What would you do if you found out your three best friends were dying? Morne? Cry? Pray? Well what if you had the chance to save them? Would you take it? One vampire has that chance, and he will not rest until he has saved the sirens.
Long ago, Starswirl the Bearded banished three sirens to an unknown world where they can no longer cause any more harm to pony kind. However, little does anypony know that the history of this isn't exactly true. There was in fact a fourth creature that was banished with the sirens, one who was unrightfully banished. His name is Draco. He has been friends to the sirens ever since. Even now in the sirens darkest time, Draco will do anything in his power to help keep his only friends alive. Even if push comes to shove with the elements of harmony.
It was late into the night in the city of Equestria. Most people were asleep by this hour. Those who were still awake were most likely attending the battle of the bands taking place at Canterlot high. Most high school students were attending the battle of the bands, except for three girls who were running in the opposite direction of the competition.
These three girls ran through the streets of Equestria, and didn't stop running until they were a far distance away from the school. Hiding in an alleyway, the three girls stopped to catch their breath.
One girl had blue skin and blue stripped hair placed in a pony tail. The second girl had purple skin and purple and green hair placed in a twin tail. The third girl had light orange skin and orangey yellow hair placed in a fluff.
Once the girls caught their breath, the girl with the twin tails spoke.
"Great, just great! Now what are we gonna do? Without our magic were completely powerless!"
"Yes Aria, I know!" said the girl with the fluff.
"Well it might not be all that bad. At least that Equestrian magic didn't kill us!" said the girl with the pony tail happily.
"It might as well have killed us! Without our magic we're just a bunch of normal humans! We can get hurt, sick, and even die now!" said the girl with the fluff.
"Oh . . . yeah, that sounds bad" said the girl with the pony tail.
"Naw, you think?" said Aria, sarcastically.
Suddenly, the girl with the fluff kicked a nearby trashcan with a loud crash. "Damn it! That was our only way back to Equestria! We can't go back without our magic! We waited all these years for nothing!"
The girl with the pony tail placed a hand on her shoulder. "Aw come on Adagio, don't give up. We've been through WAY worse situations then this. Remember world war one? And world war two? Now that was awful".
"We were able to survive because of our magic stupid. Now that we don't have it I doubt we'll survive much longer" said Aria.
"Well we didn't survive on JUST magic. We had help . . . OH! I got it! Why don't we ask him for help! He'll know what to do!" said the girl with the pony tail, excitedly.
Adagio sighed, "Sonata, he's not coming back and you know it. He's been gone for over a hundred years, what makes you think he'll come back now?"
"Well there has been a bunch of Equestrian magic here lately, he might want to come back for that" Sonata suggested.
"You know, as much as I hate agreeing with Sonata, she's got a point. Ya sure he's been gone for a hundred years, but knowing him I bet he's gonna find out about this sooner or later. And when he does, he might come back" said Aria.
"But he left us! We tried to contact him but he hasn't replied after all these years! Even if he does come back that won't shake the fact that he lied to us about him returning! One minute he says "I'm am honest guy, I would never lie to you!", and the next thing you know it he's ditching his only Equestrian friends for the past eighteen years! Yeah, honesty my ass!" Adagio complained.
"Speaking of honesty, if he does come back do you think he's gonna notice a certain someone teamed up with the wrong side?" asked Sonata.
"Oh if were LUCKY he won't notice. But I'm sure he'll notice, its because of her he stayed in Italy after all. I'll bet he'll recognize her the moment he see's her" said Adagio.
"Well, what are we gonna do? We can't just do nothing! We have no magic, no immortality, and our only other Equestrian friend is not only unreachable, but has too many problems here in Equestria!" Aria exclaimed.
"Your right. If we don't contact him then were on our own, forced to live the rest of our lives as normal humans. But if we do reach him, sure enough there's gonna be some drama. Especially with that cow girl being part of the elements. Hmmm . . ." Adagio paced for a few minutes, before forming a plan. "Alright, here's the plan. Its not a great plan but its all we really have at the moment. Knowing Draco he's gonna find out about this very soon, and your right, he is gonna want to investigate. So what were gonna do is try to live normal human lives until he gets here".
Aria gave Adagio a surprised expression. "What! Didn't I just say we can't just sit around doing nothing! If we sit on our ass's waiting for Draco to come, then were basically doing nothing! What are we gonna do about food? And water?"
"And tacos!?" Sonata suddenly shouted.
"Ya . . . that too" said Aria, annoyed.
"We'll have to get jobs, nothing permanent, just something that can help provide us with food and water until Draco gets here" said Adagio.
Aria's expression changed from surprised, too angry. "Jobs!? Uh, ya, no. I am NOT getting a job!"
"Well what's wrong with getting a job? I've had lots of jobs!" said Sonata.
"We'll unlike you I actually enjoy spending my day relaxing, instead of having to run around being forced to something I don't want to" said Aria.
"Well that's just too bad. Cause if you want to eat, your gonna need a job, got it!" said Adagio, sternly.
Aria groaned, "fine! I'll get a stupid job".
"Alright, then its settled then. We'll live normal human lives until Draco gets here" said Adagio.
"But how long will that take? We haven't seen him in over eighteen years!" said Sonata.
