SuShi's Bizarre Adventure: Fantasy Friendship

by Jojoleopard

Chapter 6: Black Violin's Song

Applejack, Sunset Shimmer and Fluttershy patrolled down the second floor of the Knightland Mall, trying to find out where the black orbs were coming from. From what they could tell, the orbs were coming from the fountain, but that didn’t make sense. There was nowhere for any Stand user to hide out there in the open. Applejack had explained to Sunset all about Stands and the different ranges they could travel, varying from user to user. Her Stand, Highwayman, could travel about thirty feet away, while Fluttershy’s Florence couldn’t even really leave her body.

Whoever was using these black orbs was creating them somewhere else.

“What about below the fountain?” Sunset theorized. “What if these things can pass through surfaces? They could be coming from the basement.”

Fluttershy reared her head up. “Th-the maintenance halls. It’s how the shipments to stores get in. It should lead down to the basements for storage a-and electricity, water, you know…”

“We ain’t got a better idea. Let’s check it out.” Applejack nodded and ushered them back towards the escalator.

The black orbs from the fountain were still rising, floating all around the mall now as they seemed to search for their next targets. Some of the regular people around the mall, though they couldn’t see the black orbs, were getting weighed down by them and found that they were unable to move. As for Sweetie Drops, Pinkie and Rarity, they were quite covered in the things now, almost unrecognizable except for the mass of black near the fountains. They would have to find the culprit fast, or risk them being suffocated.

The three girls skirted through people as they rushed for the escalator. Applejack almost bumped a woman with three full shopping bags off the escalator, but they were in a rush and every second counted towards rescuing their friends.

Friends.

Sunset thought about that word. Was she ready to call them friends already? She had only really talked to them in the last few days since meeting Jojo outside school. It was barely enough time to call them proper friends.

Acquaintances. That’s a better word.

She wasn’t sure if she was ready for friends again, after everything that had happened, after escaping Equestria for this world. But that would have to wait for later. Sweetie, Rarity and Pinkie needed them now, and friends or no, Sunset couldn’t just let them die for nothing.

The door to the maintenance halls was painted red, a sharp contrast from the peach walls all around the mall. Pressing down on the handle, Applejack forced it open, the first in as she kept her speed up, never once stopping to look around the corner, just in case.

“A-Applejack, wait up.” Fluttershy followed behind, her hands close to her chest as she warily darted her head around the hall.

The lights here were dim and there were pipes running along the top half of the walls and the ceiling, where occasionally, water would drip down onto them. It didn’t smell particularly good, but there was nothing to be done about that right now.

“The maintenance people have it bad…” Fluttershy gulped as they made their way through the halls.

So far, it had all been a straight path, curving and zig zagging behind the various stores, but then they eventually came across a door on the right side of the wall that read, ‘Boiler room’.

“Makes ya wonder if they still use those furnaces down there.” Applejack tried the handle, then pulled the door open, revealing a stairway leading down a red-lit corridor. There was the sound of machinery working down there, but nothing out of the ordinary.

“D-Do you think the enemy Stand user is down here?” Fluttershy squeaked, looking up and down at the dark path lower into the earth.

“I don’t see any other way under the fountain.” Sunset inched past them to be the first to step down the stairway. “Come on.”

As she took another few steps, she realized the other two had yet to make any. Finding it odd, she turned around and was about to ask them what was wrong, but then she saw two black orbs coming towards them from through the wall across the door. More were coming through and they were moving slowly, but steadily towards them.

“Come on, we need to move! Don’t touch them!” Sunset sent Pegasus Fantasy back up to yank Applejack and Fluttershy down the stairway.

She grabbed them just in time as more orbs began to appear through the wall, slowly descending down the stairs to their position.

“Run for it!” Sunset shoved both of them hard enough to get them running.

It was no trouble getting away from the orbs, which moved at about the speed of a balloon floating towards the ceiling, but more kept coming, now from the sides of the stairway as well, closing in on them.

Sunset made her decision and stopped to face them as Fluttershy and Applejack went on a few more steps.

“Sunset, what are ya doin’?” Applejack cried out in disbelief. “They’re gonna get’chu!”

“Go! I’ll buy you as much time as I can!” Pegasus Fantasy erupted from within her and began punching the orbs. They immediately stuck to its arms, but it kept up its attack, preventing more from descending further down the stairs. “Go!”

Fluttershy looked aghast, but Applejack pulled her arm and got her to get moving closer towards the boiler room. The stairway eventually led to another corridor, where there were more doors leading to rooms with machinations within, but none of them were for the fountain. The path zig-zagged around behind the staircase, followed by another six doors on the sides. Being under the stairway now, the black orbs were coming through the ceiling, gently floating towards Applejack and Fluttershy as they ran on.

