A Small Drop

by Glitch Hooves

First published 19th of April, 2015

A small baby Squirt manages to find its way into an entirely new world, somehow. Without anywhere else to turn to, someone takes him in. Well at the very least he's in good company, right?

Major spoilers for the game Bastion. This is a basic recap of the story. you have been warned!

Caelondia, once the most beautiful city in the land, reduced to rubble. When the Calamity struck, took the floor out from under us. Now everything seemed to be floating high in the sky. Only thing down was a seemingly endless tumble.

Windbags took over what remains of Caelondia, too bad it ain't much. The wild unknown was growing wild once more. The Ura, our pale neighbors to the east, they got every right to be mad. After all, we were the ones who planned the Calamity. Now all that's left of Caelondia, is the Bastion. The kid kept at it, finding cores, aged pieces of stones from Burstone Quarry, they used to power what was once Caelondia, now they're going to bring everything back.

Over time though, he finds others. Down in the Hanging Gardens, he finds Zulf. Zulf was an Ura man, he lost everything to the Calamity. In Prosper Bluff, he finds another Ura, her name was Zia, she was a musician, played her own little Harp-Guitar.

I swear every time the kid came back from finding a core, he brings back all sorts of creatures with him. He brought with him a baby Squirt, a Pecker bird, and even to my surprise an Anklegator. Even managed to fix up an idol of Pyth the Bull.

Lots happened since then, Zulf betrayed us, betrayed the Bastion. Soon he and his countrymen went to finish it off. Ain't for the critters, kid may have been to late to save it. Shame we lost em to the Ura's blades.

The kid did it though, he made his way to the Tazal Terminals, the Ura's home city, a network of underground tunnels. It was cast to the stars in the Calamity. The Ura weren't too happy when the kid began to make a ruckus in their own home. They switched that anger to the man who brought the kid there,

Zulf.

They turned on him, beat him till he was red and blue. Then they left him for dead in the snow, hardly believed it when kid brought it in himself to save the man. Bet he had to do more than say please that time.

Now here we are, The Bastion is complete. Kid just needs to pull that switch, and everything will turn back to normal. Don't worry, everyone will be alright. Things will go back to the way they used to be. All that needs to be done, is for the kid to pull that switch.

Caelondia, we're coming home.

Takes place a month after Rainbow Rocks, and after the first restoration ending in Bastion.

Rated teen now for language and darker themes.

Cover art is something I whipped up in Photoshop on short notice.

Dividing Rifts

The main doors to Canterlot high burst open as the final bell rung out. A large mass of students broke out, and poured down the steps and into the courtyard. From their they filled the sidewalks and made their treks to each of their own homes to plan for the weekend. They waited five whole days for this and now they can spend it relaxing or having fun with friends. Once the main courtyard was devoid of any life, and the sidewalk began to clear up, details could be made out of any individual. Rather than the giant thriving mass that was once a large number of high school students.

One certain student was walking with a little more enthusiasm than the rest. Walking as if listening to a song in her head, she continued down the sidewalk, no destination currently in mind. After making a quick stop to grab her favorite snack she once again found herself on the sidewalk, a taco wrap in her left hand. She was Sonata Dusk, part siren, and part regular school girl as of late. Her sisters, Aria Blaze, and Adagio Dazzle had decided to leave while she stayed for the long run at the school, new opportunities were in her head when she made the mind set. She will admit though that coming back was... tricky, to say the least.

At first she was greeted with hate filled eyes and jeering students. No respite, seemed like this would go on for quite some time. Thankfully, after a few weeks the school learned to welcome her, or rather tolerate her being there in reality. She preferred to think the first option, it made her less gloomy. She even managed to make friends with the same girls that defeated her and her sisters after a rather awkward encounter.

She shook her head awake, clearing her mind from the rather unpleasant memories, and only focused on what lay ahead of her. Which currently looked like a never ending sidewalk.

Suddenly, a large clanging sound came from the nearby alley she was walking by, nearly making her jump out of her own skin. Fun fact about Sonata: you straight up scare her like that, she'll go into a fake jujitsu stance. Or she'll lift her arms high above her head, her fingers looking like claws ready to gauge your eyes out, one leg raised up as if ready to kick. But she keeps it down considering she doesn't exactly have the greatest balance. After falling forward and landing straight on her face, near breaking her nose in the process, she picked herself back up hastily and looked to the source of the noise which came from inside the alley. She waited a few seconds, thinking on whether to check it out or not. She heard of the saying 'curiosity killed the cat' but she decided to make an exception, just this once.

Very cautiously she took a step forward, eying the ground making sure she doesn't trip over anything like a stray can, or something ridiculous like that. She saw an overturned garbage bin, its contents, not normal among regular garbage cans. Or however regular trash can get. These items included a few scattered bottles, but not empty ones, each one was a different shape with different colored liquids inside. She saw some other items she couldn't make heads or tails out of in the dark alley.

Something was squirming within the mess of trash.

Whatever it was, it slowly became upright, a faint outline was all she saw. too big to be a rat, but too small to be a dog, or at least a big dog. It moved into the light where more details could be made out. It looked to be in the shape of an C, but only if the top half of that C was a black head with two huge blue eyes, and orange spots running along its forehead and back with a blue tail. It had little fins on what she could only assume was the outline of the head.

She stared at the creature with new found interest, no fear, just curiosity. The creature, giving her the same treatment. The creature looked to be floating a few inches above the air, standing up to sonata's thighs. Neither of them moved, simply staring at each other, pondering.

Very slowly, Sonata raised her free hand and opened her palm, waving it slightly. She felt a connection with the creature, as if she knew everything about it just by looking into its eyes, and she felt that the creature understood her.

"Hi," she whispered with a happy smile.

The creature's eyes suddenly shot open in surprise and it turned round, running, or flying? Deeper into the alley, bobbing up and down as it did so.

"No wait! Come back!" Sonata cried out, giving chase to the creature.

The creature made a turn once it reached a small turn. In doing so, it crashed right into a fence, the fence rattled in protest at the weight that was just pressed against it. The blue skinned siren made the same turn and saw the creature. It was trying to jump over the fence, but it couldn't reach high enough so it slowly floated back to the ground. Sonata slowly moved closer to the creature, cautious to not make a noise. It turned around and laid eyes on her, the creature began to press itself against the fence, shaking wildly. Staring with wide, terrified eyes.

Sonata saw the fear in its eyes and tried a different approach. Very slowly she got on all fours so now she was at head level with the creature, and spoke to it in a soothing manner.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you... whatever you are."

She was now on her stomach, her arms were crossed under her chin, looking at the creature. She slowly extended her left hand; unwrapped the taco from its plastic cage, and pushed it towards the creature with a soft nudge.

"See? Taco. Yummy yum tum," she whispered, watching as the creature began to relax and eyed the taco with curiosity. Once it realized that neither the taco, nor the strange girl in front of the taco was a threat, it began to nudge it with its head and slowly push it back onto Sonata's outstretched hand.

"Awwww, thank you," she cooed.

The creature gave a small low pitched whistle before spinning in a small three sixty. It gave what Sonata could only believe were happy eyes. The only thing on its head were those eyes and orange spots, so it was easy to tell what emotions it would convey. But this brought another question. Where was its mouth?

Sonata slowly outstretched her other hand and put it on top of the creatures head to pet it. It didn't flinch as she placed her hand on its head. Its skin felt greasy and moist, it also felt very tight against its body. Like a balloon that's stretched to its limits.

"My name's Sonata, what about you?" she asked.

A small squelching noise was its only response.

She smiled and nodded as if understanding it. "I think you and I are going to be good friends," taking her hand off the creature. She slowly stood up, the creature, watching with those blue oceans it called eyes as she did so. She bent over and picked it up like you would a baby. She pulled it closer to her body, the head of the thing facing in whatever direction she was. She was holding the thing like it was a doll.

"I bet the girls will just love you!" Sonata said, spinning around and heading back out the alley and towards the apartment she shared with her sisters, leaving the taco inside the alley.

####

After the obvious initial shock of seeing a foreign creature with absolutely no idea of its origins, Sonata asked if she could keep said foreign creature. The answer was exactly what a sane person would expect.

"No!"

"Please?"

"I said no, Sonata!" Adagio replied, stern gaze locked on the youngest siren.

"Pleeeeeeeeaaaassse?" Sonata begged, her eyes wide and pleading.

"For the last time, no!" she replied sternly.

"Give me one reason why I can't keep him," Sonata demanded, stomping her foot on the ground and puffing her cheeks.

"I can give you ten," Adagio replied, giving Sonata an unamused stare.

"Jeez Louis, I only asked for one," Sonata said, a surprised look on her face.

"Okay, I'll give you three, how's that?" Adagio corrected, crossing her arms, gaze; unchanging.

"Okay," Sonata replied, determined smile on her face, ready prove her worth.

"One: We dont even know what it is," she said.

"It hasn't tried to eat me yet, and I can find out, I promise," Sonata reasoned. The little fella was still being pressed against her body.

Adagio sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere past 'its not lethal' she decided to press on."Two: me and Aria still haven't forgiven you after that whole turtle incident."

"How was I supposed to know turtles could hold personal vendettas?"

Adagio's glare wavered slightly. "Okay I'll give you that one. And three: I bet you don't even know what it eats."

"I can find out right now!" Sonata suggested, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Okay then, let's play a little game," Adagio proposed.

"Oh, I like games!" Sonata said, her head perking up slightly at the word.

"If you can find out what it eats, you'll keep it, but!" she raised a finger for emphasis. "If you can't, you have to put it back where you found it and leave it there. Got it?"

"Yes! Don't worry Adagio, I'll be the superdest duperdest pet owner, ever!" still holding the creature with one arm, Sonata raised her fist to the sky. "This I swear!"

Adagio only sighed and returned to her spot on the couch, watching Sonata run to the kitchen to no doubt turn the fridge inside out. She had no idea what it was she found, but one look told her everything she needed to know.

For starters it definitely wasn't from Earth, or Equestria for that matter, then again that was pretty obvious. But if it was something she didn't understand, she didn't want to risk taking it in. For her and her sisters sake, they may have lost their magic, but that doesn't mean she can't still be a leader. Secondly: animals grow, given enough time it'll probably take up more space in the small apartment. Thirdly: since it didn't have an apparent mouth, Adagio could only assume it fed on microorganisms through those spots on its head, meaning it wasn't going to eat anything Sonata gave it that wasn't smaller than plankton. It was cruel, she knew it, but you can't stop biology in this world, and it was probably better for the creatures own well being. She shuddered at the memories.

She could hear Sonata in the kitchen, naming the different food items she was currently showing the thing. Every time, ending in her huffing in frustration when it no doubted refused whatever she was offering. After a few more minutes of clattering and frustrated sighs, Adagio decided to get up and see how the fruitless endeavor was going. She entered the kitchen; eyes widening at the scene that lay before her. The entire kitchen was a mess, food was scattered everywhere, either on the floor or the counter, counters were outstretched, and cabinets were wide open and empty.

She felt her left eye twitch when she laid eyes on the culprit. The blue haired ditz wore a scowl on her face and was currently offering the thing frozen lasagna. The creature was sitting on a high chair wearing a heart shaped bib.

'Wait? When did Sonata get a high chair?'

The creature shook its head in a stubborn manner at the frozen dish before turning its head to face Adagio. Sonata saw this action and turned as well, her eyes, quickly changing from annoyance to worry

"Dagi! hold on, please, I can find out, I promise, just give me a little more time, please," she begged, dropping to her knees, putting her hands together in a praying manor. A few tears began to well in her eyes.

She hated seeing her sister like this, but she had to learn one way or another that not everything can go your way, after all, they did just lose everything once after not too long ago. "I'm sorry Sonata, but you know the drill, now what I want you to do is clean up the kitchen and...!" Adagio focused her attention on the now empty high chair. "S-Sonata?"

"*sniff* Yes Dagi?" Sonata asked, her mascara beginning to run down her face.

"Where is it?" Adagio asked, pointing towards the high chair.

Sonata furrowed her brow and gave a forceful mad face, she put her hands on her hips. "It's a he, you know."

"I DON'T CARE IF IT'S A HE, SHE, IT, OR TRANSSEXUAL, WHERE IS IT?!" Adagio snapped, having been fed up with the situation.

Sonata looked around the kitchen which looked like one that had been ransacked during the apocalypse. She simply shrugged her shoulders, "I dunno?" was her only response. A sly grin was plastered on her face, obviously amused with the fact she had just gotten more time to plan her victory.

Adagio was visibly steaming now, her teeth were bared, she looked like her head was slowly filling with a red liquid, like a thermometer. "Find it right now, Sonata! Or I swear I'm gonna-" she was interrupted by the sound of rattling coming from the other room.

Adagio hastily made head way to the living room and saw a blue tail sticking out from her purse, waggling back and forth. With sudden vigor, she threw herself in its direction and clasped her hands around the tail, pulling with all her might.

"You get out of my bag right this instant you mangy, little bas-" She suddenly found herself losing balance and falling on her back as her momentum forced her and the creature unto the floor. She looked at the creature in her hands, hanging upside down as she held it by the tail. Its face was adorned with coins ranging from pennys, dimes, and nickels stuck to its face, kinda like stickers.

"HA! Got you, you-" before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted for a third time when the unbelievable happened. The coins dissapeared.

No warning, no hesitation, they were just gone. But she saw where they wen alright, right underneath the creature's skin. The thing had absorbed the coins through its skin!

Her frame of reality shattered like glass, scattering to the floor. In slow motion she saw the creature being lifted from her grasp and being pulled to Sonata as she embraced the thing in a tight hug, Shrieking wildly with pure joy. Adagio didn't hear what she was crying out, all she could hear was a numb droning noise in the back of her head.

She heard footsteps coming from down the hall when a new voice was heard.

"Will you guys shut up! I'm trying to nap here!" Aria entered the room, rubbing one eye with her hand, all she saw was Sonata dancing with what she could assume was another stuffed animal, and Adagio sitting on the floor with dazed eyes, her purse laying next to her in a total mess. "What happened this time?" Aria asked in a frustrated tone, her hand meeting her face. There were small bags under her eyes, having just awokened.

"I-I-It just a-ate the coins," Adagio stammered, her face looking like it had seen the darkest corners of the universe.

"What are you yammering on about this time?"

Sonata was suddenly at Aria's side. Shoving the stuffed animal in front of her face, it definitely looked like a stuffed animal Sonata wou- it just blinked...

"Dagi and I made a deal, and I won!" She screamed, pure joy in her voice. "Say hello to your new sister, little guy," she babbled to the creature, pressing the thing on Aria's cheek.

"What is tha- you know what? I'm not even gonna ask," Aria said, pushing away the strange animal before retreating to her personal cave down the hall.

"Why not?" Sonata asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Because if I ask, it'll become my problem." Aria replied before slamming the door.

To recap, Sonata stood in the center of the living room, Aria was now napping in her room, the kitchen was still in complete disarray, and Adagio looked like she was staring at a higher plane of existence. She brought the creature to head level and looked it in the eyes with a playful smile.

"What do you think I should name you?" she asked no one in particular.

Author's Notes:

Well, well, well, welcome, to my first story. In all honesty I made this on a whim thinking. "What would happen if the two most adorable creatures met?" so this story was born! I have no idea where this story is going to go, but there's an adventure tag for a reason.

Thank you guys for taking the time to read this story. Please help me with any grammatical errors or any issues with lore, thank you. Any form of criticism is appreciated and I promise to try to adapt and evolve as the story moves on.

Alone Time: Aria

3 Days Later

It was Monday now. Aria was on the couch, taking up all the space on it, flipping through the channels on the television in a set pattern. Click.. click, click... click. Sonata was at Canterlot High, and Adagio was working. Leaving Aria by her lonesome to man the fort so to speak. Well that wasn't entirely true, Sonata's newest pet was currently keeping her company right now. The little thing was curled up on an easy chair facing the TV. Inside Aria's head, she was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that out of all the things that could've happened to them, THAT thing appears out of a garbage can, and now they own it. What kind of logic is that!?

After Sonata was finished ogling over it, she became dead serious and actually created a schedule for it. You heard right, she organized a schedule, and guess who's shift it was to watch it right now? That's right, Aria.

Watching the TV screen with tired eyes, she felt the newest member rubbing against her side with its head. When she turned her head to look at it, the thing was squirming like crazy and just looked antsy. Spinning in place and making those weird squelching noises it usually made.

"What?" Aria asked in an impatient tone.

The creature continued to wiggle in place.

"Lil' Johnny fell down the ol' well?" Aria deadpanned, sitting up. "Well, go follow him down," with that, she plopped back onto the chair, sinking in slightly, and closing her eyes.

After a few minutes she opened her eyes again, only to see that thing looking right at her, mere inches from her face.

"GAAAAH!!!" she yelped, pushing it away from her and falling off the couch, a flailing mess of limbs. The floor broke her fall.

She groaned on her spot on the floor. She slowly rolled unto her back and slowly pushed herself back upright. She gave a scowl towards the creature that now usurped her spot on the couch. The stare; able to melt mountains. The creature giving its own stare in return: innocent and curious. As if saying "how'd you fall?"

"You're enjoying this, arent you?" she said, this thing was currently rising in the ranks of her "Hate List" and it was a pretty long list at that. Number one spot going to America's most beloved comedian, second being Sonata's new pet, abomination. Third place now belonging to Sonata herself.

"Why cant you sleep like any other pet? Just stop bugging me," when it came to sleep, that thing only picked three spots out of the whole apartment. Sonata's bed [under a mass of blankets and stuffed animals], the heating unit, and Adagio's hair. Aria chuckled to herself remembering the incident. Almost as if it was yesterday, mainly because it was yesterday.

####

1 Day ago

Aria was currently enjoying Saturdays leftovers, minding her own business, and listening to music. That is before Sonata walked in breaking the silence.

"Aria, did you see Squirt?" she asked.

"Nope," she shoved a forkful of food in her mouth.

"It's just that, I haven't seen him in like forever! And I'm starting to get worried," she gave Aria a saddened look.

"Hey, cheer up. Maybe he decided to take his chances in the wilderness than with you, I know I would," another forkful down her gullet.

"Ari, I'm serious, please help me," Sonata gave Aria her puppy dog stare.

"Maybe he's hiding in that coloring book you call a room," Aria suggested.

"Nope, I checked like everywhere in there," Sonata said, slumping her shoulders.

"Well ya got me beat then."

"Ariiiii, please help me look."

"How bout' no?"

"But, Ariiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii," Sonata intensified her stare, stretching her eyes to the point where they look like something you'd see in an anime.

"Sonata, shut up, or I swear I'm gonna take this fork and-"

"AAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" a loud, banshee like scream echoed across the apartment, shattering glass in a five mile radius.

Sonata's face beamed. "Found him!" she exclaimed, skipping out of the room.

Aria sat alone now, contemplating whether or not to join the inevitable train wreck. Giving a dark smile she stood up out of her chair and made her way to the source of the screaming. "This ought to be good."

The sound was coming from the bathroom, when she was at the doorway she just stood there, lost. She wasn't sure whether to call the sight before her 'mortifying,' or 'disturbingly hilarious.' Right now, Adagio was wearing only a towel revealing her shoulders, her hair was wet and slick with water. a small blue tail was waggling inside Adagios hair before worming its way deeper in. Sonata was behind her right now in a rather... suggestive way, digging through her hair while shouting, "HOLD STILL!!"

Adagio, in turn, was constantly screaming. "GET IT OUT!!"

Aria stood in the doorway, contemplating her life decisions now, wondering what did it take for her life to become an anime where the female character was constantly screaming "YAMETE!!"

"I'm just... I'm just gonna go," she started to walk away, her face a contorted mix of emotions. "You two have fun with... whatever this is."

She made her way towards her room and laid flat on her back, staring towards the ceiling. A mortified expression on her face as the sound of screaming continued to echo throughout the apartment, along with the random item being thrown over or whenever one of them accidentally hits a wall. The Drywall providing no resistance to the sounds of rather suggestive actions going on outside.

####

Her thoughts were derailed when she heard a small jingling noise coming from the side of the couch. She saw the creature continuing to fidget around, the spiked pink collar below its head shaking the name tag left and right. 'Squirt,' was engraved into the tag.

Aria began grumbling to herself and grabbed the TV remote. "What kind of a stupid name is 'Squirt' anyway?"

As if to reply, Squirt started to nudge her hand that was dangling off the couch's side. When Aria decided it was worth the effort of turning her head again, she saw that he was motioning to the door.

"Now you want to walk? Haven't you tortured me enough already?" she groaned.

Apparently not, for now lil' ol' Squirt was tugging on her hand with his little fins. Aria's tolerance was slowly draining, her sanity was practically fleeting. All she needed to do was ignore it, but when that stupid thing gets bored it starts to wander. She was near ready to show the thing the bottles under the sink by this time.

She felt it continuing to tug her arm, her patience ran out finally. "Fine, you win! I'll take you on a stupid walk!" mumbling profanity's, she got up and put on a small leash on the thing so it doesn't run off. She grabbed her keys, stepped outside, and locked the door. Once she was outside of the apartment the two set off.