"We'll just have to hope he comes soon. But damn! I'm gonna hate seeing his smug "I told you so face" when he gets here" Adagio complained.
"We'll he did warn us not to do anything dangerous, or stupid. And he said if Equestrian magic returns then we need to contact him and not face it alone" said Sonata.
"Well its his fault for not letting us contact him!" said Adagio, angrily.
"I just hate how he's our only help now. I still think we can handle things just fine on our own. We don't need that stupid blood sucker returning" Aria complained.
"Aw Aria, are you saying that just because your still embarrassed about that "special night" you too had together" said Sonata, giving Aria a devious grin.
Aria blushed, "shut up! I told you never to speak of that again! And besides, nothing happened that night anyways".
Sonata wasn't convinced. "Uh huh, sure. You never want me to speak of a night where nothing ever happened, that makes sense" she said sarcastically.
"Why you!-"
"Shut up! Both of you!" Adagio shouted. She was in no mood to hear of the twos bickering, especially with how her night just went.
Suddenly, thunder could be heard overhead.
"Sounds like its gonna rain soon. Lets just get home already, we'll look for jobs in the morning" said Adagio.
"Okay!" said Sonata, enthusiastically.
"Whatever" Aria complained.
Not wanting to stay in the rain, the three girls ran home as fast as they could.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MEAN WHILE IN ITALY~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A maid knocked on a large dark brown door three times.
"Come in" said a calm voice from within the room.
The maid entered, caring a tray full of tea and cakes. "I have your tea Mister Dracula sir", the maid said nervously.
The room was dark, the only light available was the full moons rays shining through a window with its curtains pushed aside.
"Mrs. Clover Field, I've told you before that that's not my real name. That's the name that these humans made up in legends", said a dark figure sitting with his back turned to the maid.
"My apologies sir, I always seem to call you by the wrong name" said Mrs. Clover Field.
"Quite understandable, but do try to remember this time. My name is Draco, Draco Santino Jack. Its stupid, yet humorous how you tell these humans that your name is "Draco" and they some how turn that to "Dracula". I guess Draco didn't seem terrifying enough for a vampire. Not that I am one, well maybe in their eyes, but in reality I'm not" said Draco.
"Yes I see. Thank you for reminding me of your name Sir Draco" said Mrs. Clover Field.
"And thank you for the Tea" said Draco.
The maid was about to leave before she remembered something. "Oh and that reminds me, you received a letter".
"From whom?" asked Draco as he sipped his tea.
"I don't know, the letter says sirens on it, but I'm not sure who that is" said Mrs. Clover Field.
"Sirens? Odd, they haven't contacted me in over eighteen years. Its about time they said something, may I have the letter?" asked Draco.
"Of course sir" said Mrs. Clover Field, as she handed Draco the letter.
Draco opened the letter and read its contents. Five seconds after reading, Draco stood to his feet, spilling his tea to the floor.
"Sir! Your tea!" said Mrs. Clover Field.
"Never mind the tea! I need to leave right away!" said Draco.
"What!? Where are you going in such a rush?" asked Mrs. Clover Field.
Draco ran to a corner of the room and grabbed a coat hanging off the edge of a dresser. He placed a fedora on his head and ran to the door.
"Where are you going Sir Draco?" asked Mrs. Clover Field.
Draco turned to Mrs. Clover Field and placed a small bag in the palm of her hand.
"Inside this bag is treasure from the eighteen hundreds, its worth over millions of dollars. Go get yourself a vacation, and have fun with your family" said Draco.
Mrs. Clover Field was in disbelief. "Treasure? You can't be serious sir!"
"Dead serious, you've been a good maid, and a great friend. I don't think I'll be returning. So as a gift, I want you to have this" said Draco. He came close to Mrs. Clover Field, giving her a hug. "You are one of the few people who understand me" said Draco as he released his former maid.
"But where are you going sir? Does this have to do with whatever was in that letter?" asked Mrs. Clover Field.
"All you need to know is that I have three very stupid friends who just did the complete opposite of what I told them to do. So now I need to leave and clean their mess up. Don't worry about me, your holding a million dollars in your hand. Use it to make your life and your families life better" said Draco. Draco placed a kiss on Mrs. Clover Fields forehead, then turned to leave.
"Will I ever see you again?" asked Mrs. Clover Field, blushing from the kiss.
"Most likely not, I'm sorry Mrs. Clover Field, but this is indeed goodbye" said Draco.
He walked down the hall to his front door. Before leaving, Draco turned to his former maid for the last time. "Farewell Mrs. Clover Field, I'm so glad I had the pleasure of meeting you".
"As with you Draco. But do please be careful, I know how hard your life's been, I don't want you to have to suffer any longer" said Mrs. Clover Field.
"Don't worry, I have a feeling my sufferings finally coming to an end" said Draco, smiling.
"Goodbye Draco" said Mrs. Clover Field.
"Goodbye Mary Clover Field, may a happy life be blessed upon you" said Draco.
Three months had passed since the battle of the bands.
Adagio was currently walking down a side walk with an armful of groceries. She groaned as she came close to her apartment.
'Finally! Home at last! I swear if I ever get home to Equestria I am NEVER working at a day care center! Those stupid little brats got me chasing after them all day. Its their fault I have back pain!' thought Adagio.