“They keep coming!” Fluttershy squeaked. “There must be a way to stop them without touching them.”

“Ah’ve somethin’ in mind.” Applejack grabbed the edge of her hat and turned it on her head. “Highwayman, all yours!”

Her Stand swished into view, its jagged smile wide under the wide brim of its tricorn hat. As it readied its hands, its body began to glow green, then it looked as though blinds had been pulled over it, before a second Highwayman split out of the first, rushing forward as its spring-loaded arms began punching the black orbs with a sharp cry of fury.

“But that doesn’t work!” Fluttershy winced as one by one, the black orbs began attaching them to Highwayman’s hands.

“Time to test mah theory.” She continued punching with the second Highwayman, creating a tunnel of sorts through the orbs. “Go, git!”

Fluttershy ducked her head under the cluster of orbs, with Applejack following close after. Once she was through, the copy of Highwayman that was punching the orbs faded in a blur of movement, detaching the orbs, which just fell to the ground with the current weight they had.

“H-How did you do that?” Fluttershy asked, before Applejack kept her moving.

“Ah’ll explain later. We need to get to the fountain.” Applejack pointed ahead. At the end of the hall, the first door in the next corridor had the words ‘Fountain Control’ on it.

Highwayman reappeared and threw a single punch at the door, splintering it in half as Applejack did a flying kick into it, knocking both halves of the door aside as they entered the room. The lights here were tinted in a slight reddish tone, and there were three rows of generators and machines, along with a huge water tank with pipes leading up into the ceiling. Standing before the water tank was a familiar face, holding a long kitchen knife in one hand as she gave them a devilish grin.

“Lyra Heartstrings…” Applejack breathed and raised her hands defensively. “Should’a known it’d be you, after takin’ out Sweetie Drops.”

The mint colored girl was clad in a dirty pink top with holes dotted among it, with strings dangling down from above her shoulders, along with feathery green pants that ended at her thighs. The weirdest thing about her outfit, however, was the huge harp behind her back, slightly skewed, but it looked heavy and it took up a lot of space.

“Too bad you, will die.” Lyra struck a pose by tilting one foot up to its toes, and one arm in a ‘V’ shape horizontally from her body, with the other arm pointing at the two of them.

“Uh. Right.” Applejack cut one arm to her side. “Then have it your way. Highwayman!”

Applejack’s Stand launched out from her body in an aura of green energy, its arms already ready to strike.

“Black Violin, play your song!” Lyra slid one leg in an arc behind her.

A black and purple short figure popped its head down from the ceiling above and raised two metallic clawed arms towards Highwayman. Black orbs emerged from the center of its arms, sailing towards Applejack’s Stand.

“Splitting vertigo!” Applejack waved a hand and Highwayman’s copy once again split from the original, rushing straight for the orbs.

It began punching the orbs rapidly, attaching them all over its arms, followed by the snickering of Lyra’s Stand. Black Violin was about half the height of Applejack, with vertical eyes that seemed to never blink. It had a crooked smile plastered on its face, almost like Highwayman, only uglier.

But like before, the Highwayman copy vanished again and the growing orbs fell to the ground, too dense to continue floating. As Lyra looked on in shock, Highwayman rushed to her and split into three more copies, each one aiming their punches directly at the girl. She raised her arms to protect her face, but the blows kept coming and her body was getting bruised and blood began to run down from her nose and mouth. She raised one arm and Black Violin began firing orbs down around her. Applejack’s Stands dodged away as the black orbs landed around Lyra, growing in size as a protective shielding around her.

“How were you able to escape Black Violin’s black notes?” Lyra wiped blood from the corner of her mouth. One of her eyes was slightly swollen and couldn’t open fully. “The black notes will stick to anything and continue to weigh them down.”

Applejack tapped the side of her head. “Ya can’t stick ta somethin’ when the somethin’ is nothin’ but a copy of the original. Highwayman is able to create up to four copies of itself to attack and once they’re done, they simply fade away into nothin’. Think of ‘em as afterimages.”

Lyra snarled and gritted her teeth. From above her, Black Violin spun in a circle, then raised its arms to fire out more black notes. Applejack countered this with Highwayman’s copies again, with the original staying back to avoid the orbs. The problem now was that she was unable to reach Lyra, who was still hidden behind the large black notes that were positioned all around her.

“You can’t get me.” Lyra placed both hands on her belly, then bent backwards to laugh, her voice echoing around the quiet room. “I have all the time in the world. You don’t.”