Once on the sidewalk, Aria was praying to whatever deity's that no one sees her walking the equivalent of a flying sperm. She had simply planned to walk a few corners and turn back home. The thing took an interest to everything it laid eyes on, probably to get at Aria's nerves. Tugging on the leash, begging to explore the world around it. Only dragging out this already long trip outside. Aria took out her phone while the thing was eying a lamp post.

2:55

Crap! School doors just opened, meaning a barrage of Canterlot students were about to spot her, with this thing!

"Alright, we're going home, right now!" she declared, turning around; beginning to backtrack. She saw the doors to the apartment building she let out a sigh a relief when suddenly.

"Eeeeewwww! What is that thing?!"

'God #$@%&!* dammit!'

"Hey, it's one of those freaks from the Battle of the Bands!"

'Internally screaming.'

Aria turned to face the arrival but was surprised to see that her assailants stood below chest level. She looked down and saw, get this! A ten year old girl wearing a stupid looking gold yellow coat and a white skirt. She had pink skin, and purple hair with a white stripe going along it. Trailing behind her was another girl. Grey skin and grey hair with a white stripe. She had large blue glasses and a purple shirt with a pink skirt.

'Too easy,' Aria thought with a devilish smirk.

She crouched down to their level. "And just who may I owe this displeasure too," she asked in a cheery tone that dripped with sarcasm.

The little girl was clenching her teeth behind her lips. "You can call me by my name," she made a stupid looking pose with her friend behind her. "Diamond Tiara."

An awkward second of silence passed by. "Am I supposed to know you or something?" Aria asked in a disinterested tone.

"Wha-!"

Grasping the consequences that was harassing a ten year old she decided to get out quickly. "Listen kid, I gotta go before someone realimportant sees me," Aria turned to walk away but felt the leash being tugged. She looked behind her and saw the creature staring at this "Diamond Tiara" with a curious gaze slowly turning angry.

'Wow, I didn't even know it had an angry face," Aria thought with growing interest.

Diamond Tiaras face turned furious as she stared at the creature. "And just what do you want, Muck?"

Squirt narrowed his eyes farther.

The girl behind her joined in on the name calling as well. "Just look at it, it looks like the gunk you find at the end of your boot!" the two burst out laughing at that comparison.

When little miss 'Pink Bitch' as Aria now deemed her opened her eyes for a breath, she saw that Squirt was only a few inches from her face, seething eyes boring into her soul.

"Ahh! Get away from me!!" she demanded, backing away in a panic.

Suddenly, Squirt reared his head backwards, and in a moment of suspended time, headbutt her. HARD. Like all the matter inside his body turned to steel, he threw himself at the girl, both heads colliding with an audible SMACK. The scene replayed like in a movie where a fairly large explosion had just occurred. Everything was still for a moment. The air stood still, not even the birds chirped.

'Pink Bitch' looked utterly shell shocked, she started to wobble back and forth slightly before landing right on her face.

Squirt gave that same stare at her accomplice, moment he did so, she made a break for it. She was screaming all the way down the street and way past hearing distance. After another second or two, Squirt turned to Aria giving a look that asked for her approval.

Aria's face of shock slowly turned into a large, maniacal grin. She grabbed Squirt and tucked her the same way you would a football.

"You and I, are gonna get along just fine," she said. "Come on little guy, you and me are going to terrorize the arcade," she changed course now, making way to the arcade, which, considering the time. Is bound to be swarming with n00bs. "I'll give you twenty percent of what we nab in coins."

A disapproving squelch was its answer.

"Fine. Forty percent."

It whistled in joy.

Bind the Breaker

Tuesday

The morning alarm immediately broke Sonata's dream world, bringing her to the world of conscious. Her eyes flying open with a happy smile. With a little dance, she made it to her closet and picked out some clothing to wear.

After showering and brushing her teeth, she got in her new clothes. Feeling tough she decided to wear a shirt with torn sleeves, bedazzled on the chest with the message. "#StrongistheNewCute," and ripped jeans.

She was excited today, not only because it was her favorite Taco Tuesday, but also because now she can break the great news to her friends. Because of school schedules and whatnot she could only see them at lunch during Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. She had classes with them on other days, but she wanted to say it front of all of them.

Grabbing her backpack, she dashed out the door and straight towards Canterlot High. Sadly, she didn't think about how she was going to survive the time before lunch started. She had classes with them on other days, but she wanted to say it front of all of them.

You know that feeling you get when you have to wait for something so Father Time decides to slow it down? Yeah, Father Time decided to put in all the stops just for her.

History was a bore. Science, she just couldn't follow. Math... really? She learned all this already, why learn it again?

Took off the second the bell to signal lunch sounded; jumped the gun a bit cause she found herself being the only soul there for the time being. Deciding to make use of this time instead of by waiting, she got in line and got a tray of tacos and enjoyed herself.

Once the cafeteria quickly filled with students, the table she sat at was filled with the spots of her new found friends. Or the Rainbooms as some called them. After swallowing her food, she began.

"Hey girls! Guess what?" she asked, hardly able to hold back her voice.

They turned their attention to her, mainly due to the fact her voice hit an unnatural high octave, meaning only one thing. She's got really important news to tell.

"I got a new pet!" she cried out.

Everyone shared a smile as they gave her congrats on her new member of the family as it were. Then the real question broke out.

"Well, what is it?" Sunset Shimmer asked.

Sonata's happy smile was immediately replaced with a quizzical one as she contemplated this question. "I... don't know."

"Well whaddya mean? Kinda hard to take care of something ya dont know, right?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know, I mean he just kind of POOFED, just like that," Sonata explained, making whimsical arm motions.

"Well do you have picture of him?" Sunset asked, slightly scared. If her and Pinkie were already similar, she was worried Sonata's new pet might be an Angler fish. Or maybe an Armadillo?

"Yep, I do," Sonata said, pulling out her phone from her pocket and going to her photos. She scrolled a bit before reaching the one. "Ah here we go," she showed the picture to the others.

The picture wasn't something to brag about, mainly because it looked like it was taken in an absolute panic. Considering the contents though, not a big surprise. The bottom left corner was currently being filled with a screaming woman with large hair and orange tan skin. This was assumed to be Adagio. Her hair covered nearly half the screen, save for the top right corner. That wasn't what caught the girls' attention though.

It was the black creature residing inside her hair, staring at the camera with interest. Big blue eyes and orange spots going along the center of its head.

'That is not an Armadillo.'

"What... Is that?" They all practically said this in unison.

Sonata merely shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno."

"Well where'd you find that thing anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked, the shock value for the unknown officially gone.

"In an alley," she simply answered.

Rainbow Dash threw her arms in the air as if to say. "Of course."

"Ya got any idea what it could be, Fluttershy?" Applejack asked.

Fluttershy took a closer look at the image, trying her hardest to get as close to the picture as possible, not too close though.

"S-sorry, I've never seen it before." she whispered.

"It's quite alright, Fluttershy, but Sunset" Rarity began. "You don't think that maybe that could be a creature from Equestria, do you?"

Sunset Shimmer continued to stare at the image; confused gaze staring at the screen. "I don't know. It's definitely not from Equestria."

"I could show you girls where I found it! It came along with like a lot of weird things, oh! Did you know it eats coins?"

"Hold that thought, Sonata," Sunset turned her head to see a rumbling Pinkie. Literally rumbling like a volcano. "Who here says we should take cover?"

"I," several hands raised into the air.

"Approved," suddenly the table became empty except for one as six heads took cover underneath the table. They heard a sharp intake of breath before it began.

"Oh my gosh, I just thought of the best idea like ever! What if we have a pet play date?! P.P.D for short. It's kind of like a regular play date, but with pets instead! Oh it's going to be so much fun! Fluttershy can bring her bunny, Rainbow Dash can bring her tortoise, Applejack can bring her dog, Rarity, you can get your cat, I can bring Gummy, and Sonata you can bring you're whatever between heaven and earth that thing is, and Shimmy you can bring... um... you can bring... eh, I got nothing," all in one breath it seemed.

"That's... actually a good idea," Sunset said, emerging from the table. "If it's not from our world, we have to teach it that this place is safe."

"But what if it hurts one of our pets? Or worse! What if one of our pets hurt it?" Fluttershy cried.

"Ask her," Sunset directed the question to Sonata.

"Oh he's super duper nice around me and my sisters, all he wants is cuddles, and loose change. Seriously he found like twenty dollars worth of pennies in the couch!"

"*gasp!* for realzies!?" Pinkie gasped.

"For realzies," Sonata confirmed.

"Wait? It eats metal?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yupironie," Sonata nodded.

"And I though my pet was awesome," Rainbow Dash slumped slightly.

"So, what'd you say about bringing us to where you found him?" Sunset inquired.

"Oh yeah, I could totally bring you to the alley after school, I heard a bunch of banging noises when I found him, at first I was really scared but I saw him and though 'he's not scary at all' so I took him home," Sonata explained.

"Great," Sunset said, clapping her hands together. "Great! We have a plan and destination, we can go right after school, maybe we can figure out where it's from when we get there."

"But what about the P.P.D?" Pinkie asked.

"We can do that after, okay Pinkie?"

"Okay..." she slumped down in her chair.

They talked more on the creature and its behavior, its appetite for the strange, and its strange fixation on the Adagio's hair which he calls a pillow.

####

Few hours after school let out, everyone met at the base of the statue except for pinkie who left a note saying she had other things to do. The cold air was beginning to nip so they were all wearing sweaters. Sonata had came a bit later than the others, stating she needed to grab something. When she came back, she was wearing her backpack, and a small black creature was sticking out of it with blue eyes.

Everyone was gawking at the creature, trying to make heads or tails out of it.

"Sonata, why'd ya bring the little thing," Applejack asked.

"I thought that maybe if the stuff he came here with belonged to him that he'd want it back," she explained.

Squirt was trying to worm his way out of Sonata's backpack so he could hide somewhere safe, only spot being her hair right now. He wasn't used to all the new scents trying to get close.

"Girls, I think you're scaring him," Sonata said, observing as Squirt managed to wiggle his way inside Sonata's ponytail, his head poking through the other side; tail on the other.

"Well then how'd you get him to like you?" Rainbow asked, staring at the blue eyes which was trying to get it's entire body inside its new gopher hole.

"I just gave him a taco and talked really nicely," Sonata answered.

"And your sisters?" Sunset began, piecing together an answer as to his timidness.

"He absolutely loves them."

"Well then why is he looking at us like we're holding knives?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

"I think I got something an explanation' Sunset chimed in.

"And that would be?"

"Well, maybe it's a baby?" Sunset said.

"Well, I could see that, but how would that explain anything, dear?" Rarity asked, seeing that the strange pet had successfully managed to hide completely.

"Well, maybe he kind of imprinted on Sonata," Sunset began. "After all, she actually offered him a good meal and a warm place to stay."

"Okay, but how would that explain her sisters?" Rarity inquired.

"Well maybe he imprints by scent, and since she spends more time with her sisters than anyone else, they might share a similar scent to Sonata," she finished.

Sonata had a quizzical look to her before fishing Squirt out of her hair, creating a mess about her ponytail. "Wait? Does that mean he thinks me and my sisters are his mommas?"

"In a way, yes," Sunset answered.

Sonata's face enlightened. "I'm a mommy!" she cried out, prancing around with the thing in grasp.

"Okay, so we just stick close to Sonata and hope he gets used to us?" Rainbow dash asked.

"I suppose so, that or wear her clothes," Sunset said jovially.

"Yeah... how bout' no?" Sonata asked. "Adagio doesn't like it when my clothes disappear. I keep telling her it's Aria trying to get me in trouble, but she just says I'm lying."

Everyone stared forward at the blue haired siren with confused and amused stares.

"Sonata, ah think that was a joke," Applejack said.

"Oh," she gave an embarrassed smile.

"Anyway, lead the way, Sonata," Sunset said.

"Okay,' Sonata started to repeat her steps from last time. Only this time, an unknown creature shaped like a curved teardrop was in her arms and five other girls were behind her.

The way to the alley wasn't too long, took around five minutes till the small group found themselves in a dark alley. The sun was beginning to set and the cold began to bite at them. The shadows in the alley didn't really help with the cold, or their vision.

With whatever remained of daylight they had, they walked in. It was how a normal alley should be, random trash strewn about and cracked tar. One of the tins however, upon being hit with the light, wasn't actually a tin, it looked more like a tall chest. The contents were toppled over, but the shadows kept only a vague shape of random items.

"This the stuff you were talkin' bout', Subercube?" Applejack asked, staring at the items.

"Yep," Sonata said with an upbeat tone; walking deeper into the alley.

"So what's the plan?" Rainbow Dash asked, turning to Sunset.

"I guess we just take a look around; see if we find something important," Sunset explained.

"Um- is this important?" Fluttershy asked, pulling out one of the items in the pile.

It appeared to be a machete, but the metal was a deep shade of crimson, the handle being tied expertly to the balde to ensure a steady grip. The blade, with whatever light shone on it, seemed to be sharper then anything they've seen.

"Whoa!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, staring at the blade.

"Fluttershy, could you perhaps put that down, before somebody gets hurt?" Rarity asked kindly.

"Oh, okay," she slowly put the blade, which was about the size of her leg, back in the pile.

"you know what? Maybe you and Sonata can go look over there," Sunset advised, pointing towards the other end of the alley. Probably best they don't touch anything sharp.

"Okay. Come on, Fluttershy," Sonata grabbed her arm and pulled her to the other side of the alley, just outside the fork. Squirt was currently hiding inside of Sonata's sweater to get out of the cold, peeking out of the slot where your head goes just below her neck.

"Sunset, ah think ya might want ta' see this," said Applejack, staring at the contents of the chest.

Sunset walked over to see what it was. "Oh boy..." was her only response. The chest was on its back and everything that was inside was strewn about. It was filled with an assortment of weapons. Including the machete that Fluttershy picked up.

"Hey girls!" Sonata shouted. "We found something over here!"

"Think we should go check?" Sunset asked.

"Me and Rainbow Dash got this, y'all go see what those two found," Applejack advised turning back to the chest.

Sunset and Rarity made way towards the two. When they got there all they saw a mess of bottles, some were shattered but it looked like a few survived.

"I think we found some medicine," Sonata said holding up one of the bottles. By her feet were a few others, each one a different shape and a different colored liquid in each one. It took them a second to realize what it was Sonata was holding. She was showing them a creamy yellow bottle that was heart shaped and had a bronze stopper with a tail.

"Sonata, I don't think that is medicine," Rarity suggested, trying to take the bottle

"What? Of course it is, this one's heart shaped, and the others have cute little pictures of Squirt on them." Sonata explained, pulling it back.

"Squirt?" Sunset raised her brow.

"Yeah, Squirt," the little fella popped out of her sweater upon hearing his name.

"That's what you named him? Kinda fits actually," Sunset gave an amused smile.

"Yeah, and if you shake him around a lot, he sounds like a water bottle," Sonata said.

"... Not gonna ask, look, just promise you won't drink it and only give it to Squirt when you know for a fact that he's sick, okay?" Sunset asked.

"Okay," Sonata agreed with a smile. She crouhed down and began to put the bottles inside her backpack.

"So, have you found anything else over here?" Rarity asked.

Fluttershy got up from her spot on the ground picked something up from the floor. "Not much else, but we did find this," she said showing them what they found.

It looked like a lyre, but the top part seemed to be in the shape of bull horns with five strings attached at the tunings. The bottom looked like half a metal cog, and that's where the strings met.

"Strange. Can't say I've seen this thing before, you think that maybe-"

"Whoa-ho-ho. Look at this puppy!" Rainbow Dash's voice was heard from the other side of the alley.

"Rainbow Dash, put that down right now!" Applejack shouted.

When all four turned to see what was going on, they saw Rainbow dash holding a giant object that was being supported on her shoulder. She was aiming the thing in random direction shouting "POW!" at whatever was in front of her. The device was almost as big as herself and had a lot of other devices wrapping around it. Looked unsettling to say the least.

"Rainbow Dash! Put that down this instance!" Rarity shouted.

Squirt was in a downright panic, trying his hardest to squirm out of Sonata's sweater.

"What wrong? This thing's empty, I checked. Watch," and with that, she pulled the trigger.

Everyone dived out of the way, screaming the entire way down. Sonata stopped putting the bottles in and left her backpack on the ground, diving backwards. She made sure she landed on her back as to not hurt Squirt. When everyone saw that the device didn't launch anything, Rainbow Dash started to laugh crazily.

"HAHAHA, oh boy. Did you see your guy's faces? You guys were all like 'AHHHHH!!' and I was like-"

The machine began to whir to life, the center giving off a magma glow. The green metal casing began to glow red as it slowly heated up. Like a beast ready to break out.

"OUCH!" Rainbow Dash screamed, dropping the device.

Bad move. Moment it made contact with the ground a loud clanging noise was heard, it bounced up into the air, and then something shot out of it. And it was heading straight down the alleyway.

Author's Notes:

I'm gonna try to keep the amount of characters down for now, cause that sucked! As always, help me improve this story in any way possible. Thanks for reading

The Sole Regret

The air turned hot and dry as the mass of energy sped its way through the alley. It was a sphere, but it was cracked with glowing energy that looked volatile. Adrenaline can pump fast, but whatever this was, it was faster. It whizzes past Rarity; hair was now sizzling and black. It zooms past Shimmer, a bit to close to call safe. Fluttershy was already down so she gets no heed. But someone was still standing.

Sonata.

Staring as the black and orange mass that was racing towards her, she does the only thing she can do.

Scream and run. Making a bee line in the opposite direction, she took off. Running as fast as her legs could move, she felt everything go numb, even her mind stopped thinking properly and said one thing in a constant panic.

"RUN!"

Wouldn't do much anyway; pace that thing was going, it would've caught up in no time. She felt her foot give way as she lost balance. Stumbling to her side, she felt something brush by her cheek. It left a pretty nasty burn in its place. She clutched tightly to the creature in her arms as she saw the swirling mass make contact with the building. It looked like it would've stopped right away. They thought it would dissipate once it made physical contact with something that wasn't flesh.

Oh Mother, were they wrong

The wall burst open like a rotting berry, a loud explosion was sound after the initial shock. Car alarms sounded from far off. The explosion created a mess, sending bits of metal and stone flying everywhere. Scraping and hitting anyone within the vicinity. Luckily nothing bigger that a brick was launched, so nothing short of ankle deep rubble. They all find each other as the dust settles. Yet something passed their minds. Why did the sound of rubble hitting the ground occur a good three seconds after the initial explosion? And why did they land in place instead of bouncing around a few feet?

Five seconds that all took place.

"*Cough, Cough* Is everyone okay!" a voice screamed from the debris.

"Ah'm good!"

"Right here!"

"Fils de pute!"

"I'm safe."

"..."

"Sonata?" Sunset said, Her face, slightly bruised and cut. She spotted a crouched outline near a large hole in the wall that used to be part of a building, she slowly moved towards it.

Sonata was staring forward. Eyes wide with shock. Squirt was gently nuzzling her side, trying to comfort her. His own eyes looking worried. She wasn't moving a muscle.

"Sonata, are you okay?" Sunset asked, reaching a hand forward.

She still wasn't moving.

"Rarity, help me get her up!" Sunset shouted.

A dirty and disheveled Rarity came to her aid. "Right away!" both of them putting an arm underneath Sonata's they lifted her up on both feet. Squirt lifted up into the air and placed himself on top of her head. There was only silence as they walked out of the alley.

Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up once on the sidewalk.

"I'm sorry, it was an-"

"Don't!" Sunset snapped.

"I- I mean it, I didn't know that would happen," Rainbow Dash said.

"Fluttershy could you help Sonata for a second, please?"

"Sure," Fluttershy complied, taking Sunset Shimmers spot.

Once free, Sunset Shimmer got right in Rainbow Dash's face "We told you to be careful, we told you! But you didn't listen!" Sunset continued.

"Look I said I was sorry, lay off!" Rainbow Dash barked.

"No, look here!" she put a finger on her shoulder. "If you had only decided to grow half a brain for a second, then none of this wou-!"

"STOP!!" A voice screamed.

They jumped at the sudden outburst. Turning around they saw who had said this. Sonata had broken out of Rarity and Fluttershy's grasp and was practically trembling; fury was burning behind her eyes. "Please..."

The two slowly backed off from each other, more out of fear of what she can wrought if provoked. After Sonata calmed down she walked on her own back home.

Rainbow Dash tailed behind the the group, refusing to get ahead of anyone.

Applejack came to Sunset's side, not looking too different. "So what now?" she asked.

"I'm gonna tell twilight about what just happened and hopefully we'll be able to get rid of those weapons," she explained.

"And how long do ya reckon that'll take?"

"I don't know," she answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Sunset, ah respect your decision and all, but we need to get rid of those thing now and lose the key, ya understand?"

"I know, but what if one of us sets something off and gets hurt? Or worse," she explained. "I say we get rid of those things safely, before anyone else find those weapons."