As Adagio came close to the door, she could hear her sisters shouting from within the apartment.
'Great, wonder what's got them worked up this time' thought Adagio.
She gently placed one of the grocery bags down and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the apartment door. After returning her keys to her pocket she picked up the grocery bag and entered into the apartment. The volume of her sisters argument increased as she opened the door.
"It was right here Aria! I know you moved it!" shouted Sonata from the kitchen.
"I didn't move your stupid taco meat!" shouted Aria from the living room.
"What are you two shouting about this time?" asked Adagio, as she closed and locked the front door.
Sonata poked her head around the kitchen corner after hearing the sudden appearance of a new voice. "Adagio! Your home!" shouted Sonata. She ran from the kitchen to Adagio and gave her sister a strong hug.
"Hey careful! I have eggs here!" said Adagio.
Sonata released Adagio and pointed at Aria. "Aria stole the taco meat!"
Aria face palmed. "For the last time I didn't steal your stupid taco meat!"
"Then where is it huh? I placed it in the back of the fridge to keep it safe and now its gone! Adagio was at work so your the only one who could have taken it since your on your day off!" said Sonata.
"What would I have possibly done with your taco meat?" asked Aria.
"Uh duh! You would have eaten it!" said Sonata.
"That's like five pounds of taco meat! Your saying that on my day off I stole your taco meat and ate all five pounds of it!" shouted Aria.
Sonata nodded, "mmmhmm! You stole it then ate all of it! How could you! You know how much I love tacos!"
"Will you two stop fighting and help me with these already!" said Adagio.
Sonata took two of the bags from Adagio. The two sisters walked to the kitchen and began placing all of the various groceries in there proper place. Once that was finished, Adagio turned to Sonata, giving her an angry glare.
Sonata had been staring at her the entire time they were putting the groceries away.
"What!" shouted Adagio.
"Aren't you going to do something?" asked Sonata.
"What? About your taco meat?" asked Adagio.
Sonata nodded.
"Sonata its just taco meat. If we ran out we'll just go get more. I doubt Aria actually stole your taco meat" said Adagio.
Adagio was about to walk away before Sonata placed a hand to her shoulder. Adagio turned and froze.
Sonata was staring at her with pleading puppy eyes that glistened with tears. "P-Please Adagio" begged Sonata in a childish tone.
Adagio sighed. 'I hate it when she gives me that look', she thought to herself before giving in. "Fine, Aria will you please come here?"
Aria entered the kitchen and groaned when she saw Sonata. "She gave you the puppy face because of the tacos, didn't she?"
"Just give it to me straight, did you steal the taco meat?" asked Adagio.
"No! For the one millionth time! NO! I! DID! NOT! STEAL! YOUR! TACO! MEAT!" shouted Aria.
"Then what happened to it huh?" asked Sonata.
"I don't know! If you want more taco meat then just go buy some more!" shouted Aria.
"I don't know Aria, if I bought high quality taco meat and found it disappeared I'd be pretty mad too" said a voice from the living room.
"Exactly! What he said!" shouted Sonata. Having felt that she won the argument, Sonata smiled happily to herself. Her smile faltered as she looked to her sisters. Both had frozen and had terrified looks plastered on their faces.
"What? . . . What's wrong?" asked Sonata, oblivious to the situation.
"Who the hell is in our apartment?" asked Aria in a small whisper. Slowly she crept her head around the corner. She gasped after discovering who their intruder was. "You!" she shouted.
"Well hello to you too" said the voice, a bit annoyed.
"Wait, I know that voice" said Adagio. She ran past Aria only to stop in her tracks once she was in the living room.
There on the sofa sat a tall thin man. He had flat shaggy white hair, pale skin, and piercing red eyes. He wore a crimson red coat, black pants, black and white metal (the fashion, not literal metal) boots, a black dress vest, white button up shirt underneath the vest, crimson red tie, and a crimson red fedora with a black string lace. He had a gold pocket watch with its chain hanging out one pocket and a bag of taco meat in his left hand. Despite his rather gothic attire, he bore a calming facial expression of absolute kindness.
"You!" said Adagio.
"Now is that really how you say hello? Or is it one of those new trends that the kids are getting into?" asked the man.
Both girls froze and gawked at the man.
Sonata entered the room and gasped as she saw the man. "Draco!" she shouted. Sonata ran and pounced on Draco, giving him a hug.
"Now this is how you say hello, how are you doing kiddo!" said Draco happily, as he hugged Sonata back.
"I missed you Draco!" said Sonata, releasing Draco.
"I've missed you too kid, oh hey! I got you something!" said Draco. He reached behind the sofa and pulled out three gift bags. He handed one to Sonata, then looked to the others. "Are you gonna stand there gawking at me? Or are you gonna give your guardian a proper hello?"
This woke Aria up. "What! Guardian? Hell no! You aren't our guardian! We are old enough to take care of ourselves now thank you very much!"
"Oh really, cause last time I recall you three were begging me to watch over you" said Draco with a smug.
"That was one thousand years ago! We were kids at the time!" shouted Aria.
Draco chuckled, "calm down. I understand you girls are full grown adults now. But no matter how old you get I'll still be your guardian and you'll still be my little trouble makers".
Sonata gasped, "are you finally calling us your kids?"