“What’dya mean?” Applejack waved a fist at her, whether she could see it or not. “I’ll get through this, you’ll see.”

“What you don’t understand is the power of Black Violin, Applejack,” Lyra said. “The black notes it releases will track down whoever I wish for them to track and once they attach to you, they will grow in size and density and eventually become too heavy for you to move anymore. Sure, they move a little slowly, but they’ll never stop unless you destroy them. And the ones you passed on your way to me, they’re already here.”

“What?” Applejack turned with just enough time to push Fluttershy out of the way with Highwayman before six of the black notes attached themselves to her true Stand.

They immediately started growing in size and Applejack realized she didn’t have much time before they would get too heavy for her to move and more were still on the way from the corridor outside.

“I’d give you twenty seconds before you become too encumbered to do anything and once you’re down…” Lyra’s arm appeared above the black notes that protected her, showing the knife she had. “You will be able to do nothing while I finish you off.”

And she laughed maniacally. The sound of her voice traveled down the corridor, her triumph echoing through the mall’s maintenance halls.

Author's Note:

I'll have the enemy Stand next chapter!

Comments

[nightshroud96]

10967974
Him being a dog took away many things such as him being able to interact with other characters(since "no pets allowed" and people flipping out about a talking dog). Made him get excluded HARD from what the girl get to do.
And also about the classes thing, he has to stay in a backpack which is with Twilight, meaning he goes to class regardless but stuck in a backpack most of the time. He is restricted HARD.
Him being human would add more than him being a dog. He can still be Twilight's morale support(which all he did in the first movie) but can do SO MUCH MORE if he was human. Hell, him being a dog apparently allowed him to get nabbed by SNIPS AND SNAILS of all characters.
Yes he bailed the girls out in Rainbow Rock due to the siren not noticing him but that can still work if he was human where they just act arrogant and ended up ignoring Spike(or he just happens to be in the right place in the right time to avoid the trap Trixie pulled).
All Spike did get to do in EQG can easily be done if he was human. So him being a dog took so much away from him and his character.

If you think him being human wouldn't add much in the movie, at least its better for his character to be human than a dog.
He is a sapient/sentient being, its demeaning to him to be reduced to a lowly pet like that. And it paints a bad picture that he's a pet to Twilight than a equal being.
If reducing him to a dog is meant to get him out of the way to be less "distracting", then that's awful handling of Spike's character. Like it done his character so much dirty in the long-run in EQG.

[nightshroud96]

Managed to read the chapter.
I guess I guessed right that Lyra was next.

Wonder how much damage is going to happen during the battle?

[Jojoleopard]

10968212
Ha, yes he might’ve been reduced and restricted, but from a narrative and animation point of view, it just wouldn’t cut it to have a second human going through every scene with Twilight doing exactly as she does. It’s just a hassle to produce, because it doesn’t have much to do with the plot, whereas all you would have to do is animate and follow Twilight in the limited time they have for the movie, you see.

[nightshroud96]

10968842
Pretty sure it won't cost alot to have him being with Twilight like that.
In fact it wouldn't make too much of difference animation budget wise if he was human than a dog. Like it won't be too much of a hit on the budget. Especially if he's sort of shorter human, like whats wrong with having one extra human since there is ALOT of scenes with multiple humans in it?
Spike being human and being with Twilight won't screw up narrative. Especially since they can easily tweak a bit of stuff to fit it in. In fact they can easily add in stuff for him to do since he would be human.
Again, its awful handling of his character with how they decided to reduce him to a dog. Hell, its worse they decided to screw him over for the sake of saving money and not wanting to bother thinking up what to do with him or something.
He doesn't deserved to be screwed like that. Especially since reducing him to a dog screwed him even worse in the long-run of EQG.

[Golden_Reflection]

Stand master: Applejack

Stand name: Highwayman

Ability: Highwayman is able to copy itself up to 4 times, effectively increasing the speed at which it can attack, and when the copies are no longer needed they fade away as if they were never there.

---

Stand Master: Lyra Heartstrings

Stand name: Black Violin

Ability: Black Violin is capable of producing black coloured spheres called “black notes” which can home in on a given target to stick to them and weigh them down while the black notes grow in size and density. It is currently unknown if Black Violin can produce different coloured notes for different effects.

[Black--Soul]

This story is visualy the highest quality. Bravo

[Ibliscorn]

10968907
I know this is the past and probably changed in the future but seriously, it’s not that big of deal. With all the frustration that came from Spike during the course of G4, taking it out here on a fanfiction isn’t the way the go. The author has an idea for the story and it’s characters and sure comments can help, there’s no point in hammering in on this point as multiple times as you have