"Ah understand," Applejack agreed.

"If we needed any more proof Sonata's pet wasn't from this world, that was it right there."

####

The Dazzling's apartment.

Things were unnaturally quiet. It was unnerving to some but it was welcome respite to Adagio. Sonata had said she going out for a few hours and she would be back soon. As much as she didn't think it was a good idea for her to go by herself , she said that she wouldn't be alone, and that she'd bring that thing she calls a pet now.

After the... Incident with her hair, Adagio makes sure to keep one locked door between her and that thing. One of those doors was unlocking.

She paid no mind at first; knowing it was Sonata just outside. The door clicked open and closed appropriately.

That's it.

Sonata didn't say hello or anything, just started trudging to her room.

"You know it's considered rude to not greet the head household?" Adagio said, turning her head slightly.

"Hey, Adagio," Sonata said glumly.

"*sigh* Okay look, I know I'm going to regret asking but what's wrong?" Adagio stood up and waited for Sonata to turn to her. Once she did, Adagio got an eyeful. "Sweet Jesus, Sonata! What happened to you!?"

Sonata had a mess of cuts and bruises on her face, and what looked like a serious burn on her left cheek.

"I tripped and kinda slid on my face," Sonata lied, if Adagio found out it was a member of the Rainbooms who did this... she shuddered at the thought.

She gave a long sigh. "Sonata, you gotta be more careful than that, okay? Just go clean yourself up and put on some bandages, okay?"

"Okay."

Aria came out of her room wearing a black tank top and boxers. "What happened this time? Holy crap! What happened to your face?!"

"Is it that noticeable?" Sonata asked, moving a hand to cover her burn. Bad move.

"Sonata?" Aria started. "I'm gonna put this in the nicest way possible. You look like you shoved your face in a belt sander."

Sonata gave a light hearted chuckle before making her way to the bathroom where some clean water and burn cream took care of most of the scrapes and dirt on her face, the burn will stay for a bit but time will get rid of it soon enough. Coming outside again, she heard screaming coming from Aria's bedroom. Most likely playing. "Vital Warfare: Death-Match 4,"

"I'm going to sleep, okay?" she called out from the hall to the living room.

"What? It's like seven o' clock. Why now?" Adagio asked turning around.

"I'm just really tired right now," Sonata said dully.

"Okay then...?"

Once inside her own room, Squirt, following shortly behind. Sonata opened her backpack and put the medicine bottles on a shelf hanging above her bed with some of the stuffed animals she owned. She smiled again when she saw the little pictures of Squirt on them. She made a promise though, only if she knew for an absolute fact that Squirt is sick can she give them to him.

She put on her pajamas and went to bed, wanting nothing more than to sleep off today, Squirt was underneath her arm as she pulled him close. The bed was nice and warm. She starts feeling her bruises though as she rustled.

####

The Next day.

The alarm didn't do much when it came to waking up, more or less it annoyed her. The window showed a clearing sky as the morning glow slowly came over the horizon. She knew that whether she gets up now or later she will eventually. Getting up and nearly hitting the alarm to the point it cracked, she got ready for Wednesday. Entering the bathroom she saw herself in the bathroom mirror.

The burn got worse over night, looked like a wine spot that spread to the tip of her lip. The cuts were reduced to pink slits; still noticeable though. A purple bruise was forming on her chin, probably more on her back when she dived yesterday.

She feels sorry for going hard on Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer, but she felt... tense. Then again, nearly losing your life after a friend shot at you in a freak accident tends to have that effect on people. It was an accident she knew it, still though... she has every right to be mad. But she doesn't want to be.

She shook her head away from those thought. Turning on the sink, she splashed her face. The burn stung with the water forcing her to wince. She took a shower, making special care to avoid her left cheek. Getting dressed, she noticed that Squirt was groggily opening his eyes and slowly floated upright.

"How are you doing?" she asked, giving a happy smile.

As always, he just gurgled.

"You miss home, dont you?" she asked.

He tilted his head as if trying to understand the term.

"You know what that thing was, dont you?" she asked. "You were acting really strange when Rainbow Dash pulled that thing out, you knew it was bad... we didn't listen to you though."

Squirt always had a knack for emotions, whether it was expressing or understanding them, he just knew. He sensed her melancholy, knowing it was different from her normal voice. He gave a sad stare at her.

She picked him up from her bed and hugged him. "We're fine now though. I gotta go soon, but guess what?" her usual happy tone returned for a second. "You get to spend the day with your other mommy, Aria, isn't that exciting?"

Squirt squelched in delight.

Sonata went to the hall and stopped by Aria's door. It wasn't that hard to miss. It was adorned with cross bones and a sign that said "GO AWAY!"

She knocked ferociously on the door. Kept knocking in a rapid motion until the door opened, revealing a tired and messy Aria, who was wearing the same clothes as yesterday.

"What?" she asked in her normally moody tone.

"Jeez, you know it could help to smile every once in a while? You're like always brooding!" Sonata complained.

"I don't brood!" Aria snapped.

"Try smiling, just once," Sonata asked of her sister. An unamused stare was plastered on her face.

With that, Aria forced together a smile. Emphasis on the word "forced."

Second she did so, Sonata recoiled backwards, eyes widened in shock. Even Squirt looked terrified beyond rational thought. "Jesus the Christ!" she cried out.

"It's not that bad, is it?" Aria asked.

"You look like the predator monster without its mask!"

"Okay, I get it! What do you want anyway?" Aria asked, her grumpy tone of voice returning.

Sonata outstretched her arms, holding up Squirt towards her. "Your turn to look after him, I have to go," she explained.

"Why don't you just take him with you?" Aria asked in a bargaining tone, although she shared a rich history with Squirt, quite literally, depending on the definition of it, It's pretty Tiring keeping it entertained and calm. Only Sonata can do that somehow.

"But pets aren't allowed in school," she said sadly.

"Who's that "friend" of yours?" she put 'friend' in air quotes. "Blunderguy?"

"Fluttershy," Sonata corrected.

"Right, I knew that. Anyway, didn't she bring animals all the time to school?"

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing! If she's allowed to do it, so are you. Got it?" Aria said in her 'preaching' voice.

"Hey, yeah you're right," Sonata said.

"Aren't I always?" she gave a curtsy bow.

"Kay, bye Aria!" Sonata exclaimed before grabbing her backpack from her room and heading out the door; Squirt now in tow.

Aria stared at the door. "Oh god, what have I unleashed?" she pondered to herself before closing the door.

####

The plan went off without a hitch. She made an encounter with principle Celestial, but it went better than expected, leaving her to take Squirt around the school with her. Although people started to make nasty rumors about him, most likely still edgy about magical creatures.

She remembered right away who she had lunch with on Wednesday once the bell rang. Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer.

Oh boy.

She grabbed a plate of food, making sure to get her change in coins, and made way for the inevitably awkward a situation. She sat by the table, waiting for them to arrive, Squirt was pressing tightly against her. Obviously terrified by all the new faces.

Sonata spotted Sunset Shimmer walking towards, plate in hand. She sat down and nothing else. Her face didn't look much different from Sonata's, cuts and bruises, but no burn. She was about to say something when she noticed Squirt sticking his head out from under the table.

"Why is he here?" Sunset asked, looking in all direction, hoping a teacher hasn't spotted them yet.

"Aria suggested that I bring him here since Fluttershy does it all the time," she answered.

"Listen, don't take Aria's advise again, okay? Did you get caught?" she asked.

Sonata nodded her head.

"By who?"

"Principle Celestial," she answered.

"And what did she say?"

"She told me animals weren't allowed in school, so I asked why Fluttershy was allowed to bring them in all the time, and then she put on this kind of face," Sonata converted her face to one you could only describe as 'angrefused' and stood motionless for a few seconds. She animated once more. "I assumed she meant 'okay, he's allowed,' so I just came to class," she finally finished.

"And what did the other teachers think of him?"

"I think they thought he was a stuffed animal."

They didn't notice that Rainbow Dash was walking over to their table, same cuts and scrapes as the other two.

Once seated she looked to Sunset Shimmer with bit of a guilty look.

"Look, I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday, I was acting stupid and, and, I'm sorry..."

Sunset sighed a little before giving her a warm smile. She put a hand o her shoulder. "It's alright, I know you didn't mean it, and I'm sorry for snapping at you yesterday, I was just angry and scared."

"Yay! We're friends again!" Sonata exclaimed, shaking her hands. Squirt was attempting to mimic her as well.

"Wait, how'd you get him in here?" Rainbow Dash asked, pointing at Squirt.

"Long story, but you're still missing someone," Sunset Shimmer said.

"Wha- oh yeah! Look Sonata, I'm sorry for shooting you with a device of mass destruction," she slumped her head down.

"It's okay."

"Wha-!" Wait! Just like that, you're going to forgive me?!" she questioned.

"Yeah," Sonata answered.

"But-but- I was horrible back there! I freaking shot you! I was a terrible friend, how could you just forgive me like that?"

"It's because we're friends I forgive you," Sonata explained, giving a friendly smile.

Rainbow Dash calmed down and returned the smile. "Thanks, Sonata... I needed that."

"Okay, now that everyone is all buddy buddy again, I got good news!" Sunset Shimmer announced.

"Yeah, what is it?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"With the Cell Book, I told Twilight about our situation, and she said she was going to come and investigate with us," Sunset explained.

"Sweet!"

Sonata tried to force a smile, but it was toothy and strange.

"Sonata, what's wrong?" Sunset asked.

"She knows about us, right?" she asked, a nervous tint in her voice.

"Yeah, but she knows you guys changed, I made sure to put that in," she explained.

"Okay..."

"Look, it'll be fine, you two will be good friends, I promise," Sunset assured her.

"So does she know anything about... Squirt?" Rainbow asked.

"Only what I told her, I even drew a picture of him, she said to stop kidding around when I told her that was it," Sunset answered.

"So, we're blind here?" she asked.

"Pretty much."

"What about the alley? What happened after we left?" Sonata asked.

"Well for starters, we're on the news now, luckily no one saw our faces; there's an investigation and everything, so no doubt they'll find the weapons," Sunset answered.

"That doesn't sound good..." Rainbow Dash said.

"Here's the worst part," Sunset began. "Twilight needs us to get them back."

"What!? Why!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Sunset shimmer motioned for Rainbow Dash to keep her voice down. "Keep it down! Look, Twilight said she can help dispose of them properly over at Equestria."

"And let me guess? We gotta get those weapons back?"

"We gotta get the weapons back," Sunset confirmed.

"And she expects us to mess with official police business?"

"That too."

"No freaking way! Not our problem anymore anyway." Rainbow Dash said, crossing her arms.

"I dont like it either, but we have to do this,"

"No!"

"So you're okay with letting someone get seriously hurt, heck! Probably worse, just because you were too lazy to get up and help?"

"I..." Rainbow Dash started, she couldn't find any words though and looked down guiltily.

"I dont like it either, but I dont want anyone else getting hurt" Sunset said.

"Fine... I'm in," Rainbow Dash said with a defeated tone.

"Thanks Dash, what about you, Sonata? You dont have to do it if you don't want to," Sunset focused on Sonata. She was listening in on the conversation and was flapping Squirts arms up and down as she listened.

"I'm in," she said without hesitation.

"You sure?"

She looked deeply into Sunset's eyes. "For realzies."

"So what's the plan then?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I... don't know." Sunset slumped her arms to her side.

"Why?" she asked.

"I wasn't expecting you two to agree so easily, in all honesty," Sunset said.

"Then lets think of one! Oh I have a great idea! Let's have a team name!" Sonata suggested. "We can be," she motioned to open air and was staring off as if looking at an invisible billboard. "SoRaSu!"

"What, what, and what?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Okay, Sonata. We can be this 'SoRaSu," lets just think of plan, alright?"

"Yay!"

Author's Notes:

Anyone else feel like 'SoRaSu' has a nice ring?

Terminal March

Friday came around a little too quickly. A plan was made and agreed on. Only three would partake in this operation, everyone else was there in spirit. Less people on this, the less likely they were to get caught. They were using a vehicle in the case they need to get out, but they needed something to hold a lot of items if the size of the cannon were a reference.

The closest thing to fit the bill was Applejack's pickup.

She loaned it on three conditions.

One: "It ain't mine so don't ya dare scratch it!"

Two: Ehh... forget about two.

And three: "If ya do scratch it, ya better clean it quick, and ah mean quick!"

Sunset Shimmer was waiting outside of the Dazzlings apartment complex, waiting for Sonata. She was ready to call her cell again when she saw the blue haired girl running through the lot. Once inside the pickup, she greeted Sunset and began to fish for something inside her pocket.

"Watcha looking for?" she asked.

"Well after we agreed to be called 'SoRaSu,' I got right to work on a CD!" she explained.

"You burned a CD just for this?" Sunset asked.

"Yep, listen," she said before putting the tape into the slot. She pushed play.

At first, nothing happened, silence continued to reign superior inside the vehicle.

"Just wait, it's loading..." Sonata said.

True to her word, music began to play inside.

"Well it's definitely... catchy..." Sunset commented. "Come on let's go get Rainbow Dash," she hit the petal and off they went.

It was dark by the time they reached Rainbow Dash's place. A simple gazebo it was; looked comfy enough anyway. The drive took a little time with the stop lights and all. They needed a large vehicle for space if that cannon was a reference to what exactly they were nabbing.

They saw their partner in crime walking out the door with a backpack and dark clothes. Considering what the other two were wearing, they didn't quite match. Sonata was wearing bright clothes as per the norm, and the only dark thing Sunset wore was her leather jacket.

She came up to the drivers side of the window when the first question popped. "Where am I sitting?"

"Oh... didn't really think about that," Sunset said.

"You kinda suck at this whole 'planning' thing," Rainbow Dash dead panned.

"Well I never got the cops involved before!" Sunset said, trying to defend her reasoning. "And I dont know if you noticed, but I got rid of the license plates. Besides you can just sit in the back."

"Great, I get to sit in a bumpy ride next to a bunch of explosives, just great..." Rainbow Dash remarked.

Once she was in the back, the trio drove off towards the same alley they nearly lost their lives in. The music helped lighten the mood; if only a small bit. Soon enough the two inside the vehicle started to bob their heads ever so slightly.

That's when it occurred to Sunset that someone was missing. To be exact, he was about three feet and sounded like a water jug.

"Hey where's Squirt?" she asked over the loud music.

"Oh, Adagio said it probably wasn't a good idea to take him everywhere I went, so she and Aria are watching him today," she explained.

"Hmm? Well that's nice of them," Sunset said.

####

Meanwhile at the Dazzling's apartment.

Aria had successfully managed to lock the thing in the bathroom. After Sonata had left, it made a B-line for Adagio, who reacted accordingly. Kicking and screaming bloody murder while it tried to nest in her head again. As much as Aria wanted to watch the fireworks, she knew it would end two ways. Either Adagio ripping that mass she called head hair. Or Squirt being murdered in the cross fire. It wasn't his possible death that concerned her, however, it was more how Sonata would react.

She shuddered at the thought.

And there was no way in hell she wanted to see a bald Adagio.

She shuddered at the thought. So the only conclusion was that she help.

"You got it locked right?" Adagio asked from behind the couch, a spaghetti strainer on her head, and a large fork in hand as she peered over. Small sploshes of that things greasy skin was on her face and hair as a dark blue color.

"Yeah, no way it's getting out. Who knows, maybe it'll eat the hair curler and stop," Aria said.

Just after she said that, a loud crash was heard from between her legs as a hole the size of a Squirt was made. He came crashing through and tried to asses the situation after the brief dizziness was overcome. He saw Aria standing above him. The couch was overturned, and the kitchen was a mess. He heard a loud shriek as he saw a yellow and orange fluff duck under the couch.

He made a mad dash for it.

"I'll get the Butter Sock!" Aria exclaimed before running to her room.

"Get the Rat Poison!!" Adagio exclaimed before fending Squirt off with the fork.

####

"We need a plan," Sunset said.

"For what?" Sonata asked.

"Well we can't just go up to the police and ask for dangerous and rather suspicious weapons," she explained.

"Oh, Dagi did that all the time back then," Sonata commented.

"I... I'm not even gonna ask."

"Oh! Idea! I can make a clicking noise with my mouth! Maybe that'll distract them and make them really paranoid that that the predator is watching them and we can watch them slowly go insane..." Sonata suggested; innocent smile on face

"That was... oddly specific, but, I don't think it'll work," Sunset remarked.

"Oh! What if we pretend one of us is getting mugged? One of us could be nearby, screaming, while the other one is beating the stuffing out of them. They'll have to investigate, it is their job after all," the blue haired siren suggested, giving an innocent grin again.

"That's... actually not a bad idea, but maybe with less of the beating of the stuffing?" Sunset advised.

"Aww..." Sonata gave a small pout.

####

They parked around the corner of the alley where they got out for a quick pass by it to scope out the situation.

"Okay, here's how it's gonna work," Sunset began. "Me and Sonata are going to be across the street where she'll pretend to rough me up a little."

"Okay," Rainbow Dash confirmed.

"Then, when they come to investigate you get to the alley and Sonata's going to make a break for it before they arrive and try to get to the alley to help out."

"Kay."

"You two will load up anything you can find or dig up while I give the police a fake description of my assailant, any questions?"

"Yep?" Sonata said.

"What?" Sunset asked.

"Do I hit you for real?" she asked.

"Wait, wha-?!"

"I mean, if we want to pretend you just got attacked, don't you have to look like you were attacked? Otherwise it won't work" she asked innocently.

It took Sunset a moment to realize what had just happened. "D-Did you just hold a grudge?"

Sonata simply stared forward at her, giving that innocent smile Sunset was now beginning to find unsettling.

"What do we do if the police are gone?" Rainbow Dash asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Wait, wha-?!" upon crossing the alley, they noticed something.

She was right, the only signs of the police was the yellow tape that surrounded the alley. Some police cars were scattered here and there, but other than that, nothing. Sunset internally sighed in relief, turning to Sonata, she didn't see her as a cheerful and bubbly. She saw the grin of a maniac and of pent up anger.

"Maybe they took a break?" Sonata suggested.

"They probably went to get better equipment, this is good!" Sunset said. "This will make things a lot more easier," she looked to Sonata. "Okay look, new plan. Sonata, you wait in the car and wait for us to load everything onto the truck, got it?"

"Yep!' she nodded.

"Great. Now listen, and this is important. If we get caught, you have to drive away with or without us if you hear a slam on the side of the truck, got that?"

"Got it, miss 'Su'," Sonata gave a small salute before heading towards the red pickup.

Rainbow Dash came to her side, putting on a ski mask with white paint on the front in the shape of a skull. "Do you even know if she can drive?" she asked.

"Ahh, she'll be fine... I think."

Ducking under the police tape, they got a better look at the extent of their damage. The building was crossed out with even more tape and there was about a few inches of rubble all around it. Certain areas were marked with more tape. They started at the one closest to them. On the ground appeared to be the same machete Fluttershy had found.

"Man, what's this thing made off, there's not a scratch on it," Rainbow Dash commented.

"Does it matter? Gere get it to the truck," Sunset said before grabbing the handle and handing it to Rainbow Dash.

"Still cant believe we're doing this," she said before heading back out the alley.

Sunset looked around, slightly worried to look around some more. "It's okay, Sunset. It's just a bunch of weapons... with the possibility of being set of at any time should I do so little as touch it," she took a step forward and saw something sticking out of the rubble at an angle. Appeared to be a long stick.

Getting a firm grip she pulled it out. Nearly cut her leg when a spear head came out; being pulled down by gravity. She managed to regain control over it before it managed cut deep into her leg. Spear still took a piece of her though.

The spear was about as long as her and as thick as a table leg, but the material was lightweight. Examining the spear head, she shuddered. A regular spear was made to hit to the bone. This thing... this thing was made to punch right through it.

She made her way towards the truck where Rainbow Dash had just started to come back as well. She caught eye of the spear.

"Man, I really hope Twilight knows how to deal with this stuff."

"She better," Sunset remarked before heading back to the truck.

Coming back she saw Rainbow Dash digging up some rubble.

"Give me a hand, I think I found it," she said.

"Found what?" Sunset asked, before lending a hand at digging large chunks of rock.

"Giant weapon; one I shot you guys with," Rainbow Dash clarified. "I'm still sorry about that."

"Its alright, I know you didn't mean it, lets just make sure it doesn't happen again, to anyone."

A few more minutes of chucking large rocks and lo and behold, that very same cannon.

Sunset carefully put her hands underneath it. "On the count of three we lift it up and head back to the truck," she said.

Rainbow Dash nodded.

"One... two... three," they lifted the device into the air. Making special care to not drop it. Slowly but surely they came out of the alley, coordinating as to what foot to step with. Once the device was safely secure in the truck they both took a sigh of relief.

"We did it, we actually did it..." Sunset said.

"Yeah, we escorted a weapon of mass destruction; cross that out of my bucket list," Rainbow Dash replied.

Standing straight, Sunset and Dash headed once more to the alley, they needed to make sure that place was bone dry. Some more digging and some more odd weapons, these included something that looked like a rifle, a rod like weapon the length of someone's arm, and a weapon that looked to be made out of somethings skeleton.