"Whoa whoa whoa! Easy there, I said my little trouble makers, not kids. I'm never calling you that. You three are my friends, and I'll watch over you. But calling you my kids would be . . . well . . . weird" said Draco.
"Yeah, especially since you made out with Aria" said Sonata, snickering.
Aria blushed, "I told you to never speak of that again!"
Draco chuckled, then turned to Adagio (who was still gawking at Draco). "Earth to Adagio, you Okay?"
Adagio awoke from her trance. Suddenly, she walked over to Draco and slapped him across the face. Sonata gasped and clasped her hands to her mouth. Aria just stared with her jaw dropped.
Draco placed his hand to the fresh hand shaped imprint on his left cheek. ". . . . Ow" he said slowly.
"And where the HELL HAVE YOU BEEN THE PAST EIGHTEEN YEARS!?!" Adagio shouted.
"If you wanted me back so bad why didn't you send a letter?" asked Draco, giving Adagio a confused expression.
"WE DID SEND A LETTER! MANY LETTERS!!!"
"Really? Cause I've only received one. And that was when you sent me a letter asking for help" said Draco. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter Mrs. Clover Field had given him.
"We sent you more then one letter, but stopped when you weren't answering any of them" said Sonata.
"But I've only gotten one-"
"Don't lie to me Draco! We sent you a ton of letters! And you didn't answer any of them!" shouted Adagio.
"Well then how come I haven't received any of them?" asked Draco.
"Well, you . . . wait, you really haven't gotten any of our letters?" asked Adagio.
"Adagio, we've known each other for over one thousand years. Would I lie to you? Better yet, do I lie at all?" asked Draco.
Adagio thought for a moment, then softly replied, "no I guess not". But that still doesn't explain what happened to all the letters".
"Good point, lets find out shall we. Now, who did you send to deliver the letters?" asked Draco.
The sirens thought for a moment, before Aria responded. "We usually had Sonata deliver the letters".
"Okay, now". Draco turned to Sonata, "Sonata, did you send the letters to the right place?"
Sonata nodded, "yup! I delivered the letters to the post office!"
"But did you send the right letters?" asked Draco.
"Well duh! Of course I did silly! I'm not stupid! I sent the light red letters just like Adagio said" said Sonata.
"Wait, light red letters? What do you mean light red letters?" asked Adagio.
"Does it matter what color the letter is?" asked Draco.
"Well we would usually send the letters monthly, on the same day we would deliver other letters. To make sure we didn't accidently send your letter to the wrong place I would place it in a red envelope and keep it separated from the rest of the letters" explained Adagio.
"You contact other people with letters?" asked Draco.
"No, its usually like ads or special prescriptions, stuff like that. Sometimes you have to send a letter monthly to receive stuff" explained Aria.
"Okay so why did it surprise you when Sonata said she sent a light red letter?" asked Draco.
"Cause I didn't ask her to send a light red letter, I ask her to send the red letter!" said Adagio. She turned to Sonata, "Sonata, what letters have you been sending?"
"I told you, the light red one" said Sonata.
"Sonata, we color coded all the letters to make sure none of them went to the wrong place. There never was a light red!" said Adagio, slowly becoming angry.
"Ya there was. There was a light red and a dark red" said Sonata.
"Did the dark red happen to look like the same color that Dracos wearing?" asked Adagio.
Sonata nodded.
Adagio sighed, "Sonata, go get the light red envelope and come show it to me".
Sonata nodded and left to the kitchen. She returned a few minutes later with an envelope in her hand. "Here you go! One light red letter!"
Adagio stared at Sonata with a face of disbelief for a few moments, before face palming.
Sonata frowned, "what's wrong? You don't like the color?"
Adagio took a slow intake of breath before speaking to Sonata. The tone of her voice made it clear that she was trying to hold back on her anger. "Sonata, you do realize that we only had one red envelope that was meant for Draco, right? Not two".
"But we had two red envelopes, a light red and a dark red" said Sonata, looking at her sister with a confused expression.
"No Sonata, we had only one. The dark red is a crimson red that was meant for Draco. We put all of the letters inside that one and I told you to deliver that one. Not this envelope. The envelope you are holding is not red!" said Adagio, clenching her teeth at the last few words.
"But if this isn't light red, then what is it?" asked Sonata.
Sonata looked to the envelope, then to Adagio, then back to the letter. "Ohhhhh, this is pink! That makes sense!"
Adagio face palmed again, this time leaving a mark.
"So uh . . . what exactly was in the pink envelopes?" asked Draco.
"Those were my letters that I was sending to try and buy stuff! No wonder I wasn't getting any of my products!" said Aria.
"Oh! I was wondering why I was receiving money monthly! That makes sense!" said Draco.
Aria turned to Sonata. "Wow Sonata, I knew you were dumb, but this goes WAY beyond your usual level of stupidity".
Sonata didn't respond. She was staring at the envelope with a crestfallen expression. "I'm sorry, I guess its my fault we haven't spoken to you in eighteen years. Its also my fault that Adagio got mad at you and called you a liar. Your right Aria, I really am stupid". Tears were beginning to form in Sonatas eyes.
Draco rose from the sofa and hugged Sonata, bringing her head to his chest. "Hey, hey, hey, come now kiddo. It wasn't your fault, anyone could have made that mistake. Pink and red do look really similar, I bet I would have made the same mistake if I was in your shoes".
