A Dazzling Return (#3)

by LightningStar626

Chapter 4: The Bodyguard

Chapter 4: The Bodyguard.

~The next day, Sunset was chilling in her apartment. The bright spring sun beamed down through the window and on her and she happily closed her eyes and enjoyed it. The air felt as fresh and sweet as clean laundry. It was the sort of day that made you feel good to be alive.~

Sunset sighed. "I sure hope The Dazzlings won't bother us anytime soon. We have loads of things to do…!" She takes a seat on her chair and checks her phone. "I got a message from the Chief?"

~Sunset clicked on the letter icon on her phone and it popped up an email sent by the Chief. It was a voice recording, along with entire written paragraphs of details that everyone needed to know. Sunset read the paragraphs in shock before clicking on the play button for the voice recording.~

"Good morning, Agent Sparkle, Agent Shimmer, Agent Dash, Agent Applejack, Agent Shy, Agent Rarity and Agent Pie." Steven voice's came out from the phone. "I hope everything's going ok. Today you start your independent training. I have included a message from Agent Star that has all the techniques you need to learn by next week. She also says you cannot use your magic to assist you when learning these techniques. You need to challenge yourself and be able to do them if you don't have access to your magic. When you will be training with your magic, she didn't write down, but I guarantee it will be soon. For now, practice fighting. I'll see you all this afternoon." The recording stops.

Sunset sighs. "Where do I even start?"

~Sunset scans the email again and sees that Steven and Lightning have written down lots of fighting techniques she and the others need to learn. Sunset's eyes widen a little from the long list of skills.~

"Okay…" Sunset sighs harder. "I guess I can start here."

~As Sunset gets up, Adagio peers in the window into the apartment, just Adagio though. Aria and Sonata were nowhere to be seen. Adagio watched silently as Sunset stood up and continued to look through her phone. Then, without wasting any more time, Adagio broke the window, leapt through it and pounced on Sunset and rammed the phone out of her hand and over her head.~

"Adagio!"

"Sorry, Sunset Shimmer. Am I interrupting something?" Adagio chuckled.

Sunset struggles and looks up to see her phone and one of the fighting techniques on the screen. "Stomach Kick: If you have been pinned to the floor, here's what you should do:" It read. "Use your feet or heels and press up on your attacker's stomach or legs."

~Sunset looked back at Adagio then down to her feet and kicked upwards. Her foot nailed into Adagio's stomach and made her flinch. This gave Sunset the opportunity to push her attacker off, and whistle for Lightning. She blew in between her teeth and while Adagio was getting up and getting ready to charge at her, an arm and fist appeared between them. Adagio's chest hits the arm and she falls to the floor on her back. Lightning helps Adagio stand up by grabbing the middle of the shirt and pulling it up. She also pressed her foot down on her toes. They stared and glared at each other before Lightning walked Adagio back to the window she crashed into and threw her out of it. Lightning slapped her hands together as Sunset walked towards her to look out the window.~

"Thanks, Lightning." Sunset gasped in relief.

"Just doing my job." she smiled.

"I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

"What, interrupt any work? No…! I was taking a break anyway! Don't worry about it!"

Sunset leaned further out the window. "I hope Adagio won't come back, especially from that."

"I'm sure she won't." Lightning assured her. "I mean, I didn't completely maim her or anything. Just a simple toss out of the window. And your room isn't, like, 7 stories high. So, she didn't get too hurt, but she might come back-Oh, never mind, I see her running away. You're fine." Lightning put her knuckles on her hips. "Anyways, I should be getting back to school work, and you should be getting back to learning how to fight and defend."

"Yes...I have already learnt 1 out of the 18 skills." Sunset stated.

"Really? Nice! Maybe this will turn out better than I expected. Okay, Sunset. I gotta get back now. You know what to do if Adagio or any other Dazzling comes back. Juuuussst Whistle. See ya!"

~With that, Lightning activated her power, got her raccoon ears and tail and flew out of the broken window. Sunset waved, then realised her broken window. She groans.~

"Great. The window. Repairs are not going to be cheap. You owe me, Lightning."