'Note to self: Never show this to Fluttershy.'

After returning, Sunset pulled out a small item out of the rubble, it definitely wasn't a weapon, unless the people of that world had a sick sense of humor.

"I think that's it!" she heard Rainbow Dash called out. "Found this, though!" she pulled out what looked like a large book, the cover had a language neither of them had ever seen.

"Great. Let's get out of here," Sunset said.

"Who's there?!" a voice called out.

"Come out here slowly!" another voice said.

They locked up right away. The air getting tense, beads of sweat raced down their heads. Just as suddenly as the voice rang out, the made a run for it. Once outside they saw two figures in police uniforms screaming at them. Not paying heed they made head way towards the truck. They heard the officers give chase after them. The footsteps ringing in their ears like a siren

They spotted the red pickup and saw Sonata in the drivers seat. Rainbow Dash jumped in the back, shaking about all the items they collected. Sunset quickly opened the door to the passenger side and boarded.

"DRIVE!!" She exclaimed once the door was locked.

"But you said to drive when I hear a slam!"

Sunset furiously slammed a fist against the window, effectively cracking it. "Slam! Now go!"

Wasting no time, Sonata immediately pressed her foot against the petal. One of the cops stood in front of the vehicle, Sonata could've cared less. The cop jumped out of the way, seeing that the vehicle wasn't slowing down for nobody. She sped down the street, ignoring any and all stop signs and red lights.

Five minutes this mad racer continued until Sunset intervened. "I think we lost them," she said, looking out the window.

Sonata slowed down now, if only a little. She took several calming breaths and regained herself. She took a closer look outside and turned to Sunset. "Kay, bye!" she said.

"Wait, wha-!" Sunset had turned her head to see what Sonata was looking at, and found out that in that mad rush they called an escape, Sonata had managed to drive herself home... somehow.

They saw Rainbow Dash's head pop out from the back of the pickup. her hair was even messier than before; likely from the monsoon that was made in that escape. She was moving her head dizzily and slammed to the other side.

Sonata got out of the vehicle and leaned over the side of the pickup. "Goodnight, Rainbow Dash!" she said.

"Wha-? Why's there three of you?" a voice mumbled from the truck.

Sonata started to skip towards her apartment now as if nothing had happened.

It was only when the silence overcame the car after the mile long scream fest was it that Sunset realized that she damaged the vehicle. "oh, Fu-"

####

The stairs weren't much difficulty, after a while they became a habit. The elevator was out of order for reasons that.. may or may not be linked to the three. Soon enough the steps became commonplace. Standing in front of doorway, she unlocked the door and entered.

First thing that struck her off; lights were dimmed slightly. Second thing, Adagio was staring at the door, looking forward as if waiting. In front of her was one of the medicine bottles on the coffee table.

"Care to explain this?" Adagio asked, sliding the bottle forward.

Author's Notes:

I'm not good with high speed chases...

Stabsinthe

After a while, the two finished wrapping up a rather... heated discussion. You see, a while ago, the two made Sonata promise one thing. Never to drink alcohol. The reason why? A small party they decided to crash was serving wine a long time ago. Try to guess which one got drunk. Either way, this ended in the first case of spontaneous combustion.

She stormed off after some insults were thrown at each other, some things are better left unsaid. Adagio was on the couch rubbing her temples while Sonata lay on her bed in her room.

Aria had decided to make an appearance, seemingly out of nowhere, sitting next to Adagio.

"You know, for once, she has a point," she said.

"Ugh. Where'd you come from?" Adagio groaned.

"Heard you two shouting; thought I'd join in on the fray," she explained. "But seriously, how long ago was that? Six hundred years ago? If the girl wants a drink, let her drink," Aria said.

"It's not that simple," Adagio muttered.

"Then what is it?" Aria asked, her normally grumpy mood was missing; giving her that 'big sister' attitude.

"I just don't want us losing control again, we barely got out of that one with singing, I don't want us to find ourselves in one we can't escape from," she explained.

"Just trying to side with her for once," Aria said, setting her feet on the coffee table.

A pregnant silence overcame them. Usually Sonata would come clean to them about anything, the fact she was trying to smuggle alcohol inside was a little nerve wracking. What else could she be hiding?

"Whelp, may as well crack one open," Aria suddenly said, leaning over to grab the bottle.

"Aria, what are you doing?"

"What? Booze is booze, may as well drink it if she can't," Aria said.

"Aria, stop. You have no idea where she found that."

"What? You seriously believe that 'other worldly medicine' pitch she gave you?" she asked, pulling off the top stopper.

"It's not that. Don't you think it's a little backhanded for us to do this?" she asked.

"We tried to enslave a school a month ago. You tell me," Aria said before taking a swig.

She was suddenly on her feet, coughing up the liquid but seemingly choking on something.

"ARIA!!" Adagio cried out before rushing to her sister.

Getting behind her, she wrapped her arms just below her chest, and pumped. After three pumps, Aria couched out something onto the table. That sudden rush of air forces her to lose balance and fall back on the couch. The bottle still hadn't spilled any liquid.

"What the #%!$!! Choking hazard much?" she exclaimed. Bringing the bottle in front of her and inspecting it, she saw a small picture of a man choking with a warning label that was written in a language she had never seen. "Oh..."

Adagio picked up the object between her finger and thumb and brought it close to her eye. "What is this?"

"A giant #%!$@&* cactus needle, what else?" and with that, Aria took a second sip.

"Why are you still drinking it?!"

Aria spoke like she had something in her mouth. "What? It's Absinthe. Just filter the needles through your teeth and you're good, watch," she turned to the wall and spat.

*ptoo*

A long black needle fell to the floor.

"How is it?" Adagio asked sarcastically.

"Not so bad once you get used to your insides being roasted... hold on wait, I want to try something," Aria had a mischevious grin and she took a third swig.

*ptoo*

*tink*

"Aria, stop it."

*ptoo*

*tink*

"I'm surrounded by idio-!"

*ptoo*

*tang!*

Adagio opened her eyes to see that one of needles was embedded inside the wall.

"Yeah! F-Fraking d-dead shot right here!" Aria exclaimed. Pointing a righteous thumb to herself.

"Hold on, let me see that," Adagio said, holding her hand out.

Aria gave her the bottle which Adagio began to inspect with a clear eye. The liquid was a dark green, and settling on the bottom appeared to be a large supply of black needles. "Absinthe, huh? Can't say I've had one since nineteen fourteen... You know what? I say I deserve a drink."

"T-There You go! C-Cut l-l-loose! L-Live a little!" Aria said, coming to Adagio's side and poking her belly.

Adagio stared at the drink suspiciously before taking a long sip.

####

30 minutes later.

*ptoo*

*tink*

"D-D-Dammit!" Aria exclaimed, slamming a fist on the table.

"Watch and learn, Sweetie," Adagio said before taking a sip of the drink. After filtering it with her teeth, she took aim.

*ptoo*

*tang*

"Yes!"

"H-H-How are you so much better than me?!" Aria asked.

"I j-just am, Sweetie," she said.

Aria took her turn on the dart board next. After filtering, she took aim and fired.

*ptoo*

*tang*

"Y-Yesh! B-Bullseye!" Quite literally.

"No! Okay, Ad-dagio, you can do this," Adagio took the bottle from Aria's hand and brought it her lips. The cool liquid ran down her throat, leaving behind the sharp needles. Despite their current state, neither of them cut their mouth yet. She reached deep inside herself, took aim, and f-

"BAAAH!" Aria suddenly came up behind Adagio and screamed in her ear.

Instinctively spitting out the needle, she screamed. Her attention quickly changed back to the needle, which was flying through the air. The scare had forced her to miss completely and now the needle was heading for the door. Everything slowed down as the needle made way towards it's inevitable spot on the door.

And just like a miracle, the door opened.

"Hello? Listen I really need to see- AHHH!!" Sunset Shimmer was cut off as a needle suddenly found her nose.

"I WIN!!" Adagio cried out in joy.

"W-W-What! No w-way! I call that a-a means to a j-j-judge!" Aria cried out.

"I am the judge, Sweetie. And I say I wiiiin!" Adagio sang.

"Humph" Aria grunted, crossing her arms.

Sunset examined the needle that was in her nose. Luckily it didn't go deep, but it still hit hard enough to draw blood. She quickly pulled it out. "Hey guys you got... any... bandages...?" she just noticed what they were doing, as well as the dart board.

The dartboard was a picture of her face, on it were a bunch of black needles. Several of them were on her forehead while two were in her eyes.

"Okay that's a little unsettling," she said to herself. Then she noticed the siren sisters.

First off: they were drunk, second off: they were half naked. Aria was wearing a sports bra and boxers. Adagio had the privilege of keeping her shirt and some fishnet stockings. Thankfully she was wearing underwear... as... revealing as it was.

"Why are you guys almost naked?" She asked, blushing furiously.

"Strip Darts, Dear. Learn it; love it!" Adagio said. "Speaking of which. Oh, Ariaaaa," she sang.

"D-D-Damnit," Aria muttered before she began to undo her bra strap.

"No, no, no! You can keep it on!" Sunset exclaimed waving her arms in an X motion.

"Awwww," Adagio slumped forward.

"Look, is Sonata here?" Sunset asked, feeling more unsafe the longer she stayed here.

"Right here," a glum voice said from the hall. Sonata emerged from the hallway looking at the living room, now trying process what she was staring at.

"Great! Look, Sonata, grab Squirt and follow me, we-"

"Why are my sisters half naked?"

"They're drunk, now we need to-"

"Why are you bleeding?"

"They shot me, seriously we really need to get goi-"

"Why is there a dartboard with your face on it?"

"They were playing Strip Darts..."

Sonata stared at the living room, her sisters had silenced themselves. Peeked at what was going on right now. She then saw Sunset staring at her angrily.

"What?" Sonata asked, seeing that Sunsets stare was looking even more steely and unpleasant.

"Any more questions?" she asked.

"No," Sonata answered.

"Kay, great. Now follow me, we nee-"

"Where are we going?"

"GRAAAAAHHH!! Just follow me!!" Sunset said furiously, grabbing Sonata by the arm and pulling her to the door.

Once the door had slammed shut, faint footsteps were heard leaving, getting ever more faint. In the darkness was left two half naked sirens.

####

Once out of the building, Sunset took the lead and asked Sonata to follow shortly behind. Lil' ol' Squirt was nestled in Sonata's hair again. Something happened to the leash she got him, all she knows is that it looked half digested.

She was quiet.

Sunset took notice of this, she saw Sonata looking at the ground in a shameful way. Even if she couldn't read her, Squirt was a clear indicator, he looked disheartened as well, staring with sad eyes at the floor while dangling off her ponytail.

Considering the scenery of outside, it matched the mood. The streets were barren with cracks and patches of grass striving to survive between the spaces. The streetlights were clogged with dust, providing a dim light that complimented the dark Saturday night.

"Hey, whats wrong?" she asked, slowing down and keeping pace with her.

she looked like she was trying to find the correct set of words. "You wouldn't lie to me, right?" she asked.

"What? of course not, I promise I would never lie to you, Pinkie Promise," Sunset assured.

"Do you think I'm mature?" Sonata asked.

"Uh.. well... what kind of 'mature' do you mean? I mean, you're definitely mature... physically," she said, slightly dodgy.

"Do you think I'm mature enough to drink?" she clarified.

"Oh, what? yeah... of course, well that really depends on how old you are," Sunset answered.

"I'm over two thousand years old," Sonata said.

"Oh... well that changes things a bit, why are you asking anyway?"

"Adagio says I'm not allowed to drink after a little... accident," Sonata explained.

"And what exactly happened?" Sunset asked.

"Someone, kinda, just a little bit, caught on fire," she said with a sheepish smile.

Sunset had made a visible O face before becoming self aware again. "Oh, well I bet that was years ago, I'm sure your ready to give it a go," Sunset assured.

"But they wont let me," Sonata said. "I feel like they don't even trust me."

"Hey, I'm sure they do, they're just doing this for your own safety. Look, if you really want it, you gotta prove it to them," Sunset began.

"How?"

"That parts up to you, wouldn't be fair if I gave you all the answers, now would it?"

"hmm... where are we going anyway?" Sonata asked, returning to the track at hand.

"were heading back to school," Sunset answered.

"On a Saturday?" Sonata questioned.

"Yeah..."

"Why?"

"I just got a message from Twilight, she's said she's coming later tonight."

All in Theory

They reached the statue in the school court yard in time. It was definitely dark, that's for sure, and none of them brought a flashlight this time. They were standing by the portal, waiting.Sunset had informed Sonata of why they were waiting here. None of them spoke after that, and Squirt had fallen asleep. They were just waiting for the signal that someone, or somepony, was coming through the portal.

Then it started to light up the dark with an almost ethereal light. Well, it technically was ethereal...

At first they saw nothing but the ripples in the mirror, looking like rippling water in an infinite void. It was beautiful in a way.

Then they a foot step out, more ripples being made as it disrupted the surface.

And with the grace of a diving rock, something stumbled out of it.

If it weren't for Sunset, that being would've landed face first into the concrete, and would've most likely broken its nose.

It let out an embarrassed chuckle as it tried to find support on Sunsets arms, managing to just barely stand on two legs again.

"Heh... thanks for that, I can never get used to these darn things," it said.

"It's all about balance... and it's good to see you again, Twilight," Sunset welcomed.

"You too," she said with a friendly smile.

She only then noticed the figure standing beside Shimmer, a good few feet away.

"Oh! And you too... uh... Sonata, was it?" she said sheepishly.

Sonata nodded. She felt unsure. She felt like she made a mistake.

The two stared at each other uncomfortably.

Twilight was awkwardly shifting from leg to leg. Sonata just stared.

Sunset came up to Sonata's side. "Okay then... how about we show our friend here the whole reason she crossed a dimension to come here?" she nudged.

Sonata bolted up with realization. She began to carefully fish around her hair before she got a hold of something. She pulled out something that looked like a curved teardrop. Her hands just slightly below its fins, its eyes were closed, and its tail dangled in the wind. She did this in utter silence.

Twilight looked taken back at first. She had an extended knowledge off all the creatures in Equestria, maybe a few that slipped by the cracks here and there, but nothing like this.

She knew it wasn't from the human world either, judging by how even Sunset was acting about the whole situation. She was even surprised to realize it was exactly how Sunset had drew it in the Cell Book. Orange spot on the head, bright blue tail, and tiny fins. The skin even glimmered slightly, like it was just in water.

It appeared amphibious, yet entirely marine. Reptilian? No... definitely not mammalian either. It was definitely not avian. She was very eager to finally have a chance to document something.

She decided to start with it's primary food source. "So... what can you tell me about its dietary habits?" she asked.

Sonata answered quickly. "He likes to eat metal," she answered. The creature stirred pleasantly at her voice.

Twilight was taken back by this. She knew of creatures that ate metal back in Equestria, but most of them were large in size. And most of the creatures that ate metal back there were reptilian, evolved to digest it without worry.

She moved on. "How does it behave?"

"He really likes to follow me and my sisters, and when he's sleepy, he likes to sleep on the heater, or by the window" she explained.

"Ehh?"

Sunset chimed in. "It's a machine that heats the room your in," she explained.

Now she was becoming bewildered. It continues to show mixed signs of just about every species except for avian.

Slimy skin suggests amphibian, but some reptiles eat stones to help digestion. But it thinks like a mammal to follow a mother figure.

But it eats metal! Something found only in the creatures of Equestria. That, and it apparently lives off heat. Maybe that's why he was in her hair, a means of insulation. Perhaps it's to sustain its natural body temperature... whatever that is.

But it appeared to have no functions of breathing on the outside, meaning it breaths through its skin, or perhaps those spots on its head acted as a respiratory gland of sorts.

She turned to Sunset. "How did it behave when he first saw you and the girls?"

"He was scared, he was always pressing himself against Sonata,"

"And how do you know it's male?" she asked, turning back to the creature, it looked like it's eyes were fluttering from the noise.

"Uh... we actually don't know," Sunset said, placing a hand behind her back.

Hermaphrodite? or maybe it reproduces asexually, most likely the latter.

The creature was fully awake now, and being woken up to a face he had never seen before, didn't really help with the matter. He showed first hand what Sunset had described. It actively tried to get as close to Sonata as physically possible. If it could, it would probably try to merge with her. Sonata held it tightly against her. Most like to help reassure it.

"And how does it move without any visible limbs?"

"He just... floats," Sonata said.

"Can I see?" Twilight asked. She wanted to see this first hand.

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea..." Sonata suggested.

"Why not?" she asked. "Sunset, you said that he's practically harmless, right?"

"I thought so.. what's wrong, Sonata?"

"Back when you guys met him, he turned hard, like really hard!"

"Interesting... that must be a defense mechanism, and perhaps how they also get the metal they eat. They turn it into tiny chunks by slamming into it... I guess that's how his species fends off predators too." she nodded as this theory came together. She moved slightly closer to him. His eyes were becoming less terrified and more... determined.

"Fascinating! It's even capable of facial expression! Without any form of speech, they probably use facial recognition to find one another. I wonder if-"

*CRACK*

Before she even knew what hit her. The little fella had just broken out of Sonata's arm, nearly sending her flying with him. And slammed right into her forehead.

"OH MY GOD!" Sunset exclaimed, running to Twilight's side. She was watching her eyes drift about. "Twilight, are you okay?!"

Twilight continued to stumble around, seemingly drowsy. "I'm gonna pass out now if you don't mind," she said.

Then she fell right on backwards.

Sadly, Sunset wasn't able to catch her in time, her head slamming against the concrete floor.

"Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!" Sunset started to circle around Twilight's unconscious body.

"I didn't mean it!" Sonata exclaimed. She picked up Squirt off the ground and was darn near contemplating running.

"It's alright! It wasn't your fault, I'll just... carry her to my home, and we'll settle this in the morning," Sunset wasn't even facing Sonata, she looked as if she were talking to herself.

"Tell her I'm sorry," Sonata said.

"You didn't mean it, Squirt was scared. You couldn't control him, that's all." Sunset assured. She had her arms raised in a calming manner. "Just don't worry about it, I'll explain it to her."

"O-Okay..." she turned her attention to Squirt, and gave him a disapproving glare. He stared at her guiltily. Like a child who didn't know what they did wrong.

"Alright just, help me get her up," Sunset said. Putting an arm under Twilight's.

Sonata joined along, setting Squirt down. She joined along in getting the limp princesses body upright.

"Is she bleeding?" Sonata asked.

"No, I don't think so," she said, wrapping her other arm around Twilight's side. "Thanks for the help, by the way, I can take from here."

Sonata let go of her, and turned her attention to the mirror.

Home...

"Is it alright if I?" she raised an arm and let a hand rest on the surface.

"I don't know, we need you here right now. Maybe another time..." Sunset advised, slowly walking away.

Sonata wasn't focusing on her words. All she heard was no.

'Maybe I can just... test the waters?' she thought.

She put pressure on the one hand and watched as it sunk into the mirror. Seemingly disapearing from existence. It felt like static. Then she felt something she thought she wouldn't feel in a long time.

Her fingers... they felt joined together, like something was connecting them.

Fins.

She was home... or at least partly. But she couldn't help but smile. She just felt... so happy. Her chance to go home, and she can go at any time now. She felt as if she could cry.

And then it started to hurt.

Author's Notes:

It's alive!

Intersection Between Bad and Wrong

Felt like a truck. Well, actually no, a truck was probably a better feeling than this.

Felt as if her bones were ground to dust, her scales felt like they were being bent in the other direction and ripped off. And the burning feeling. That must have been the worst.

All this in less than a second.

She yelled out in pain; pulling her hand out so quick that she fell backwards. She dropped Squirt in the process, and considering he wasn't expecting that reaction, he bounced off the ground with a flop. But that wasn't what concerned him.

Sonata was panting heavily, holding her hand with a vise grip. Looking between her hand and mirror with nothing but fear.

Sunset heard her cries and immediately turned around in a panic. When she saw her on the ground, she dropped what she was doing and rushed over. Too bad she dropped everything.

Twilight lurched forward and fell face first to the ground.

Sunset was examining Sonata by every inch to find out what was wrong.

But there was nothing. Not a scratch on her. Squirt looked terrified for her safety and was doing the same.

She grabbed her shoulders and shook for her to focus on her eyes. "Sonata! Are you okay?!"

Sonata regained focus and looked down at her hand. Her hand was still intact. Everything was fine.

Why was everything still okay?

The pain! It was gone, like it never even happened.

"Sonata, can you hear me?" Sunset shook her by the shoulders.

Sonata focused on her face. She looked worried. Her eyes were in a panic. "I-I'm fine?"

"Are you sure? What happened?!" Sunset let go of her shoulders.

"I-I just put my hand through the portal, I felt like I was me again... then it just started to hurt so much," she explained. Squirt was curled up around her leg. A look of concern through his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Sunset asked.

"I'm fine... I don't know why," she answered.

