20. Interlude Log II
INTERLUDE
Log II
The video switches on with a swirl of television static. Unlike the last one this video is shot from multiple angles, high up, almost like security footage, complete with washed out, faded colors. A blinking timestamp appears in the bottom left corner, along with the phrase “auto-recorded due to absence of Sparkle.”
“Thank you both for coming,” Celestia says as she tucks papers into a folder. Looking up from her desk she frowns. “Where’s Starlight?”
“I’m here, I’m here!” blurts out Starlight as she rushes into the room, doubling over panting from the effort. “I’m so, so sorry, but Trixie insisted on following me and–”
A loud banging followed by a cry of pain precedes a stumbling Trixie walking in, dressed in different clothing than usual, something more akin to professional business wear. “S-Starlight! Don’t run so fast. I’m still not used to this, this two legged thing!”
“Whoa, wait, Trixie?” Sunset cries, staring wide eyed at her. “As in, pony Trixie?”
“In the flesh!” Trixie beams, throwing a hand up next to her face. The attempt to show off falters due to her hand still curling up like it was a hoof. “Forgive Trixie, but I was just so curious I had to come along.”
Pear Butter smiles and holds out a hand. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you then, Trixie.”
“Right. Yeah. Great.” Sunset runs a hand through her hair and sighs. “Because we really ought to be pulling this crap with A.P.L. on the loose.”
“Sorry,” Starlight says with a pained grimace as Trixie and Pear Butter shake hands.
“Anyway,” Sunset turns back to Celestia, “you asked us here because of A.P.L. right?”
Celestia nods. She reaches into a desk drawer and pulls out a remote, then switches on a nearby television screen. “They’ve made a video drop. Two new videos.”.”
The security footage winks out, replaced by a full-color spotlight ad, set in a darkened alleyway during a thunderstorm, where two people are traipsing their way past garbage cans, looking horrified. As they tip toe through, three figures arise from behind the garbage cans, silhouetted by a sudden flash of lightning, revealing three pairs of glowing crimson eyes. The lightning fades, and the ad watches the faces of the two until they start arguing with each other, then together hear a sound, pivot on their heels, and scream as something dives upon them.
The footage pauses and a voice begins to speak. “Sirens. Three evil emotion-eating monsters from Equestria, hell-bent on sucking you dry. They’ve wandered the world for centuries, always looking for their next victim. Once you’re in their clutches, there is no escape. They’ll make you feel negative emotion after emotion until you’re nothing left but a ball of hate while they feed on it all the while. Who knows how many conflicts in history can be traced to them?”
“And how, might you ask, did they get here in the first place? Simple: they’re another reason you can’t trust the ponies, or magic. Equestria needed a dumping ground for their worst criminals so they used us. Who knows what else may have wandered our planet causing havoc? Perhaps all of our conflict can be traced back to the siren’s origins on Earth. And even worse, they’re still around right now, fighting with our children, trying to attack our high schools!”
The video shows a shot of the Dazzlings, clad in their Battle of the Bands outfits. Their crystals are prominent on their necks as each one is seen cradling the red gems.
“Sirens… yet another reason you can’t trust the ponies or magic. If they’ll use us as their dumping ground, who knows what else might be lurking about, ready to wreak havoc?”
The ad ends with one final close up of the Dazzlings’ faces, then the shoddy security camera footage returns.
“Oh damn,” Sunset whispers, staring in mute horror at the television which still shows the bare shot of the Dazzlings. “Where are…”
“In hiding,” Celestia answers. “They didn’t appreciate our offer for help, but they didn’t turn it down, either.”
“Ooo,” Trixie marvels, gawking at the screen. “Wow, that one in the middle is… wow.” She notices Starlight’s increasingly angry expression and rolls her eyes. “Oh, come on, you know I like bad girls. And she is just pure sex. Right?”
“Stop,” Sunset growls.
“Sunsetttt, come on!” Trixie protests. “You of all people…”
“Trixie!” Celestia interrupts, her ‘principal-voice’ in full effect, successfully cowing the erstwhile unicorn. Celestia softens quickly. “That is Adagio, and… there are some raw feelings there. We don’t talk about Adagio. All right?”
Trixie looks at Celestia, then at Sunset. “Sure,” she says, stepping to hide slightly behind Starlight. “Sorry. Didn’t know.”
Sunset nods. “Thanks. Yeah, it’s okay.” She glances up at Celestia. “You said two videos?”
“Yes. But the second video is… stranger. And a bit more alarming. Perhaps we should take a short break before discussing it.”
Sunset glares, but Pear Butter stands up. “Maybe that’s a good idea,” she agrees. Sunset catches her eye, and she reluctantly nods.
A glitch of static, and suddenly Starlight and Trixie are gone. Pear Butter, Sunset, and Celestia stand near the television screen. Celestia presses a button on the remote.
Again, a new image fills the screen, replacing the security footage. Shadowy figures loom in the background, and a voice speaks:
“What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?”