---

~At Rarity's house, Rarity was in her room, working on some clothing. Her phone suddenly bleeps and she pauses to check it. It was the same email Sunset received. Rarity read through it with open eyes and low ears, she listened to the recording too. After the recording was finished, she placed the phone down.~

"Goodness…" She said. "I never thought secret agents had so much to work on! I suppose that's to be expected. Lightning and Karly did look like they have a lot of stress on their minds, focusing on us and school. The poor darlings must be completely shattered. Well, the least I can do is get started on this so they don't have to worry alot about teaching it later."

~Rarity stood up from her seat and stepped a few feet forwards so she was in the centre of her room. Reading the email and the techniques again, she felt the same feeling as Sunset did. She sighed deeply and rubbed the sides of her head. She tried not to pressure herself too much, but it wasn't working. She was about to have a mental breakdown, but someone loudly knocked on her door.~

"Oh, who could that be?" Rarity wondered. "I didn't order anything, did I?"

~The knock didn't sound very friendly, but curiosity got to the best of Rarity. She tugged her arm close to her chest before cautiously making her way over to the door to open it. However, before she could touch the handle, the door flew open and smashed onto the wall. Aria Blaze was shown behind the door, glaring deep into Rarity's startled face. She was about to step into the room, but Rarity threw the door into her face and shut it using her diamond shield.~

"Aria's here!" She exclaimed. "But...I don't want to disturb Lightning or Karly."

~The door flew open again, but this time, it broke off the wall completely. Aria stepped in and Rarity prepared for the worst.~

"I can't believe Adagio is making me do this…" Aria murmured under her breath. "Come with me, if you don't want to get hurt."

"If you even think about harming a single hair on this head…" Rarity threatened. "You will have another thing coming…"

"Suit yourself."

~Aria leaps to attack and Rarity casts her diamond shield to block it. Aria hits the centre of the shield and firmy places both hands onto it and starts to push. Rarity tried to push back, but somehow Aria had more strength, but she kept trying to push. Suddenly, her elbows pressed against the wall and she had nowhere to go. Rarity thought Aria would stop pushing since she had her backed into the wall, but no, she kept going. Rarity tried to look for a way out but couldn't see anything, until she looked at her phone.~

"Wall Spin/Duck: If you have been backed into the wall, here's what you should do: Rotate or spin to the side. If there's more than one person surrounding you, or you have been backed into a corner, quickly duck down and slip under your attacker's legs."

~Rarity looked back at Aria, then as quickly as possible, she deactivated her diamond shield and spun to the left, still keeping herself against the wall. Aria was taken by surprise and she did bang her head on the wall, but she recovered rather quickly and charged again. The shield was put back up and Rarity was back in the same situation, she desperately needed help this time so whistled. Aria grinned but her smile disappeared when a glowing object hit her in the back of the head. She fell down to the floor unconscious and Rarity looked up to see Lightning aiming a blaster at her. Ducking low, Rarity slipped from her diamond shield and the wall and fell to the floor. Lightning glanced down at her. Rarity was slowly regaining her breath but she looked as white as a sheet. Seeing that the coast looked clear, Lightning motioned her to her feet.~

"Uh, are you alright, Rarity?"

"I will be…" Rarity responded, keeping her voice still.

"Really? Cause it looks like you're about to have a meltdown."

"I am not having a meltdown!"

"Whoa...okay. Breath, girl. Breath."

~Lightning slowly builds up air in her chest, then lets it all out. Rarity copies her and calms down from the ambush she had endured.~

"Stressed about learning the techniques?" Lightning asked.

"You could say that…"

"I get it. I can see you're the type of girl that doesn't do this kind of thing regularly, you just joined for your friends...and that's very noble of you. But, don't worry, hopefully, you will get the hang of this. I believe you will."

"Thank you, Lightning, darling." Rarity smiled but then she turned to Aria's body. "Um...how long is Aria going to be knocked out for…?"

Lightning looks down at Aria too. "About an hour or two. Depends how hard it hit. I'll just dump her outside, her sisters, Adagio and Sonata can pick her up out there."

"Oh. Alright…" Rarity murmured.

"How was the training going along then, you know, before it was rudely interrupted by Aria?"

"Hmm-I didn't get anywhere...I only just started, and all I've learnt is one technique-"

"Ok! In the same boat as Sunset, we're getting there! Yeah, keep it up, Rares. I...am going to go back to studying. And remember, just whistle." Lightning raced out the door and waved goodbye.

Rarity nodded slowly.

---

"Hi-yah!"