"Your just saying that" said Sonata.
"Your right, I am just saying that. I can't actually be in your shoes, it never fit. Adagio on the other hand has big enough feet, I should fit her shoes just fine!" said Draco, jokingly.
"Hey! What are you trying to say!?" said Adagio.
Sonata chuckled.
"Listen, we all make mistakes. Some bigger then others. But that's good, the bigger mistakes are better. Because the bigger mistakes have bigger lessons! As long as we learn from our mistakes then everything will be fine in the end. A big mistake is just a big lesson, but with more drama and less boring teachers. Ya you sent the wrong letters, big mistake. But did you learn anything?" asked Draco.
"I learned my colors" said Sonata.
"Ya sure, but anything else?" asked Draco.
Sonata thought for a moment before responding. "I learned that you aren't a liar. And that its okay to make mistakes".
"That's good, but one last thing" said Draco.
"I don't know, what is it?" asked Sonata.
Draco looked down and into Sonata eyes. "You three probably felt that I abandoned your for the last eighteen years. Well now you know that I didn't. And no matter how far I am, no matter how long I've been gone, no matter what the situation is. You three are my friends, my best friends, and I will always, ALWAYS! Be here for you. No matter what". Draco tightened his hug onto Sonata, causing her to smile. "I will always be here for you".
Adagio looked away from Draco, hiding her shame. 'He's right, he's always been there for us. How could I accuse him of abandoning us?' she thought to herself.
"And I do believe someone owes you an apology" said Draco, glaring at Aria.
Aria sighed and said with less then motivated tone, "sorry Sonata for calling you stupid"
"That's okay, I guess my mistake was a little stupid" said Sonata.
Draco released his hug from Sonata and sat back onto the sofa. "Great! Now we know what happened to the letters and we got to learn a lesson about making mistakes. Oh! And speaking of mistakes". Draco's calm and kind personality suddenly changed to a dark, angry, serious one. His voice also became slightly deeper.
"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU THREE BEEN DOING WHILE I WAS GONE!!!"
All three girls jumped back at Dracos sudden outburst.
"W-What do you mean? We haven't done anything wrong! Well we are in a bit of a jam, but that's why we contacted you! So that-"
Draco interrupted Aria. "A BIT OF A JAM!?! A! BIT! OF! A! JAM!?! YOU BET YOUR IN A JAM! TELL ME! WHAT'S THIS!?!" Draco reached into his coat pocket and extracted a news paper. Once handing it over, the Sirens immediately recognized the picture on the front cover.
The headline stated: Amazing Light Show at Local High School. Underneath was a picture of a rainbow beam, firing down at a stage.
"Now tell me, is that or is that not Equestrian magic?" asked Draco.
"Well it is but-"
"NO BUTS!!!" roared Draco, interrupting Adagio. Sonata coward slightly behind Aria from Dracos interruption. Draco sighed, and rested his palm to his forehead. "I told you girls specifically to contact me if there was Equestrian magic. I understand that you couldn't reach me, I really do. And Sonata it wasn't your fault. But for you girls to just accept that I wasn't going to be here and go running of to take on this magic by yourself was not only selfish and dangerous, but absolutely stupid! Did any of you have any idea what was causing that magic?" asked Draco.
"Yes, as a matter of fact we do" said Adagio.
"Oh really? What caused it then?" asked Draco.
"Well, we don't know exactly who they are. But they call themselves the Elements of Harmony-"
"WHAT!?!" shouted Draco, interrupting Adagio.
"What!? Do you know them?" asked Adagio.
"No I don't know them, I know what IT is however. But that's impossible, the only ones to possess the elements are the princess's. Why would they be in the human world?" asked Draco.
Aria looked to her sisters, confused. Then looked to Draco. "Uh Draco, the elements weren't princess's. It was six high school girls. And only one of them is from Equestria. Well technically two of them are from Equestria, but I'm not sure if the seventh girl is part of the elements".
Now Draco looked confused. "What? Six high school girls possessed the elements of harmony?"
"Technically the seventh one helped" said Sonata.
"This . . . this doesn't make sense . . . no sense at all" said Draco. He sat deeper into the sofa, pondering on the situation.
"Draco, do you know the elements?" asked Adagio.
Draco sighed. "Sit down girls, I think all of us need to explain some things before any of us can understand what's happening".
The Sirens complied and sat down on the couch. Draco leaned forward in the sofa. "Now tell me everything, and I mean everything involving you and the Equestrian magic".
One hour later, The Sirens had filled Draco in on everything. From when they first discovered the Equestrian magic, to when they were defeated, to now.
The room was silent for a few moments, before Draco spoke. "So . . . you were defeated by five high school girls and two girls who are supposedly from Equestria. And six of these girls call themselves the "Elements of Harmony". This . . . this is not good, not good one bit".
Adagio looked to her sisters, confused. Then to Draco. "You know who the element are. don't you Draco".
Draco hung his head, and sighed. "I don't know exactly who they are, I do however know what they are. And if the elements are no longer JUST elements anymore, then we are in serious trouble".
"What do you mean "no longer just elements?" asked Sonata.
