Amethyst Star Isn't Prepared For This

by MagicS

Delusions of Grandeur V

They had to go through a completely different series of passages and sneak through some empty rooms and halls but eventually the two unicorns made it back to the meeting place Amethyst Star had been to just yesterday. The gang was all here once again, in fact it was quite possible that the four others never even left in the first place. They were all more than eager to hear about the effectiveness of the earplugs and learn what the Songstresses had planned for Diminuendo. Although on that latter front it ended up being disappointing for them to learn that the Songstresses didn’t even really care about this kingdom at all, it was nothing more than a stepping-stone to Equestria for them originally. It would’ve been nice to know that if it meant the Songstresses were planning to just leave it alone completely now but that wasn’t the case at all. They still planned on controlling Diminuendo and all its citizens so the six ponies gathered here still needed to stop them no matter what.

“Regardless of everything else I’m glad my earplugs work as intended. Of all the little trinkets I’ve created over the years these are probably going to end up being the most important,” Brilliant Sky said.

“Well you’re not as glad as me,” Amethyst Star told him as she sat down at their old table.

“I can imagine,” Periwinkle said to her. “But still, this is essentially nothing but good news for us. The Songstresses plan doesn’t make things any more difficult for us than we already thought it would be. The concert is all that matters now and thanks to these earplugs and Amethyst Star we have our pathway to victory.”

Amethyst Star’s smile threatened to split across her whole face. “Oh, yeah, well it’s no trouble. I mean I’m just awesome like that, no need to thank me, it’s just what a pony like me is supposed to do. I’m friends with the Princess and this kind of thing is just what she’d expect.” She put her hooves behind her head and leaned back.

The other five just looked at her.

The Prince blinked once.

“Are you an idiot?” Periwinkle asked her.

Daylight Gleam let out a loud sigh and shook her head.

“Hey! I’m not an idiot!” Amethyst Star got up and yelled at him, rather miffed. “I totally just helped you all too so what’s with that?”

“I just think you’re completely lying about everything you’ve said when it comes to your adventure and knowing Princess Twilight,” Periwinkle responded, unwavering.

“You are a bit odd,” Gilded Shield added.

“I know how ponies in your station are supposed to behave, and you do not fit the bill of a royal appointee,” Tasky emotionlessly stated.

Amethyst Star looked between all of them while she fumed and ground her teeth down to dust. They were all clearly in agreement with each other on this and it just made her so mad! Everyone should see her as amazing, that’s how she painted herself in the throne room but now they were all just doubting her even though she’d actually been helping them out and doing a good job! It was like the opposite of everywhere else on her journey. How was this fair?!

“Okay, okay! Fine, you want the truth? I lied! I’m not some emissary of Princess Twilight’s, I’m just some random pony who decided to go out on an adventure! Happy?!” She exploded.

“Not particularly,” Periwinkle said. “Your adventuring as well, just how much did you lie about?”

“Uhhh… I mean most everything I said happened,” Amethyst Star cleared her throat. “It’s just what I did that may have been slightly altered.”

“Oh no...” Periwnkle facehooved and shook his head.

Amethyst Star furrowed her brow at the Princes, already more than annoyed. “You don’t have to react like that you know? I’ve still been nothing but successful here for you guys. Geez, I heard you were supposed to be this really nice and helpful Prince.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “My apologies if I’m currently a little stressed by my kingdom and all its people being in grave danger.”

“Well still, it’s not like I’ve given you any reason to look down on me. Haven’t I helped you all a ton by now?” Amethyst Star argued.

“She has a point, sire. Despite what she may have done in the past she has done nought but good since coming here and she has a pivotal role to play in our plans for the concert,” Brilliant Sky said to Periwinkle.

“Yeah, that’s another thing!” Amethyst Star raised her hoof and pointed at the Prince. “Are you guys finally gonna tell me what you’re planning to do to stop the Songstresses? I just put myself in danger by testing out these earplugs, I think I deserve to know.”

“We were planning on telling you, relax. You’re right that you’ve earned it,” Daylight Gleam said.

“Good,” Amethyst Star blew a puff of air out of her nose and sat back down, this time dejectedly folding her arms across her chest and looking away.