~Pinkie Pie chucked a pillow at her window in an instant. She then turned her head around dramatically to more pillows lying on her bed and tossed them around for seemingly no reason. She punched, kicked, spun around and threw to the ground mostly every pillow she could get her hands on. After a while, she smiles and breathes.~

"Phew! Well, I think I've mastered the first five techniques pretty well, if I do say so myself." She states, pretending to brush something off her arm.

A shy voice laughed. "Yes, good job...You practically just beat that pile of pillows to death."

~Pinkie turned around to see Karly.~

"Now, tell me, what exactly did those pillows ever do to you?" Karly chuckled.

"Oh, hey Karly!" Pinkie waved. "I didn't have any training dummies, so pillows were the best I could find…"

"Oh right, I see. Lightning would practise fighting with her pillows if she didn't have any dummies to work with."

"Really?"

"Of course."

Pinkie snickered. "So, what are you doing here?"

"I finished my work early so I decided to come and check on you." Karly explained. "I went over to Fluttershy's first and she was doing alright. I heard from Lightning that Sunset and Rarity were attacked by Adagio and Aria."

"WHAT?!" Pinkie gasped. "Are they ok?!"

"Yeah-yeah, they're fine. Lightning protected them. But, she is getting a little worried over your safety, and your friends too. I don't blame her…" Karly whispered.

"Yeah…" Pinkie sighed. "Why did the Dazzlings have to attack us now?! Why could it have been never?!"

"Exactly...I take...I take it you read the email you got from my uncle?"

"Yep! Already learnt 5 out of the 18 techniques!" Pinkie smiled.

"That's great!" Karly exclaimed. "How on earth did you learn the first five so fast…?"

"It was easy! First, I read the email and the techniques. Then, I put my pillow in place and began punching in different ways. Dodging and deflecting them was a cinch too!"

"I mean, you can magically appear from one place to another, and, somehow, you can stand on the ceiling and walls and ignore gravity."

"Like this?"

~Pinkie suddenly comes down from the ceiling and stares at Karly from an upside-down angle. Karly yelps and nearly trips over herself from the startle, but she reassures herself. Pinkie warps from the ceiling and returns to the floor instantly afterwards.~

"Ahh! Oh, uh, yes, exactly like that. That's pretty amazing, honestly." Karly sighed.

"Thanks!"

"How do you even do it?"

"Don't...question it." Pinkie whispered in a mysterious tone.

"Alright…" Karly replied in the same tone.

"Let's move on to the 6th technique now then, shall we?" Pinkie then smiled.

"Oh, of course. Let's go outside for this one."

"Okay!"

~Pinkie bounded across the floor while Karly trotted to the back garden of Pinkie's house. They didn't see Sonata spying on them from the window. She smiled and raised an eyebrow before ducking down and walking briskly to the back of the house, still keeping her head down. She watched Karly and Pinkie enter the garden and firstly admire the scenery and the sun before getting on with more training.~

Karly read the next skill on Pinkie's phone. "Alright, the next technique is the 'Orbital Jump?' Hmm...I have never heard of that move. Did Lightning write down any other moves I don't know? Because if so, I could learn them too, and then ask Lightning why she hasn't told me about these moves."

"Maybe they're new?" Pinkie shrugged.

"Maybe...There are some I do know and have mastered, but hmm, there are some I do not know. Like…the 'Orbital Jump' and 'Thrill Jump' and the 'Saddle Deflect?'-Are we sure she is not making these up?"

Sonata comes up behind her. "Oh no, they're real. Dr. Devil showed us how to use that move on a watermelon."

"Oh right-What the-"

~Karly rotated her head round to see Sonata almost shoulder to shoulder with her. She stumbled back and over when she turned but then immediately scrambled back onto her feet afterwards and faced her in concern. She had no clue what to say to her. Pinkie stood beside Karly and put her hands on her hips in a sassy way.~

"Sonata!" Pinkie gasped.

"Hello, um, sorry for startling you and sorry for stalking you, but, Adagio wanted me to find you and take you to her." Sonata smiled.

"So you can use her magic for evil? Not going to happen." Karly replied, putting on a brave face.

"Then, it looks like we're going to fight and do it by force!" She happily shrugged.

