible under his clothes and his eyes were pitched black.
“You’re mine, la—” He didn’t get a chance to finish when Rarity brought out her diamond shield and sent him flying to a stack of crates.
“Sorry!” She apologized and hastened her steps. Thankfully they were fast enough to get to the other side. “What in the world is going on!? Vignette! Those people. They’re…”
“I have a rough idea of what’s going on.” Sunset panted as she looked for anything to barricade the door with. “Rarity. Give me your shoes. We can use it lock it.”
She paled. “Absolutely not! These are one of a kind Nekes vin—” The shouting and evil moans on the other side changed her tone. “Take it. Take it take it take it!” With a little nudge on the ground, the heels snapped and locked the frame into place. It’ll be a while before they can get through that.
With their backs secured Sunset made a quick dash to her car started the engine and stepped on the pedal as hard as she could, only to hit the brakes a second later when a figure stood between them and the exit.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Vignette grinned before her arm formed a massive tendril. She threw it, and with quick thinking and driving on Sunset’s part, they dodged it.
“That’s something you don’t see every day.”
“Where in the world did you learn how to drive like that!?” Rarity balked.
She shrugged. “Video games?”
“Rarity~” The crazy fashionista whined. “I’m disappointed in you. I was really hoping to see you in that glamorous dress I made.”
Was she crazy right now or was that simply the magic talking?
“S… sorry darling. I just remembered that ‘Evil’ isn’t my style.”
Vignette simply clicked her tongue. “And here I thought we were friends!” She threw her tendril again, and again Sunset maneuvered her car, dodging it. The wheels screeched with every turn.
“Hang on Rarity. I’m gonna do something crazy.” Shifting her gears, the copper head reversed her car slamming against the wall before pushing it to the limit. With a few maneuvers that spun her around Vignette, she was able to daze the possessed woman for a brief moment before finally reaching the exit. The fashionista tried to stop them throwing another tendril shot but it melted away when it came in contact with the light.
Vignette grumbled under her breath for a moment, irritated, before reaching for her phone and dialing a number. The tone rang for a few seconds before it was answered.
“They escaped.” Was all she said.
(House by the Hill)
Ok Rainbow Dash. The coast is clear.
The sports gal busied herself performing a strange method of reconnaissance as she exited her private room in the house. She glanced side to side, checking the hallway for anyone that might spot her. And thankfully the area was clear.
Applejack was at the backyard shoveling the snow out of the grounds, Pinkie was in the kitchen making another one of her delicious deserts which she could smell all the way from here, and Fluttershy was tending to Spike and Winona. No one was around to keep her from her mission.
Doing the impression of a ninja she quietly snuck her way through the living room, grabbing her set of keys before gently pushing the door, lessening the creaking noise it gave. Her goal then came in sight in the form of her motorcycle which was parked just inside the walls. The snow was heavy this time of year but nothing a little push wouldn’t help.
Slowly she walked forward, her legs digging into the snow every step of the way. She was almost there. She can make it. Once she was on her baby she’ll be free!
Yes! She grabbed onto the handle and began to push thinking that she was in the clear. She reached for the gate and looked up only to find a friend’s wide toothy smile staring at her.
“Where are you going Dashie?”
“GAHH!” Rainbow Dash slipped, fumbled and fell before slowly sinking into the snow. “Oh come on! I was so close!”
“Really close too.” Pinkie agreed, chomping one of her cupcakes down. “A few more steps and you would’ve made it.”
“How’d you even know I was here? I didn’t even make a sound.”
“That’s because we know you’d try to sneak out.” Applejack answered, a disappointing look crossing her face. “Like the last fifteen times?”
“And also because I had Smokey Jr. hiding in your coat.” Fluttershy added pulling a little raccoon from her hoodie which chittered cutely at her. “Good work there little fella. Now go back to your parents. We’ll take it from here.”
Applejack stepped forward, pulling the girl out of the snow. “We know you wanna help out Rainbow Dash. But storming Hoity’s place isn’t gonna do much here.”
“Well I can’t help it!” The girl with the colorful hair snapped. “You can’t expect me to sit back and do nothing while that guy goes free after what he did to Twilight and Flash!”
“We know. But charging in head-first into a fight ain’t gonna do you much good. You know what he’s capable of. And if you go in alone, you’ll just get yourself in a heap of trouble.”