"Glad to hear you're okay... look, maybe can Twilight can explain this in the morning. We've had a rough week so far. So how about we take it easy for a bit? The both of us,"

"Yeah... that sounds nice," Sonata nodded.

"Listen, I'll ask Twilight in the morning about what happened," she put a hand on her shoulder. "Now listen, I want you to take things slowly for a bit, and if anything happens, either to you or to Squirt: Find me, alright?"

"Okay..." Sonata nodded.

"Good to hear," she patted her shoulder before taking her hand off. "I gotta take Twilight to my home, try to get home and get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning," she got out of her crouching stance and went over to Twilight.

She struggled to get her off her feet, but she managed just fine.

"Sunny?" Sonata called, getting up.

"Yeah?" she answered, looking up at her. Twilight had a large bruise on her forehead. It was a miracle her nose wasn't broken. Or maybe it was and no blood came out yet.

"Thank you, that meant a lot to me," she said. Squirt was in her arms again.

"It's no problem," she answered with a warm smile. "What else are friends for?"

Sonata headed home, but her words stuck to her. Despite all that's happened, she let a small smile break free.

####

Dawn: Sunset Shimmer's home.

There was a crow on her windowsill. It refused to quiet down and continued with its obsessive cawing. It woke Sunset Shimmer from a dreamless sleep. Her eyes baggy and dark around the edges. She didn't get enough rest compared to what happened last night. After saying goodbye to Sonata, she realized her first problem. She had to trek all the way back home with an unconscious body leaning on her side. She was definitely heavier than expected considering that Twilight had the build of a twig. It took about an hour or two, and since it was still winter, the night was absolutely freezing. Her fingers felt frozen when she finally got home.

And despite her troubles, she found a few more to deal with. She spent about half an hour making sure Twilight's head was alright, and after finding a nasty gash just on her scalp, patched it up. She decided to give Twilight her bed while she would reside on the couch in the living room. It wasn't all that comfy, even when just sitting on it. But she was so exhausted, she just went out like a light. After the crow woke her up, she realized she'd be paying for her kindness with her back.

Slamming on the window to shoo the crow away, she looked at the time.

12:43

She very nearly had a miniature heart attack; that was until she realized something.

It was Saturday.

Taking in a sigh of relief, she went back to her current kingdom of the couch. Her back was now beginning to kill her. She lied down on the couch, stomach first. It helped lift off the pain a small bit. She was facing the TV, but the thing was off. And the remote was on the coffee counter, a mere inch away from her hand. She tried to reach for the remote desperately, but to no avail.

She decided the the TV would take her mind off the pain, and she sat back up and reached for it. Switching it on, she turned to the local news to make sure they were still anonymous.

There was the alley, and there was a woman talking over footage of the alleyway, it was just the way they left it, piles of rocks everywhere, and police tape strewn about. It cut to the image of a black silhouette with a white question mark over it. The woman began to talk about. 'Three lowly individuals who thought it'd be fun to steal evidence and go on a joyride.'

"Heh... you'll thank me later," she muttered.

Knowing she probably shouldn't lie back down, otherwise she wouldn't want to get up again, she decided to make breakfast. Or lunch? Brunch?

Anyway, she decided to make a plate for Twilight as well. grabbing a pan from the dish rack, she put it on top of the heaters and turned it on. And only after placing the bacon on the pan did she realize something.

She was sharing a home with an herbivore.

She groaned aloud as the smell was beginning to fill the house, so unless she was really out of it, she'd come to investigate.

She was really hoping she could put this off for another day, she really was. Heck, she wanted to never cross the 'Omnivore' gap, but fate is cruel in some ways. Like making you forget you gave your room to a pony-human hybrid... thing. That only ate plants and plant by-products.

She waited for the inevitable and just went along with the sizzling meat.

Sunset was really surprised when she actually finished the thing and she hadn't seen Twilight leave the bedroom.

'Wonder what did more damage, Squirt, or the concrete...' she'd check on her after she finished her evil meal as she would probably put it. She decided to help herself to some eggs as well.

Placing her food on her plate, she went for the table that accompanied the living room. Right before she could take her first bite, she heard the door open.

'Great...'

She could see Twilight's shadow in the hall leading to her bedroom, and by the looks of it, she was leaning against the wall for support. After reaching the end of the wall, she was out in the open.

Her hair was a mess, and there was a bandage wrapping around her head and covering one eye. It's not that her eye had any trouble, it's just that was the way Sunset had wrapped it.

She stumbled forward when she ran out of plywood to lean on. Take the fact she doesn't know how to walk on two legs properly, and make matters worse with head trauma, you can tell this looked a bit silly.

Sunset got out of her chair to help the princess up to her feet. After that, she started to head towards the second chair by the table.

"Ugh... what happened?" she moaned.

"Let's just say you got a bit too close for comfort," Sunset answered, assisting her into the chair.

"Heh... guess I underestimated the little guy," Twilight said jovially, or more rather tried.

"You can say that again."

"I just wonder how he can become that dense that quickly..."

"It's a mystery," Sunset said, taking the first bite out of her strip of pork.

"Say, what's that your eating?" Twilight asked.

She immediately tensed up, her mind raced to find an appropriate answer. "It's, uh... Tofu!" she blurted.

"To-fu?"

"Yeah! Tofu! It's a plant!" Sunset was wide-eyed.

"Strange... can't say I've ever heard of it in Equestria."

"Because it only grows here... on Earth... and not Equestria," she had a strange smile on her face.

Twilight had a thinking expression for a moment. "Could I try some?" she asked polity.

"NO!" Sunset barked suddenly, forcing Twilight to jump in her seat.

"W-Why? What's wrong with it?" she asked.

"It's.. uh, really bad! Tastes absolutely horrible!" Sunset was nodding as if she were trying to agree with or own statement.

"Well it can't be that bad if you ate it just fine," Twilight countered.

"It's an... acquired taste! Yeah! Like a mouthful of horseradish."

"Horseradish?" Twilight was starting to grow suspicious.

"Yeah..."

"I'm sure it wouldn't hurt if I try one," Twilight said, and without another warning, she reached over and grabbed a strip. before Sunset could protest, she had already taken a bite out of it.

Sunset was frozen, a dark sense of dread was coming over her.

'It's game over man! Game over!'

She was very surprised to find that Twilight was actually enjoying the greasy strip. Sunset's eyes were growing and her pupils were dilating.

'You fool!'

"Mmm! Thish 'Tofu' tashtes really good, I can't fathom why you think ish sho awful," she was still chewing as she spoke.

'... Just roll with it Shimmer.'

"Uh... yeah, I just didn't think you'd like it is all... yeah," she sounded nervous.

"Sho," she chewed a little more swallowing. "What happened last night after the creature knocked me down," she asked.

"His name is Squirt. And that's also what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What happened?"

"After you got knocked out, me and Sonata got you back up and I was gonna take you here when she asked if... she asked if she could go back home," she said.

"She didn't..." Twilight looked worried.

"Don't worry, she didn't actually go through, I said it probably wasn't the best idea, or at least until you said it was okay... but she wanted to try something," she looked down.

"What'd she do?"

"She put her hand through apparently and... and the next thing I know I hear screaming..." she trailed off a bit. "We might have taken their voices, but that scream... it was absolutely horrifying. I set you down gently, and I went over to see what was wrong and... nothing!"

"What do you mean nothing?" Twilight asked.

"She looked fine. Nothing was wrong. But that scream, and the way she was acting, she was panting like she was burning hot, but nothing was wrong," she finished.

Twilight looked ponderously for a moment before closing her eyes. "Did she describe how it felt?"

"No, she just said it hurt."

Twilight seemed to put on a bit of a contemplative look before letting her head drop down. "I was worried that would happen..."

"You knew!?" Sunset leaned in, her hands slamming against the plate.

"It was just a theory! I didn't know it would be true..."

"How'd it go?"

"After we fought the Dazzlings... you remember how the gems in their true forms were embedded into the base of their neck?"

"Yeah? So what?"

"So, I said that their physical forms, the ones in Equestria, lived off it," she started. "And without any magic to fuel them, their bodies would burn up, like a dying star,"

"Oh no..."

"If they were to go through the portal, one of two things would happen, maybe even both."

"And what are they?"

"They'll either revert back to a basic form where magic consumption for their bodies is extremely low; kinda like a polyp stage for Jellyfish. Or..." she looked sullen

"Or what?"

"... There's a... there's a chance they'll be wiped off the face of the universe."

A Forest of Thorns

Sunset leaned back in her chair. She wasn't aware about the damage they sowed. She just thought they took their magic, not their way of life...

She really didn't know what to do with that information.

"It's all my fault..." Twilight had a dark look on her. She looked guilty.

"No, it's not, if we hadn't intervened, they would've done a whole lot worse than just taking over a high school," she assured.

"I'm the princess of friendship, I should've done more than just stopped them, I should've done something else,"

"Hey, listen. What's done is done, let's just move on. We can make it up to them... somehow. We did what we had to," Sunset said.

"By solving violence with violence?"

"By saving two entire worlds, heck, maybe even the world Squirt came from, too," she gave a warm smile.

"You're right, just gotta find a way to make it up to them... yeah."

"So, now what?" Sunset asked.

"Now I have to tell you something" she said.

"What's that?"

"Well, when exactly did Sonata find 'Squirt'?" she asked.

"Uh... about two weeks ago I think, on a Friday," she answered.

"Two weeks... sounds about right," Twilight mused.

"Why'd you need to know that?" Sunset asked.

"You remember the Everfree Forest, right?"

Sunset gave a quick scoff. "Yeah I do, the supposed 'most dangerous place in Equestria,' right? Until you came around."

"Well let's just say: it earned that title back," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"We've been having strange encounters these past few weeks, strange animals never before categorized, and even more vast plant-life, highly aggressive they all are."

"That can't be good..."

"Not only that, they're highly invasive as well, we've had several cases of them growing inside pony's houses. Luckily there haven't been any... causality's, just a few injuries. The plants, however, they appear to react to a simple presence alone, and they respond with deadly force," she said.

"But they're plants? How can they be dangerous if you just don't eat them'?"

"They have tropisms, they react to the world around them, they can do a lot more than just poison, one type I've seen appears to eject needles out of its body,"

"Did you say needles?" Sunset inquired.

"Yes, why?"

"Where exactly were you going with this?"

"Well after you sent your message about 'Squirt' I thought that couldn't be a coincidence and maybe they're connected somehow," Twilight explained.

"Okay, but what's happening in Equestria so far?"

"We've managed to establish a magic barrier over the Everfree, but... those plants and animals, they're smart,"

"How?"

"They don't attack the same area twice, and they always test the barrier for weaknesses. And some of those plants are growing on it!"

"How?!"

"I don't know, but they can't break down the barrier, so that's why I left for here, to figure out more and see if there's really is a connection to this world and the new landlords of the Everfree," Twilight said. "what were you gonna say?"

"Sonata, she found a couple of drinks in the same place she found Squirt, and it just so happens, one of those drinks might have those same needles," Sunset said.

"Wait, do you have it?"

"Uh, no... it's over in the Dazzlings apartment," she explained.

"Well we have to get it! Let's go," Twilight was just about to getup when Sunset stopped her.

"There may be a tiny... little problem,"

"What's wrong? Did you and Sonata get into a fight after I was knocked out?"

"No, no, it's just that... her sisters... may not share the same outlook on us then Sonata," she wore a sheepish smile as she was explaining this,"

"That... might be a problem,"

"On a brighter side, though, I did keep a book,"

"You found it with Squirt?" she asked.

"Yeah, I figured you might be able to translate it or something," she said.

"Sunny, I am honored that you think I have the ability to translate an entirely different language, I really am. But you have to remember, there is no reference data on this, I'll have to do it entirely off scratch," she explained.

"Well... could you at least take a look?"

"Sure, I'll try my best at least," she said.

Sunset left the table and went into her room. After rummaging for a few seconds, she found the strange book and brought it back outside. She set it on the table in front of Twilight. She looked at it for a moment, examining the cover for a hint as to what it might hold.

There were three large symbols on the front, followed shortly by a large string of more symbols below it.

Twilight picked it up in her hand, and flipped to the first page. She had a quizzical stare as she looked down on the page, she flipped to the second page, then the next one, then she just skimmed through the entire thing before closing the book.

"Well" Sunset asked,

"It's an alphabet book," Twilight said.

"Wait, huh?!"

Twilight opened back to the first page. "There's a different symbol on every page, just one symbol, and it's the largest thing on the page with a little picture next to it," she flipped to the next page, sure enough, there was strange symbol that looked like a small spiral that ended with a fork. Along side it was a spear. "Crazily enough, there's twenty six of them, I might be able to translate the entire thing by the end of the day!"

"That's great!"

"Now here's the next problem,"

"Not again..."

"It's an alphabet book, any information on this was made for a four year old, probably nothing on it has anything to do with our situation," she explained. "By any chance, did you find any more like this?"

"No, that was the only one we found," she answered.

"Hmm.. I guess we'll have to work with what we have," she looked down on the book, as if thinking. "In the mean time, I'll get to working on a translated version right away, you try and get that drink I asked for, and maybe anything else that you think could help," she explained.

"On it!" Sunset got out of her seat, and headed for the door,

She couldn't help but smile a little.

'Finally, some progress!'

Author's Notes:

Dear lord the dialogue! It's too much!

Civil Discourse

She made head-way for the Dazzlings apartment building. Her mind was filling with several ways on how to convince them to let her inside, let alone grab a few items from their home. She met the Dazzlings once after their defeat... and lets just say, it wasn't pretty. But she needed those samples.

But what was Twilight gonna do with them? She assumed she was going to make some sort of pesticide or something that can get rid of those plants she was talking about. They seemed like a major problem, more so then a tiny-floating-water-bottle. Then again... Squirt did seem slightly bigger that time. When she first saw him, he was about up to Sonata's knee's. Now he was almost to her hips! He must have some sort of magic in him, otherwise she wouldn't be able to hold him so easily. Or maybe his skin is full of helium? Is that even possible? Questions for later...

Her mind were so full of these thoughts, she nearly forgot the Dazzlings apartment was a two hour walk...

Her legs were killing her by the time she made it, and it was cold out, but it was also very sunny, so it meant she had to walk there in a very uncomfortable mix of hot and cold.

Getting in, hoping the inside was a bit better could pick at least one temperature to side with, she was glad to see it picked a very comfy sort of warm.

She headed up the steps, trying her hardest to remember their apartment number. It eventually came to a guessing game of what floor it was. The first one was empty, the second floor had an old elderly woman, the third had a bunch of people fighting in a language she doesn't understand. She tried the fourth, expecting it to be another dud, but instead heard shuffling feet and a familiar voice groaning on the inside.

'Must be the hangover,' she thought.

She heard the sound of someone fumbling with the lock before the door opened. She saw a mass of hair, random strands sticking everywhere, and it was unkempt. She was looking down at the ground, obviously a little sick.

"Yeah, yeah, wha-" she stopped herself once she realized who was at the door. "Oh... it's you."

"Uh... yeah, hi," Sunset said with an awkward smile. She hoped that they would share that same level of... hospitality as the night before.

"How have you been?" she asked, her voice had a layer of something pent up. This worried her to a degree. Adagio leaned agaisnt the door frame and stared directly into Sunset's eyes.

"Uh, I've been fine, look, I wanted to-"

"We've been really busy scrapping by, you know. After you ruined us!" her voice become deeper.

"At least let me explai-"

"Listen: We both said a lot of things you're going to regret," her eyes were furrowed. "But I say we should put our differences behind us."

"Wait, really?" Sunset felt excited for a second.

"For. 'Friendship'," she put these in air quotes. "You monster."

"Wait, what?"

"Sonata said she felt guilty last night; said she wanted to be more trustworthy. I had no idea what she was talking about, but then she told us. In every little detail..."

'Oh no...'

"Let me explain!" Sunset started.

"You nearly killed my little sister!" she put a finger on Sunset, the nails were sharp and it was digging in. "And you made sure we can't go back home!"

"Wait, let me-"

"I have one thing to say to you..."

'Why do I get the feeling I know what it is...'

"Get out of our lives! You have done nothing but hurt us! And I want to bet your here to ask for our help or something, am I right?" her voice was low and menacing.

"Uh... yeah," Sunset looked down guiltily.

"I thought so... listen to me and listen to me well! I'm giving you one more chance, but only because Sonata says she trusts you. Goodness knows why. But if I hear that another incident like last weeks or today happens again, and if she gets hurt because of you!" she paused. "I will make sure that the last thing you see is your terrified and asphyxiated face reflecting off my eyes! You got that?" she was breathing heavily. She practically shouted that entire verse.

"But if you could just let me explai-"

"And so the moving finger writes! And as written! Moves forward!" Adagio held up a finger suddenly and smacked her with it. One of her long nails scratching her nose, same spot where that needle hit, it started to bleed again.

"Ow!" she said, putting a hand over it.

When she looked up again, she was already in the hall walking away. She then noticed that Aria was looking at her across the the room, she was sitting on the couch.

She felt that feeling of dread rise up again. "Did she... did she just somehow give the middle finger?"

"Not just the finger, the MOVING finger!" Aria exclaimed, raising her finger up.

"Wait, you're not angry?"

"Oh, I'm furious with you right now! I just thought I'd at least explain some things before giving you a black-eye," she said.

"Okay?"

"We've seen humans do some... nasty things. And I'm sure Adagio would give anything to perform just one of those things on you in a dark room."

"Oh, well that's nice to hear..."

"Look... Sonata trusts you and...I just wanna ask you a favor," she said.

"What's that?"

"Please don't hurt my little sister..." her voice... it was off from someone like her. It was pleading...

"I-I, that'd be the last thing I would ever want to do," she assured.

"You sure?" she asked. "You already did it three times. Now I wanna ask you for one more favor."

"Yeah?"

"Get what you came for, and leave!" her voice took on that same persona as Adagio's.

####

Twilight had gotten to N. Everything about this book was so strange. But she couldn't help but find it fascinating. Here she was, deciphering an entirely new language! One not even both world could understand! Maybe she'd go down in textbooks as somepony who's mind could rival Starswirl's... and maybe they'd also forget she translated a children's book...

Suddenly the door flew open, and in walked Sunset Shimmer. She was a carrying a paper bag, she had a black eye and a bandage over her nose.

"Oh sweet Celestia, are you alright?!" she stopped what she was doing and went right for her.

"I'm fine, you don't have to worry," Sunset assured.

"Sunset, tell me, please," Twilight said.

"I'll be fine, what matters is I got these," she said, pulling up the paper bag.

Twilight took the bag and looked inside. Inside it was a smile pile of black needles, sticking to the sides appeared to be a green substance. "Is this all you could get?" she asked.

"I was lucky I made it out of their alive," she joked.

"So, Sonata's sisters aren't gonna be much help after today?"

"I don't think so..."

Twilight took another look at the bag. "It's alright, I can work with what we have," she went back to the desk where she set down the bag. "You know, if you want, you can help me with the translation progress," she suggested.

"I would love that," she said, walking by and taking a seat by her.

Author's Notes:

I hate the fact my computer is broken, I have to use my step-dads laptop, or my school computers when I get the chance. I was lucky here. updates will be coming a lot slower until either christmas, or next year. I hope you guys can hang in their till then. I'll see you guys in the next one; thanks for reading.

A Children's Book

Three Days Later.

Twilight's visit was over. After recovering from her headache and working on two fully translated version of the book, she had to bid adieu to begin the real work. Of course, she also had to take the, 'Weapons,' Shimmer talked about.

She was waiting by the portal mirror, and not a single student was in sight as Sunset Shimmer had said it was a student holiday. She had set down the bag of needles by the portal when she saw a rusty red, 'car,' pull up on the street the school overlooked.

"Okay... that's a good sign," she said to herself.

From one side of the, 'car,' a small door opened up and Sunset Shimmer walked out. On the other seat, which looked like it had a large wheel attached to it, was Applejack, and on the large part behind it, which Twilight could only assume was a cargo-hold, two small heads popped up simultaneously.

One head belonged to the body of a newly discovered species from an entirely new world, and the other belonged to Sonata.

Sunset has yet to read the translated variant as she had to spend most of the past three days trying to convince Applejack to let them use the pick-up again.

Applejack smiled and waved at her from the, 'car,' but she didn't give any indication of actually leaving it.

Sonata vaulted over the side railing while Squirt floated after her.

She was so busy on taking notes on how he moved, that she didn't even notice Sunset's fingers snapping right beside her head.

'No assistance of the tail when levitating; possible sex organ? Or perhaps a vestigial organ? Maybe for balance? Perhaps a-'

"Twilight!" a shout startled her from her thoughts.

"Gahhh!" she yelped, stumbling backwards a few steps, but still keeping on two legs. She felt proud of that feat of balance.

"Oh, uh, sorry about that," Sunset apologized. "We got the, uh, 'items,'," she said, putting a forced casual tone to the word, 'Items.'

Sonata walked up beside her. "I wouldn't exactly call them just items," she said.

Sunset made a motion for her to quiet down in a panicked tone, looking around to make sure no one else heard her.

