> Code Pink > by Summer Dancer > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Part 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pinkie Pie herself had a wild imagination. Anything could happen in her eyes. But if someone had told her that one day she would be running from the police and leading the Dazzlings to her house with at least forty bras in tow, she would’ve laughed told them they were loco in the coco. But lo and behold, here they were. She and her new found friend Sonata Dusk were keeping good pace, But Adagio Dazzle and Aria Blaze were having increased difficulty carrying the huge bag filled with brassieres. Pinkie looked back and grinned encouragingly. “Hang in there, guys! It’s just a couple more houses down!” “I wish you would let us help you with that,” Sonata said as she jogged beside Pinkie. “N-No, we got it,” Aria huffed stubbornly. “If anything, we can handle a few bras, thank you very much,” Adagio grunted. Sonata clicked her tongue. “They’re always so prideful,” She whispered to Pinkie. “Well, you won’t have to worry about that much longer, Sonata,” Pinkie said assuredly. “Once we get to my house, you can all relax—and meet my family!” Adagio groaned inwardly. The last thing she needed was to meet and spend the whole night with Pinkie’s crazy, out of control family. They probably moved here from the circus for all she knew. “We’re here!” She heard Pinkie announce. She looked up to see a… normal-looking house. But Instead of pink, like she thought it would be, it was the surprising shade of blue-grey. Instead of colorful flowers on the lawn, there was only rocks and gravel. Pinkie lived here? The others seemed to be thinking the exact same thing. “You sure we’re at the right house?” Aria asked with one eyebrow raised. “Maybe it’s the next one over,” Sonata suggested, craning her neck to look at the other houses down the street. “Nope! This is my house!” Pinkie said cheerfully. She dug into her pockets. “Now, let’s see…” She patted her vest, frowning in confusion. Then she ran her fingers through her hair. “Where are those keys?” She pulled out a number of objects from her hair. A stick of gum, some loose change, some marbles, a live goldfish, a CD, and pop rocks. “Darn, I must have dropped the keys somewhere in the mall!” Adagio frowned. “The mall’s closed now! And possibly swarming with cops! We can’t go back!” “You mean we’re stuck out here!?” Aria shouted in frustration. “This is just great!” “Don’t worry!” Pinkie assured them. “My sister’s inside.” She hopped over to the front door and raised her fist. “I’ll just knock on the door, and—" SMASH! “AAAH, MY HEAD!” Pinkie gasped and turned to the Dazzlings. Adagio and Aria were scowling at a very guilty Sonata. “What happened?” She cried, running over to them. “She just threw a rock through the freaking window,” Aria growled. Pinkie looked up at the second story window. There was a shattered hole right in the middle of the glass. “I didn’t mean for that to happen!” Sonata defended. “I saw it in romance movies all the time—I thought it would wake her up, not—" Suddenly, the front door opened to reveal a grey girl wearing a plain white T-shirt and dark shorts. Her expression was blank. “Maud!” Pinkie exclaimed. “What’s going on out here?” Maud asked in her monotone voice. She glanced at the three Sirens standing awkwardly behind her sister. “Who are your friends?” “Oh. Oh! Yeah, Maud, these are the Dazzlings, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata. Guys, this is my sister Maud!” “Sister?” They exclaimed together. This girl didn’t look like Pinkie at all. “Weren’t these the girls that terrorized your school?” Maud asked Pinkie. She nodded. “Well, yeah...but they’re cool now. Is it okay if they stay here for the night? Pretty please?” Maud looked from the Dazzlings to her sister. She shrugged. “Sure.” She stepped aside to let the girls in. Pinkie grinned and wrapped her in a tight hug. “Thanks, Maud!” Adagio and Aria squeezed past them with the bras. Sonata followed them inside, smiling apologetically. Pinkie suddenly released Maud and looked at her closely. “Wait—You don’t have a scratch on you!” Sonata frowned. “If I didn’t hit you with that rock, then who’d I hit?” Before Maud could respond, a teenage girl came out from the kitchen, clutching a thick dish towel to her head. Blood was trickling from her concealed temple. “Marble!” Pinkie cried, rushing over to the injured girl. “Are you okay?” “Pinkie, would you believe it? There I was, watching That’s So Robin reruns, then BAM! A rock smashes through your window, and flies from your room to mine, and I get whacked in the head! Since when does that happen? Coincidence? I think not!” “Marble, enough with the Leprechauns!” Another girl said, entering the living room holding a bottle of peroxide. Pinkie’s eyes widened. “Limestone too? When did you guys get here?” “A few hours ago,” Limestone replied, giving Pinkie a hug. “That Sapphire Shores Sweepstakes didn’t quite go as planned.” She paused and glanced over at the Sirens. Adagio and Aria were turning the bag upside down, letting the bras fall onto the couch. “…The heck is this?” “Limestone, these are—" “The jokers that hit Marble with a rock?” Limestone cut in angrily. Aria crossed her arms. “That wasn’t us, it was her.” She nodded her head towards Sonata. The blue Siren’s eyes welled up with tears. “I’m—I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that, I swear!” Marble walked over to Sonata and placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. I don’t blame you.” “Y…You don’t?” “No…not really. What’s your name?” “Sonata.” Marble stared at her and then blurted out a giggle. “Then I suppose its Sonata issue with me then!” She looked around the room, grinning. “Get it?” Crickets. Marble frowned. “I’m funny too!” Maud took the peroxide from Limestone and started guiding Marble to the bathroom. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.” As soon as they left, Aria leaned over slightly. “Is it too late to turn ourselves in to the police?” Sonata swatted her on the arm. Limestone walked over to Pinkie and slung an arm around her. “So. I suspect they’ll be no funny business around our kid sister?” She asked, ruffling Pinkie’s hair. Adagio rolled her eyes and forced a smile. “Why, we wouldn’t dream of it,” She drawled sarcastically. Limestone caught onto her tone and frowned. “Good. Because I’ve heard all about you three, and I’d hate to be the one to dial the police if any other injuries happen tonight.” Pinkie bit her lip. “Limestone—" “Oh, no, no!” Adagio interrupted, placing her hands on her hips. “She should be able to express her own opinion—and she’s right. She is. We give our word that nothing will happen to your family tonight—Siren’s honor.” She held up two fingers. Sonata immediately did the same thing. Aria reluctantly followed suit—then crossed her fingers behind her back. Limestone gave them one last glare before turning away. “Just be careful, Pinkamena,” She said, as she went down a hallway. Silence. Snickers. Pinkie’s face turned bright red as Adagio and Aria howled with laughter. Sonata covered her mouth to hide her grin. “Pinkamena?” Aria chortled. Adagio wiped tears from her eyes. Pinkie frowned and rolled her eyes. “Let’s just try on those bras,” She muttered. Snips slurped the last of his slushy through the straw. “Aaah,” He sighed, and leaned against a trash can. “This is the life, huh, Snips?” His best friend Snails said, enjoying his own slushy. Snips shrugged. “I dunno. This is pretty chill, but there’s not enough action around here these days.” “…Yeah, I miss being mind-controlled too.” “Yeah…wait, that’s not what I—“ Snips stopped himself and elbowed his pal on the arm. “Look!” Snails raised his head to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon gabbing to each other. “They’re coming this way,” Snips whispered. He gave Snails a confident smirk. “Watch how it’s done.” Snails sat back and watched. “So I said why wouldn’t she do my homework?” Diamond snickered. “Hey,” Snips said in his deepest voice. “Did it hurt?” Both girls stopped and looked at him in confusion. “…When you fell outta heaven?” Diamond scoffed and kept on walking. “Get lost, loser. Come on, Silver.” Silver Spoon hung back for just a couple of moments and flashed Snips a five second smile before skipping after her leader. “Real smooth, Snips,” Snails chuckled. “Smooth is right!” Snips declared, turning to his friend with a smirk. “Did you see the way she looked at me? Score!” Snails scratched his head. “Wait…Silver Spoon?” “Yep!” “Not Diamond Tiara?” Snips’ face contorted in disgust. “Eww! No! Why would I consider going out with the Pig?” Snails shrugged his shoulders. “Eh, I wouldn’t consider her bein’ a Pig. I hear she does perfume commercials with her mom.” Snips face palmed. “Look. I think she’s smart. And cute. Don’t you think?” Snails shrugged again. “Meh. I like Apple Bloom better. But I’m not exactly on good terms with her ever since the Battle, man.” Snips nodded. “Yeah, most people are still kinda on the ropes since the contest. I just wish that I could take her out on a date maybe. But I don’t know how to ask!” “Maybe you should just…Y’know….ask?” “Whaddaya, crazy? She’s like royalty. One does not simply ask Silver Spoon out on a date!” “Dedicate a rap to her?” Snips waved his hand. “Na, that’ll take too long. I need to really impress her. We need to impress, man! Don’t you want Apple Bloom to notice you?” “…Yeah…” “I’ll tell you what we’ll do. We gotta be cool! Do cool stuff, you know?” Snails raised an eyebrow. “What kind of cool stuff?” Snails opened his mouth and then paused. He scratched the back of his head. “Um…I dunno.” “Heeey, Button Mash!” Snails suddenly called, waving his hand. Snips looked up to see Button slowing down on his bike next to them. He looked quite shaken up. “ ’Sup, bro?” Snails said, holding out his fist. “Hey, dude.” Button bumped his fist against Snail’s and repeated the notion with Snips. “What’s going on, Mash?” Snips inquired. “You don’t look so good.” “Yeah, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Snails agreed. Button swallowed. “I might as well,” He muttered. “What happened, buddy?” “You wouldn’t believe it—I was riding my bike down Graphite Avenue when I saw Pinkie Pie and the Dazzlings running down the sidewalk holding a ginormous bag of bras!” “Dazzlings!” Snips shouted. “Bras?” Snails questioned. “No joke!” Button insisted. “I saw it with my own eyes…” He shuddered. “And I really wish I hadn’t.” “Well, did ya see where they went?” Snips asked eagerly. “I saw them go inside Pinkie’s house—and I think the blue one possibly killed somebody.” Snips elbowed Snails. “Dude, that’s it! Here’s our chance to do something cool!” “What?” “We go on a panty raid!” Snails spit out a large amount of slushy. Button’s pupils dilated. “Are you crazy? They’ll kill you!” “No they won’t—not if they don’t see us!” Snails shook his head. “Look man. I admire your courage, but let’s face the facts—we’re not cool. I mean, look at us—couple of guys hanging out the Eleven Seven, drinking blueberry slushys outta bendy straws—" “Hey! Real men drink out of bendy straws!” “—Face it, Snips…it’s out of our league!” “And downright disgusting!” Button put in. Snips grabbed Snails by the cardigan. “Snap out of it, man! Look. We got six and a half months left of our Freshman year—you wanna spend the rest of it as wimps? As nobodys?” “Well, no—" “Heck no! I say we do something about it! I say we break the status quo! By the end of tonight, we’re gonna be legends!” Snails tapped his chin. “Legends huh?” “And just think of Apple Bloom. She likes risk takers, does she not? So whaddaya say, buddy? Are you in?” Snails thought for a minute. He grinned. “I’m in.” Button shook his head. “It starts.” Snips grinned. “What about it, Button Mash? Care to join us?” Button rapidly shook his head. “Oh, no no no no. Uh-uh. You’re not roping me into this. I’ve seen too much. Heard too much. I’m out!” “Suit yourself! But first, we need to go back home to acquire the appropriate gear! Let’s meet back here in one hour.” Snails nodded. “Agreed.” Button started pedaling away. “Great. You do that. I’m just gonna go rinse my eyeballs out with mouth wash.” “Okay, see ya buddy!” “Later, Mash!” Rainbow Dash sped down the empty neighborhood street on her bike, the wind blowing through her hair. She loved moments like this, when she could go as fast as she wanted without any limitations. After all the assignments, essays, projects, and especially the Battle of the Bands tension, she could definitely use a breather. Although she and her friends were on great terms with each other now, she had the feeling that at least half of the student body had not fully recovered. People were either still guilty over the way they had treated others, or still a little bitter over what was said, spell or not. Some kids got along better, but others were still affected—two students had even transferred to Crystal Empire High School. I guess having your mind invaded twice in one month can do that to you, Rainbow thought. The cyan teen was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard distant sirens from behind her. Must’ve caught Berry Punch drinking again. However, the sirens got louder and louder. She glanced behind her to see about ten or twelve police cars behind her. “What the heck?” A voice boomed from a megaphone. “You there! Pull over!” Rainbow’s heart dropped in her stomach. “What—Me?” “Yes, you! Pull over your vehicle this instant!” “Oh, heck no!” She stood slightly and pedaled faster. **** The cop with the megaphone sat there, dumbfounded. “Is she seriously trying to outrun us with a bicycle?” His partner said in disbelief. The first cop nodded darkly. “It appears so. After her.” **** Rainbow gasped as the police cars sped up in full pursuit of her. “Oh crap!” She pedaled even faster, making a sharp left down another street, slowing them down a bit. “I haven’t been arrested since I was twelve! My Dad’s gonna kill me if it happens again!” A band of teens on motorcycles suddenly appeared a few feet in front of her. “Gah! Move it move it move it!” The motorcyclists gave out shouts of surprise when they saw Rainbow Dash speeding towards them with a squad of cop cars behind her. They moved out of the way on either side of her so that she could pass. “Yeah, Dash!” Gilda cheered, her fist in the air. The others took up the cheer as Rainbow whizzed by. “Get it, girl!” Thunder Lane laughed. “Happy New Year, Dash!” Lightning Dust hooted. “In jail!” Rainbow’s legs were on fire, but she didn’t dare slow down. She had to admit, this was kind of awesome, if it weren’t for the possibility of her getting arrested and her Dad unleashing whatever rage he would surely have inside him. Just then, a truck came up in front of her from the right— BAM! Rainbow smacked right into the side of the truck and fell backwards onto the street concrete. “Ohhh,” She moaned, holding her bruised arm. The man who was driving the car stepped out and stood over her. “Why, if it isn’t miss Rainbow Jennifer Dash!” Rainbow looked up at the man and immediately closed her eyes. “Mr. Discord,” She groaned. She was stopped by the school janitor of all people. ”Un-freaking-believable.” Discord smiled down at her and put his hands on his hips. “Well, this is awfully peculiar, even for you, Rainbow Dash. Perhaps this is a new fad of yours? I’d rather you tell me up front, because I can’t have teenagers throwing themselves against my truck like this, my insurance simply won’t cover it! Now—!" He was cut off at the sight of multiple police cars swarming around them, sirens wailing, lights flashing. Policemen jumped out of their vehicles and quickly advanced on the injured teenager. “Swarm, swarm!” Rainbow scowled. “Hey, why are you tackling me, I’m already do—!" They instantly pulled her to her feet. “What’s all this?” Discord demanded. “It’s none of your concern, Sir,” An officer replied, straightening his dark sunglasses. The janitor scoffed indignantly. “Not my concern? I’ll have you know that I was the one that helped you capture this young teenager, so I think I deserve an explanation as to why she’s wanted for murder, hmmm?” The officer frowned. “She’s not wanted for murder.” He looked at his team, and then back at the janitor. “This one,” He said finally, “Is a suspect in the robbery of JAY Jewelers. When we tried to pull her over for questioning, she ran.” Rainbow quickly shook her head. “I didn’t know anything about a robbery! I didn’t do it! I swear!” “Then why did you run?” “I had twenty-something cop cars chasing me down! I freaked!” “Likely story.” “Do you have any proof that she was the culprit? Any cold hard evidence?” Discord questioned, folding his arms. “We will, as soon as we take her down to the jewelry store for verification.” The officer said. He turned to the two other policemen holding onto Rainbow. He gave them a slight nod. They released her. Rainbow started to sigh in relief, until one of the female officers started to frisk her. “Whoa, whoa, hey!” She protested. “Hands off the merchandise!” “She’s clean,” The officer stated, bemused. “Right then. Let’s take her down to the store.” “I don’t believe this,” Rainbow muttered as they handcuffed her and put her in the back seat of one of the cars. The female officer placed a hand on top of her head as she ducked inside. “In you go, flight risk; watch your head.” “Fight the power, Rainbow Dash!” Discord called. Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Mine won’t come on right!” Sonata whined. She and the other Dazzlings were in Pinkie’s bathroom trying on their new bras for the first time. Pinkie stood on the other side of the door giving them as much guidance as possible. “Did you turn it upside down like I said?” Pinkie asked. “Yeah, and I fastened it, but I can’t pull it up!” “Do you really do this when putting on a bra every day?” Aria grunted, having difficulty getting hers to fasten around her back. “This is atrocious and utterly unnecessary!” Adagio shouted. Pinkie tapped her chin. “That’s how all the other girls do it—but I just fasten it beforehand and pull it over.” There was a moment of pause. “Ohhh!” “Well that’s much better.” “Why didn’t you say that before?” Pinkie giggled. “Now that that’s settled—“ Ding-dong! “Oh! That’s the doorbell! There’s some spare Pajamas on the bed, you can pick whichever ones! I’ll be right back!” She trampled down the stairs to the living room. Limestone was sitting on one of the couches reading a magazine. “I’ll get it!” Pinkie chirped. She slid over to the front door on her socks and peeked through the peephole. “It’s the Cakes!” She unlocked the door and flew it open. Mr. and Mrs. Cake stood in their uniforms holding sleeping and duffle bags. Pumpkin and Pound stood in front of them in their pajamas. “Aunt Pinkie!” They screamed, jumping up and down around her. “Hey guys!” Pinkie grinned, kneeling down to hug them. “Hello, Pinkie dear,” Cup Cake said breathlessly. “We hate to do this to you, especially on such short notice and so late too—" “But you see, we have to fulfill a very important order for a very important client in Dodge City,” Carrot Cake finished. “We don’t have anyone to watch the twins, especially at this hour, but do you think—" “Say no more, Mr. Cake!” Pinkie said cheerfully. “I’d be happy to watch them! It’ll be like a sleepover! Take your time!” The married couple sighed in relief. “Thank you so much Pinkie,” Cup Cake sighed as they handed Pinkie the twin’s belongings. “It’s such a nice feeling to know the twins will be safe with you.” “We’ll be back in the morning!” Carrot called as they ran over to their truck. “Bye Pumpkin, bye, Pound!” “Be good! We love you! Mwah!” Cup Cake said, blowing a kiss. “Bye Mom and Dad!” The twins chorused, waving back. “BYE YOU CRAZY LOVE BIRDS!” Pinkie screamed. As soon as the truck disappeared down the road, Pinkie closed the door behind them. “Aunt Pinkie, look at my finger,” Pumpkin said, holding up a bandaged index finger. “Whoa, look at that sucker!” Pinkie gasped, bending down to look at the finger better. “What happened?” “I had to feed the class fish at school yesterday, and one bit me,” Pumpkin sulked. “That’s nothing!” Pound said, rolling up his sleeve. He lifted his elbow and pointed to the bruise right under it. “Look at this! I got it during a fight!” He said proudly. “A fight?” Pinkie repeated, surprised. “With who?” “He didn’t get into a fight,” Pumpkin said, twirling around in a circle. “He fell on a block when Long Shot pushed him down.” Pinkie frowned. “Why’d he do that?” Pound crossed his arms. “He was pulling Pumpkin’s hair, so I pushed him off and called him a jerk.” “Then everything happened.” Pumpkin concluded. Pinkie smiled and ruffled Pound’s hair underneath his large baseball cap. “Well I think that was very brave of you Pound.” The boy beamed with pride. “I’m hungry,” Pumpkin said, tugging on Pinkie’s night gown. “Oh, right! C’mon then!” She grabbed the kids by the hands and led them over to the kitchen. She set them down on the island and opened the fridge. “Let’s see… how’s ice cream with whipped cream sound?” “Yeah!” “Yes please!” “So what happened to that Long Shot kid?” Pinkie asked as she got out the spoons. “Oh, he got fired,” Pumpkin said. “Fired?” “She means he got suspended,” Pound corrected. “Oh. Well, let’s hope that he’s learned his lesson, right?” Both twins nodded. Adagio suddenly walked in wearing the darkest T-shirt and sweats that Pinkie owned. She stopped short when she saw the twins eating ice cream. She slowly pointed a finger at the children. “What…are those?” Pinkie sprayed whipped cream into her mouth and murmured something in reply. “What?” Pinkie swallowed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “I said those are kids! You have seen kids before, haven’t you?” She giggled. Adagio rolled her eyes. “Of course I’ve seen kids before! The question is who are they, and what are they doing here?” “Oh, these are the Cake twins! Their parents asked me to watch them for the whooole night! Isn’t that great? It’s like a double sleepover!” Adagio’s brain short circuited at the thought of spending the whole night with two children. “Hi, I’m Pumpkin!” One of them said. “Your hair is really big.” “Mmm-hmm. I noticed.” Adagio muttered. “Are you Aunt Pinkie’s cousin?” The other asked. “No…no, absolutely not.” “Can we watch T.V.?” Pumpkin asked. Pinkie nodded. “Sure! C’mon.” Adagio breathed deeply as soon as they left. “That’s something I never want to experience again…” She opened the fridge only to find endless cans of whipped cream. “I know I’m not imagining things. Is this seriously all they eat?” She slammed the door shut. Maud was behind it. Adagio leapt four feet in the air. “GAAAH!” Maud seemed unfazed by the Siren’s reaction. “There’s food in the freezer and in the cabinets also,” She said flatly. Adagio clutched at where her heart was, panting heavily. “Has anyone told you how much you scare the crap out of people?” She gasped. “A few people have,” Maud replied. Adagio cleared her throat and smoothed out her pajamas. She craned her neck to see if anyone else was present, and then turned back to Maud. “So…um…you mind if I ask you something?” Maud blinked. “So, I’m looking at you and the others, and you all look alike except for Pinkie Pie. I even saw the family portrait, and things don’t seem to add up…and I was wondering…because you know you can tell me...Is Pinkie Pie adopted?” Maud stared at Adagio for a moment. “No,” She said simply. “She’s not.” Adagio blinked. “Well, that’s not possible,” She said shaking her head. “There’s like, no resemblance between any of you…except for the eye color maybe. Are you absolutely sure?” Maud nodded slowly. “Positive. My sister may be a little different from the rest of the family, but we are family. And I love her very much. I’d do anything to keep her happy.” “And is that the reason why you let us in without hesitation?” “Partly.” Maud opened a cabinet door and got out a box of crackers. Then, she pulled out a rock from her pocket. Adagio raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?” “This is my pet rock boulder.” She poured a heap of crackers onto the rock. “He usually gets hungry this time of night.” Adagio’s pupils shrunk. Slowly, she started to back away from the college student with a wide grin plastered on her face. “Hmm. M’kay! Good talk! I’ll just…yeah.” She turned around swiftly and bolted out of the kitchen. In the living room, Aria was slouching on the couch between the two twins. She was forced to wear sock monkey pajamas, which added to her growing displeasure. The kids were laughing at some show that came on 10 minutes ago. “What’re we watching again?” Aria asked, clearly uninterested in what was going on. “Suite life of Mach and Grody,” Pumpkin replied. “And why are we watching it?” Pound laughed. “Because it’s funny! Don’t you think it’s funny?” “I think Grody’s cute,” Pumpkin gushed. Pound rolled his eyes. “Why? They’re twins! They look exactly alike!” “So are we, but we don’t look alike! At least to us!” Pumpkin argued. “That’s because I’m a boy and you’re a girl!” “So?” Aria rolled her eyes. “Look, sticky fingers. This whole episode they’ve been trying to act like each other because their mom had one slip up when they were babies. What’s funny about that?” “A lot!” Pumpkin said, swinging her legs. “My favorite part was when they were grossed out by their mom giving birth,” Pound snickered. Pumpkin scratched at her chin. “I just don’t get why girls always have babies in their stomachs. How do they even get in there?” She looked up at Aria. “Do you know?” Aria’s eyes widened. She quickly jumped off the couch and ran towards Pinkie’s room. “Nope!” She brushed past Marble who had a large bandage on her head. “You. Margaret.” “Marble.” “Whatever. Explain to the trolls how you humans get it on.” Aria burst into Pinkie’s room and quickly shut the door behind her. The room was in sharp contrast to the rest of the household. It practically exploded with color. The colors were so bright, Aria had to shield her eyes a bit, at least until they adjusted to the brightness. Sonata and Adagio were sitting on Pinkie’s bed while Pinkie was lying on her stomach on the floor with her laptop. “Status update: Hangin’ with ma best frienimiieeess!” Adagio looked up and smirked. “Let me guess; you came here for shelter as well?” Aria groaned and sat next to her on the bed. “Okay. I was wrong. Polly and those girls must be related to each other. This family is certifiable.” “Right? I just had a …talk with Maud. The lights are on, but nobody’s home.” Aria grinned. “Depressants…” She pointed at Pinkie. “Stimulants.” “I know. And it’s Pinkie.” “I can’t keep track of everyone’s names.” She turned to Sonata, whose hair was in a French braid. She wore a bright pink night gown, and she also had cool pink eye shadow spread over her eyelids. “What are you wearing on your face?” “It’s makeup!” Sonata said cheerfully, batting her fake eyelashes. “It is a ritual in sleepovers that we give each other makeovers! We have also done the braiding of the hair and the painting of the nails.” She held up her finger nails which had shimmering blue nail polish on them. Pinkie got up from the floor and turned to the Dazzlings with a huge grin on her face. Aria instantly recoiled in surprise. One strand of her hair was fixed in a messy French braid and she had glitter sprayed all over her face. Bright pink lip gloss covered her lips. “Do you like it? Sonata did it for me!” “…I can’t stop staring at it,” Aria said with a smirk. Pinkie beamed and clapped her hands excitedly. “Yay! So!” She plopped down on the already crowded bed and faced her ex foes. “How about a game of Truth or Dare?” Sonata beamed. “Oooh, I’ve always wanted to play that game! Can I go first? Can I can I please?” “Sure! Go ahead! The Siren clapped her hands excitedly. “Okay okay okay. Hmmmm… Pinkie, truth or dare?” “Truth!” “Lame,” Said Aria. Sonata ignored her sister. “Who do you have a crush on?” Pinkie suddenly blushed and started playing with her hands. ”Crush?” Adagio and Aria shared a devious look. Now, this was getting interesting. “Yeah, Pinkie, who do you like?” Adagio questioned. “Spill it,” Aria joined in. Pinkie grabbed a pillow and covered her face. “Nnnnnmmphph.” The Dazzlings continued to press on, practically demanding who her crush was. Pinkie really didn’t want to tell, but… rules were rules. She lowered the pillow, revealing her reddened face. “Okay, okay! I’ll tell you. But you have to Pinkie Promise not to tell anyone! No one else but my other friends knows about this…Pinkie Promise!” Sonata sat up. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” She turned to the others. Aria crossed her arms. “I’d rather stick something else in my eye before anything like that comes out of my mouth.” “Oh, they promise,” Sonata said with a wave of dismissal. “Now come on! Tell us tell us tell us!” Pinkie buried her fists inside her hair. “Ohh…alright…I like…” “Yeah? Yeah?” “I like…” “Out with it, Pie!” Adagio commanded. “I like Cheese Sandwich! Eeeeep!!” “I knew it!” Aria shouted victoriously. “Aww, that’s so cuuuute!” Sonata gushed. “I’m sort of not surprised,” Said Adagio. Pinkie cleared her throat and fanned herself lightly, hoping her blush would go down soon. “Okay. My turn… Adagio!” The leader’s eyes widened slightly. “Truth or dare?” “Dare. Obviously.” Pinkie smiled wide. “Pumpkin’s been wanting to experiment with makeup recently. I dare you to let her do whatever she wants to your face! And you have to leave it on the rest of the night!” Sonata covered her mouth and Aria clapped her hands while laughing. Adagio was far from amused. “A dare’s a dare, Dagi,” Sonata giggled. “You gotta do it!” Said girl bit her lip. “Fine,” she seethed through clenched teeth. “Take the makeup case with you!” Pinkie reminded. Adagio stood up and snatched the case, ignoring the other girl’s giggles as she made her way downstairs. “While we wait for that,” Pinkie turned to Aria. “Truth or dare.” “What do you think? Dare!” “I dare you to…drink an entire bottle of hot sauce!” “You’re on!” The unlikely trio giddily padded downstairs to the kitchen. Pinkie grabbed a bottle of hot sauce from one of the cabinets and gave it to Aria. “You know what to do, sister!” Aria pulled off the cap and smirked. “Watch how it’s done.” With that said, she held it up and started drinking the whole thing without break while Pinkie and Sonata cheered her on. “Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!” Within 30 seconds, Aria had consumed every last drop of that hot sauce. “Whoo hoo, you did it!” Pinkie grinned bouncing up and down. Aria’s tongue lolled out and started to pant heavily. “You can drink some water now, the dare’s over,” Pinkie said. She grabbed a cup from the dish rack, but Aria had other plans. She had turned on the water in the sink and held her head under the faucet with her mouth wide open. “That works too,” Pinkie laughed. “Ahem.” Pinkie and Sonata turned to see Adagio standing behind them. It took all of their will power to refrain themselves from laughing. Adagio looked like a murderous clown that had been run over multiple times. Her eyelids were covered with lip liner, her lips were smeared with a large amount of lipstick; even her chin was covered. Her cheeks had big red circles drawn onto them, and it was clear that Pumpkin had gone crazy with Adagio’s eyebrows, for they had two big black lines on her forehead facing downward, making her look outrageously furious. Bottom line—she looked ridiculous. Aria withdrew her head from under the faucet with a mouth full of water and faced her older sister. Water flew in all directions. This made Sonata laugh, which made Pinkie start laughing too. Adagio rolled her eyes and made her way up the stairs. “N-No, wait, Adagio!” Pinkie laughed, running after the lead singer. “I-I’m sorry, it looks great! Hahaha!” Aria and Sonata went up the stairs after them, doubling over with laughter. “So, how have your singing voices been?” Pinkie asked. They had all returned to her room and they all sat on her bed once again. Adagio still had the makeup on, but she swore that she would kill anyone who would dare laugh again. “Horrible, thanks!” Adagio chirped with a fake grin. “We actually haven’t sung anything since the incident,” Sonata said glumly. “It hurts too much.” “No thanks to a certain band,” Aria muttered pointedly. Pinkie nodded slowly and played with her fingers. “I’m sorry about that. But maybe we can change that!” The Dazzlings stared at her in confusion. “I mean, think about it! When you first tried to sing after the battle, your pendants had just been smashed into smithereens, and that must have damaged your throats, because you’ve had them for so long. And since it’s been, what—two months?” “Three,” Adagio said curtly. “We’ve counted each and every day.” “Right! So maybe now your throats have had the time to heal! You have been able to sing without those pendants before, haven’t you?” “Well, yeah, but that was in Equestria,” Aria pointed out. “This world doesn’t have magic, and those pendants were the only connection to Equestria we had.” “Yes, that’s true, but that means that if your throats have healed, that would mean that you might be able sing like normal girls—just not as hypnotizing and controlling.” The Sirens glanced at each other. It was worth a shot. Oh whoa, Oh whoa, You didn’t know that you fell... “Whoa, whoa whoa!” Pinkie interrupted, waving her hands. “That was good and all, but why don’t you try singing… nice songs?” Adagio blinked in confusion. “Nice songs?” Pinkie nodded. “Yeah, you know...happy songs!” “We don’t know any happy songs,” Sonata said. Pinkie gasped. “You don’t know any happy songs?! Not one?” Aria shook her head. “It’s not the Siren way. We only sing songs of disharmony, deception, and power. It’s our culture.” Pinkie hopped off the bed. “Well, we’ll just have to start off with the basics. Repeat after me!” Do, a Deer, a female Deer Re, a drop of golden sun! “I’m going to have to stop you right there,” Aria cut in. “There’s no way in Tartarus am I singing that.” “Okay,” Pinkie said, going over to the T.V. set. “I have another idea!” “What?” Sonata asked eagerly. Pinkie whipped out four microphones with a wide grin. “KARAOKE!” Rainbow Dash had to refrain from struggling in the policemen’s grasp as she was lead inside the jewelry store. Multiple police cars and news reporters surrounded the crime scene. Inside, the store was completely empty. Whoever had done this knew what he or she was doing. The manager of the store looked frantic and distressed, babbling something to an officer who was writing something down on his notepad. She could hear the conversation better as she was brought closer. “I didn’t see much, but what I did see was that he had a tattoo of an anchor on his arm and he had one gold tooth. I didn’t quite get a look at his face, since he wore—" “Mr. Emerald,” Said the head officer who gripped Rainbow’s arm. “I’m officer Shield. You’ve reported that a teenage girl had helped the robber steal all the jewelry, is that correct?” “Yes, correct.” “We’ve apprehended two suspects, and I would like you to take a good look at them.” Rainbow frowned. Two suspects? “Unhand me, you piece of filth!” Her head jerked to the side and her jaw fell open. “Trixie?!” Trixie was being dragged across the room until she was beside Rainbow. The magician looked equally horrified. “Rainbow Dash! I knew you would have something to do with this! And it’s the Great and Powerful Trixie to you!” Rainbow scoffed. “More like the Meek and Powerless Trixie!” Trixie gasped. “You take that back!” “Make me!” “ENOUGH!” Shield yelled. “Both of you!” “I think it’s quite obvious as to whom your culprit is,” Trixie said, glaring menacingly at the girl next to her. “It’s Rainbow Dash you want, not Trixie! I always knew she was a delinquent!” “Trixie’s certifiable!” Rainbow retorted. “She thinks she’s so great and powerful—she can barely pull off a cheap card trick! And she refers to herself in the third person…third person! Who does that?” “I SAID ENOUGH!” Shield bellowed. “Mr. Shield,” Emerald said suddenly. “I’m sorry, but neither of these girls robbed me.” Shield looked flabbergasted. “N-Neither? Are you sure? Look closely, Mr. Emerald, are you absolutely 100% sure?” “Positive. The girl that robbed me was rather dim and she had blue hair; she was nothing like these two.” Trixie and Rainbow looked victorious. “Told you so,” Trixie said smugly. “Now release us at once!” Shield scowled. “Not so fast. I can still arrest you for assaulting an officer with smoke bombs,” He pointed at Trixie. “And I can still arrest you for fleeing from police!” He pointed at Rainbow. Before either girl could protest, the officer with the notepad spoke up. “Oh, let them go Shield. They’re just a couple of kids that had rough night. I’m sure that they’ll behave themselves in the future…” He glanced towards them. “Right?” Both teens nodded vigorously. “Oh yes!” “Definitely.” Shield sighed heavily. “Fine. But I’ll be watching you two. Closely.” He nodded towards two other policemen. “Get the cuffs off them.” “Alright!” Rainbow grinned, happy her wrists were free. “Thanks a lot, officer…” She squinted at his name tag. “…Armor.” Armor grinned. “Call me Shining.” A voice suddenly came over his radio. “We have a 401 on Clouds Dale drive, I repeat; we have a 401 on Clouds Dale drive, all units report…” “Sweet Cinnamon sticks!” Shining exclaimed. “Let’s go, people, go go go!” Shield screamed. All police officers rushed to their squad cars, not bothering to grab their equipment. “What’s a 401?” Rainbow wondered. “Hey! What about my store?” Emerald yelled after them. “Sorry Mr. Emerald, this can’t wait!” Shield replied, getting in his car. Within seconds, a whole army of police cars vanished off into the night. Trixie ran outside the store and onto the curb. “Hey! What about my ride home!?” “Looks like you’ll have to walk, princess,” Rainbow smirked, casually walking up from behind her. Trixie shook with rage and whirled around. “This is your fault!” She fumed, poking Rainbow in the chest. “If you hadn’t robbed that stupid store, Trixie would not be in this mess!” “Uh, newsflash! Didn’t you hear the guy in there? It. Wasn’t. Me!” “Hmmph. You must have paid him off or something.” Rainbow rolled her eyes and started walking. “Whatever. I’m outta here.” Trixie blinked. “Wait! You can’t just leave me here!” “As a matter of fact, I can! And—well, would’ja look at that! I am!” Trixie quickly ran up to Rainbow and blocked her path. “No no no no. You can’t. Do you have any idea how dangerous this neighborhood gets at night? I need someone to protect me!” Rainbow scoffed and shoved past her. “Yeah right! Sooner or later, you gotta learn how to fend for yourself...that’s what my parents taught me. You can’t rely on people to protect you all the time.” “Well, that’s not how I was raised!” Trixie said, following the athlete closely. “And I do know how to fend for myself, just so you know! I just…don’t like the looks of this neighborhood, that’s all.” “Why should I help you? You’re the one that trapped us underneath the stage—without anything soft to land on no less!” Trixie grabbed her by the arm, and forced Rainbow to look at her. “I was under that spell, and you know it!” She seethed. Rainbow yanked her arm free. “So? Spell or not, deep down, that’s what you wanted to do, am I right?” “Maybe so—but you still can’t hold me accountable for that, Rainbow Crash!” Rainbow gasped and turned red in the face. “Oh…no…you…didn’t!” Trixie’s smile grew wide. “Oh, yes I did. I know all about that rather embarrassing skateboard crash of ’07… Derpy can be quite the Chatty Cathy when her mind’s being controlled. I think the name is quite fitting for you, though.” Rainbow clenched her fists. “Dang it, Derpy!” She whispered sharply. “See? She may be a bubble head, but I doubt she would’ve told if there wasn’t a spell—which proves you wrong, Rainbow Crash!” Rainbow was beginning to see red. “Call me that…one more time.” “Or what?” “Two hits… me hitting you, you hitting the ground. What’s it gonna be, Lulamoon?” The other girl let out a laugh. “You dare to challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie to a fight? Ha! I will drop you like a bag of dirt, Rainbow Cra--” “Well, look at what we have here!” Both girls froze. Slowly, they turned their heads towards the voice. Trixie gasped. Five figures dressed in black were slowly striding towards them, one swinging a large chain around as if it were a jump rope instead of a weapon. Rainbow Dash however, was staring at the guy to the left. There was one thing about him that stood out to her in particular. That thing was the tattoo on his bare arm that was the shape of an anchor. His lips pulled back into a creepy smile. His gold tooth glinted in the moonlight. “Okay, Sonata, just sing the words on the screen, and the judges will tell you how you did,” Pinkie instructed. “Got it?” Sonata gripped the microphone in her hands and nodded nervously. “Got it.” “Don’t worry, you’ll do great!” Pinkie went over and sat between the two Sirens on her bed, and gave Sonata the thumbs up. Sonata looked over the lyrics. “This looks like a good song. I think I might change it up a little.” The music started, and she started to sing. Five O ‘clock on a Tuesday I start and grab a Taco down at the mall But my sisters say I gotta go sing for some humans and prepare to rule them all She looked back at Pinkie who nodded and encouraged her to keep going. With the voice of an angel and a stomach of steel I guess I really shouldn’t complain Though I wish I could walk out in public without being hailed in tomato rain! It’s enough to fry my brain! And drive me insaaaane! So welcome to my life (As a teenage Siren) The story of my life (As a teenage Siren) My teenage Siren…LIFE! Pinkie applauded madly when she finished. “Whoo hoo! That was great!” Sonata beamed and turned to the others. “So? What do you think?” “Well, my nose hairs stopped vibrating, so that’s an improvement,” Aria said. Sonata scowled. “Why do you always have to criticize me?” “I dunno, maybe because you’re the worst!” “You are!” “You’re such a pain!” “You’re—you’re Baka!” Pinkie drew back with a shocked gasp. Adagio clapped a hand over her mouth, trying to hide her grin. Aria blinked. “What?” Adagio took her hand away from her mouth. “I believe,” She coughed to mask the laughter in her voice. “She just called you an idiot.” Aria’s jaw dropped. Sonata, realizing her mistake, started to back up. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—" “YOU’RE DEAD!” Sonata shrieked and dropped the microphone as Aria started to chase her around the room. Adagio fell on her back on the bed laughing, clutching her stomach and kicking her legs. Pinkie looked on frantically, not entirely sure on what to do. “N-Now girls, let’s work this out! Don’t fight! Hey, that was dirty!” She went over and clutched at Adagio’s pajamas. “Please, Adagio! Stop this madness!” But the leader of the Dazzlings was laughing too hard to respond. Marble suddenly appeared in the doorway. “What’s going on in here?” Pinkie sighed in relief and hugged her sister. “Marble! Thank goodness. Help me tear these two apart!” Marble nodded. She jumped over the bed and grabbed Aria by the shoulders while Pinkie stood in front of Sonata. “Hey, what gives, Mary?” Aria shouted, straining in the other girl’s grasp. The third oldest of the Pie sisters scowled. “It’s Marble!” “Whatever! How on earth are you this strong?!” “We farm rocks.” She let go of Aria and crossed her arms. “Now if you two can’t get along in here, then I’ll have to put one of you in the guest room!” Aria was already at the door. “Fine by me. It’s about time I get my own room.” Sonata huffed furiously as Aria left. “Fine by me too! I’m gonna hang out with the cool people!” She threw herself onto the bed. Adagio excused herself and went down to the kitchen to grab more food. Pinkie sighed sadly as Marble went after Aria. “I’m sorry, Sonata. I wanted you guys to have fun, not be angry with each other!” Sonata waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, it’s not your fault, Pinkie. She just needs to cool off a bit. Aria’s always like this. Well—not always. She was actually happy when we were really little. She was always pulling pranks, getting us into trouble…she smiled a lot too. But she became kind of bitter ever since mom and dad left.” Pinkie sat on the bed beside her. “They left? Why?” Sonata shrugged. “I don’t know. One day they were there, the next, they’re gone. I don’t remember much, because I was so sad, but at least the rest of my family was still there. The weird thing was though, Adagio acted like nothing happened. She didn’t talk about it, but I think she was upset too. But she didn’t show it. I think Aria took it the hardest.” She paused. “I never told anyone that before.” Pinkie smiled softly. “I’m glad you did. Sometimes talking with a friend you trust is much better than keeping your feelings all bottled up inside, y’know?” The Siren nodded. “I guess you’re right. I do feel a lot better. So…what’s next on the sleepover list?” A wide mischievous smile spread across Pinkie’s face. The dark figures drew closer and closer to the hapless teenage girls. Rainbow threw her hands up in the air. “Are you kidding me right now? Seriously? Am I being Punk’d? First I get arrested for no reason, and now this? Come on!” Trixie began backing away slowly. “Stay away from us, you…you brutes!” Rainbow clenched her fists while she also took liberty in stepping backwards. “Brutes? That’s the best insult you could come up with?” “This isn’t the best time to criticize Trixie’s vocabulary!” “You girls seem reasonable…and loaded…” The man with the gold tooth chuckled. “Hand over any valuables you have on you, and no one gets hurt.” Rainbow scowled. “Not a chance, buster! You’re the one that robbed the jewelry store, aren’t you? I got picked up because of you!” “Wait until the Cops gets wind of this,” Trixie said, suddenly gaining confidence. “Oh, I can’t wait until you thugs are behind bars!” “I don’t think so,” Gold tooth replied as he and his friends continued to draw in closer. “You’re not going to tell anyone anything when we’re through with you.” Rainbow threw her former nemesis a look. The magician grinned in understanding. The smoke bombs. Rainbow turned back to the thugs, smirking. “You’ll have to catch us first! Now, Trixie!” “So long suckas!” Trixie yelled as she threw an object on the ground. Crack. The thugs looked confused. The teenage girls looked down at the ground in horror. It was a cracked open egg. The magician looked apologetic. “Trixie went grocery shopping before she was incarcerated.” Rainbow looked up at the thugs before looking back at Trixie. “Okay then…RUN!” > Part 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow Dash and Trixie flew down the street with the thugs at least fifteen feet behind them. “I can’t believe this! The one time you forget your smoke bombs, it had to be today!” Rainbow panted. “I do have them!” Trixie puffed, patting all of her pockets. “I know I have them, I do! I just have to find them!” “Well hurry it up!” “Get back here!” one of the thugs screamed. “We’re comin’ for you!” another shouted. Rainbow, being a top notch athlete, would’ve left them in the dust by now, but she hung herself back so that Trixie could catch up. Despite her undying hatred for the magician, she knew she couldn’t leave her with those creeps. Although, she was slightly annoyed at how slow her companion was running. “Pick it up, Lulamoon!” “Trixie is going as fast as she can! Oh! Aha! Here they are!” She held up three small objects. Rainbow stole a glance behind them and gasped. Someone else was driving up behind the thugs in a car. The car slowed and the door opened, allowing them to pile inside and continue their pursuit. “Crap!” Trixie was preparing to throw the smoke bombs on the ground. “Wait, not yet!” Rainbow said, looking ahead of them. “Are you crazy?!” “Just trust me. Follow my lead!” With that said, she made a sharp left with Trixie sprinting behind her. There was a curved road ahead of them and a metal gate just to their right. Trixie quickly realized what was happening. “Now!” Rainbow shouted. Trixie gladly threw the smoke bombs on the pavement behind them with gusto. Poof! An impressive amount of smoke exploded behind them, leaving their pursuitors in the blind. Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash also got lost in the smoke, coughing and hacking. Tears from the bombs stung her eyes and blinded her vision even further. She heard the screech of the brakes and the slamming of the car doors. Oh no. She tried to find her way through the thickness of the smoke, but she didn’t know who she would bump into if she wasn’t careful. The thugs shouted angrily, some drawing closer to where she stood. The sound of a swinging chain grew louder. Suddenly, a hand reached through the smoke and grabbed her arm. Trixie. The magician pulled her away from the angry shouts and swinging weapons and deeper into the smoke until the metal gate came into view. Rainbow Dash immediately started scaling the fence with ease, grateful that she had done this multiple times when she was a kid. She reached the top at record time and swung herself over. Down below, she could just barely make out Trixie’s figure. She seemed to have trouble with her footing. Without a moment’s hesitation, Rainbow reached down and grabbed the other girl’s hand and pulled her up. Trixie quickly swung her legs over the gate, but she lost her balance and fell over to the other side with a yelp. Rainbow heard her fall to the ground with a thud. “Trixie is… okay!” Rainbow snickered to herself and jumped from the top of the gate, landing on her feet beside Trixie. The thugs were cursing and screaming on the other side of the gate. Someone shouted that the girls must’ve gone up the road, so the thugs got in their car and sped off into the night. Rainbow reached down and helped Trixie to her feet. “C’mon. It won’t be long ‘till they come back.” “Ugh…I think I broke a nail!” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Worse things have happened, Trixie.” She heard the distant screech of tires. They were circling back. “Worse things are happening!” She started to push Trixie forward through the bushes. “Let’s go, move it!” Pinkie peeked out underneath the hood of her long black cape, her eyes glowing menacingly in the darkness. “And then, the little boy finally rode into the hallway…the exact hallway of where the forbidden room resided.” Sonata trembled in fear, her arms wrapped around herself. She sat across from Pinkie of the floor with the lights turned off. The only light in the room was a flashlight that stood between them. “Guess what he found in that hallway?” Sonata reluctantly shook her head. “He found two twin girls…standing side by side…staring at him. Staring…into his soul.” Sonata swallowed hard. “After a few moments…they said something to him. And do you know what they said?” “W…What?” Pinkie smiled darkly. She spoke in a breathy, monotone voice. “Come play with us, Charlie…FOREVER!!!” Sonata screamed and leapt onto Pinkie’s bed, hiding under the covers. Pinkie scratched her chin. “Oops. That might’ve been a little too scary.” She took the hood off of her head and went over to Sonata, who was still hiding under the covers. She patted the area where her friend’s head was. “If you’re scared, Sonata, I’ll stop.” The Siren peeked out from under the blanket. “I-I wasn’t s-scared,” she stuttered. Pinkie climbed on the bed beside her. “You sure?” The blue girl sat up and ran her fingers over her French braid, composing herself. “Yeah. Yeah, I wasn’t scared,” she chuckled. “It’d take a lot to scare me.” “Yeah, me too,” Pinkie giggled. Just then, the door flew open, revealing Adagio and her blood smeared face and ghostly white complexion. “AAAAHHHH!!!” Pinkie and Sonata quickly dove under the covers. Adagio frowned and rolled her eyes. “It’s me, you idiots!” “AAAAAAHHHHH!!!” With a groan, Adagio flipped on the light switch, brightening up the room instantly. Pinkie peeked out from under the covers. The mascara and eyeliner on Adagio’s eyes were running down her face, as well as the lipstick on her cheeks and lips, making it look like she was bleeding profusely. Sonata stared at her older sister warily. “That’s one scary mask, bro.” “It’s my face, screw loose! It got hot downstairs, and it melted this stupid makeup.” She looked to Pinkie. “Can I wash this off now?” The party planner threw off the covers with a grin. “Nope! You have to keep it on ‘till the sun comes up. That was the dare.” “It’s a stupid dare.” “Your mom’s a stupid dare,” Sonata sassed. “…We have the same mom, idiot!” “This is the guest bedroom,” Marble said as she and Aria entered a different room. It was medium sized, with grey walls, grey drapes, and even a grey TV set. The only thing that wasn’t grey was the plain white mattress that sat in the far corner. Marble opened the closet and pulled out light grey sheets and a blanket. “Here, you can put the sheets on. I gotta go check on the kids. I don’t think Limestone’s watching them too well.” After she had left, Aria walked up to the mattress and stared at it. Having slept on an air mattress for as long as she was a human, Aria had zero experience with putting on sheets. Besides, Sonata was always the one that would make all the ‘Beds’, since she was in charge of the cleaning. Don’t be a wuss, The Siren thought to herself. Whatever that imbecile can do, you can bet your scales that you can do it ten times better. Encouraged, she dropped the blanket and held up one end of the sheet. She pulled it over the corners of the bed, and it stayed. So far, so good. But when she grabbed the other end and pulled it towards the front of the mattress, the bottom half of the sheet came loose. Aria frowned. She went over and tried again, pulling the sheet down lower this time. But when she tried to pull on the top half, it came off yet again. Aria scowled. “Is this some kind of joke?” With vigor, she tried it again. With as much force as she could muster, she shoved the bottom half under the corners of the mattress, and then she gently, gently, pulled on the top half. It came loose. Trembling with rage, shaking with anger, and turning redder than Adagio’s lipstick, Aria clenched her fists and threw her head back, screaming out every foul curse ever known to human, Siren, and Equestrian ever known throughout the universe. Pinkie stormed in, her eyes bulging out of her head. “Hey! Watch the language! There’s kids here!” “What kind of sick joke is this, Pearlie?” Aria demanded, holding up the sheet. “Why does this refuse to stay on? If this is some prank of yours, this is far from amusing!” “Silly Aria! First of all, my name’s Pinkie! Although Pearlie does sound cute—and second of all, all sheets do that! It helps if two people put it on. Do you need help?” Sonata poked her head in the room. “Yeah!” she snickered. “Does wittle Aria need help making her own bed?” Aria gritted her teeth and stormed over to the blue haired Siren. “No. I don’t need help. And I don’t need help in rearranging your face, either!” Sonata squealed and ran back inside Pinkie’s room. Aria charged after her. Pinkie grabbed a fist full of her hair. “Oh, no! Not again!” She ran across the hall and into her room, where she found Sonata hiding behind an annoyed looking Adagio. “Look at you! Hiding like a coward! What kind of villain are you?” Aria growled. Sonata frowned and stepped out from behind Adagio and faced Aria. “Don’t you call me a coward! And I’m a good guy now!” “That’s what got us into this mess in the first place! You wanting to be good! You’re a lot of things Sonata, but I never knew you’d become a traitor!” “Your mom’s a traitor!” “What!?” “Come on girls,” Pinkie pleaded lamely. “Don’t fight!” “Ugh, you’re always such a bully, Aria! Y’know, just because you couldn’t take it when mom and dad left, doesn’t mean you get to take it out on others!” Aria’s eyes widened. Even Adagio looked surprised. Without warning, Aria punched Sonata in the face, making her head go almost all the way around. Pinkie gave a tiny shriek. Adagio tackled Aria before Sonata even hit the floor. “What is the matter with you!” Adagio yelled, pinning the purple Siren beneath her. Aria grunted and pushed Adagio off of her. “You always take her side!” “Well, someone has to, since you always think with your fists!” “Butt out, Adagio!” “Don’t you tell me what to do!” “Look who’s talking! You have no trouble bossing me around!” As the two kept arguing, Pinkie was by Sonata’s side, comforting her as much as she could. Sonata glanced over at her sisters. Slowly, she rose to her feet. “Sonata? Sonata, are you okay?” Sonata ignored Pinkie and silently turned her attention to one of her pillows. After staring at it for a while, she finally turned to the party planner. “Pinkie?” “Yes? What is it, Sonny? Is there anything I can do to help?” Pinkie asked eagerly. Sonata nodded slowly. “…Is pillow fighting part of the sleepover ritual?” Pinkie was slightly taken aback by the question. “Uh…yeah, but why—" Before the drummer could finish her sentence, Sonata quickly whacked Aria on the head with one of her pillows. The next thing Pinkie knew, the Dazzlings had all broken out into a full-on pillow fight. “Finally, an activity I can enjoy,” said Adagio, gleefully swinging at Sonata’s head. Feathers were flying in every direction, coating the room in white. Pinkie backed up against the corner, silently watching the pillow war, not entirely sure on what to do. “You always had to be taken care of! Somebody always has to babysit you!” Aria yelled, hitting Sonata on the side. “You need serious anger management!” Sonata shot back, hitting Aria in the face. “Both of you are a pain in the butt!” Adagio shouted, whacking both of them at the same time. “You’re such a control freak!” Yelled Aria. “Who made you the boss of everybody?” Sonata agreed. “I did! Since I was the only one who knew what I was doing!” Adagio retorted. “Yeah, right! You think way too highly of yourself, Adagio!” “Yeah!” “Oh yeah? Well, I think you’re a meat head! All brawns, no brain!” “Ditto!” “You think you’re so special because mom always liked you best!” “Who could blame her?” “I’ve run out of insults!” “You can never admit that you’re wrong sometimes, can you? ‘Oh, we can still get our magic back!’ ‘Oh, I knew I wasn’t bleeding to death when I got my period!’ ‘Oh, Pinkie’s adopted!’” “WHAT!!?!” The Dazzlings all stopped pillow fighting and turned towards the pink girl in the far corner. Tears ran down her cheeks, and she was visibly trembling. Her mouth was slightly hung open, and her hair looked like it had lost some of its volume. “P…Pinkie?” Sonata called out softly. “I’m…adopted?” Pinkie whispered. “N-No! No, of course not!” Sonata turned to Adagio. “Is she?” “I’m…ADOPTED!!!” Pinkie shouted angrily. The Dazzlings shrank back in terror. They had never seen the party planner like this…ever. Her eyes were ablaze with pure malice, and her lips pulled back in a powerful grimace. Her face was bright red and her body shook with rage. Adagio stepped in front of the others and held out a trembling hand. “N-Now, Pinkie—“ Pinkie curled her hands into fists and she let out a piercing shriek. “MAAAAAUUUUD!!!” In a blink of an eye, she dashed past the Dazzlings and out the door. The whole house shook as Pinkie trampled down the stairs. Heavy breathing filled the air. “I think I just saw my life flash before my eyes,” Aria said quietly. Adagio rubbed her arm. “Maybe…maybe we’ve been a little…rash lately.” The other Sirens nodded. “So… truce?” Asked Sonata. Adagio and Aria looked at each other and smiled. “Truce.” They said together. “For now,” Aria added. The blue Siren grinned. “ ‘Dawww, I love you guys!” She jumped up and wrapped both Aria and Adagio in a bone crushing hug. Adagio lightly patted her on the back and gently pushed her off. Aria smirked slightly. “I still think you’re the worst,” she said, messing up her bangs. Sonata poked her nose. “You are,” she laughed. Limestone looked up from her magazine to see her sister stomping down the stairs, looking positively livid. “Uh-oh,” she muttered. She turned to Pound and Pumpkin who were still sitting in front of the TV. “Kids…go upstairs to my room.” Pumpkin looked up. “Why?” “Aunt Pinkie’s having a meltdown.” She stood up and ushered the twins down the hall as Pinkie drew closer. “Go, children, go! Maud, Marble, get out here!” “So…are we like the good guys now?” Aria asked. Adagio nodded. “I guess we are.” “…Do you… feel any different?” “…My headache’s starting to go away. You?” “My sinuses are starting to clear up.” “That’s nice.” “Yeah. It is.” Sonata paced the room. “We’ve gotta make it up to those Canterlot High students somehow,” she announced. “If we’re going to be good, we need to fix the chaos we’ve caused.” Adagio frowned. “How? None will even come near us. How are we supposed to make it up to them if they avoid us like the plague?” “Pinkie mentioned that some of the students are still affected by the battle and won’t talk to each other because of what they said! If only…” Her eyes fell on Pinkie’s laptop on the floor. Ding Ding Ding! Sonata grinned and turned to the others. “Huzzah! Prepare yourselves! I have the most amazing idea!” Adagio and Aria looked worried. “I’m scared, Adagio,” Aria whispered. Sonata plopped down in front of the laptop and started typing. “What are you doing?” Asked Adagio. “Pinkie uses this site to connect with other students,” Sonata explained. “It looks like she’s got the whole school following her. I’m going to get everyone to come over here to have a party! That way, everyone will hang out, and see that we’re not evil anymore, and all will be well!” Aria’s brow furrowed. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” “Of course it is! Pinkie loves parties! I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. Especially when it’s helping the school to get back together! You want to be accepted by everyone again, don’t you?” The Siren resumed typing. “Now, let’s see…oooh, I know. ‘Having a late night party at my house at 2:30 am, bring your friends! It’s gonna be off the chain, for realzies!’ “ “Off the chain?” Aria repeated. “Who says that anymore?” Sonata stuck out her tongue. “It will be off of everything once we’re through with it. Sending!” “This is going to be something I will regret later,” Adagio remarked. Sonata hopped to her feet. “I’m gonna go tell Pinkie about the party!” Adagio gasped and held out a hand. “Wait! She might still be…” But Sonata was already running down the stairs. “Relax, Adagio. If Polly’s still in Goosebumps mode, we’ll hear the outcome soon enough.” “I guess so…” There was a rustling outside. “…Did you hear that?” Aria was silent for a moment. She shrugged. “Hear what?” “I thought I heard…” Adagio cautiously stepped towards the window that still had a hole in it. Another rustle. Swallowing, Adagio peered out the window. Two dark figures popped out right in front of her. “Yo!” one of them yelled. Adagio let out a loud piercing shriek. The figures also screamed, on account of Adagio’s terrifying face and fell from the window, landing hard on the ground. “What? What is it?” Aria asked urgently, appearing by Adagio’s side. Said Siren started to tremble. “There—there were two boys looking inside the window! I think those were Peeping Toms!” “No way. You sure?” “Yeah, I’m sure! That’s so against the law, isn’t it? That’s so disgusting! Maybe they come every night and look into Pinkie’s bedroom? Oh, no. I’m calling the police!” Snips brushed the gravel off his sleeve. “Man, that was a bust,” he grumbled. “Ya got that right,” Snails agreed. “Why’d you have to say ‘Yo’? For what reason?” “Hey! How was I supposed to know she’d be right there? I didn’t know what else to say!” “Yeah, whatever. Can we go home now?” “No,” Snips frowned. “We can’t go back without evidence!” “How can we do that, when Adagio already saw us?” Snips scratched his head in thought. “Maybe we can sneak around front and get in through the front window. Nobody seemed to be downstairs. C’mon, we better hurry!” Meanwhile, Sonata had cruised into the kitchen where Pinkie was sitting and eating her cupcake with a fork. The Pie siblings had spent the last 10 minutes calming Pinkie down and showed her the cold hard evidence that proved that she was indeed part of the family. “Hey, Pinkie,” Sonata said softly. “Um…are you feeling better?” Pinkie chewed slowly and swallowed. “Yeah. I’m…better. I know I’m not adopted.” “Then…why do you look so sad? I’m sorry things got out of hand upstairs, but we’ve made up now. And we’ll clean up all those feathers.” “It’s not that. But it’s good that you’re not fighting anymore. That makes me happy.” She poked at one of the sprinkles. “It’s just…you know about my Pinkie sense? Well, my left elbow’s been twitching, and so is my right eyebrow. That hasn’t happened before, and I don’t know what it means. That could mean anything. I don’t want anything to happen to anyone in here.” Before Sonata could say anything, they heard a commotion coming from the living room. Sonata poked her head inside the room. “What was that?” At first she thought it was Limestone, but the Pie was fast asleep on the couch. The Siren looked at one of the windows and saw two silhouettes through the curtains. “Ohmigosh! Pinkie, someone’s trying to get in!” Pinkie dropped her fork. Her demeanor changed from gloomy to murderous. “Break into this house?” She jumped out of her chair and went over to the silverware. “Trying to hurt my new friends, and my family?” Pinkie pulled out a large knife. “I don’t think so!” She ran into the living room and saw the two silhouettes through the curtains. Pinkie immediately flung the front door open, knife raised. “YOU WANT PINKAMENA?? WELL, YOU GOT HER! YOU CAME TO THE WRONG NEIGHBORHOOD!" Snips and Snails screamed and held on to each other for dear life. Pinkie blinked in confusion. “Huh?” “Please don’t hurt us!” Snips wailed. Snails started to cry. Pinkie instantly dropped her knife and embraced the two in a hug. “Oh, thank goodness! I thought you two were robbers! What are you two doing out here?” “Eh…sorry, Pinkie,” Snips sniffled. “We didn’t mean to scare you like that. W-We thought you were asleep!” Snails gave a surprised yelp when Sonata appeared behind Pinkie. “When I didn’t hear any slashing noises, I got worried,” she said, not taking her eyes off the freshmen. Pinkie released the boys and put her arm around Sonata’s shoulders. “Oh, guys, I’d like you to meet Sonata Dusk.” The blue Siren made a half wave. “We know who you are,” Snails said warily. “Is she safe?” Snips asked. Pinkie nodded. “Yep, she’s totally reformed. Sorry about what happened back there. We’ve had a ca-razy night so far.” “Why were you trying to break into her house?” Sonata asked. “You know, you coulda just knocked.” Snips and Snails glanced at each other and blushed. “We..uh…we were actually panty raiding you guys,” Snips confessed. “You WHAT!?!?” Both girls screamed. “I know, I know, and we’re sorry!” Snails pleaded, falling to his knees before them. “We were just trying to impress some girls!” Snips whined, following his friend's movements. Pinkie stared at them for a moment before laughing. “You guys,” she giggled, pulling them to their feet. “Panty raiding won’t impress girls! You’re going about it all wrong!” Snips looked confused. “We are?” “Sure! Why don’t you two impress them with something you’re really talented at? Like rapping?” Sonata nodded her head eagerly. “Oooh, yeah! You’re really good at that!” she grinned. “But we can’t rap a love song now,” Snails pointed out. “It takes days of planning.” “Ya can’t write a masterpiece in an hour, you know,” Snips said. Sonata shared a look with Pinkie, and turned her attention back to the boys. “Dude, we’ll help you.” Pinkie darted back into the house. “I’ll get the keys!” she hollered. Sunset Shimmer stifled a yawn as she trudged back inside her room, chocolate brownie in hand. She always got hungry at this time of night. She didn’t know what she would do without her precious midnight snacks. The reformed teenager plopped onto her bed and grabbed her laptop from her desk. She might as well check her email while she was still up. Sunset scrolled through her inbox, reading and replying to the PMs, and disregarding the advertisements, when she came across a message from Pinkie Pie. Sunset smiled to herself. I wonder what she’s been up to this weekend. But upon reading the message, her smile turned into a worried frown. “Oh, no…” Celestia’s former student picked up her phone and dialed quickly. She held the phone to her ear in distress. “Hello?” “Fluttershy! I’m sorry for waking you up, but this is an emergency.” “Oh, it’s okay, Sunset, I don’t mind...um…What kind of emergency?” “I was just checking my email, and I got a message from Pinkie Pie. It says ‘Having a late night party at my house at 2:30 am, bring your friends! It’s gonna be off the chain, for realzies!’ For realzies. There’s only one person I know who says that word. Or, should I say, Siren.” Sunset heard a rustle on the other end. Fluttershy’s voice was now more alert. “Oh, no…you don’t mean…” “I think it’s exactly what it means, Fluttershy,” Sunset affirmed grimly. “Oh my goodness! W-What do we do?” “I need you to phone Rarity for me. Tell her to meet up at Pinkie’s ASAP. I’ll bring the others. It’ll take all of us to bring them down.” Sunset was sure that she heard a parrot squawk on the other end. “Do we bring our instruments?” Fluttershy’s tone had changed from fear to determination, which surprised Sunset a little. “I think we ought to. Oh, and don’t go inside her house until all of us are there.” “I’ll be right there.” After Sunset hung up, she quickly slipped out of her P.Js and struggled to throw on her street clothes while trying to phone Applejack. “I can’t believe we’re stuck out here,” groaned Trixie. She and Rainbow Dash had been walking aimlessly in an unknown neighborhood for quite some time now. They had long lost the thugs that had been chasing them down, but Rainbow knew that it was best to stay low for a while. “Could be worse,” Rainbow said. She rubbed the back of her neck. “Hey, uh…I never really thanked you for helping me back there.” Trixie looked at her, her eyebrows raised in surprise. “So…yeah. Thanks.” Trixie beamed, happy that she was finally being praised, and then cleared her throat. “Yes, well…Trixie always fends for those who are not able to help themselves. I’m just that good.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “And…Trixie also appreciates you helping her over the fence—which is odd, because it is one of my special talents.” The magician uncharacteristically brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “And I would also like to apologize for calling you Rainbow Crash. I admit that was…a bit rash. I just wanted to prove to you how intoxicating that spell was…even though I secretly did want to trap you and your friends under the stage…sorry.” Rainbow Dash sighed. “Don’t worry about it. I know now that it wasn’t all you. I’m sorry for being a little rough on you.” She walked ahead of Trixie and placed her hands on her hips. “But it doesn’t help that we’re in the middle of the suburbs. Where are we?” Trixie pulled out her phone. “Mmm. My GPS says that we’re just outside of Canterlot.” Rainbow whirled around. “You had your phone the whole time?” Trixie glanced up and shrugged indifferently. “Yeah. So?” “Well, that might’ve come in handy in, like, two hours ago, ya think?!” “Who where we gonna call? The police? They all left us long ago, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow face palmed and kept walking straight. “This is just great. It’s the middle of the night…it’s freezing…we’re stuck in the middle of a completely different county, how we even got here, who the heck knows—and those punks are flanking us as we speak. How can this night possibly get any worse?!” Trixie laughed from behind her. Rainbow stopped and turned around again. “What’re you laughing at?” she demanded. Still laughing, Trixie held up her phone. It was a picture of Rainbow Dash pedaling frantically down the street with dozens of cop cars speeding behind her. Her eyes were wild, with a few strands of her hair blowing over her face. Her teeth were gritted in determination, but Rainbow’s expression made it look like she was being chased by the mob rather than the cops. Under the picture where bold white letters that read #GottaGoFast “I look like an idiot,” Rainbow moaned. “Indeed,” Trixie giggled, glancing at the picture once more. “Whoever took this photo has my deepest respect—and what were you thinking? Trying to out-run the police with a bicycle? Hahaha!” “I bet it was Photo Finish,” Rainbow growled. “When I get my hands on her…” “Take a chill pill, Dash. It’s front page news if you ask me. Who could blame her?” Rainbow exhaled sharply and kept walking. “I’ll deal with it later. Right now, use your phone to call one of my soccer teammates. We need a ride. I know ‘em well enough to know that at least half are still up at this hour.” “Oooh, mighty clever, Rainbow Dash, pulling out the perfect excuse to call your boyfriend late at night.” “Soarin’s not my boyfriend,” Rainbow muttered. Trixie glanced up from her screen, smirking. “I didn’t say Soarin.” The multi-haired girl stopped short and growled. “He’s my co-captain, smart one. Ugh, just call him already!” “Hmm, interesting.” “What now?!” Trixie beckoned her over. “Pinkie Pie’s having a late night party tonight.” Rainbow blinked. “What?” She snatched Trixie’s phone. “Gimme that.” “Hey!” Rainbow glared at the message with a slight frown. Pinkie always let people know when her parties were happening ahead of time. Besides, her parents wouldn’t allow this kind of party at 2:30 in the morning. Sure, Pinkie held night parties before, but certainly not this late… “Omigosh,” Rainbow whispered. Trixie tried to peer over her shoulder. “What?” Rainbow left the phone in Trixie’s grasp and started pacing in a tight circle. “Omigosh, omigosh, omigosh! This can’t be happening!” “What?” Trixie demanded, looking over the message again. “What can’t be happening? I don’t get it!” “For realzies!” Rainbow exclaimed, running both hands through her hair. “That girl is at her house, the Sirens are at Pinkie’s house! Oh, that is dirty, going after the youngest—you know what, give me back that phone!” Trixie sighed in exasperation as Rainbow quickly dialed on her smart phone and held it to her ear. “C’mon, pick up pick up pick up…Soarin! It’s Rainbow Dash. Gosh, I’d never thought I’d be so thankful that you’re an insomniac—listen. I really need you to pick me up a little outside of Canterlot. Pinkie Pie’s in trouble…Yeah, the Sirens are at her house right now…..I don’t know! Look, I’m stranded in this neighborhood with Trixie, you gotta come now!” Rainbow scowled. “Will you get your mind out of the gutter, and get over here!” “You sure this’ll work?” Snails asked. He, Snips, Pinkie and Sonata stood at the side of Silver Spoon’s mansion under her window. They had bypassed the security, but that didn’t give them much time. Snips and Snails were dressed in the same outfits they wore for the Battle of the Bands. Pinkie had changed into a blue sweatshirt with a clock hanging around her neck and black baggy pants. She also wore a black fedora on top of her head. Sonata was wearing her purple hoodie and a dark pair of sweat pants. She was back in her signature Ponytail, which miraculously fit under her backwards cap. “Of course it will,” Pinkie assured them brightly. “Give ‘em all you got!” Sonata tossed a small pebble at Silver Spoon’s window under Pinkie’s instruction. Thankfully, the glass didn’t break. Inside the room, the lights went on, and Silver appeared in the window. Her eyes widened at the sight of all these people outside her house and she unlocked the hinges and pushed them open. “What’s going on?” Snips grinned. “Lock your doors, lock your windows, its Snips and Snails in da house!” Snails pressed play on his boom box, and the music started playing. Pinkie & Sonata: Even better than I was the last time baby Snips: And we back! Snails: And we back! Snips: And we back! Snails: And we back! Pinkie & Sonata: Mmmmm….. Snips & Snails: I’m good…. Silver giggled. “Oh, you guys aren’t gonna rap again, are you?” “You bet we are!” Snips shouted with a smile. “’Cause I’ve got somethin’ to say!” Snips: Your eyes just make me anxious; your hair just makes me crazy I’m tryin’ to keep it looser, but I just come out plain lazy But I made you this song, and I’mma make another And if you actually dig this, better watch out for my brother Snails: Better bet he loves you real ‘Cause it’s his heart that you did steal From different mothers, different colors (Pinkie: Better than gold) But he is better than them others He likes you double S, better than glitter Or Did I stutter? Pinkie & Sonata: Even better than I was the last time baby Sonata: Snips ‘n Snails yo… Snips & Snails: I’m good…I’m good All: So good! Silver Spoon clapped her hands rapidly as the quartet took a bow. “Brava!” She