Periwinkle rolled his eyes but saw no further reason to argue with the out of town mare. He walked to the head of the table so he could directly face everyone else at once. “Take your seats. We’ll go over everything now to make sure we’re all on the same page. Not only will Miss Amethyst Star learn what she needs to do but we’ll iron out the details as well, because as you all know there can be absolutely no mistakes.”

Amethyst Star and the others stayed quiet and leaned in to pay attention. The Prince really gave off a powerful and royal aura right now as he commanded the ears and minds of the other ponies in the room.

“When the Songstresses are performing their concert at the Major Auditorium in two days we’ll attack and destroy their crystals, ending their mind control and putting a stop to them,” Periwinkle said.

Since she already had a question, Amethyst Star raised her hoof in the air and asked it. “What’s the Major Auditorium?”

“It’s a massive auditorium built behind the castle,” Brilliant Sky answered. “The stage is extravagant and the grounds can fit thousands of ponies. The entire city will file in for that concert.”

Amethyst Star nodded in understanding as Periwinkle continued.

“The Songstresses know that us five are still hiding somewhere, likely plotting against them, and their brainwashed guards will be able to pick us out of that crowd easily once we get closer to them. But they don’t know that not only is Amethyst Star not under their control but that she’s working with us,” Periwinkle looked directly into her eyes. “You’re going to be our secret weapon.”

“You see,” Daylight Gleam took over. “Their leader, Amethyst, wears the command crystal. I’m sure you noticed how it was bigger than the others? If that crystal is destroyed the rest will shatter as well.”

“Okay, I’m following so far,” Amethyst Star said to the two unicorns leading the conversation.

Daylight Gleam continued. “I have a spell to destroy that crystal. But. I need to put a lot of magical power into it, so much that I can’t use any other magic while preparing it.”

Realization lit up on Amethyst Star’s face. “Ohh, otherwise you’d just turn invisible and sneak up on them.”

“Correct,” Daylight Gleam nodded. “I still believe I’ll be able to get up on the stage undetected but I’ll have to drop my invisibility to destroy the crystal. Unfortunately there are five of them and only one of me, and if all my magic is going towards my crystal destroying spell I won’t be able to defend myself. Which is where you come in.”

“We need you to be the distraction,” Periwinkle said.

“The distraction?” Amethyst Star tilted her head, it didn’t sound like the most glamorous of roles.

“You’ll get close to the stage, right next to it in fact, and right as or right after Daylight makes her move on the Songstresses you need to either attack them and their guards as well or do something that will give Daylight the opportunity to destroy the crystals,” Periwinkle explained. “The Songstresses won’t be expecting you at all, you’re the only one who can actually surprise them in more ways than one. They’ll be taken completely off-guard, even more so because the rest of us will be “distracting” them from you, the real distraction, by running through the crowd and acting like we’re trying to make it to them.”

“Do you think you can handle that?” Daylight Gleam asked her.

Amethyst Star blew an easy breath out of her mouth. “Psh, you kidding me? I can handle anything.”

That was not a response that inspired confidence.

“Right. Well I hope for all our sake’s that that’s true. Even just partially true. It’s not like we have a better option right now,” Periwinkle said. He was clearly overcome with a lot of worry, as befitting of a Prince the fates of everyone in Diminuendo were weighing heavily on him.

“Don’t worry, I came out to the Undiscovered West to have an awesome adventure and now that one’s finally right in front of me there’s no way I’m screwing it up. All of my friends and everyone else I’ve met out here has doubted me but I’m proving them wrong.” Amethyst Star tried to reassure him and everyone else.

But for obvious reasons that also did not inspire confidence.

Periwinkle raised a hoof up and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You… you’re just… I can’t...” He finally just shook his head. “Forget it, we need to just go on as always.”

His horn lit up with a light pink glow and five sets of earplugs were levitated out of the box. With a sharp surge of magic he teleported the little earplugs directly into the ears of everyone besides Amethyst Star.

“We’ll be wearing these at all times now, I want no mistakes or chances.”

Amethyst Star looked at him in surprise. “You can teleport stuff?”

“Only small objects,” he brushed her off. “I don’t have the magical power for anything more.” Periwinkle then fixed her with a hard stare. “You as well, once you get back to your suite you need to put those earplugs in. Regardless of how comfortable or uncomfortable they are. Just act normal tomorrow, none of us are going to meet up with you, and the day after that someone will likely escort you to the concert. We’ll be there as well.”