Draco didn't answer. He rose from his seat and walked to the window. With one finger, he gently pushed aside the curtain, and looked outside. Draco sighed again before answering. "It was a long time ago, a very long time ago. Back before I met any of you. Back when I used to work with, HIM!" Draco banged his fist against the window, then exhaled slowly to calm his nerves. "That damn unicorn, Starswirl the Bearded". Draco felt something on his shoulder and turned, seeing that it was Adagios hand. Draco smiled and placed his hand onto hers.
"You don't have to tell us, we know how much that unicorn hurt you" said Adagio.
"No, I'll be fine. This is something you have to know if any of us have a chance of getting home". Draco turned back to the window and began explaining.
"I remember it like it was yesterday. As you know I wasn't the man I was today back then. Back then I was . . . more aggressive. I got angry over the smallest things, I was competitive, and I LOVE to fight. As you may remember, that was actually my cutie mark. Back when I used to have one that is. Anyways, Starswirl and I had gotten into another argument about my behavior, after having returned from a mission. Assigned by the princess herself . . ."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Equestria 1047 years ago~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The mountains were snowing heavily in the winter night. Near the peak of the mountain was a single unicorn, staring down below with a pair of binoculars. Near the bottom of the mountain was a campsite. There were four tents, a large cage filled with ponies, and five ponies sitting around a fire in the center of the surrounding tents.
Using his magic, the unicorn used a telepathic spell to communicate with his partner.
"The hostages are located, but there's five Rattlesnake cult members down there. Draco, you think you can handle this?"
{"Relax old man, I got this"} said Draco over the telepathic communication.
"Draco this is serious! I don't want you going down there death spells blazing!" said the unicorn angrily.
{"Old man, I said I got this, and I got this. Would the princess of Equestria assign this mission to me if I couldn't handle it?"}
"I will neither question nor accept the princess's decision on you coming along on this mission. However, fact is your here and you will do as you are told! Got that!"
{"Whatever old man, lets just go kick some Rattlesnake ash already!"}
"NO! No Draco! This is a stealth mission, got it!? No fighting!"
{"Aw! Your no fun old man!"}
"I will not have you jeopardize this mission just because you couldn't control your primitive barbaric behavior! Got it!"
{"Pfft! Whatever old man!"}
"And you know how much I dislike being called that Draco! I want you to refer to me by my name, like a proper team mate!"
{"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever! Would you just give me the signal already! I'm just itching for some action!"}
The unicorn sighed, "Alright, are you ready Draco?"
"Then lets begin" said Starswirl. He reached into a duffle bag placed behind him and extracted a set of fireworks. Using his magic, Starswirl lit the strings to the fireworks and placed it into position.
Meanwhile, hiding behind a pile of snow twenty feet away from the campsite was a lone unicorn, watching the skies.
He had messy dark brown hair, light brown fur, and blue eyes. His cutie mark was a silhouette of a pony firing a death spell. He was smiling to himself, hardly controlling his excitement. This was a seventeen year old Draco.
He was watching the sky's, looking for the signal.
"Come on old man, come on! Fire the bucking signal!" Draco shout whispered.
Suddenly from out in the distance. A set of fire works ignited into the sky. All of the Rattlesnake members look to each other, then rushed off in the direction of the fire works.
"Ha ha! Suckers! They didn't even leave one member? HA! Their making this TOO easy! ALRIGHT!!! Lets do this ship!" said Draco, jumping from his hiding place.
He sprinted until he was five feet close to the campsite. Once there, he slowly and silently made his way to the cage. He observed his surrounding as he did so, making sure the Rattlesnakes were still preoccupied. Once seeing they were, Draco turned back to the cage. From within the cage, Draco could see all of the hostages huddled together. Most of them had little to no warm clothes. They were all shaking, and looked as if they hadn't eaten in days.
"Psst! Yo! Slave ponies!" whispered Draco.
Some of the ponies gasped and turned to the door. "A-are you here to save us?" asked one of the hostages.
"Pfft, save you? Naw, naw, I'm not here to save you. I'm here to kick ash, and chew bubblegum. Sadly doe, I'm all outa bubblegum . . . that and the mobos runnin this ship just fell for our diversion. So I thought I'd just walk around, stay warm by the fire, go see a play and- OF COURSE I'M HERE TO RESCUE YOU! WHY ELSE WOULD I BE IN THE MOUNTAINS IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER!" Draco shouted.
Draco stopped explaining his story. All three Sirens had started laughing. Sonata in particular rolling on her back, clutching to her chest.
"HA! HA! HA! I can't breath! I can't breath!" laughed Sonata.
"What? Was it something I said?" asked Draco.
Adagio placed a hand to her mouth. "Oh its just, we all forgot that's how you used to talk".
Draco chuckled, realizing what had been funny. "Yes indeed, my style of communication was quite . . . inappropriate back then. But lets not forget, I was seventeen at the time".
Sonata slowly lifted herself from the ground, wiping a tear with one hand and clutching onto her chest with the other. "W-What does mobos mean?"
"Oh that? Well as you know that the language here is different then back in Equestria. Mofos here in this world is the slang word for, please excuse my language, "mother fuckers". Back in Equestria on the other hand is slang for, again please excuse my language, "mother buckers". Quite an indecent use of language I must say. I am honestly astonished that I had such inappropriate vocabulary back then".