Squirt was hanging back just slightly behind Sonata's shoulders. Upon seeing who she was in front of her, his eyes were narrowed in suspicion at the human princess.

Or she... or whatever gender it is.

Twilight let out a small laugh. "They're in the... 'car,' right?"

'Why did they get rid of the T?! It'd be so much better if I could just say the T!' she screamed internally.

"Yeah, come on, take a look," Sunset Shimmer said, leading Twilight to the, 'car.'

'It's pronounced Cart! C-A-R-T a vehicle used to carry large loads of supplies or ponies!'

They were behind the vehicle when Sunset opened a small door behind it, showing off the large hold.

To say that Twilight got an eyeful is an understatement.

First thing she saw was a the skull of something that resembled a lizard, it's black pits for eyes staring right at her. She practically jumped back at the unnatural way it's remains were formed to just barely resemble a crossbow. It was that same feeling as staring at a predator.

Or a pile of highly volatile weapons with no current understanding. That can wield the same effect too...

"You still sure about this?" Sunset asked, looking at Twilight's nervous expression.

She quickly changed her expression to be of a more serious tone. "Of course! It is my responsibility to make sure no one gets hurt by these again." she turned around to face Sonata and Shimmer. "Especially my friends," she said with a proud smile.

"Ah'm right here, Twi!" a voice called from the front of the, 'car'.

"Oh! And you too! Your important too! Heh...?" she turned back around. "So... how are we going to get these through the portal?"

"You don't know?" Sonata and Sunset said in unison.

"Well, we can't just drive the... 'car' through it, can we?"

"Not on mah dead body!" a low, growling voice muttered from the front of the, 'car.'

"We'll just carry them," Sunset answered. "We already did it once, isn't that right, Sonata?"

"Yeah! We even managed outrun the police with all those things in the trunk."

"YA DID WHAT!" Applejack exclaimed, overhearing the conversation.

"I thought I told you not to tell her!" Sunset cried out.

"But I didn't tell her! I told Twilight," Sonata defended.

"Sunny! You and me are gonna have a long talk about respecting other people's property, ya understand?" Applejack said, a hint, no, more of a gallon of anger behind her voice.

Sunset looked down shamefully.

"I guess we can carry them out," Twilight suggested. "It's just-"

"Just what?" Sonata asked.

"Maybe you three could carry them?" she suggested sheepishly.

"You're not gonna help?" Sunset asked.

"I don't want to risk dropping them and setting them off on accident. And besides, you three have the most experience with these than anyone," she explained.

"Count me out!" called Applejack. "Ah don't mess with a Rattlesnake with its head cut off, and ah definitely won't mess with that mess."

"I guess it's just you and me, Sonata," Sunset said, starting by grabbing the spear from the back of the truck.

Sonata reached for a discarded handle in the pile and pulled out the machete.

"I can handle that one for you," Twilight offered.

"Thanks," Sonata said happily, handing over the machete.

Before she could drop the handle from her grasp, Squirt suddenly wrapped around Sonata's arm defensively and glared daggers at Twilight. Seemingly saying. 'I wouldn't do that!'

This startled Twilight as she stumbled back again. Still keeping on her own two feet.

'On a roll!'

"Eh... heh, heh. I guess I'll hold onto it," Sonata said sheepishly, continuing her walk to the portal.

Twilight, feeling a little useless now, decided to try to carry her own weight this time. She looked over the edge of the, 'car,' to see if she could carry anything.

The problem was, those two grabbed everything that Twilight knew she could handle. Everything else looked like it had a trigger of some kind, but then she spotted it. It was a small tid-bit that was buried in the rest, but it looked too familiar. It looked like a bow and arrow.

"There we go," she said as she reached down for it.

She grabbed the bow, making a great effort of not even breathing on anything else, and headed for the portal. Although she didn't really know how to hold the thing with fingers... or hooves, so she made this very uncomfortable looking mess holding the thing.

The other two were already coming back for a new item from the truck when they spotted her with the bow.

They gave a quick thanks before heading back to the, 'car.'

She set the bow down at the foot of the mirror like the rest and observed the other items that were set here. There was the machete and the spear waiting by it. This would need to go quick, a batch of teens carrying suspicious looking materials onto school grounds isn't exactly the most welcoming sight, Twilight would assume

After another few minutes, and a team effort by Sunset and Sonata on getting a large, green device the size of an actual person out of the car, they piled them in the most delicate pile they could manage at the foot of the portal.

Twilight looked sheepishly at the mess. "I suppose I can handle it from here, thanks you guys," Twilight said.

"So, after you get all this stuff through, what're you gonna do?" Sunset asked.

"I suppose I'll have to study them in a very controlled environment, perhaps look for a clue as to how to clear the Everfree of their new arrivals while I'm at it," she said. "Maybe if I can, I could find a way to return them to where ever they came from, and these things too in the process."

"How long is that gonna take?" Sonata asked.

"Uh...? How long it'll take is anyone's guess at the moment. It could take days, months, maybe even years," she explained as she noticed Sonata's expression turn solemn. "But I promise, once I find a solution, I'll get straight to work on finding a way on getting you and your sisters home," she assured.

"Promise?"

"I promise," she assured once more, giving a warm smile.

She was suddenly taken back when Sonata rushed her, giving her a hug. "Thank you!" she shrieked excitedly.

Twilight swore she could hear a rib or two snap.

She was about to return the show of affection when she noticed Squirt, poking out of her hair, and given his size, that was a feat by itself. He was giving her that same look, but this one was definitely more threatening.

"Uh... yeah, no problem," she said shyly, trying to politely push her away.

Not that easy when you just promised someone to get them home after a couple thousand years away.

He appeared to be assuming a defensive... float? And was rearing his head back, ready to strike. Twilight closed her eyes, preparing for the inevitable smack. But it never came, she felt Sonata's arms loosen as she let go, but she did so a bit more forcefully than she had intended, accidentally sending Twilight stumbling away again.

This time, she did fall. But it was definitely a better pay-off than a fractured skull. Because right where she was standing, not even two second ago, Squirt had already dashed forward, and was now looming over her with a confused expression.

Using her time wisely, she shuffled away from him before getting back up. She patted away some of the dirt and dust that settled from the fall.

"So I guess you'll be going now?" Sunset said, coming by her side. Sonata was walking back to the truck, waving a larger than life goodbye on her way.

"I guess. It was good seeing you again, Sunny, and very good to see you helped pull someone out of bad situation," Twilight said.

"Ahh, it was nothing, really. But still, thanks for helping out here, just let us know if you need anything else, alright?"

"I'll be sure to give a call," she said. "Oh, and before you go; I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" Sunset asked.

"About that book... one of the pages I feel may be of interest, I want you to take a look once you get home, I already marked the page for you," she said.

"What's it about?"

Twilight appeared to glaze over the truck with her eyes quickly before turning back. "You'll see it when you read it. I just think this is something we may want to discuss... in private."

"Alright, don't gotta tell me twice," Sunset said.

She gave a quick wave goodbye and was heading back the pickup, hoping and praying none of those things will set off as a part of going through the portal. They were right there anyway, she'd be fine.

She hoped.

As she got into the car, she pulled in her seat belt and waited. She was surprised to see that a good ten seconds had passed and it still hadn't started. She turned around to ask Applejack about the holdup.

Moment she turned her head, Applejack was giving her a glare of something fierce.

"You and me are goin' to have a little talk 'bout, 'Personal Property,'"

####

Using her magic, Twilight dried off the sweat that had accumulated on her fur. Levitating these things to the 'panic room' was easy, making sure they don't explode in a seconds notice was nerve-wracking. After she went through the portal, and after repeating the word Cart several times, she cleared out the Panic Room to make more space for the weapons. It was really just an empty storage room inside the castle at heart, but Spike decided to decree it the honor of, 'The Royal Panic Room.'

She saved the cannon for last, from the description Sunset had given her, it uses a type of magic she hasn't seen before where a machine, a MACHINE can channel magic just like a unicorn, but just like a machine, it's more dangerous and effective, and this one especially seemed very volatile. She would have to make sure that one gets, 'special treatment.' The thing that scared her the most about it, though? She can feel the magic this thing was giving off. Tingling, and the air around was crisp. It felt... hungry. Not as much as black-magic, but there was something else about it that separated it. It just felt... unnatural

She warned Spike later that day to no longer enter the panic room.

Starting with metal compositions, she grabbed the machete and spear from the pile and began to examine them.

Taking a sample of the machete blade's metal proved... interesting. It appeared resistant to her magic, but she still proved superior in grabbing a small chip of it. The handle was standard, a metal cylinder encased in... leather? Was that what Sunset called it? A type of material made from the hides of... animals.

She shuddered slightly.

Good to see this world has humans as well, or something that doesn't value the lives of animals and other beings if that skeleton was anything to go off of. The metal proved to be very powerful, even in the smaller form she managed to extract. The density was surprising as well, seems the only thing that can even hope to break this thing was magic or extreme heat above that of tungsten, the fact this thing has been forged into a perfect blade is amazing by itself.

Levitating a small petri dish from a shelf nearby, she placed the sample inside, and a drop of preservative liquid for further study.

Next was the spear. She decided to grab a sample of both the shaft and the head. Once again, it proved difficult grabbing even a small sample of both.

The shaft was strange, an examination spell, designed to see its molecular build proved most peculiar. It was definitely wood, but it wasn't any she had ever seen.

The molecular build made it so that anything hitting it on a flat surface, or perpendicular of it, would actually force it to strengthen in response. The only way you could break it was to hit it along the length of the shaft, and since a spear is held in a more a specific way, anything that makes contact with the side will almost assuredly bounce off. Putting the theory to the test, she levitated a small scalpel over. Positioning it over the shafts side, she bore down. Nothing; wouldn't even go a nano-meter, even with the amount of pressure she put on it with magic. She rotated the shaft so now it was parallel and below the scalpel. Digging it in, it took a little bit of effort, but it managed to dig in just slightly.

The head had the same composition as the machete, but the design was different. It appeared to cave in at two different points in the spear head on either side. A design she hadn't seen; she decided to try and examine them. She pressed down on the spear to test durability, if it snapped, she could place it back together fairly easily. Pressing down on it with her magic, she came to the realization that it was the same case as the shaft. The more pressure she placed on it, the stronger it became, like glass in the ocean.

Then she realized why there were those curves.

They were snags.

Should whatever the head stick to, it will only become more difficult to remove should the prey item struggle. It tears at the flesh to the point it either becomes mushy and easy to penetrate, or it snags itself in place where it's forcefully removed to ensure blood loss or removal of a limb.

But that still doesn't change the fact the metal of the spear head was the same as the machete.

Unknown.

She sighed and looked back at the panic room. A plethora of unknown material she had to begin studying with no prior knowledge. She loved the idea of discovering a new... anything actually.

She just didn't realize how hard it would be when in that situation. And that book she translated, as little information as it gave, had nothing on these things.

"This is gonna be a long day..."

Her doors burst open as a royal guardspony entered.

####

Sunset returned home exhausted.

After getting chewed out by Applejack in the longest scolding ever on record, she was forbidden from using her pick up again. 'Even if the fate of the world hangs the the balance!'

She slumped into the couch, hoping to get some shut-eye. But just as she was about to close her eyes, she remembered that Twilight asked her to check out the book. Remembering it was in the bedroom, she begrudgingly got up, knowing if she didn't, she'd sleep on the couch.

Once in, she saw the book on the nightstand. Grabbing it, she saw a bookmark deep inside it.

Which wasn't really that deep considering it was only 27 pages, and one of them was ripped out...

Twilight let her keep the original translated version while Twilight made a copy for herself.

Regardless, she decided she had time to read over the entire thing, who knows? She might find something twilight overlooked.

She opened the book, expecting a table of contents, but Instead she was met with the letter A straight away.

She began to read.

'A is for Acobi. The goddess of oath and abandon. Watching her people being carried away in chains for perjury and other dishonest crimes, she bound herself in her own chains to bear the promises of all those around her. If you make a promise, the chastened maid will bind you with her, and she'll hold you to your word.'

On the page was a drawing of a set of arms with chains wrapped around them.

She looked to the page next to it.

'B is for Brusher. Caelondia's variant of the Ura warriors we once fought. They were trained to be better in every way, them and their pikes... something unstoppable.'

"That sounds important," Sunset murmured as intuition struck her. Grabbing her pen, she drew a small star next too, 'Caelondia's.'

There was a drawing of that spear that cut into her leg. It was emerging from a bush in full force.

She turned the page.

*Flip*

'C is for Core. A perfect bit of stone found deep underground. We don't know how it does it, but it keeps the city lights shining day and night. Is there anything it can't do?'

It showed a drawing of a large gem and surrounding it were a multitude of buildings.

'D is for Dauncey. A well renowned Brusher, know for his tenacity and, 'effectiveness,' the infamous training camp was designed by him to train any young-bloods bold enough, or foolish enough to fight in the war alongside him. And his legacy lives on through it. May he rest in peace.'

There was a man shaded in black holding a spear almost as long as him.

*Flip*

'E is for Evacuation. In the case of an emergency, stay calm, leave your belongings, and make way to the nearest safe haven.'

It showed what looked like a family leaving there home.

'F is for Foundation. A solid plot of land for building anything you can ever imagine. Even grand ideas start small.'

A mound of dirt with a few bricks stacked on top of each other to form an incomplete wall.

*Flip*

'G is for Garmuth. God of purpose and folly. The crippled duke traded his senses for all the wisdom in the world. He can help spread that knowledge, or plant the seeds of destruction with it. He teaches us that good intentions are nothing on their own.'

There was a picture of a man in rags and a blindfold scolding a small child.

'H is for Hense. Goddess of pain and pleasure. Her scars are a result of the war she started against her sister, Micia, she stands for torment and respite. She bears the scars of all of us, teaching that that pain and pleasure, both go hand-in-hand, the veiled widow makes sure of it.'

There was a woman in what looked like ragged robes. Her eyes alone had too many scratches and scars to count. She was clutching a thorny rose while liquid dripped from her hand. The way the eyes were drawn didn't sit well with Shimmer.

*Flip*

'I is for In Case of Trouble. A famous song spread throughout the land. Dedicated to the pioneering spirit of Caelondia.'

There was a drawing of a guitar being plucked by a disembodied hand.

'J is for Jevel. God of health and atrophy. He was tasked with building an impenetrable fortress, but at the cost of his youth. We all have the tower keepers strength in us, until that strength runs out.'

There was drawing of a tower, one half had a beautiful young boy on the balcony, and the other had a disheveled and withering man

*Flip*

'K is for kid. A guy or gal just like you. Don't be so eager to grow up, cause there ain't nothing a kid can't do.'

There was a heartfelt drawing of a child and their family.

'L is for Lemaign. God of hope and despair. the mason king taught all of us the troubles of having a hopeful mind, and a pessimistic outlook. He knows that hope and despair are all in the mind.'

There was a drawing of a burly man with a blind eye holding a large hammer. He was holding it as if he were about to strike it down on a nail.

*Flip*

'M is for Micia. Our goddess of loss and longing. A stoic reminder of peace and war; we are all born from the lorn mother, and in the end, we all return to her.'

Drawing of a woman with long hair,clean robes, and a hole in her chest. The spot where her heart should be was replaced by a metal cog. Her eyes were closed and she appeared to be in mourning.

'N is for Nordy the Bird Boy. Who's always there to bring a smile to your face down at the Hanging Gardens, with the thanks to him and his feathered friends.'

There was a drawing of a teenaged kid with a bunch of birds surrounding him; they appeared to be singing.

*Flip*

'O is for Olak. Our young god of chance and whim. Born from Micia. The carefree son lives forever in the moment unhindered by the burden of time, the rest of us can only try.'

It showed a child floating in the air with wild hair holding and blowing on a pinwheel.

'P is for Pyth. God of commotion and order. One of Caelondia's main idols, he taught us that anger leads to nothing but suffering. And that pure strength should be put to better use than violence. When the wakeful bull is calm, let's all do our part to keep him that way.'

There was a drawing of a sleeping bull in heavy ink.

*Flip*

'Q is for Queen Ann. The notorious Anklegator from the wilds; a beast even the gods feared at one point. She can even dig her way into rotten children's dreams.'

The drawing showed a creature Sunset can only describe as a monster. It was a type of alligator with a large horn on its nose erupting from the ground with bones strewn all around it. The eyes...

'R is for Roathus. God of thirst and plenty, teaching his followers a lesson for taking his gifts for grant and their betrayal, he denied them the gift of water for several years. The gorging host reminds us to always know when we've had enough.'

Drawing of a man with a literal river of tears flowing behind him.

She was one page away from the one that was marked. She flipped the page.

*Flip*

'S is for Siren.'

She blinked rapidly and raised an eyebrow; rearing her head back in surprise. She didn't know what an appropriate reaction to this would appear like, so, after regaining herself, she just kept reading.

'A lot more similar than we thought...' a passing notion slipped by.

'Three of Hense's many daughters; born from her jealousy, their sole purpose was to bring misery to all of Micia's followers, but they were done away with by Olak. Be glad they ain't around no more to make you wriggle and writhe.'

There was a drawing of three women, each one had fish like features such as a spinal dorsal fin and a long tail that dipped into the drawn water. They looked eerily similar to-

She put down the book for a moment. Looking towards the Cell-Book on the nightstand, she considered picking it up right now and writing to Twilight but decided against it in favor of finishing the book.

She picked it back up, sighed, and returned to the same page. She made sure to leave a corner folded just in case.

'T is for Trigger. The armies sharpest shooters. Founded at the beginning of the Caelondion-Ura War. Take pride in Caelondia's mounted soldiers, they risk it all to keep us safe.'

It showed a drawing of a man wearing a stetson and holding one of the weapons they discovered in the alleyway.

*Flip*

'U is for Ura. Our pale neighbors to the east, whose homes are underground. They were enamored with us at first before the Caelodian-Ura War. Every day we learn to live in harmony. '

There was a drawing of a man and woman, each clad in the same stylized robes as, 'Hense,' but they had no scars.

'V is for Vigil. An act of remembrance. The sacrifices of our forefathers gave us a new beginning here in Caelondia.'

There was a drawing of a large hand holding that of a child's.

*Flip*

'W is for Windbag. A small family of subterranean dwellers. They have three stages of life, the Squirt; their sort of larval stage, Gasfellas'; a meaner older brother of sorts, and Scumbags: old lumpy thing that love to eat garbage and sidle about. They tend to their mines and we stay up here.'

There were three drawings here. One, which was an almost exact replica of Squirt. Another one which showed what looked like a ghost wearing a ragged hood and had large, muscular arms. and the last being this giant round... thing. It looked like it was being held together by pieces of rope and had a large tail following behind it with an assortment of holes around its body.

"So that's what you are, eh?" Sunset murmured staring back at stage one. She couldn't help but chuckle when she realized the coincidence of the names.

She kept reading, but not before folding the corner of the page.

Just in case.

'X is for... nothing. Strangest letter in the mix, but even the strangest letters have its uses, cause without it, we wouldn't have a mailbox.'

There was a picture of a mailbox with a bird on top and a letter in its beak.

*Flip*

'Y is for Yudrig. God of impulse and bravery. Faced with unending strife, the mighty steed overcame it with strength to spare. Each time the morning stallion stamps his hoof, somebody out their makes their mind.'

There was a mighty horse clad in armor and scars on its muzzle. It was stepping on the very top of a stone at the tip of a mountain.

Sunset chuckled slightly. If she were in Equestria, this stallion would be considered quite a looker.

'And Z is for Zulwood. A tough old fruit whose gourd makes great target practice. Just remember two things, don't pick em' up, and don't eat em'.'

There was a picture of a round and spiked object Sunset dared not to call a fruit with a bulls-eye symbol painted on it.

The last page was ripped out so Twilight didn't include it. She closed the book and immediately grabbed for the Cell-Book.

She reached for a pen and started to write.

'I just read the page you marked,' she wrote.

She put the book down, expecting a reply to come within a couple minutes or so. Come to her surprise when it shook back to life nearly immediately.

'Sunny? Is that you?'

'Yeah? Who else could it be?'

'It's been so long out here...'

'It's been a few hours? Is everything alright?'

'I knew it was gonna be hard, researching unknown material from another world, but I didn't think it'd be THIS hard!'

'Is everything alright back home?'

'The plants grew even more while I was away, some cracks started to form on the barrier and we couldn't repair it, so I had to make an entirely new one, and now I'm just exhausted.'

'Twilight? Get some rest, I can say first hand you earned it.'

"I can't!'

"And why's that?'

"There's so much I have to get done, and so little time, a lot more than just everypony is depending on me now. It feels like... every-THING is depending on the fact that I do this right.'

"Get some rest. You need your head in the game.'

'I know, I know, but it's not soo easy wh' The writing suddenly stopped.

...

'Hello?'

The page started to get dark and wet with something.

Sunset chuckled. She wrote down one more message underneath the growing stain before closing the book.

'Good night, Twilight.'

Author's Notes:

Hey, look! It didn't appear in the recently updated prematurely this time!