laughed. “Brava!” “So Silver…you wanna go out to the movies next Saturday night?” Snips asked hopefully. Silver rubbed her finger against her chin. “Sure,” she decided. “It’s a date! But you might wanna get out of here. They’re gonna call the dogs on you.” Snips cocked an eyebrow. “Dogs?” They suddenly heard barking in the distance and a low masculine voice shouting, “Sic ‘em, boys!” The teens screamed and made a beeline for the car they came in. “WHOOO HOOO!” Rainbow Dash laughed. Soarin blinked the tears out of his eyes due to the speed they were going at. When he found the girls, Rainbow had insisted that she drive, and he regretted that decision quickly. Before Soarin knew it, Rainbow was steering, with him in the middle and Trixie in the back, squeezing the life out of him. It didn’t make things easier when Rainbow’s multicolored hair kept getting in his face. “Dash! Slow down!” Soarin sputtered. Rainbow smirked. “What’s the matter, Soarin? Going too fast for ya?” she teased. “No,” he said defensively. “It’s just that you’re going over the speed limit, and I don’t wanna get a ticket!” “Hmmph. No one’s gonna pull us over tonight. Trust me.” Just then, a car started speeding up towards them. An all too familiar car. “Oh crap,” Rainbow muttered. “They’re back!” Trixie turned her head and gasped. The thugs had found them yet again, and the magician could just barely make out an object that one of the thugs was holding. “Eeek! They’ve got a gun!” she screeched. “Faster, Rainbow Dash!” “What’s going on?!” Soarin screamed. Rainbow gritted her teeth and revved up the engine. “Hang on!” As soon as the words left her lips, the motorcycle shot forward, going far beyond anyone’s speed limit. The houses, trees, and buildings became nothing but a blur. They were going so fast, Soarin nor Trixie could get a word out. All they could do was try to hang on. Unfortunately, the thugs also kicked it up a notch and eventually matched Rainbow’s speed. “Say goodnight, girly!” one laughed, aiming the weapon at her head. Rainbow scowled. “Eat…My…Dust!” With that, she went full throttle, going faster than any motorcycle has gone before. Soarin’s gums started flapping, and the tears came nonstop. Trixie was screaming something, but Soarin could barely hear her over the roar of the engine and the wind. Tears were also leaking out of Rainbow’s eyes, but she firmly kept her gaze locked n the road ahead. The front of the motorcycle started to lift off the ground . Trixie’s heart leapt inside her chest, and was sure that she was going to fall off, when… BOOM! The world exploded with color, and the motorcycle hit the ground again, zooming far into the night, going faster than the speed of sound. Rainbow grinned and shouted “AAAAWWWESOOOOOMME!!!” Trixie inhaled sharply and held onto Soarin for dear life. After a few moments of this, Rainbow realized that they had long lost the thugs, and gradually started to slow down, but still going at a fast pace. Soarin swallowed hard, and managed to catch his breath. “What was that!?” he rasped. “That, my friend,” Rainbow panted, smiling. “Was a Sonic Rainboom…and it was totally rad!” “That was so cool!” Sonata bubbled over. “That was close,” Snails sighed, rubbing his head. “Those dogs pack a wallop,” Snips agreed, rubbing his bottom. Pinkie cruised down the street in Limestone's car with Sonata in the passenger seat and Snips and Snails sat in the back. “But it was worth it! Thanks Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie smiled at him in the rearview mirror. “Anything for a friend! What about you, Snails? Wanna have a go at Apple Bloom’s house?” Snails sat back and yawned. “Can we do it like, say, tomorrow afternoon? I’m bushed.” “Sure we can,” Pinkie agreed. “It is pretty late. We’d better get you boys home before Limestone notices that I took her car.” “Are you sure you’re licensed?” Sonata asked. “I got a permit,” Pinkie said dismissively. “I’m sure it’s fine.” Snips leaned forward in the car. “That was so awesome, what we did back there! We should like, become a group or something! My stage name is ‘Big tasty’.” “And I’m Escargo,” Snails said. Sonata grinned. “Oooh, what a delightful idea! I shall be known as Dirty Fruit Punch Delight!” “And I’ll be Pinkie 3.14,” declared Pinkie. Just then, a blurred object whooshed past them. “Whoa!” Pinkie exclaimed. Sonata sat up in her seat. “What in Equestria was tha—!" BOOM! A rainbow colored explosion blew them back before Sonata could finish. Pinkie hit the brakes, which caused the car to screech across the road before coming to a complete stop. Everyone panted heavily. “Is…everyone okay?” Pinkie asked, looking around at her friends. “I’m good,” Sonata sighed, partly saddened about the loss of her cap. “Same here,” Snails said while Snips gave her two thumbs up. “I never saw anything like that before,” Sonata remarked. “Who was that?” Pinkie leaned out of the car window. “Someone who doesn’t know how to drive!” she growled, shaking her fist. Snips looked around. The mass explosion had caused a lot of damage. Most of the windows on all the houses were blown out, and car alarms started going off. Leaves, sticks, and trashcans littered the once impeccable neighborhood. People started stepping out of their homes, some shouting angrily. “We’d better get outta here,” Snips said, swallowing hard. “I agree,” Sonata said. “Petal that metal!” “You got it!” Pinkie slammed on the accelerator. Unbeknownst to the teenagers, the thugs had been watching them from their car, still reeling from the sonic boom. “That’s her!” Gold tooth shouted. “That’s the blue girl that helped me rob the store!” “We can’t have no witnesses,” A man next to him growled. “Follow that car.” Rarity raced down the sidewalk with her key tar in hand. She was not a runner, especially when carrying an instrument. Nevertheless, she ran as fast as her fabulous boots could carry her. Getting that call from Fluttershy had her more than worried. What her other friends didn’t know, was that she had previously talked to Pinkie and Sonata yesterday, and the Siren did seem friendly, and was ready to turn over a new leaf. She had no idea what happened to the duo after she left them at the mall, but Rarity knew it was safe to assume that Sonata had simply stayed over at Pinkie’s for the night. It was in Pinkie’s nature to take in a friend in need. But what about the other two? Did they find out what was happening and did something to Pinkie? Was Sonata just acting, and it was all part of the plan? Or…what if all the Sirens where just hanging out at Pinkie’s? Rarity shook her head. She didn’t know what to think anymore, but if something did happen to her pink friend…she’d never forgive herself. “Rarity!” The fashionista turned her head to see Fluttershy sprinting up beside her. The girl’s tambourine jingled with every flying step she took. “Oh…hello, Fluttershy,” Rarity panted. “This is just awful,” Fluttershy puffed. “I know the Sirens are evil, but I never would have thought they’d do something like this!” She shook her head. “Poor Pinkie Pie. I wish it were me instead of her.” Rarity bit her lip. “Don’t say that, darling. I’m sure Pinkie’s just fine…I hope.” She threw her friend an uncertain sideways glance. “You don’t think they really did something to Pinkie, do you?” Fluttershy thought for a moment. “I’d…like to think that they didn’t…and I hope they don’t. Who knows what the others might do…who knows what I might do!” The veterinarian shuddered. “I hope it won’t come to that.” Rarity swallowed. She certainly did hope it wouldn’t come to that. Rarity remembered witnessing Fluttershy’s wrath one time, and one time only, and that was four years ago. The outcome didn’t end well for anyone. The two girls finally reached Pinkie’s house to find Sunset Shimmer waiting for them with her green electric guitar in tow. Rarity stopped and looked up at Pinkie’s bedroom window, breathing heavily. “The…the glass is broken!” she gasped. Sunset nodded grimly. “I know. I don’t get how they could’ve fit in through there, but they got in.” Fluttershy gazed up at the broken glass and frowned. The lights were on, but no sounds came from the room. “It seems pretty quiet up there,” she remarked worriedly. Rarity grew impatient. “Where are Rainbow Dash and Applejack?!” As if on cue, Applejack came up around the corner, heaving as she did so. Her clothes and hair were splattered with mud. “A.J.,” Sunset sighed in relief. “Where’s Rainbow Dash? And where’s your bass?” Applejack leaned forward and rested her hands on her knees, still catching her breath. “I…I got good news…and I got bad news.” “What’s the good news?” Rarity asked. “Good news…I…I’ve got my bass…” She straightened up and pulled out her instrument from behind. “Bad news, I got it all muddy. I jumped from the window to sneak out, but I badly misjudged my location and landed in the pig sty.” Rarity’s nose wrinkled in disgust as she watched mud drip down from Applejack’s bass. “Also, I can’t reach Rainbow Dash. I called her five times and texted her, but she won’t answer!” “What?!” The others exclaimed. “Where is she?” Sunset asked. Applejack shook her head. "I don’t know. Me and Rarity were with her at the mall yesterday—she said she was going home, didn’t she?” Rarity nodded. Fluttershy tapped her chin. “She must have gone on a late night bike ride. She does that a lot on the weekends.” Rarity sighed. “Well, that doesn’t help Pinkie Pie. What are we going to do now?” Sunset narrowed her eyes. “Plan B…” Limestone stretched out on the couch and yawned when she heard someone pounding on the door. She moaned and rolled over. “Pinkie? Pinkie, can you get that? Someone’s at the door, and I don’t wanna get up…Pinkie?” The pounding intensified. “Anyone?” No answer. Limestone gave an exaggerated sigh and jumped off the couch. She marched angrily to the door and cracked it open. “What?” A girl with red and yellow hair peeked at her with urgent eyes. “Hi. We need you to let us in, please.” “Excuse me?” “No time to explain!” Without warning, the Rainbooms burst in through the door and charged up the stairs. “Hey!” Limestone yelled. “Sorry!” Fluttershy called over her shoulder. Adagio growled and threw her phone on Pinkie’s bed in frustration. She had washed her face clean from the makeup, but she was still in an irritated mood. “Idiots! Everyone on this planet are complete idiots!” “What now?” Aria sighed, flipping through a magazine. “I tried to call 911, and it went straight to voicemail. Voicemail!” Aria, however, found that amusing. “Heaven forbid, we would’ve had a real crisis on our hands,” she said sarcastically. “This is a real crisis! Complete strangers are looking inside Pinkie’s bedroom. What does that tell you?” “Her milkshake brings all the boys to the yard?” Before Adagio can give a heated response, the door burst open, and the Rainbooms, led by Sunset Shimmer, barreled right in, holding up their instruments threateningly. “Surprise, mother--!" Adagio shrieked and involuntarily threw a pillow at them. Aria glowered at them. “What are you doing here?” Rarity let out an indignant sound. “What are we doing here? What are you doing here?” “And what’d you do to Pinkie?” Applejack demanded. Aria lifted her eyebrows. “What’re you talking about?” Fluttershy suddenly snapped and she darted forward without warning and grabbed Aria by the shirt. “You know exactly what we’re talking about!” she hissed. “What did you do with our friend?!?” Aria and Adagio gasped at Fluttershy’s sudden outburst. This couldn’t be the meek and timid girl they saw on stage…could it? Aria lifted her shaking hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, easy! We didn’t do anything to her, I swear!” “She invited us over for a sleepover, and she randomly left with Sonata somewhere,” Adagio said quickly. “We don’t know where she is!” The Rainbooms seemed to consider this. Fluttershy slowly released Aria and backed up. “How do we know you’re not lying?” Sunset asked, still suspicious. Aria dusted herself off and rolled her eyes. “Her sisters would have our heads if we were.” The girls glanced at one another, realizing that this was true. Sunset and Rarity lowered their instruments. Fluttershy relaxed. Aria looked behind them and saw Applejack holding up a lit scented candle. “What were you planning to do with that?” The others turned towards the blonde and gave her curious looks. Applejack blushed and blew out the candle. “It was the only thing I saw as a weapon and grabbed it.” She looked around the room. “What? Ya’ll have any idea how much I paid for that bass?” Suddenly, Marble appeared in the room. “What now?” She gasped when she saw all seven girls in her sister’s room. “All right. That’s it. Everyone, follow me, now!” Marble exited the room and the rest reluctantly followed her. The bandaged girl led them all down the hallway to her room and opened the door. “Apparently, this has become a problem,” she said, escorting all of Pinkie’s friends inside. She placed her hands on her hips, looking at them disapprovingly. “Look, I know you’re all Pinkie's friends, but this is getting out of hand! Look at me! I got a rock to the face. The face! You can’t all just waltz in threatening people with instruments and candlesticks in two in the morning! Now—" Just then, Limestone burst in and held up her phone angrily. “What’s this about a party at our house?!” Marble blinked. “Party? What party?” Adagio sighed. “Look, it was the dork’s idea, not ours.” Marble threw up her hands. “Great! Just great! Now a bunch of High school students are gonna be here expecting a party! And since Pinkie’s gone, we’re going to have to set it up!” She grabbed Adagio’s arm and started pulling her out of the room. “Hey! What are you doing?” Adagio protested. “Since you seem to be in charge of your little posse, I think it’s fair that you help me with the decorations. There’s supplies in Pinkie’s room, come on!” Limestone clicked her tongue. “I’m not a part of this.” With that said, she went back downstairs. The remaining girls stood there silently. Rarity plopped onto Marble’s bed, exhausted. “Well, this rescue mission has gone down south,” she sighed. Fluttershy fiddled with her skirt. “Well…the least we can do is help them set up.” “Sure,” Applejack said with a nod. “I’ll help.” “We’ll all help,” Sunset agreed. Then she threw a pointed gaze at Aria. “Won’t we?” Aria polished her nails against her pajamas and inspected them. “Does overseeing count as helping?” Everyone frowned. Rainbow Dash and company came to an abrupt stop in front of Pinkie’s house. The guitarist jumped off the motorcycle and started bounding towards the front door. “C’mon, let’s go!” Soarin immediately followed suit, but Trixie was not so quick to recover. She slowly lowered her wobbly legs to the ground. “Not a moment’s rest,” she sighed. Standing up, she wiped her eyes and stumbled after the other two. Rainbow sprinted up the porch steps and pounded on the front door. “Open up! Let us in, open up!” She kept pounding on the door until it flew open and she was suddenly face to face with Limestone. “What do you want?” Without a word, Rainbow pushed past her, and rushed inside the house with Soarin and Trixie at her heels. “Okay. Sure! Go ahead!” Limestone yelled after them, throwing up her arms. “Come right in, I’ll make you some cookies while you're at it!” *** “It’s only fair that you help, Aria,” Rarity lectured. “If you want to turn over a new leaf, it would be best to—“ Rarity was cut off by thundering footsteps and a loud bang! Adagio’s scream pierced the air, followed by a sickening crunch. Everyone’s heart fell inside their stomachs. Aria’s mouth fell open. “Adagio?” she and the Rainbooms raced across the hall. When they entered Pinkie’s room, they gasped at what they saw. Rainbow Dash and Trixie were standing there, looking horrified. Soarin was also there, his foot having smashed through a bag of chips. “You jerk, we just bought those!” Marble wailed. Soarin winced. “Sorry about that.” Adagio had her fists risen, her chest heaving. Aria and the Rainbooms exhaled deeply in sweet, sweet relief. “What the heck, Adagio!” Aria glowered. “Why did you scream like that?!” Adagio blinked and lowered her fists. “Well, wouldn’t you, if a bunch of people just burst in here unannounced?” The girls suddenly noticed Rainbow, Soarin, and Trixie’s appearances. Their hair wild and unkempt and their faces slightly paled. They also looked like they had been crying. “What happened to you guys?” Applejack asked, concerned. “You don’t want to know,” Trixie muttered. Rainbow Dash looked back at her friends. “Oh, good, you guys are here. Now we can all kick their butts!” she quickly advanced on Adagio. “Where’s Pinkie Pie!” Applejack quickly stepped forward and held her back. “Easy there, Rainbow. They’re here on good terms. They mean no harm.” Rainbow looked at the farm girl as if she was an alien from space. “What? And you believed them? Come on! They’re obviously putting up a front!” “No they’re not,” Applejack said calmly. “They’ve apologized—in their own way—and we’re going to try to make friends. Right?” “Like heck we are!” Rainbow shouted. “I’d rather eat dirt than make friends with them! Let me at ‘em, let me at ‘em!” “Ooo, attitude,” Aria mused. “Is that a threat?” “Oh, that’s not a threat, it’s a promise!” Adagio folded her arms and smirked. “Aren’t you the little firecracker? Better keep hold to her, ladies. She’s bound to pop a vessel any moment now.” Sunset quickly grabbed Rainbow’s other arm. Aria gave Soarin a once-over. “Hey, good-lookin.’ Come here often?” Rainbow Dash flushed bright red. Soarin lifted his eyebrows. “Do I come often into Pinkie’s bedroom? No, not really.” “That’s it!” Rainbow shouted. “You’re gonna get it, you overgrown seahorse!” Adagio’s eyes widened. “Oh, she did not just say that!” Aria, however, didn’t respond to the insult. She bent forward, clutching her stomach. “Ohh… oh, no…” Adagio looked down at her. “What?” Aria made a pained sound and bit down on her lip, hard. “T-Too much…Hot Sauce!” A gurgling sound came from her stomach and she bolted out of the room, moaning in pain. Rainbow Dash burst out laughing. “That’s what you get!” The doorbell rang. “Oh, no!” Marble gasped. “They’re here!” Limestone groaned loudly for the umpteenth time. “Why can’t everyone just go to bed? Who in their right mind…” Learning her lesson from the last two times, she peered in through the peephole and saw tons of teenagers lined up all the way to the other side of the street, chattering and whooping, geared up for a great party. Limestone gasped and cracked the door open just a hair. “No! Go home! There’s no way--!” People began pushing against the door, the cheering growing louder. Limestone panicked and threw her back against the door, her socks digging into the carpet. “You cannot pass!” she cried desperately. “Our parents are gonna kill us!” Her voice was lost in the shouts of the crowd, and the door was opening wider by the second. “YOU SHALL NOT PASS! GAAAHH!” The crowd burst in, running her over in the process. “Limestone!” Marble cried from the top of the stairs. “NOOOOOO!!!” In just five minutes, the Pie household was filled with partying teenagers, blaring music, and blinding techno lights. Limestone and Marble were positively livid, Maud was curiously absent, and the twins were asleep in Limestone’s room, oblivious to the chaos unfolding. All the while, the Rainbooms and Soarin were all scrambling to set up food, drinks, and other party supplies. Adagio helped out as well, under the strict surveillance of Sunset and Applejack. Aria was still occupied inside the bathroom. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy gingerly made their way down the staircase holding a large punchbowl while trying to avoid the kids hanging out on the railing. “But Rainbow Dash, maybe they really are trying to make amends,” Fluttershy said. Rainbow shook her head. “How do we know for sure we can trust them? This could be some elaborate plan to bring the whole student body here and put them under their spell.” They stepped off the stairs and set the bowl onto a table. “Bottom line, something’s up.” “Hey Dash!” a random guy laughed. “You became a meme!” Rainbow’s face scrunched up and turned her head towards the voice. “I’M AWARE!” she screamed. Fluttershy suppressed a chuckle. “I’d thought you’d be excited about that.” “Uh, did you see the picture? Besides, if my dad sees that meme, I’m in huge trouble.” Fluttershy gently placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Rainbow Dash, I think we should give them a benefit of a doubt. Remember what happened with Sunset Shimmer?” The cyan girl chewed her lip and shuffled her feet. “Yeah…but…that’s different. She’s a pony. Those girls are Sirens. They’re meant to be evil!” “I think even Sirens deserve a second chance, don’t you?” Rainbow opened her mouth, but then closed it. She leaned her head back and sighed. “Okay. I’ll give 'em a shot. But one slip up and they’re outta here! Got it?” Fluttershy squeed and hugged her tightly. “Yay.” Pinkie Pie and the others drove by her neighborhood on the way to Snails’ house, since he lived only five blocks down from her street. As they rode through the streets, they began to hear loud music and erratic chatter. They soon came across Pinkie’s house. Techno lights beamed from all the doors and windows and there were several students hanging out in the front of the house drinking punch. The front door was open, giving them a view of the massive crowd that was inside the living room. Pinkie slammed on the brakes and leaned out of the window, gaping at the scene. “What the H E double hockey stick is this!?” “Cool!” Snips grinned. “I didn’t know you were having a party here, Pinkie!” “I didn’t know I was having a party here! What’s going on?” “Oh, no,” Sonata moaned. “In all the excitement, I totally forgot to tell you! We wanted to make up for almost destroying the school, so I invited everyone here for a party on your laptop so they could maybe make up with each other!” Pinkie turned her head. “That sounds like a great idea, Sonata, but I really wish that you would’ve asked me first.” “I know,” Sonata sulked. “And I’m really sorry. For now on, I’ll ask before I do things on a whim like that—especially when it concerns your home.” Pinkie grinned. “See! Look at you, you learned something about friendship!” Sonata blinked. “I did?” Pinkie leaned over and gave her a hug. “Yes! I’m so proud! And don’t worry, we’ll figure something out.” Pinkie carefully steered into the driveway where at least ten teenagers were already goofing off. “Yo, man, get out the way!” Snips yelled. “Better move!” Snails chimed in. The Teenagers looked up and quickly moved out of the way so that Pinkie could park. They all piled out of the car and made their way to the front door, when they were stopped by a tall teenager with a strong build and sunglasses. “Whoah, whoah, whoah,” he said, holding out a hand in front of Pinkie. “Who are you, and what’s your business here?” Pinkie’s eyes widened. “What are you talking about, this is my house!” “Likely story.” “Of course it is! And who are you! You don’t go to Canterlot High!” “That’s none of your business, lady. I can’t let a bunch of gangsters into this house.” “Gangsters?!” Pinkie shouted. She looked down at her hip hop clothes and then looked at the others wearing similar punked out clothing. “Whattaya talking about, we ain’t gangsters!” Snips argued, straightening his cap. “We were performing a rap for Silver Spoon earlier,” Sonata explained. “And that required certain attire of clothing. Surely you understand.” The teen scoffed at them. “Yeah, right. I suggest you run along before I break all your bones. All I’m sure you’ll miss.” Pinkie sniffled and clutched her elbow. “Not my funny bone…” Sonata scowled and lunged forward, grabbing the teen by the collar. “You listen, and you listen good, you little Parasprite! This is my friend’s house, and you’re going to let us in, OR ELSE! I was pretty ruthless in Equestria, and I’m plenty ruthless now! I could destroy you without breaking a sweat! You wanna die by post it? ‘Cause I could make that happen! And that’s a slow death! That gangster enough for you?” The teen gulped. “Y-You can come in!” He stepped aside as the Siren released him. “Please! A-After you!” Sonata beamed. “Thank you!” she sang. “C’mon, guys!” They entered the house, which was positively fired up from all the excitement. 500, maybe 610 teenagers were scattered throughout the house. “Good gravy,” Pinkie said in awe. “I…I don’t even know all these people!” “Pinkie Pie!” The group turned to see the Rainbooms and the Sirens rushing over to them. “Oh, Pinkie,” Fluttershy said as they all hugged the party planner. “We were all so worried!” The Sirens ran over to Sonata. “Where did you go?” Adagio demanded. Rarity wrinkled her nose. “And why are you all dressed like that?” Rainbow folded her arms, taking it all in. “It’s like someone swallowed the 90’s and barfed it up on you!” Aria let out a laugh. “Right?” Rainbow looked pleased that someone got her sense of humor. “We were out running an errand,” Pinkie said dismissively. “What’re you guys doing here?” Sunset spoke up. “We saw the message that said you were having a party. When it said ‘For realzies’ we got worried.” “Oops!” Sonata chuckled. “That’s so sweet!” Pinkie gushed. “I’m fine, although I don’t know how my sisters are taking this.” “Not very well,” Applejack said. “They’re doing as much as they can to keep this party goin’ though.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “And so have we. Even Trixie’s trying to entertain people with her magic tricks.” Snips gasped. “Dude, Trixie’s doing magic!” He and Snails took off without another word. Maud suddenly appeared next to them, making Sunset gasp. “Pinkie, what are all these people doing here?” “Uhhh…heh…I can explain. Uhhh…” “Pinkie,” Maud droned, “I know you love having parties, but it’s very early in the morning, and if something gets damaged, mom and dad won’t be happy. At least move these people out back until four.” Pinkie nodded vigorously. “Okay. Will do. Sorry about this, Maud!” “Where are your parents?” Aria asked as Maud left. “They’re geologists. They went down south to assist some harvesters.” Applejack put her hands on her hips. “Welp. You heard her. We need to get these people outside. Any ideas?” “You could bring them out with music,” Rarity suggested. “Where’s Vinyl?” Pinkie shook her head. “Oh, no. Vinyl’s not here.” “Why ever not?” “She’s still in the hospital,” Sunset explained, rolling her eyes. “She got hit by an ambulance, of all things.” “What?! Oh, the poor dear!” “Oh, she’s fine, she just has a few broken bones, but they’ll heal in about two weeks.” Just then, Cheese Sandwich waltzed in holding a box of doughnuts. “I heard there’s a party going on in here!” he declared, shutting the door behind him. He stopped short when he saw the Dazzlings watching him. He stared back for a moment. “What the FUGDESICLE!!!” he yelled, throwing the doughnuts on the floor. Pinkie rushed over to him. “It’s okay, Cheese, they’re with us now.” “Really? Oh.” He smiled at them. “Hello, then!” Sonata raised her hand. “Uh, aren’t you guys…you know…a band?” Everyone paused for a minute, and then groaned in realization. “Duh!” Pinkie laughed. “Why didn’t we think of that?” Sunset moaned. “Uh, hello! I don’t have my guitar!” Rainbow frowned. “Don’t worry, Dashie, I have spare guitars all around the house for guitar emergencies! Let’s start setting up in the back yard!” “I’ll help!” Cheese volunteered. “Great!” Pinkie chirped as the rest of her friends ran out the backdoor. “Sonata, could you please order some pizza? I don’t think we have enough food.” “I love Pizza!” Sonata grinned. “Leave it to me!” A random girl that Pinkie didn’t recognize came up to them and offered them strangely colored beverages. “Hey, wanna do some Jello shots?” Sonata beamed. “I love Jell-O!” Pinkie scowled and pushed the drinks away. “No! Drinking is bad, and you should feel bad!” she yelled, chasing the girl away. As soon as Pinkie and Cheese left, she managed to find a telephone and a phone book, and flipped through the pages. “Oooh, this looks perfect!” She dialed the number and waited. It wasn’t long before someone picked up. “F-Franny Fazbear’s Pizza,” a shaky voice said. “Oh good, you’re open! Gosh, that name sounds familiar. Anyway, I’d like two dozen pizza boxes delivered to Graphite Avenue, please!” After a pause, the voice said “We’re…not open…and I can’t deliver right now.” “What do you mean, you can’t deliver? What kind of Pizza joint is this? And if you’re not open, why are you still there?” “I-I’m a security guard, miss. Now please—" “If delivery’s a problem, you know, I could come over there and—" “No! No, you can’t come here. Not right now. Please.” “Why not?” “Because. You just can’t. I-I gotta get off now, I’m wasting power.” “Wow, you must have made a poor career choice. Get another job, dude! Bye.” As soon as Sonata hung up, she scanned through the phone book again, when someone knocked on the door. She went to the door and opened it, revealing Mr. Cranky standing there in his bathrobe looking very tired and irritated. “Hello,” he said in his gruff voice. “I came to tell you that it’s three in the morning.” “Thank you,” Sonata said, closing the door on him. Out in the backyard, the stage had been set up and the Rainbooms tuned their instruments. “Alright guys,” Rainbow said, lightly strumming the spare guitar. “Let’s do this!” Sunset craned her neck. “Bring them out, Cheese!” Cheese Sandwich gave them two thumbs up from the house and pulled out a megaphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please!” People turned to Cheese and began to step outside onto the backyard. “Here to sing for your listening pleasure, give it up for the talented, the radical, the oh-so bodacious RAAAAIIINBOOOOOMSSS!!!” Pinkie tapped her drumsticks together. “One! Two! Three!” They launched into an upbeat version of “Shake your Tail,” and this time around, they were all smiles. Everyone had filled the backyard by the second verse. All around, people were laughing about how silly they acted and danced with each other, the pain of the Battle temporarily forgotten. “I’m sorry I acted like such a jerk to you when we lost!” Bon Bon shouted to her friend. Lyra grinned. “I’m sorry I farted into your purse!” “What was that?” “Uh, nothing!” When the song ended, the students erupted into cheers. Other students who didn’t attend Canterlot High were pleasantly surprised of how talented the Rainbooms were. Derpy rushed onto the stage and gave Rainbow Dash a hug. “Oh Dash, I’m really sorry that I told everyone about that skateboard crash of ’07! And I’m sorry that I laughed when you accidentally left your first tampon floating in the pool at Carrot Top’s birthday party and let it slip afterwards…” She then noticed that there was a microphone in front of her. She smiled