“So what? Are we just gonna do nothing?”
“No. We’re waiting for an opportunity.” The cowgirl corrected, patting one hand over her hat. “Look. You ain’t the only one worried about those two. We’re all worried. Even Fluttershy here wants to call on her animal friends and storm the place. But she ain’t acting on impulse. We gotta be smart about this. And if you go now, all of us here will be worrying about three of our friends instead of two. Is that what you want?”
Dang it. That’s so like Applejack to know how to guilt people with words. Probably learned that from Granny Smith. “I know that! But sitting around here and just waiting isn’t for me. Right now I just want to go over there and give that guy a piece of my mind.”
“That goes for all of us RD. I’m sure Twilight is fine. You just need to be patient.”
She grumbled. “Fine…”
“Good.” Applejack smiled sweetly before snatching something from her pocket. “Oh and just in case… I’ll be confiscating your keys.” Dang it! “Now let’s go back inside and warm up before we freeze out here. Pinkie’s got a new batch of cupcakes ready.”
“They’re my favorite~~. Everything topping!”
But just as they were returning, a yelp from the gate caused them to stop.
“Ow…” A figure whined, holding a hand over his aching nose. “What in the world?”
“Timber Spruce?” Fluttershy recognized the boy who waved at them awkwardly.
“Oh… hey girls. I’m… doh!” He approached the gate only to have his face plastered over an invisible force field. Fluttershy quickly approached raising her geode opening a hole in their shield. “Thanks. I am never gonna get used to magic around here.”
“How did you get here?”
“I followed the address Twilight gave me.” He answered with a tired breath. “Kind of a hard spot to find. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure this was the place until I saw you girls. Sorry to bother you so late, but is Twilight here?” They flinched at the name. “I’ve been trying to reach her but her phone keeps going to voice mail. I was kind of hoping to invite her for a date tonight. Her favorite restaurant is having a special.” He then noted their multiple expressions. “Is something wrong?”
“Uh… well…” The girls turned to one another uncomfortably, unsure of what to say.
“She’s busy!” It was Applejack who broke the silence. “Actually we’ve been uh… quite busy lately with some magic stuff a few nights ago so… we’re kind of working. She’s uh… probably doing…”
“Research!” Pinkie exclaimed. “She’s doing research on some magical doohickey we found. And you know how she is when it comes to magic. She’s in her own little world. Nerds, am I right?” Fluttershy gave her a cute glare. “Anyway, she’s not here right now. And we’re kinda busy with our own thing.”
Timber looked at them suspiciously but didn’t see reason to press it. Rubbing his head softly, he nodded. “Well… alright. But when you see her, can you please tell her to call me? I’m… worried.”
They watched him turn and exit through the hole in the barrier disappearing into the woods.
Once they were sure he was out of earshot, Rainbow Dash blurted. “What’d you tell Timber that!?”
“I dunno. I panicked.” The cowgirl choked. “What was I supposed to tell’em? That Twilight might’ve been crushed under a castle?” There was a point there. “Besides. You all saw how worked up he was. Getting him all in on this is just gonna make him even more mopey.”
“We could’ve thought of a better lie.” Fluttershy muttered.
Applejack wanted to counter but was interrupted when her phone rang. It was Sunset’s name on screen.
(Autumn’s Ranch)
The sun rose pretty early in the desert lands of Saddle Arabia. The ranch awoke with the sound of sheep cooing in their pens, the windmill spinning, sands shifting in the ground and…
Boom…
The sound of explosives, apparently.
“Aww come on!”
Flash sat back with Autumn, nibbling on a slice of bread as they watch Twilight continue with her experimentation on the magic portal. It wasn’t going as well as the girl wanted. She cursed loudly as a rock blew up into tiny pieces leaving shrapnel lying around. Angrily she picked up a stick and began writing on the sand creating a new formula.
“How long has she been at it?”
The boy sighed chewing. “Since the crack of dawn. She’s been out here experimenting on the portal the moment she woke up.”
Another explosion came, followed by even more curses.
“Should we… stop her?”
“As long as she’s not doing anything too dangerous.” He muttered though you could tell there was a hint of worry in his voice. “Besides, I’ll be here when she needs help. This pickled sandwich is great by the way.”