"How come you don't talk like that anymore?" asked Aria, having just controlled her laughter.
"Well for the obvious reason of course! I don't want others giving the assumption that I'm some sort of ruffian. Walking about, swearing everywhere. Using such dirty slang words in my everyday vocabulary. No, no, no, absolutely not. I am a gentlemen, and gentlemen do not swear. Or at least, they don't unless they really need to, like showing three girls not to disobey orders" said Draco, raising his brow to the girls.
With the situation having just become awkward, all three Sirens tried to avoid making eye contact with Draco.
Draco chuckled, seeing the girls uncomfortable made him knew that he was right.
"But I guess the end result comes with age. I am one thousand and fifty five years old after all. Which actually makes me confused. Why do you girls have such childish behaviors with the age all of you possess?" asked Draco.
"Well Pfft! Duh! We don't wanna act like sophisticated old ladies just because we're old! That would be boring!" said Sonata.
"Ya, we don't wanna be as boring as you are" said Aria sarcastically.
"What? Boring!? I'll have you know I am quite interesting! I have a collection of rare and valuable stamps organized by the time it was created in! Isn't that exciting!" asked Draco, smiling excitedly at the Sirens. His smile fell when he saw all three girls having expressions that shouted "can you get any more boring?"
"Really? Stamps? That's what you did for fun in Italy?" asked Aria.
Draco crossed his arms and sighed. "Fine, fine. With the particular styles of interest you girls consider "fun". I guess my stamp collecting does seem rather mundane".
Aria groaned. "You even talk boring!"
Now this confused Draco. "What do you mean I "talk boring?" There is nothing boring about the way I speak!"
"Well what does "mundane" mean?" asked Aria, fingering quote signs when she said mundane.
"Mundane means boring" said Draco.
"Well why can't you just talk like a normal person and say boring!? Why do you have to talk like a robot and say "mundane?" asked Aria.
"I do not speak like a "robot!" And excuse me for having a broad range of vocabulary! I prefer to talk to others in the proper manner! Thank you very much!"
"Hey, can we get back to the story?" asked Sonata.
"Oh! Why yes, pardon me. I seem to have become distracted by Aria's rude behavior" said Draco.
"Robot" said Aria.
"Ruffian" said Draco.
"Old man!"
"Immature twit!"
"Guys!" said Adagio.
"Right, right! Sorry about that. Now where was I? Ah yes! I had just finish acting like a complete fool of myself in front of the hostages. One of the older hostages came close to me and said-"
"Well if your going to save us you may not want to go shouting about like an idiot!"
"Pfft, what ehvs" said Draco, waving a hoof. Draco turned back to the Rattlesnakes. Sure enough, they were still distracted. Draco smiled. "They really are making this too easy!" He turned back to the hostages, "all right! Stand back while ah gets this cage open!" Draco placed his horn against the lock and began using his magic to pick it.
"You better hurry sonny! Those six Rattlesnakes will come back soon!" said the older hostage.
"Relax gramps! I know what I'm . . . wait? Six Rattlesnakes? There's only five".
"I think you must be mistaken sonny. There are six Rattlesnakes, not five".
"Then where's the sixth?" asked Draco.
"Perhaps standing behind a unicorn who's about to meet his maker" said a voice behind Draco.
Draco turned and saw a large beefy earth pony wielding a giant hammer. Draco only had time to say "well buck me up the a-" before the pony slammed the hammer against Draco. He was thrown back five feet. Draco had little time to think, for the pony with the hammer was quick. He ran up to Draco and had the hammer swinging down for another attack.
Draco rolled aside, dodging the blow. Back on his hoofs, Draco charge a stun spell, one powerful enough to knock out a dragon. A stun spell this strong could kill a pony, but he didn't care. Draco had one thing set in mind: to buck this pony up as much as possible. "Come on tough guy, show Draco what you've got!"
The pony rushed forward, swinging his hammer down. Draco made a swift movement to the left, dodging his attack. No less then a second later, Draco jump up to the ponies head. He grabbed hold of the ponies neck, leaning back, and forcing the pony to fall. With the pony on the ground, Draco hopped onto his stomach and aimed his horn at his face.
"Your not very smart, are you?" asked Draco.
"Smart enough to know when to bring back up" said the pony.
"Hmm? What are you-" Draco froze. He turned his head left and saw the other five members, having returned from the diversion, now glaring angrily at Draco. " . . . Clever ditch" growled Draco. Draco jumped off the hammer pony, avoiding a spell shot by a Rattlesnake unicorn.
Draco ran to the center of the campsite, and kick the fire on the logs in the Rattlesnakes direction. Temporarily distracted by the logs, fire, and soot, Draco took this opportunity to run inside one of the tents and hide. As Draco tried to form a plan, he suddenly received a telepathic call.
{"Draco? Draco! What's going on? I heard someone fire a spell? Are you fighting down there?"}
'Crab, that's the old man' thought Draco. "Uh, there might have been a bit of a . . . change in plans. But I swear I gots this".
{"Jam it Draco! I said no fighting! Now the hostages are in danger!"} shouted Starswirl.
"Hey! You told me there were only five Rattlesnake members! Not six!" shouted Draco.