Or did it...?

Eh, whatever.

Hey, we even found the main inspiration for this story!

The one Siren cameo...

And the gods... but eh, who cares about them?

Mancer's Dilemma Entry #1

Shimmer are you there? Please respond when you get the time.

I'm here, Twi. What's up?

I need to ask you something, I'm sure we both know the answer, but I need to be certain.

Alright? What is it?

Can I trust you?

What? Of course you can. We wouldn't have gotten this far if I didn't trust you already

I know, you just can't be too safe, what with the constant risk of an army of sentient, not sapient; two ENTIRELY different things, plants are bearing down your neck constantly.

I could imagine...

Anyway, as to the purpose why am I needed to ask that question. I intend on writing down any major logs I may make in here, and heed this. For YOUR EYES only. Can you do that?

You're gonna write down some top-secret stuff and don't want me to share it with anyone, got it

In laymen's terms... yes. It's not that the information is THAT dangerous, but it would probably be preferred if we keep it private. I don't want either of us to rope anyone else into this mess we dug. Try and leave the others out of it, they've done enough as it is.

I can understand that. But what about Sonata? She's definitely gonna want to know

Don't lie to her, but don't tell her anything she doesn't need to know.

Isn't this a little back-handed?

You can tell her anything you want, I just think it would be in our best interests to keep this between the two of us.

Alright, I understand

Remember: DON'T LIE TO HER!

I got it! Don't gotta write me twice

Okay... glad that's established. I suppose I should start writing down my notes.

As you do

Alright... T.S and S.S entry log #1 The materials that you brought have proved to be very interesting even under-

Is that our initials?

Yes. Why?

Nothing... I just found it a little funny is all

Okay... the materials you brought proved very interesting even under-

Am I like, your lab partner or something?

As much as the term can permit, I suppose.

Alright

As I was saying, The materials you brought proved very interesting even under-

D-

Were you about to say something?

No. Nothing

You sure? Cause there's an incomplete D right there...

No, I'm sure. Just a twitch is all

Okay... as I was saying, the materials you brought proved very interesting even under a controlled environment.

How so?

Well, to begin with, the material they're made off is... I don't know, but whatever it is, they appear to be magic-resistant.

You can't be serious?

I am. Anytime I try to grasp them, my magic appears to slip off. On several occasions, it even appeared to bounce off. The only other way that's possible is if the materials are giving off magic of their own, yet I can't seem to sense it.

That's a little concerning...

It's alright, so far unicorn magic trumps all else at the moment.

All right, good to hear. So how far along are you?

In all honesty? It feels like I hardly got anywhere.

I'll bite

I've only finished examining the spear, that machete, and the bow. They are definitely made of a materiel foreign to Equestria and even Earth. All the way to the molecular build-up; they don't share any similarities except in appearance. All materials appear to strengthen under the right conditions.

Which are?

Should you strike it, say at a perpendicular angle; you're chances of breaking any of them just dropped to zero out of ten percent chance. But striking either of them on their width, which is highly unlikely, you boosted your chances of cutting through a good bit.

So... how does that help us?

It doesn't... shows how good of a job I'm doing...

Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I meant did you find anything else?

Well, I have started to test the needle samples you brought from the Dazzling's house.

And how'd those turn out?

... Just as fruitless as before.

What!?

I tested it against every known natural, artificial, and magical pesticide you could imagine, and it didn't react in any way! Nothing short of fire is going to destroy them, and I can't just start national holiday where we burn down the Everfree.

As fun as that sounds...

And I'm worried about trying the other weapons against them in the likely case it causes more harm than good.

Wait? The plants are magic resistant?

At least their needles are. Without an actual specimen, I can't perform any real research, the most I can do is work with what I have, and I'm too scared to do even that!

Hey, it's alright, you just gotta keep at your own pace, it'll be fine

And if I fail?

How about we move on from that highly unlikely possibility? What else have you learned?

Well, I haven't begun research on that giant cannon you brought in. Yet, somehow, I can sort of... feel the magic it's giving off.

And what's it feel like?

Imagine... imagine feeling hot yet extremely cold at the same time. But also this constant sense of dread. It just feels wrong to even be around it. It's almost like the Dazzling's voices and influence when they had their pendants, but... stronger.

Speaking of which, I wanted to ask the importance of that page in the book

Right, right. Well, you see, the Dazzling's were Sirens from Equestria, right?

yeah, we kinda established that

Until Starswirl banished them, they were never heard of in Earth, right?

Correct, but I don't see-

The reason the Sirens never existed in Earth is because there was no magic to sustain them, so there was no feasible way to create them, even if Earth did have a means of replicating everyone else, but not them. It was only until they were banished did they finally exist there. Which also explains why they have no counterparts in the human world. So let's create three different worlds. World A which is Equestria, world C which is Earth, and world B which is this, 'Caelondia,' as the book calls it.

What're you saying? You're not saying that THEY somehow caused this, are you?

No, not at all. You see; world B contains Sirens, and so does world A, not only meaning it has magic that can sustain them, and since Sirens are also from Equestria, that means-

It's just another parallel universe of Equestria!

EXACTLY! Or at least in theory.

So you're saying this world is essential a mix of Equestria and earth?

More-or-less.

Meaning?

We may not have to DESTROY the plants, we just have to find away to connect world A to world B and we can simply DRIVE them out through different means.

Lot easier said than done, huh?

That's our next issue. Starswirl connected the one and only portal that can cross to another universe, and the only other way to connect Equestria to world B is by risking our connection with world C, so, yeah... everything may not be as cut-and-dry as we thought.

So you're saying we have to create a second, entirely fresh and new, mirror portal without severing ours?

In all honesty...? That may be our only option.

Alright, I guess that's more than what we started with. Look, I have to go to school in a bit, I'll try and think about it while I'm there, alright?

And I'll just be here... waiting.

See you in a bit, Twi

---

HI TWILIGHT!

Sunny is that you?

What? No, it's me, Sonata!

Sonata?! Wait, where's Shimmer?

She left her book at last period, she also looked really stressed out, I tried to give it back to her but I couldn't find her ANYWHERE! So I'm gonna give it back tomorrow!

And... how much did you read?

All of it.

Are you mad?

Why would I be mad?

because we tried to keep this entire thing a secret...

You TRIED, and besides, there wasn't anything good to talk about anyway. I also found that drawing of Squirt sunny drew and it is ADORABLE!

So you're not mad?

No! I want to help too!

Oh... okay? Well, first I wanted to ask, is that really your handwriting?

Yes...?

It's absolutely beautiful!

Wait, really?

Yes, absolutely! I'm using magic and even then, I think it's incomprehensible compared to yours.

Seriously? Aria and Adagio always make fun of me, saying that it looks like a monkey's with broken hands.

I can assure you, as my word as a princess, it is phenomenally good.

Thanks! But you should really see theirs before you say that.

On the other hand (Hey, look! I'm using human slang!), how's Squirt?

He's fine! In fact, after you took the weapons way, he seems happier!

Well, that's good to hear, but, how could he appear happier?

He seems more relaxed for some reason. I think he knew what those weapons are and got really happy that you took them.

I see...?

So, are you still thinking?

About what?

About how to open the portal, silly!

Oh, right. If you wanna know: I'm still drawing a blank to be completely honest. I tried sending a letter to Celestia about finding any of Starswirl's old records, and she said she'd get them to me as soon as possible.

But soon isn't now, right?

Yeah...

Well, did YOU come up with anything?

How could I? I'm like an infant child compared to Starswirl's works.

Oh, yeah right! You're like the smartest pony/human I've met! Way smarter than ol' Stinkbeard. I bet you can have that portal open by tomorrow!

While I appreciate the compliment, I'm afraid his records are all we have that's a reference to opening a portal with no sudden consequences to the space-time-continuum.

Yeah... I guess we should worry about that... space time continuum stuff. Hey! I have an idea: Have you tried to find a medium?

Excuse me?

Yeah! like something only Equestria and Caelondia have, did you?

How'd you learn it's name?

You guys wrote it down...

Oh, yeah. Anyway, no, but... on further thought, that does seem plausible. But at the same time completely impossible.

Why? Stinkbeard only managed to do it because he got really lucky! We're smarter than him, we can do this ten times better than that mean ol' Stinkbeard!

Thanks for the pep-talk, Sonata, but what could possibly be a medium for our two worlds? Even with the generous donations we got, nothing in Equestria could hope to match it.

What about me and my sisters?

What?

I read before. Maybe we're not Sirens anymore, but maybe we're just barely close enough to the other ones to actually help. It also might be fun to meet my C.D.S.S

C.D.S.S?

Cross Dimensional Siren Sisters!, Or? C.D.H.S.S: Cross Dimensional Half Siren Sisters, since... you know.

Sonata, I appreciate the offer, but, I'm sure we can find a different solution other than... live testing. But, I'll keep it mind, alright?

Okay. So... what can I do from here?

Keep monitoring Squirt, if anything changes, you just let me know, got it?

Got it.

As for me, I'm still gonna need to finish examining the materials you brought and then try and figure out the best solution for getting rid of these plants.

I still don't know why you just don't burn em'.

Cause collateral damage is what we're trying to avoid.

Oh, okay.

Although, when I put more thought into it, I may know a good candidate to help us begin our little world-searching project. At least if we find this medium you spoke of.

Who is it? I wanna know!

You might actually know him, his name is Discord.

D-

Sonata, you there?

You mean THE Discord, right? As in the spirit of chaos?

Yes? Do you know him?

He's still around?

Yes, but- Oh! Don't worry, he was reformed quite a ways back. Although there was a bit of a hiccup, I assure you he's still... at least trying to be good.

So, he's still alive?

Yes, why wouldn't he- Sonata? What happened between him and the three of you?

We don't like to talk about it...

Sonata, if there's something you want to tell me, than just tell me.

We don't like to talk about him...

Sonata, what happened back then?

Oh, look at the time! Goodnight Twilight! Sweet dreams. Squirt says goodnight too! Bye!

Hey, wait! It's seven o' clock! Don't you dare close this book! Sonata...? Sonata...? Sonata!

---

Hi, twilight you there...? Look I'm sorry about losing the book

It's alright, Sunny. We kinda lucked out that Sonata found it. How is your ink red like that?

I lost my pen yesterday so I had to borrow one, and all they had were red colored ones

Fascinating, colored ink? Who would've knew? Anyway, did you read what me and Sonata discussed yesterday?

You guys talked? I thought she started to draw a bit on the journal and erased it after

She what?

Yeah, everything's just kinda faded on the other pages except for the first log. What did you two talk abut?

Nothing much, but the fact she did that is what concerns me.

What did you talk about?

We discussed on theories on how to perhaps connect a portal between Equestria and world B, Sonata suggested we find a medium, something that both worlds share, like water. Although we're probably gonna need something more... exotic than that.

Okay? So what's the part where she felt inclined to erase everything else?

I started to talk about how Discord could help in the matter.

Did you say Discord? As in the embodiment of chaos, Discord?

Yes, I did, and before you go freaking out, he's been reformed. I had to explain this to Sonata as well.

Yeah... I believe you

What did that mean?

What did what mean?

Those ellipses! You wouldn't have put them there unless they indicated sarcasm!

What? No...

There they are again!

What? No...

You're poking fun at me, aren't you?

What? Yes...

Can we please get on topic.

What? Alright sure, I'll stop

As I was mentioning Discord, Sonata became tight-lipped. Or tight-fingered? Whatever works in this situation. She refused to tell me anything about their relations with Discord and she just closed the book on me!

You got hung up on?

Huh?

Never mind, go on

I don't know what happened, but it seems very personal for them. She must have erased the pages while I was asleep.

That doesn't seem like her?

Which is why this whole situation is very interesting to me. The history books never mentioned anything about the Sirens and Discord. I want to help her, but right now, I'm kinda worried we might drive her away in the process.

We should probably worry about bigger things. I'm sure she'll be fine if she hasn't brought it up before

Yeah, you're right. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. But that brings us to another issue.

Can we ever catch a break?

It's not that bad. But as we were discussing things, Sonata read our previous notes about the sirens in world B.

And?

She said that maybe she could be the medium we need.

What does that mean exactly? And you better give me good news this time

I'm not sure what it is so I'll just say it: She offered herself to help find world C, but to do so would be incredibly risky.

We'll have to bring her to Equestria, won't we?

I didn't tell her that part. But yes, the only way that plan can work is if we find a way to cross her over to Equestria which is an entirely different problem altogether. I told her that I'd consider her offer if there was no alternative.

And if there is none?

I don't know...

Mancer's Dilemma Entry #2

T.S & S.S Log #2

Hello? Shimmer, I have some news regarding the Everfree you might want to hear! Shimmer? Are you there?

Sorry Twilight. I've got news of my own I need to share, but I bet your's is kinda more important on the: Risk of Endangering The Entire Universe scale

I'm sure it can wait. What's wrong? You're handwriting looks a little shaky. Is everything okay?

I'm not entirely sure. I'm still debating whether this lands on the 'destruction of an entire being,' or, 'destruction of an entire society,' side of the RETEU scale

RETEU? Oh, I see! that little scale you talked about. That's cute. But what's the problem.

This might be my fault in the slightest bit, but a couple of weeks ago, before we knew, 'destruction of an entire universe,' was on the table Pinkie Pie suggested that we have a strange kinda party

I fail to see the issue here. Pinkie suggests different kinds of parties all the time. Some more... strange than others, but it's still like her. I wouldn't be surprised if she threw a party after the apocalypse... which upon further inspection is a lot more likely than we may have realized.

Here's the problem though. It's a kinda of party where... there's a special requirement to enter

And that would be?

Alright look I'm just gonna spill it out. She's throwing a pet get-together

And Squirt's invited?

Squirt's invited

I'd place it on the, 'Destruction of an Entire Society,' side of the scale.

Geez, thanks for the pep-talk, coach...

I was just kidding, I'm sure it'll be fine. He likes to stay close to Sonata anyway, and besides, you'll be there to keep an eye on him too. It'll be fine.

Yeah... there's kinda a tiny little problem with that

What could possible be the issue?

I don't have a pet...

... Destruction of society, DEFINITELY destruction of society.

Don't say that! I'm freaking out here!

I'm sure it'll be fine. Sonata knows Squirt best, I'm sure she'll take ever necessary step required to keep him... and the other pets... and everyone else... safe?

Now you see the problem?

Too many variables. You have to get in.

That's what I've been telling myself! The party is tomorrow and... Wait a second? I got an idea!

Shimmer? You still there?

Hold on!

Shimmer? Shimmer!?

---

Alright, I'm back!

It's been two hours. Where did you go?

I went to the pet store and I got a pet

Wait? It's that easy? So what'd you get?

I got a goldfish...

Oh... well... that's definitely... banal.

I know what that word means, Twi...

Darn it! I'm sorry, but seriously? A goldfish?

The party is tomorrow and I really can't afford a dog or cat under my short stack of a budget

Noted. So what's his name?

I dunno... I think I'll call him... Jaws.

Jaws?

Right right. I forgot you don't know the human world all too well. You heard of what movies are over here right?

I think. They're like magic projections except with technology, right?

Got it. Anyway there's this one movie called Jaws which is entirely about a giant shark going around and eating people like an all you can eat buffet

That's considered entertainment!? That's absolutely awful!

It may, and I repeat the word MAY be awful, but it's surprisingly fun to watch

I don't know you anymore.

Please don't go...

I can't believe you would want to name your cute little goldfish after a killing machine.

If it makes you feel any better, I'm only gonna feed him tofu humans

You can do that?

I'm joking.

So... you're gonna feed him regular humans?

I'm feeding him name-brand recommended fish food

Oh... So... that party? Is everyone else coming?

That is a definitive yes. Pinkie made all the arrangements yesterday and the party starts at 9:00 AM tomorrow. I've got my ticket in, and Squirt's hopefully not gonna accidentally destroy everyone else's pets. Disaster averted. Good job, team

Good to hear. I suppose it's my turn to share now. I'm not sure if you would approve, but lets just say I took my experimentation... outside the castle.

Oh boy... can't we hear good news for once?

I'm getting there. You see, I brought some of the... confidentials with me to the magic barrier of the Everfree, and may I add, it really isn't looking good. I took a risk, and I payed for it.

What happened? Did you get hurt?

No, I'm fine; thanks for asking. I brought some of the weapons outside the castle. Specifically the cannon. I don't know why exactly, I must have gotten too impatient with my current pace. Once I was within ten meters of the barrier... the vines disbanded.

Huh?

The vines that encased the barrier. Some retreated back into the ground. Upon five meters of the barrier, the surrounding area inside the barrier began to clear out. And once I was practically touching muzzles with it, an entire ten meters of the Everfree was cleared of those plants.

So what you're saying is?

Whatever magic this cannon uses... those plants can sense it, and not even they want anything to do with it. And it may be our solution.

So... progress?

Sweet, beautiful, delicious progress!

But... something tells me you can't use that type of magic?

Maybe I can't but I know someone who can.

... Who?

No, no, no. You gotta notice the darker outline around my words. Maybe I can't but I know SOMEONE who can.

Oh! You're using someONE instead of somePONY, I get it! But seriously, I still don't get it...

It's Discord.

Oh yeah! Wait? You sure he can use that thing?

He's the spirit of chaos. I'm sure he can do something with it.

Other than turn it into a quiche?

Yeah... I'm totally sure.

Or a robotic dog?

Positive...

Or a T-Rex with a top-hat and monocle?

Stop making me doubt myself!

Sorry! Sorry! But... you sure he can clear the Everfree with it?

That's honestly about it. If he can't figure it out, than it's back to our original plan.

Which is iffy to the fullest extreme...

Exactly.

I suppose there's not much else to do but wait. So... goodnight?

Goodnight, Shimmer. Also; keep me updated throughout the party. I might need to make a surprise visit if things go south.

Don't worry, Twi! Me and Jaws got this in the bag. The one I bought him in to be precise

Still can't believe that's what you named him...

See ya in the morning

We couldn't have reached a consensus or something?

I'm closing the book now, Twi

Like maybe Swimmy! Or perhaps even Mercury? I know it's not a fish-name but it's definitely a whole lot better than a man-eating shark! And also why not... Shimmer? You there? You open this book right now! We are not done discussing the morality of naming your pets after bad role-models! Shimmer? SHIMMER!

---

Good morning, Twilight

I'm still unhappy with you...

Come on! Seriously? It's just a name!

Which is a momentous decision to make! You didn't even think about the repercussions of naming your pet, you just decided, 'Oh yeah! Naming him after a man-eating-fish-demon totally won't give him a skewered look at the world!,' that's very poor care for your pet, Shimmer!

He's just a fish!

And he's still yours! What if he wants to pursue that kind of life-style? Did you think about that?

I've gotta get ready for the party, Twilight. I'll write you when I'm there

Don't you dare close this book on me! Shimmer!? Not again...

---

Alright I'm in. You still mad about Jaws?

Yes, very much. But I don't like to fight at parties so I'll drop it until you go home.

Okay, that's... something at least.

So, what do you see?

Fluttershy and Rarity got here first, so they're just talking a bit. Well, Rarity is doing the talking. Fluttershy's just listening with a bunny on her lap. Rarity's cat is enjoying the horderves

And everyone else?

Probably on the way. I'll keep you updated.

Applejack just walked in. She's got her dog beside her

Rainbow Dash is a check, along with her turtle

Tortoise.

Just waiting on Sonata, now.

She's not there yet?

This really isn't like her. The party is specifically for her and Squirt, I was honestly expecting her to be the first one here

Maybe she's just running late is all.

I see her!

And?

She just waved at everyone. She's wearing her school backpack and she's holding Squirt and he's

He's what? Don't tell me he got you too!

Sorry about that, Pinkie set up a bunch of party poppers and she set them all off at the samw time. Sounded like a BOMB! I might have gotten a little scared and dropped the book. Anyway; Squirt, He looks smaller

What?

He's small again! It's like he just shrank an entire foot and a half!

Anything else?

Sonata said something happened back at her house. She also has this really strange smell on her

What's she saying?

Hold up.

She said Squirt wasn't in her room when she woke up this morning, and that when she went downstairs, the entire living room was covered in this blue gunk, not only that, but her sisters were screaming for her in the bathroom. When she got in, she says that they were trying to hold Squirt inside the bathtub while it was overflowing with the stuff. She said he was trying to get out like his life depended on it

What happened?

She says he started leaking. Or more or less he started to cry from his skin? She says it was too messy in there to tell, and that the bathtub was filled with that blue stuff he excreted. Says it kinda tasted like the alcohol she brought home with her. That explains the strange smell

Did she keep a sample?

Let me ask... yeah, she says you might want it for later so she kept some before they drained the tub. She says she's gonna leave it by the portal tonight.

Anything else?

Squirt seems... different.

Different how? Is he even more bloodthirsty than before!? Oh no! Did he atomize Fluttershy's bunny?! Poor thing never stood a chance!

No. He's actually playful... he's seriously playing with some of the pets... well, he's trying to play with them. It honestly looks like a game of hide 'n' seek and he's the seeker. Also granted, Sonata is still right above him, but he actually looks happy

What!?