~Without wasting anymore time, Sonata leapt to attack. Pinkie avoided the attack by swiftly turning to the side, however, Karly wasn't quick enough. Sonata pounded into Karly and threw herself and her on the ground. Karly was thrown off guard a little, but she pulled her weight and head together and kicked Sonata off. Pinkie had to help so she stepped forward and began to brawl with Sonata. Both did an extremely good job at attacking and dodging one another's moves.~

"Wow, you're pretty good at this…" Pinkie panted.

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself." Sonata smiled

"Um...Pinkie? I don't think it's best to compliment the enemy…" Karly frowned.

~The two looked at Karly sheepishly before continuing to fight. Sonata shoved Pinkie into the wall of her house then went for a punch, but thankfully, Pinkie wall spinned out of the way, ducked and ran to the other side of the garden. Sonata followed. Pinkie tried to escape but couldn't look and find an exit, until she remembered the next skill.~

"Orbital Jump: If you are fighting somewhere that has lots of room or somewhere high up, here's what you should do: Jump as high as you can and maybe jump onto a balcony or a tall object. Being higher than your opponent gives you the high ground and advantage to take them down easier."

~Pinkie nodded bravely then bounced upwards. Sonata suddenly stopped in shock but shook it off and continued to follow Pinkie. The party girl kept leaping high and over Sonata until she began to feel dizzy. Pinkie began laughing because she was having fun. But then, suddenly, she started to actually get a little tired from all the running, jumping and dodging she was doing, not to mention all the training she previously just did too, trying her best to master the techniques to make Steven, Lightning and Karly proud. She slipped and slithered, stumbled, fell, and struggled to get back up. This was Sonata's chance now! She looked over Pinkie and was about to finish her but Karly quickly staggered to her feet again and teleported in between her and Pinkie. She clenched her fists and charged at Sonata. Once again, Karly fumbled to the ground, dragging Sonata down with her too.~

"Pinkie, whistle for Lightning!" Karly gasped as she wrestled with the siren.

"O-Ok!"

~With her legs buckling, Pinkie rose to her feet and clutched on the fence. She reached into her hair, brought out a kazoo and blew into it. Within seconds, she saw something high in the sky flying over her house, it suddenly dived down and crashed right in front of her. Lightning Star gazed up and smiled at Pinkie to reassure her.~

"Mind if I drop in?" Lightning said, half to Sonata, half to Karly.

Karly sat up on the ground and eyebrowed Lightning. "Yes, please, that would be very helpful. My arms feel like they're about to fall off."

"Yeah! Get her, Lightning!" Pinkie cheered.

"Happy too."

~Lightning got into position and prepared for battle. Sonata's mind went completely blank. What should she do? Charge at Lightning and show no fear? Adagio would be disappointed if she didn't. Sonata showed an evil smile across her face before she made up her mind and charged in. Lightning narrowed her eyes before stretching her hand out and catching Sonata by the shoulder. She then lightly pushed her and she fell helplessly to the ground and lay still. Lightning bent down and stared at Sonata with a smug grin, then she silently told her and go on and get. She immediately stood up and did just that.~

"Goodbye. Have a great time!" Lightning waved.

"Whoo...that...was a lot on my shoulders…" Karly sighed in relief.

"Are you alright, Karly?" asked Pinkie.

"No...I think my arm is bruised." She replied.

Lightning looked down at it. "It doesn't look that bad. I think you just pulled a muscle."

"A muscle strain? Ohh...Great. How is it that you defeated her so easily, while for us, she practically went all king kong on us?"

"Maybe, she was afraid...I don't know, actually. Oh well, I defeated her and she's gone, so nothing to worry about. Pinkie, how was the training going?"

"It's going well. I already have 6 of the techniques down and out!" She smiled brightly.

Lightning raised her brows in shock. "Alright! Nicely done, then!" She turned to her partner. "Did you help her out with some?"

"No, actually. She already mastered them by the time I got here to check on her. By the way, Fluttershy is also doing alright. Surprisingly, she also has learned the first five skills and more as we speak, maybe."

"Really? Great! Ok! Well, we should get back to...studying." Lightning said with an eye roll. "If Sonata comes back, Pinkie, remember to whistle."

"Okie Dokie Lokie, Lightning!"

~Lightning winked then took off to the skies again.~

Karly waved then turned to Pinkie and whispered. "I actually helped Fluttershy with the skills. Come on, she needed it."

"I thought so." Pinkie grinned. "You sure she will be okay, now?"

"Yeah. I think I helped her enough."