The APL logo forms in the bottom of the screen, and the image of the Sirens coalesce out of the shadows, then fade back out.
“Were you forgiven by the ones you hurt? Or did they never know what you did? Have you forgiven yourself? Or do you continue to make excuses?”
“These are questions humans must ask themselves. But it’s a different story for a pony, an alien, a magic-user. The worst thing they can do is so much worse than you can imagine.”
It’s subtle and slow, but noticeable: the APL logo is gradually turning orange.
“They can send someone into hell just for being an inconvenience, or because they don’t like their looks. They can lie to everyone, to themselves.” Text appears on the screen, mirroring the voice-over’s quotations. “‘I was in a desperate situation. It was them or me. It’s not my fault, it’s her fault, anyone else’s fault.’”
Briefly, Adagio flashes faintly on the screen, before the image shifts… first to darkness…
“They can convince everyone they’re a hero. If all else fails, they can make themselves forget.”
…and then to a picture of a setting sun.
“What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?”
The security footage pops back, Celestia and Pear Butter sharing a confused look. “Ehh,” Pear Butter ventures. “Ah don’t really get it.”
“Indeed,” Celestia muses. “It’s terrible propaganda. Introspection and moral ambiguity don’t serve as effective recruitment tools. This video went up at the same time as the other, and it’s had far less of a reaction, and many fewer views. Why…”
Abruptly, Sunset Shimmer stands up and leaves the room without a word.
“Sunset?” Pear Butter calls. “Sunset?!”
Alarmed, the two women dash after her. The image holds for several seconds, then fades to static.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Dewdrops on the Grass · 25k words · 45 6 · 2.4k views
- Dewdrops on the Grass · 488k words · 165 15 · 6.2k views
- witegrlninja · 107k words · 36 7 · 1.6k views
- daOtterGuy · 3.4k words · 37 0 · 395 views
- witegrlninja · 162k words · 104 7 · 3.5k views
- PaulAsaran · 6.5k words · 24 1 · 234 views
- daOtterGuy · 4.8k words · 33 0 · 329 views
- tursi · 17k words · 13 2 · 219 views
Stats
Page generated in 0.071 seconds
Total duration
1,042 users online
2,140,799 hits today, 2,205,040 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Seems like it's still a difficult subject for Sunset to when it comes to Adagio. Even though she's married to Rarity, it seems that the late Dazzling still holds a place in Sunset's heart.
Now, Chapter 2 has come to a close, and thus begins the hiatus. I'll be waiting with anticipation. Till then, good luck with ST: Phoenix.
This is gonna be like the mindwashing Ryota Mitaria videos isn't it?
Wait… Sunset, Trixie and Pear are speaking? I thought they were dead.
11615170
this is before the events.
That second video had to be to callout sunset.keep up the good work 👍👍👍👍.
11615183
That makes sense now.
I'm sure the APL is responsible for the current situation, but I'm also pretty sure Sunset had a hand in it too. To what extent remains to be seen.
Till then!
Don't tell me, the Shadow figures (I guess the members of APL) are the "volunteers" and pony Wallflower is the mastermind.
Ouch, yeah I can understand why they wouldn't want to talk about Adagio.
11615542
That's a good prediction. It makes me wonder if this whole predicament was started as a way for members of the APL and Equestrians to meet and get to know each other in some kind of "counter propaganda" stunt. Obviously, something went wrong.
Weirdly enough, it's the ponies that have been found guilty of the murders so far.
I need a memory refresher. What's the APL?
11617860
Anti Pony League, an organization that opposes Equestria and contact with them.
11618050
Sounds like fun people to know. Maybe I can cater their next dinner, the only trouble being my ability to round up enough knuckle sandwiches...
Subtlety of a ten-tom hammer there, LOL.
This story has been great so far! I can't wait for the hiatus to end, but until then, best of luck with "Star Trek: Phoenix"!
11668269
Thank you! And thank you for all of your comments too. Much appreciated, all.
I freakinʼ love the idea that human Trixie is ace and views sex as a gross thing, while her unicorn counterpart is horny as all hell. The stark difference is pure gold.
Oh please. You APL people may be correct about how ponies can deceive themselves, but you've overlooked one thing: we humans are no different.
For as long as recorded history, groups of us have committed crimes of equal or greater atrocity than what the Sirens did, let alone the ponies.
Besides, the only thing that made the Sirens a threat was their personal magic, and as far as everyone knew until very recently, there was no magic here for them to use!
11735435
This situation brings back memories of the AU of "The Conversion Bureau" (it's already very old), because in that AU there are two groups, one that is against ponies and the transformation from humans to ponies to survive, while the other the others are religious nuts who see Celestia as a goddess and believe that transforming into ponies is the salvation of humanity. The APL is somewhat similar to the first group because they believe that Equestria is entirely to blame and that they should get rid of the ponies......and ironically I wouldn't be surprised if in the future an extremist group appears that worships Equestria in a way. almost religiously, I only mention the possibility.