“Got it!” Amethyst Star saluted, happy to be a part of this.

---

The next day was quiet in the castle, for the ones controlling it wanted to be well rested for the big day. The five Songstresses spent their time lounging around the throne room and having the brainwashed staff of the castle wait on their every need while the King and Queen robotically sat on their thrones and stared off into space at nothing. It was empty in the throne room today besides them. Amethyst decided for some peace and quiet so they could all relax. Even as evening now approached and the Songstresses got ready to retire for the night, looking forward to tomorrow, Amethyst was reveling in her newfound control and power.

Diamond let out a big yawn from her position on top of the lavishly cushioned couch. “All this relaxing and being doted on is making me tired, are we gonna go sleep soon?”

Emerald nodded from next to her, her mane swishing up and down with each movement of her head.

With a roll of her eyes, Amethyst hopped down from the couch and started slowly pacing towards the King and Queen. “Fiiiine. You girls can go head up to our room. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

“What are you gonna do?” Opal asked her as she and Topaz flapped their wings and floated above the couch.

“Nothing, I just don’t feel like coming up yet,” Amethyst’s tail swished back and forth as she kept her back to her fellow Songstresses.

Opal shrugged. “Whatever.”

The four other Songstresses left their leader on her own as they filed out of the throne room, Emerald giving one last look back at Amethyst before the door closed. The pink unicorn silently and stoically stood up on the raised level, the practically catatonic rulers of Diminuendo taking up all the vision of her unblinking eyes. There was no playful or seductive smirk on her face. Yet.

“Hehehe… heeheehee...” The laughter grew and grew from the unicorn Songstress. “Hahahaha… HAHAHAHA!”

She was full on cackling now, rearing up on her back hooves briefly while her laughter boomed throughout the throne room.

“Finally, finally!” Amethyst roared. But just as quickly the unicorn calmed herself, planting her hooves back down and taking a slow, calming, breath. She briefly closed her eyes before opening them with a devilish smirk and walking between the two rulers. Her red crystal glowed slightly and a feeling of effervescence overtook her body. A rushing euphoria lit up her brain with passion and her pink lips parted to bring forth a song from deep in her heart.

At last the day has come
No more saying “Things are fine”
Soon everything I want will all be mine,
Equestria and its ponies that thought I was scum!

She twirled between the King and Queen and danced down the steps.

This has all gone just perfect
Diminuedo under my control
Amethyst Star will be my mole
And everything will go even better than before!

No more having nothing and saying soon there will be something
Finally what I have will be everything and anything!

After the broken rhyme she jumped off the last step and continued to spin around down the empty throne room before stopping in the middle and holding her hooves towards the ceiling.

Amethyst the Songstress is here fresh and new!
No more time for doubt
No more agonizing and thrashing about
And now I am as great as I always knew!

---

“Finally, it’s time for me to shine.”

Amethyst Star said to herself the moment she woke up on the day of the concert, throwing the covers of her bed off of her and hopping right to the floor. She had completely neglected to wear the dumb earplugs like Periwinkle said she should but how was she supposed to sleep with those things in her ears? They were horrible! She stuck her tongue out at the green earplugs that were sitting on the table with her saddlebag. Her comrades said someone was probably gonna come and escort her to the concert but she could hardly wait around for that. When did it start? Tonight? Hopefully soon!

The unicorn grabbed her saddlebag and put it on, regardless of if it was proper attire for a concert or not, and levitated the earplugs up to put them in her ears too, wincing immediately from the unpleasant feeling.

“Ugh, these things are awful! I know Brilliant Sky didn’t have comfort in mind when he made them but you’d think they couldn’t possibly be this bad,” she muttered in annoyance as she pushed open the door to her suite and walked out to the path right by the garden, nudging her ears with her hoof the whole time.

Comments

[Alondro]

Not only will Miss Amethyst Star learn what she needs to do but we’ll iron out the details as well, because as you all know there can be absolutely no mistakes.”

Ok, so the first thing they need to do is KILL AMETHYST STAR. Then everything will be fine.

[redmar]

Because she did not keep those earplugs she's going to screw it up. Of course when the songstresses learn they fell for Amethyst Star's badly concocted lies they will be sufficiently distracted and things will go fine despite Amethyst Star.

[RoboRed]

I'm hoping that wasn't the real plan that he told her...just in case.