“Don’t sweat it. Think of it as payment for helping me with my chores this morning. Normally it takes me a whole day just to get the sheep out to the pens.”
“Well… I figured you could use some help.” He chuckled. “I gotta friend who has a ranch back home. She’s pretty much a workaholic. Always busy with her farm and always working with one thing or another.”
“Does she use magic too?” He nodded in reply. “Wow… your place sounds like a place where adventure happens on a daily basis.”
“Ehhhh… maybe once in a while. But you should definitely meet Applejack. I have this feeling that you two will make fast friends.”
Autumn turned away, hiding her fading smile. “I hope so.”
A third explosion followed and this time Twilight threw a fit tossing her hands in the air in frustration.
“So… what is she trying to do again?”
“Twilight’s trying to open a portal using that gateway to take us home. But because magic is so complicated, it’s not going so well.”
“Ooh…”
The purple haired gal shouted and cursed. Thankfully they were out of earshot to hear anything.
“We should probably stop her before she blows herself up again.” They rose and walked up to the magical lady who sagged on the sand below her. “Any luck?”
“No!” She snapped back though she didn’t have the strength to flail around anymore. “None of my methods work! ARGHH!”
“That bad?”
“That’s it! It’s official. I hate it! I hate magic!” Twilight whined. “They make no logical sense! First they work in your favor on one thing, then they stop working altogether on another! There’s absolutely no consistency with these things!” Sunset would probably agree with her on that regard. “How am I supposed to work with something that constantly change!? Stop changing!”
“I take it your experiments didn’t go well?”
“What gave it away? The explosions or my constant whining?” Both actually, but he kept that to himself. She got back up, groaning angrily at the rocks. “It’s no use. Without a proper medium, I can’t stabilize the portal. I thought that a simple rock could hold it together for a minute or so but the concentration of magic creates too much stress on the user. It won’t even last a few seconds.”
“But aren’t those Portal Stones made out of rocks?”
“They are. But they also have something else. Something that can implement magic on a whole other level. If only I had something strong enough to hold the spell together. Just for a few minutes. We can get a message back to our friends. Maybe I should try it again.”
“Oh no you don’t.” He objected roughly. “You’re not going to use that magic on yourself again. You know what happened last time.”
“Well, what else are we supposed to do?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you try making a copy of yourself like you did last time?”
“I would if I still had that crown.”
“Crown?” Autumn questioned.
“It’s a magical artifact.” Twilight sighed. “A small silver ornery thing. I must’ve lost it when we jumped through the portal last time.”
“You mean… this thing?” She held up the said crown which left the two dumbstruck.
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Well this is getting more and more interesting by the second. What'll happen first. Will Flash and Twilight get home? Will Timber explode? Or will Sunset and Rarity's followers catch them? Can't wait to find out.
Wow, this was fun. The part in the very beginning with Twilight and Midnight Sparkle was hilarious. I didn’t think Midnight could be used for humor like that. I’m glad Sunset and Rarity got away safely. Looks like Timber’s here, so I wonder how long until he catches on to what is going on, blows up at it all, and inevitably makes an ass out of himself? It looks like Autumn may have just given Flash and Twilight their way home!
I really love Midnight's character here!
i feel bad for everyone.
10293241
The thing is, I always considered Midnight an aspect of Twilight; namely her lust for knowledge gone crazy.
Here she acts more like an outside entity trapped within a host.
Ok. And that's it. Nothing exciting happened in this story, and no. The chase wasn't exciting. We all knew it would happen.
Loved it. Also, that last line was perfect for Autumn Blaze
I have so many questions now and how she's here to begin with!!!
Then explain why objects are going straight through you?
That explains a few things.
Yep, seems like only only twilight can see her. Figures.
It's a sign that this might just work if they try it again!
Well I'll be damned!!!
Welp, that's not good! 😰
That's scary af!
What the frick is wrong with those clothes, that's just f'd up, but I'm glad that sunset got rarity of it before she'd suffer it herself. Adam I'm not surprised over the trap.
Well, looks like they got another problem to add to the list with hoity, clothes infused with azthec magic. And I'm pretty sure I spelled that wrong too but whatever it was close enough.
Yeah, better listen to them if I were you.