warily. “Aaaaaand I’m sorry for repeating it now.” Rainbow face palmed. “It’s…okay, Derpy.” “That was you?!” Carrot Top’s angry voice yelled out. “Well, in the spirit of putting things out in the open, I’m sorry that I hit you on the head with my bow,” Octavia said to Flash. “Even if I did slightly enjoy it.” “I’m sorry that I’m so great and powerful,” Trixie said, ashamed. “I’m sorry that you’re all such dweebs,” said Gilda. “She doesn’t even go here!” a voice cried. Pinkie Pie recognized it as Sonata. Sunset Shimmer turned to Gilda, confused. “Do you even go to this school?” Gilda shook her head. “Na.” “Half of us don’t go to Canterlot High,” Lightning Dust said. “We’re just here for the party.” Pinkie Pie left her place at the drums and hopped down behind the stage where she found the Dazzlings hiding behind some bushes. “Hey, what’re you guys doing back here? You should be enjoying the party!” “Yeah, that’s not such a good idea,” Aria said. “How do you think they’ll react once we show up?” “But, look! Everyone’s apologizing! What better time than now to explain how you’ve changed, and how you’ve planned this party to make up for it all?” The Dazzlings looked at each other, still doubtful. Pinkie smiled and stretched out her hands. “Come on. I’ll go up with you.” The Dazzlings reluctantly followed Pinkie onto the stage. The other Rainbooms notice this and stepped aside to let them through. The audience gasped when they saw the villains that had almost ripped the student body apart. Sonata clutched Pinkie’s hand as the drummer stepped up to the microphone. “Hi, everyone. I know you may or may not be on great terms with the Dazzlings right now, but I think you should know that they’re sorry and they want to make up for what they did. In fact, this whole party was their idea of bringing you all together again.” Murmurs of surprise and doubt ripple through the crowd. Pinkie spoke again. “But I think it’s best if you hear it from them.” She stepped back and gave the Sirens a nod of encouragement. After a moment’s pause, Adagio stepped up to the microphone. She looked out at the sea of faces, who were all glaring back at her menacingly. The Siren looked to her left where Sunset stood and saw her mouth the words From the heart. Adagio sighed. “When we came to this world, our key to regaining our full power was feeding off of negative energy from humans. It wasn’t really personal on your part…It was what we did best. I realize what we did to you was wrong.” Sonata stepped forward and spoke next. “We learned that friendship is, like, sooooo much better than power. And we’re like so sorry that we hypnotized you and all, but, you know, you guys are used to that by now, right? No offence, Sunset!” “None taken.” Aria rolled her eyes and pushed Sonata way from the microphone. “What she means is that we won’t be doing this sort of thing again. We were taken in by some pretty cool people.” She snorted. “I can’t believe it started because of Pinkie buying Sonata some bras!” “What?” most students said. “She said my name right!” Pinkie cheered. “Whoo hoo!” Sonata grabbed the microphone again. “And to celebrate, we’re going to sing a song just for you!” The crowd tensed apprehensively. Aria’s eyes narrowed. “Song? What song?” Sonata only smiled and batted her eyelashes in response. Aria’s pupils dilated. “Oh, no. No no no, not that song. No!” “You can’t be serious!” Adagio frowned. “It’s sappy!” “It’s pure!” “It’s beautiful! Come on girls, let’s do it!” Sonata gave a nod to the Rainbooms, and they started to play a soft, mellow tune. The blue Siren grinned as she sang the first line. Three little birds sat on my window And they told me I don’t need to worry Aria crossed her arms and grumbled out the next verse. Summer comes like cinnamon, so sweet Little girls Double Dutch on the concrete Adagio sighed heavily. Maybe sometimes we feel afraid but it’s alright The more things change the more they stay the same Oh, don’t you think it’s strange? The crowd began to smile as the Dazzlings continued to sing. They were still good singers, just not as hypnotizing as before. By the time the song was finished, they all cheered, and told them they were great. The Dazzlings flushed with pride. “YAY!” Pinkie cheered, giving them all a big hug. “I knew you could do it!” “That was our best performance yet!” Sonata beamed. After all the congratulations were said, they all stepped off the stage to take a break while Flash and his band took over. The girls had all spread out and started to mingle with everyone else. As Pinkie and Sonata got closer to the house, the sound of the doorbell reached their ears. “That must be the pizza!” Sonata said, rushing inside the house. “Oh! I’ll come with you!” Pinkie said, bolting after her. When they both reached the living room, Pinkie cracked the front door open to reveal a scruff looking man holding a bunch of pizza boxes. “Delivery,” he chimed. “Per-fect! Come on in!” Pinkie sang, opening the door further. As soon as she did so, a bunch of dark figures emerged from behind the man. Before either girl could react, they felt themselves being yanked outside. Sonata screamed when she saw a familiar face. “P-Pinkie, that’s the guy I helped rob the store!” “Alright, ladies,” the leader said, cocking his gun. “I think it’s time we end this little charade, don’t you?” The thugs behind Pinkie and Sonata forced them on their knees. “How about we make a deal? You tell me where the girl with silver hair and the girl with multicolored hair are at, and we’ll end your lives quickly.” Pinkie glared up at the thug, baring her teeth. “We’ll never tell!” “Yeah!” Sonata growled. “Okay then…” He held the gun in Sonata’s direction, and glared at Pinkie. “Let me rephrase that. You tell me where they are, or I’ll kill her.” Sonata scoffed. “Ha! You can’t kill me, I’m immortal!” Pinkie looked at her, surprised. “Are you really?” “No.” Suddenly, Rainbow Dash rushed out into the yard and gasped. “Let ‘em go, dirt bags!” she yelled. Before anyone could react, she punched one thug in the mouth, knocking his front tooth loose. Trixie poked her head out of the house. “Hey what—oh. Oh my.” The leader had raised his gun towards Rainbow, but Trixie was right there, throwing her full weight against him, knocking him to the ground, the weapon falling out of his hand. “Aww, yeah!” Rainbow grinned, and swung her guitar at the other thugs. Pinkie and Sonata leapt into action and joined in the clobbering of the thugs. Snips and Snails came out of the house to see what all the commotion was about. “Sweet!” Snips exclaimed when he saw the epic fight raging on before them. “Dude, this is heavy,” Snails murmured. “We should probably call the police or something, eh?” “Yeah, we should.” They watched as Pinkie kicked one thug in the groin. “OOOOHHH!” they exclaimed. Snips raised his fists. “We will, we will, rock you, sock you, pick you up and drop you, put you in the toilet, you will enjoy it!” “Dude, nice!” Suddenly, the rest of the Rainbooms and Dazzlings emerged from the house. “Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy cried. Sunset, Applejack, Aria and Adagio didn’t say anything. They simply cracked their knuckles and promptly joined the fighting. Rarity calmly removed both her earrings and placed them in Snails hands. “Hold these for me, darling.” Then she raised her key tar and screamed as she charged into the growing brawl. Just then, dozens of police cars appeared in front of the house, sirens wailing, lights flashing. "It's the man!" Rainbow shouted. Fluttershy squeaked. “And that’s my cue to leave!” She turned to run, but Snips grabbed her by the arm. Policemen and women piled out of their vehicles and spilled out onto the front yard, drawing their weapons and screaming at the thugs to get down on the ground. There was no need, however, since they were already lying on the ground in pain. Hearing the commotion, all the party guests came out of the house gasping at the sight before them. “What happened?” Tennis Match asked. Rainbow stood up and gave a confident smirk. “We just drop kicked them into next week, that’s what happened!” “You again!” officer Shield exclaimed. He noticed Sonata standing there. “And you! You where the one that helped rob the store, didn’t you?” Sonata gulped. “Well—I—uh—“ “Oh, don’t you start that!” Trixie growled. She turned to the crowd. “Trixie and Rainbow Dash were incarcerated tonight because we’re blue!” The crowd gasped in horror. “Hey, what’s wrong with bein’ blue, huh?” Snips said angrily. “That’s profiling!” Mystery Mint shouted. “This is an outrage!” Colgate screamed. “I’m offended!” Lyra huffed. Bon Bon glanced at her friend and frowned. “Lyra…you’re green!” “I’m turquoise! Gosh!” Officer Shield held up his hands. “H-Hey, it was nothing personal! They just…happened to fit a profile!” Voices rose in anger. “Okay, okay fine! Just forget it!” “Wait a minute, how did you know when to get here?” Rarity asked. “No one called the police as of late.” “I did,” Adagio said. “Someone was peeking inside Pinkie’s window.” “I did!” Cranky yelled from next door. “Oh, Cranky, you promised you wouldn’t!” his wife Matilda cried. Cranky shrugged. "Like a good neighbor," Pinkie grumbled. One officer peered at his notes. “Actually, we got a call from a mister Macintosh reporting his little sister missing.” Applejack rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone. Fifteen minutes had passed. Arrests had been made. Some teenagers were questioned, and some decided it was best to just go home before they were stopped. Ambulances had arrived, attending to those who had gotten injured during the fight. The News crew had showed up, and a reporter was interviewing Adagio, who looked slightly disheveled, but angry all the same. “So, Adagio, can you tell me what happened here tonight?” the reporter asked, holding out her microphone. Adagio put one hand on her hip. “Well, apparently, we have a peeping Tom on Graphite Avenue. He’s climbing in your windows, trying to sneek a peek!” She glared into the camera. “You know, whoever you are, you should be ashamed of yourselves! You don’t have to come and confess! We’re looking for you! What did you think; there were at least seven girls inside the house at the time, and you completely ruled out the possibility that we would see you? You are so dumb! You are really dumb! For real!” "Run and tell that, homeboy!" Applejack said as she walked past. Snips and Snails were watching from a few feet behind Adagio, blushing. “We should go,” Snips whispered. “Yeah, let’s go.” Rainbow Dash leaned back on her beanbag and exhaled shortly while holding her bottle of cider. “That escalated quickly,” she remarked, realizing it herself. “I mean, that really got outta hand, fast!” The others around her nodded and murmured in agreement. It had been several hours since the incident. The thugs had been arrested, and everyone had gone home, although most had stayed to help clean up the party mess. Limestone and Marble had collapsed from exhaustion in the living room, and Maud had went to bed herself, but not before promising a long talk with Pinkie later on. Now, the Rainbooms and the Dazzlings were all wearing spare pajamas, preparing for bed. Everyone was far too tired to try to go home, so they decided to have a sleepover for real. The Twins had woken up and joined them because of all the excitement. Sunset Shimmer watched as Aria read a bedtime story to the kids. “And so, as punishment for her crimes, the evil Queen had to wear hot iron slippers from the fire on her feet and they made her dance in them until she fell to the floor, dead. The End.” Pumpkin frowned. “I don’t think that’s how Snow White’s supposed to end.” Pinkie glanced at her laptop one last time. Another meme had been made. It was a picture of Pinkie, Sonata, Rainbow Dash, Trixie, Snips and Snails posing above and around the thugs restrained by police cuffs. Under the picture, it captioned We didn’t choose the thug life. The thug life chose us. Rarity was braiding Adagio’s hair on Pinkie's bed. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to work with this hair,” she said gleefully. “Would you mind terribly if I straightened it tomorrow? Or should I say, later today?” Sunset glanced at her watch. It was seven in the morning. She stretched her arms above her head. “I can’t believe this all happened in one night.” “I can’t believe we were up all night,” Fluttershy yawned, resting her head on Pinkie’s back. Rainbow glanced at Applejack who was lying on the floor with her eyes closed. She smirked. “Don’t tell me you’re going to sleep already, are you, A.J.?” Applejack opened one eye and smiled. “I’m not ‘sleep, I’m just resting my eyes.” “I think we should all start resting our eyes,” Rarity said tiredly. “I’ve lost enough beauty sleep already.” Sonata, who sat next to Pinkie, widened her eyes as she read the morning paper. “The humans have done it again,” she said disbelievingly, her eyes scanning over the obituaries. “Every day, it seems, that humans die in alphabetical order!” Everyone in the room stared at her. The blue Siren looked up. “What?” “Go back to sleep Sonata,” Aria grumbled, laying her head on a pillow. Everyone started to lie down. “You know, some people didn’t come to the party,” Sonata said. “We’re going to have to face them on Monday, won’t we?” “You won’t be alone!” Pinkie encouraged. Rainbow nodded. “That’s right. If you run into trouble, they’ll have to deal with us.” “We’ll face them together,” Sunset smiled. “Well said, Bacon head,” Aria complimented. Sunset rolled her eyes playfully. “Oooh, Bacon head, I’ve never heard that one before.” She paused. “I never actually have heard that one before.” Sonata smiled at her pink friend as they lie down next to each other. “Thanks for believing in me, Pinkie,” she whispered. “You’re welcome Sonata,” Pinkie whispered back with a yawn. “I’m glad you’re my friend. Goodnight.” “Night!” Sunset watched as her friends went to bed, one by one. Something clicked in her mind, and she pulled out her book and a pen and started writing. Dear Princess Twilight, Nothing could compare to the trauma I have faced in seven hours, three minutes, and fourteen seconds. The Dazzlings, though, I’m happy to report have reformed, and they are fully ready to learn about the importance of the magic of friendship. I can’t go into full detail of what happened as of now, but what I can tell you about what I’ve learned… Rainbow Dash grunted turned to her side and practically jumped out of her skin when she saw Sonata staring at her. “Gah!” Aria lifted her head. “Sonata sleeps with her eyes open sometimes. It’s completely normal. It’ll pass in a few minutes.” Rainbow nodded slowly. “Ah…okay.” “G’night, Renee.” “Yeah, good night…Renee?” I’ve learned that even the harshest of villains have some good in them, and that everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt. Remind you of anyone? I also learned that everyone could use a friend, especially in the darkest of times. I have Pinkie Pie to thank for that. When a friend needs a bra, you rise to the occasion. (I’ll explain that to you later.) Despite all of this, I know this can’t even compare to the Trials and Tribulations you and your friends face daily in Equestria. But the lessons still ring true here on earth. Our friendship is what keeps us going, and we never have to compete with each other’s affection. This isn’t the Friendship Games or anything! Your Faithful Student, Sunset Shimmer