Big surprise, isn't it?

He's not trying to crack open any of their skulls?

Nope

You don't think his size has anything to do with it, do you?

Maybe. It's hard to tell. You think it's like dragons and how they get bigger with greed?

I'd have to be there myself to draw any conclusions.

She's pulling something out of her backpack

What is it?

It's the lyre

The what?

I forgot to mention it. We found this weird looking instrument, kinda looks like a harp with bull horns and a metal cog for a base. We let Fluttershy have it for safekeeping. I guess Sonata wanted to take a look at it for herself. She said she's gonna play a song on it. I gotta close the book for a minute, write you in a few

---

That was unexpected

What happened?

Sonata played it, alright. She played it real well

What do you mean?

First things first, Sonata doesn't have her voice, but her fingers still work wonders. Secondly: that thing is the strangest sounding lyre I've ever heard

Again I ask: What do you mean?

Well, to to start things off, it sounds like a guitar. Sonata says it tunes like one as well.

When did she learn to play a guitar?

Well, it plays like a lyre but sounds like a guitar. She said her and her sisters know how to play almost every instrument we have, and that this thing is really not too different. Say, wanna know the funny thing?

Tell me.

When she pulled it out; Squirt stopped everything he was doing and looked right at it for the longest time. And once she started to play it, he kinda... relaxed? I don't know how to describe it

How so?

I don't know. He just looked kinda out of it, you know? Like he was lost in thought or something

Perhaps he recognizes the sound it produces. Sonata told me he seemed to recognize the weapons and just how destructive they are.

Yeah, probably. I suppose. Things definitely went a lot better than anticipated, so I guess I should just enjoy the party in the meantime. Let Jaws mingle a bit.

Have fun, cause once we get home-

BYE!

---

HI AGAIN, TWILIGHT!

Sonata? Is that you?

Yeah!

Where's Shimmer? Did she forget the book again?

Yep.

She left it in a heavily populated area after I specifically told her to guard it with her life?

Yep.

She gave it to you, didn't she?

Yep.

Course she gave it to you. So where is Shimmer?

She left early with her pet. His bowl had a bunch little stickers on the side of it with teeth and jagged looking letters that said JAWS! I read the last couple pages again. Are you mad at her?

Not mad. Just incredibly disappointed in her choices as a caretaker.

Dagi says that a lot too. "I'm not mad... just disappointed," but really she's mad. And it's only when she's REALLY mad when she says that. Like... really mad.

I don't envy you.

Twilight, the party's gonna end in a bit, so I'm gonna drop something by the portal for you, kay?

I read you nice and clear... Okay, I'm sorry, but I need to ask: How do you get your handwriting THAT good? I've seen human handwriting and even I came to the conclusion that that's almost physically impossible.

I dunno. I guess I just always had it, Aria says it's cause Sirens are just naturally better than humans, Dagi says it's cause we have more skill than them, I dunno why we have it. Oh yeah! I wanted to say thank you. Well, not for... you know: Kinda crippling us for life... I meant thank you for everything else. For trying to get us home. It means so much to us.

Don't thank me yet, I haven't done anything, Sonata.

I know. But still, after I told them about what you're doing for us. They did something I didn't think they'd ever do again after the battle.

What?

They smiled. They made actual real smiles. Not those fake ones they make when they got drunk that one time, or when they see a human fall down on their face.

I'm glad to hear that, Sonata.

And then they started to cry... I kinda got scared when they did that, but then they got a few of the bottles and we had a really fun night.

I... just hang in their Sonata. I promise I'll do everything I can to bring you back. I promise.

I know you will. Anyway, I gotta go. Good luck on those meanie-bo-beanie plants, Twilight. Bye!

---

####

A starry night looked down upon the quiet streets of Canterlot high. Passing cars and pedestrians on the street just across of it, with no other sounds other than their clacking footsteps and burning of rubber on cobblestone.. A base statue stood in front of the school. Sitting at the foot of the statue was a single jar with material people could easily assume was pure blue water coloring, swirling in itself, almost alive in a way. Attached to the lid was a small note with writing and a small blue blot of the same blue liquid.

'I know they don't say it enough as I do, but I know they really want too, I just know it! So I'm gonna say it for them.

Thank you~A.D

Thank you~A.B

Thank you~S.D'

Author's Notes:

I promise the story will amp up in the next chapter.

Survivors

It was a beautiful day out... it really was. Sun was shining, birds were chirping, it was a day you wanted to just be out and celebrate the life you were gifted. But among this glorious day, Twilight was standing atop the barrier dividing the New Everfree, clad in armor provided by the royal guard with a small kinetic barrier just inches above her entire body. Attached to her back were two weapons she knew could provide real results. The foreign bow with segmented limbs and apparent blades on the sizer, alongside an otherworldly pike.

A nice ray of sunlight was warming up the fur on her hide, fighting off the cold sense of dread. The soothing sound of birds chirping, just barely louder than the sifting dirt or the growls of the unknown darkness. She looked down below her. Nothing but darkness and uncertainty lay in wait.

She was standing in the exact center of the magic barrier she created. Give or take fifty feet, Looking on, it seemed to span for miles indefinitely, and looking below her, nothing but vines and thorns encased the barrier as a new set of cracks began to form. Sitting beside her, the barrel facing upwards, was the unknown weapon of disastrous proportions. She was taking several deep breaths.

One...

Two...

Three...

She couldn't bring the others with her in good conscience. Too many unknown variables and the little she's seen already is nothing to sneeze at.

After discussing its properties with Discord, and with a surprising amount of effort on his part, he managed to turn it into a sort of shield bomb. Twilight's job was to set it up in the Everfree and protect it while it gathered energy and fired off. There was a small black screen implemented on the side to show how long it'll take until it reaches full energy. The end result, hopefully being, that it will replace the barrier she created, taking its place being the magic this thing produces, trapping the plants without worry of them ever escaping. Upon asking why she couldn't just walk to the center of the Everfree with the shield already on, Discord said that, not only is it more fun this way, but that the new arrivals would have even more incentive to escape once they sense it's arrival.

He also made one specific statement. "I take heart you care about the fabric of this reality, so for the sake of both you and I, I and you, and... whomever else this conversation may concern. I recommend you don't try and tamper with the changes already made. That could end... badly. Simply put, very, very simply put."

She asked him why.

"Oh, there's lots of math, science, and magic involved in it. more so than you could ever hope to understand."

She flashed a dirty glare

"But let's cut to the chase. Whatever this marvelously strange device uses... it's my magic. Except with someone else's spices added to the mix. They got the ingredients, they simply didn't follow the instructions on the recipe. If I tamper with it too much, or I cut the wrong wire our magic combined might be a bit... much, wouldn't you say?" He was wearing a chefs apron and was cutting some fajitas into the base ingredients. "Simply press the trigger and bing, bang, boom, wallop, bang!" he momentarily exploded into several bits of confetti with his colorization and a banner behind him that read 'Congratulations! You're not dead!' before reassembling himself. "The Everfree will be safe again... or safe-ER." He quickly offered her a fajita.

Twilight shook her head as she recalled the conversation. She took another few breaths.

One..

Two...

Three...

She couldn't bring any of the other weapons, She didn't doubt their effectiveness, or destructive power, but she could only take with her items she knew by heart, and a rifle certainly isn't one of them. Even if she did know how to use them, they had no ammunition regardless.

"It's no problem," she muttered to herself. "I'm just about to do battle against an entire ecosystem of highly lethal and intelligent plant life and other atrocities that I haven't seen who are also highly resistant to equestrian magic... all by myself... perfectly fine!" She began to pace around in a circle. "It's not THAT bad! If I fail... well, I'll probably be dead... or the alicorn equivalent of death, so why would I care then? And Ponyville and all its surrounding will be consumed... perfectly fine risks at stake!"

One...

Two...

Three...

"No big deal... no big deal at all..." She looked back down into the depths. She heard the saying, 'when you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back,' but what kind of abyss stares back with murderous intent?

She could hear so many different sounds coming from below her. Yet none of them she could recognize. No screeching of a cockatrice, no bellows of a manticore, no roars of a hydra... nothing. Just a constant ominous growl. What would she see inside? Bones of all these familiar creatures encased in vines? Or the color of dirt as her vision is obscured when she's dragged into the earth?

One...

Two...

Three...

There really was no way to put it off any longer. She knew all she could about these creatures. Which was almost nothing. She knows all she can about the power the device she's meant to protect can create. Which was almost nothing. She knows everything she can know about how and why all this started. Which is almost nothing. No amount of stalling is going to give her any more knowledge or make this scenario any easier. She does know one thing; if she succeeds, then Ponyville will be safe. She'll be able to find a way to send this ecosystem back to where it came from, or at the very least find a safer way of getting rid of them. And then she can finally work on bringing the sirens back home.

One...

Two...

Three...

She left a small note in her journal for Shimmer. She couldn't say the whole plan as she knew Shimmer would try and convince her to let her join in. Funniest thing is, she knew she would succeed there, so instead of explaining the whole thing, all she said was 'If I don't write back to you in less than five hours, promise me you won't come back to Equestria until somepony does,' and that was all she wrote before putting the pen down.

She could've definitely wrote a little more...

One...

Two...

Three...

"Well... I guess it's now or never..." she muttered, taking a few steps towards the cannon. She focused her magic on the entirety of the barrier, feeling the push of the vines as they tried to break themselves out of their confinement. She found the spot she was standing on top of, which wasn't exactly difficult as it was the only part of the barrier that was cleared thanks to the cannon. With the utmost precision, she created an opening around the barrier that would just barely fit herself and the cannon, enough for her to slide on through.

She slid into the hole.

After passing through and quickly closing the barrier... nothing happened. She was expecting to be blasted by a barrage of needles, or acid, or sharpened bones, or whatever else these things can utilize at their disposal. But the only thing that happened was that the constant growl that resonated deep into the brush got louder. She flapped her wings gently, hoping that maybe her presence alone wasn't enough to set the entire wilderness off. The real shame being; with nothing else to do, and nothing but the silence to keep them company, she roused up almost everything in this place.

They just knew how to keep quiet about it.

Looking down at the mess of leaves and thorns, the most abundant color was that of green with shades of brown dirt that used to be the grayed out grass of the Everfree, and the colorful petals of stationary predator plants that gave off the smell of rotting meat. The Everfree may have been hostile as they come, but at least it kept its privacy. This right here, whatever this worlds equivalent of the Everfree is had too much privacy, and the aggression of a maniac.

There were bones of other creatures strewn about the earth, a lions skull with the hollowed out exoskeleton of a scorpions tail was half submerged into the ground. Roots and vines wrapped around the eye sockets and ribs. She ignored the sights to the best of her ability, but that feeling of upturning her lunch would stay for the entire visit.

Or permanent stay...

Heading for a small plot of land that could barely be passed off as a clearing, she descended as slowly as she possible could, which to her was seemingly faster than normal. The cannon was resting at the bottom of a seven foot diameter magical bubble as she was too afraid to encase it in a five foot diameter bubble.

As she neared the ground, the plants on the earth immediately turned away, and dug themselves as deep into the soil as they could to escape the presence of the weapon. Letting the bubble dissipate, the cannon dropped only a few inches to the ground with a soft thud that Twilight winced at. It was just as dark in there as the Everfree normally was, the plants just gave the darkness a mask of vibrancy. She surveyed her surroundings with a light spell.

All she could see was green bushes and dying branches of long since dead trees surrounding her, almost like an army waiting for the signal of execution. But still nothing stirred. No bushes shook, and no twigs snapped.

Seemed even the growling stopped.

Keeping the safety of the light on her, she focused on the cannon, using her head, she propped it upright and stood on her hind legs to balance it on the mound of dirt it stood upon. The barrel was facing upwards, and everything seemed to be waiting with anticipation.

She stared at the trigger of the device for a good few seconds, hoping that maybe another solution will just drop from the sky in front of her and give her an answer telling her not to do this, to simply get out.

...

No such luck.

Still fearful of the idea of using her magic on it, she positioned the edge of her hoof so it was above the trigger, ready to press down. She pulled the bow from her body with her magic, and notched an arrow in place. She didn't pull on the string just yet, and she was aiming it into the woods.

Without anymore time to spare.

She pressed the trigger.

Pulling her hoof back right away, the machine immediately began to start up with a fit, and the insides began to glow warmly through the cracks. It started to gather energy from it's surrounding, turning it into something else, something wrong. The screen flashed to life as a small green line began to glow at the bottom of the gauge.

The second it started up, a loud screeching noise echoed across the what used to be silent wilds. Followed quickly by the sounds of other atrocities joining it.

She kept the arrow in place, she had a total of thirty in her quiver before she would rely on the spear exclusively. Magic arrows wouldn't do much accept make these things mad, and if they did do something, she had no idea how long she'd be here for, so she'd have to save her magic regardless. She turned around and stared into the abyss of vines. Nothing but the lurid screeching sounds continued.

She could hear shuffling dirt from behind her and immediately pivoted. She pulled back the bow-string, her eyes quickly darting upon a flower at the edge of the clearing that rose from the ground. It stood as tall as a human, with holes inside the large yellow fruit that sat up and large spiked petals outstretched.

She let the arrow go flying across the air. Even if it was just a regular flower, it was better to be safe than sorry with how fast it moved. The Equestrian made arrow was sent flying faster than any crossbow could ever hope to match, but before it could meet its target, the flower seemed to encase itself in those same petals and the arrow bounced off with a clunk. It snapped in two from the impact alone.

29

Armored petals? High density or foreign material. Can't risk losing more, need to get in close. She thought. Looking back, she could see more of these plants spring up from the ground in a different array of colors, and the air filled with a sickly gurgling noise. The same yellow flower seemed to spit something at her from one of those self inflicted holes that accelerated towards her.

Not wanting to find out whether it would actually damage her armor or not, she teleported out of the way and behind her initial target. Wrapping her magic around the spear, she unsheathed it, and sent it forward in a quick jab as it pierced through the flowers armor and into the squishy center. It punched through so effortlessly that it managed to appear through the other side, dripping with an orange liquid. It seemed to be sizzling the slightest bit when it touched the ground.

The plant seemed to blacken from necrosis and die almost immediately. It sank back into the ground after collapsing on it's own weight.

Heh... I did it! She was immediately torn from her momentary victory as something slammed against her side, knocking the wind right out of her. Even with the magic barrier and the armor she was wearing, she still staggered sideways for a brief moment. Turning back around, she could just barely see a second orange projectile speeding at her.

Without even thinking, she focused the majority of her barrier to the front of her body, effectively stopping it as it splattered against the shield.

positioning the barrier around herself once more, she could see three more of those plants spring up from the ground close to each other, each one with a different colored fruit in the center. Each one producing that same gurgling sound, they each released a projectile heading straight towards her. Performing another teleportation spell, she managed to get herself in a more favorable position behind a dead tree as she heard more shots being fired at her. How were they able to find her so easily? Once in contact with the tree, the material seemed to react chemically and the tree was slowly consumed by this acidic material.

The thick enzyme began to corrode the tree and ate a way a quarter of the trunk in only a matter of seconds.

Using this as an opportunity, she focused with her magic and began to push on her side the large tree. She could hear the insides crack and splinter in agonizing protest as it started to tip over away from her. pushing it forward, she managed to get the tree to snap out of place with splinters flying off in all directions as it fell forwards to the earth. Right on top of the colony firing at her.

The tree landed fully on the ground, crushing the plants.

Surveying her surrounding once more, she couldn't see anything else spring from the ground. Taking the time, she tried to regain her bearings.

New species altogether... tropism of launching acidic enzymes at potential prey or predators, armored petals either made of highly condensed plant walls, or something else altogether. Arrows prove to be ineffective.

Her ears were beginning to twitch and swivel, picking up sounds from seemingly everywhere as a high pitched screech filled the air. The sound only grew louder and she almost fell to the ground as the deafening screech filled her ears. The awful screeching stopped, but her ears were now ringing and she was forced to look around in all directions to catch and see what could produce such a sound. Her ears were ringing so fiercely she couldn't even hear the sound of shifting dirt underneath her hooves.

Large thorns emerged from the ground at breakneck speeds around Twilight, immediately ensnaring her entire body before pulling her to the ground. Her body was pressed against the cold dirt and the thorns were pushing down on her like a collapsing roof. She was struggling as hard as she could, but the snares were too tight for her to get anywhere. Focusing her magic on a teleportation spell, she tried to imagine herself beside the cannon again, but instead of finding herself somewhat safely next to it.

Pain rattled across her body like burning nails being forced inside her flesh.

She let out a scream of torment as she went limp momentarily, but nopony would come to her rescue. Not here.

Something did answer her cries however, but not something she'd like to see.

Emerging from the tree line, a tall creature pulled itself out of the darkness. Not a creature... it seemed to be multiple cactus like bodies stacked atop each-other to the point it rivaled a house. It had a very colorful and noticeable head that seemed to act as a warning to predators. It appeared to be slightly mobile as it attempted to crawl it's way closer to the ensnared princess.

She couldn't move from her prison, and struggling only made the thorns snare harder against her. She could feel the spear push back against the thorns, using her body as a support.

She realized her only way out of here was the spear, but whatever this thing consists of reacts violently towards her magic. She tried to muster the smallest amount of magic she could, only to find herself once more shocked as the same feeling returned.

She let out a scream, and her magic dissipated, she looked up only to see that the cactus like plant only moved closer to her. It didn't seem to have any visible methods of consumption, but she wasn't the most eager to stick around and find out. She focused her magic again, trying to envision it wrapping around the shaft as pain coursed through her body. Fire flowed through her veins and she screamed with anguish as the spear wiggled it's way through the tight snares inch by inch. Gritting her teeth, she pulled harder with her magic, the pain only managing to increase in intensity, fighting for every inch of the spear. At the moment, there were two options, pull out the spear and cut herself out, or go into shock. Half the spear was now free, pulling more and more, the snares became tighter around her body to the point they constricted breathing. She started to feel light headed when she managed to finally reach the head of the spear, but the snares were too tight for it to pass through.

She rested for a moment, letting the spear go limp, she was heaving her breaths, and the creature only approached quicker once she stopped struggling.

With no real choice anymore, she decided to go all out. She wrapped her magic around the spear once more, the pain immediately returning, and with as much focus as she could muster, she forced the spearhead out with everything she had. It broke through the thorns effortlessly, and was immediately rotating in her magic. Focusing on the creature, she pointed the spear at it, and tossed it with her remaining energy.

The spear cut through the air in a perfectly straight line, aiming for one target, the head of the cactaceae. piercing through with an audible squelch as it passed through the other side, taking the head with it as it landed on the ground. the body seemed to shudder and shake, before inevitably toppling over beside Twilight, nearly crushing her against a plethora of thorny bodies.

The remaining thorns wrapping around her blackened and died, as weak as a twig. She broke through her prison and got up, already exhausted of all her strength. Her legs wobbled, and she was getting tunnel vision as the corners of her vision got darker. She turned her head to face the cannon, only to see the machine had barely charged even a tenth.

So much for so little...

Reaching for the spear that landed a good bit of distance from her, she pulled it closer and wiped the head of the still decaying cactus off the shaft, letting it topple and roll on the ground. She turned to face the tree line closest to her.

Only to see a giant floating eye staring directly at her, mere inches from her muzzle.

She jumped backwards as the eye, encased in hardened green scales and spikes surrounding it, moved closer before seemingly exploding into some sort of green gas that plagued her vision and stung her lungs.

Going into a coughing fit, she casted a wind spell to help disperse the gas away from her. Her vision began to clear again. Wiping her teary eyes with her forelimb, she looked back up.

Easily ten pairs of single eyes closed as she looked up. Each one nearly identical to the last. The only difference being in size and shade of scaly skin.

She backed away a few steps in surprise.

Behind the pack of floating eyes, stood two other creatures. Each one standing at easily the size of an average human male, perhaps larger. They stood on four legs, two small front ones and two giant back legs which seemed ready to spring at a seconds notice. It seemed to wear some form of armor on its head that covered its entire face, save for two white and beady eyes. It had a large orange frill that went from the ends of one arm, passed across the body, and ended on the other arm.

They growled at Twilight with a very distinct croaking noise.

She readied the spear alongside herself and focused the barrier on her front half.

Then she heard something stranger. Almost like the sound of hundreds of flapping wings as red feathers fell from the sky. Like petals in a windy season.

The dead trees in front of her filled with life as what looked like large birds of prey settled on them. They scattered across almost every tree, anything else could mistake them for autumn leaves with their red and yellow feathers. But the eyes that stared down at her told a different tale. They chirped and squawked among each other.

Grabbing the bow, she notched an arrow and pulled back on the string; making special care to pull it all the way back. She aimed the bow high into the trees as the sound of untangling vines collected behind her with a very heavy and prominent breathing sound. A foul stench began to fill the air like a hundred rotten eggs left in the sun for a hundred days. Holding her breath, she centered her sights on a particularly large bird. She took in several deep breaths.

One...

Two...

Three...

And she released the string.