{"No, I specifically remember telling you there were six, not five"}
"Uh ya, no. I'm pretty sure I would have remembered you telling me there were six"
Draco is eating a hay burger when Starswirl approaches.
"Hey there kid. Just came to remind you of our mission tonight".
Draco sighed. "You already told me once, you don't need to tell me again".
"Well I just want to make sure you don't forget. We're going to be saving hostages from six Rattlesnake cult members. Six. Not five, not seven, not ten. SIX! Understand?"
Draco is flirting with a mare next to an apple stand.
"And you know me. I'm the kind of stallion who really knows how to get the job done. I never rest until I've finished what needs to get done, no matter how hard it is!"
"Oh wow, you must be a really hard worker" said the mare.
"Well, ya, I guess I am. But every hard worker knows when to take a break every now and again. And since I'm on mine then I was thinking you and I can go and get some smoothies. How's that sound?"
"Oh I don't know, it seems a bit late for smoothies. But if you like you can come to my place and we can get some "dessert"
Draco internally cheered "SCORE!" "That sounds fine by me, why don't you lead the way".
The mares smile suddenly fell, and she glared at Draco angrily.
Draco looked at the mare with a confused expression. "Uh . . . what?"
The mares voice suddenly changed to one of an old aged stallion. "And you were doing so well"
"What!?!" shouted Draco.
There was a flash of light. When the light was gone, the mare was gone, replaced by Starswirl. "I thought I told you not to go after mares older then you. Or go after mares in general".
Draco gaped at Starswirl, stuttering. "B-but, y-you, I, you, I thought-"
"And why are you even trying to flirt with mares. Shouldn't you be getting ready for a mission".
"W-what! You tricked me into thinking I was about to get some just to remind me yet again about tonight's mission!?!"
"Why of course! You obviously have plenty of spare time on your hoofs to flirt with mares instead of preparing for the mission. So I thought I'd give you a reminder, so you don't forget" explained Starswirl.
"Kid, your too young to be doing that kind of thing anyway" said Starswirl.
"I'M SEVENTEEN!!!" shouted Draco.
Starswirl chuckled, "as I said, too young. Now don't forget. You and I are going to be saving some hostages tonight in the snowy mountains. There are six Rattlesnake members keeping them hostage. Six members, SIX! Understand?"
"I, bucking, got it, old, man! Now will you please, GET OUTA HERE!!!" shouted Draco.
"Just don't forget. Six members. Six" said Starswirl as he walked away.
Draco groaned. Suddenly he spotted another mare. He was about to walk to her, until he was stopped by Starswirl shouting, "SIX! MEMBERS!"
"I SAID I GOT IT!!!" Draco roared, spinning around. He sighed and turned back to the mare. Then face hoofed when he saw that he had scared her away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Forty Five Minutes Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Draco and Starswirl are bowing in front of princess Celestia.
"We will now be departing on our mission your highness" said Starswirl.
Celestia nodded approvingly. She then looked to Draco. "I hope you know what you are doing Draco. This is your first assignment, and I know how dangerous it can get. So I need you to tell me. Are you completely informed on the mission?"
"Of course your majesty. I know this mission like the back f my hoof!" bragged Draco.
Starswirl sighed, "that metaphor doesn't work in this scenario".
Celestia chuckled. "Well I just want to make sure you are well informed. Do not forget Draco, you are going to be saving hostages from six Rattlesnake members".
"Got it your highness! Six members!"
"That's right, six members. So do now forget, there will be-"
"Six members, six members, six members, six members, six members"
The words echoed in Draco's mind as he remembered all of these events occurring not too long ago.
". . . . Nope! Don't remember you ever telling me this!" Draco lied.
Starswirl sighed. {"Well then, I guess it doesn't matter anymore since all of them now know what we're doing. So Draco I have a new plan and I need you to follow it to the letter! Got it!"}
"Ya sure". Suddenly, Draco heard the hoofsteps outside the tent he was in. "I think he's inside this one!" shouted one of the Rattlesnakes. "Uh, but could you give me that plan old man in like say, oh I don't know NOW!" Draco shout whispered.
Draco heard another sigh from Starswirl. {"Your making this more difficult then it needs to be. Alright here's the plan. You distract the Rattlesnakes and get them away from the campsite. While there distracted I'll come down there and get the hostages, understand?"}
"Wait hold up? I'm the distraction? Why don't you do it?" asked Draco.
{"Well let's see. Perhaps its because your already down there. Your the one who failed to break the hostages out with stealth. Oh and might I mention I'M IN CHARGE! AND YOU DO WHAT I SAY! GOT IT!"}
Draco placed his hoofs to his ears and flinched in pain. His ear drums were pounding with the amount of volume Starswirl had used. "Ya sure, whatever old man". At that moment, Draco saw a hoof enter the tent. "Gotta go old man!"
{"Draco don't mess this u-"} Draco cut the telepathic connection before he could finish. "Alright, here goes everything. I'd say nothing, but I'm young, sexy, and there's a city full of mares at home waiting to be banged!"
All three sirens froze and stared uncomfortably at Draco. Draco blushed and looked away.
"I-I was a pig when I was younger, alright. Don't judge me, I'm not like that anymore!" Draco looked back to the sirens and saw that their staring hadn't stopped.
"Y-you really said tha-"
"I was seventeen! Don't judge me!" Draco interrupted Aria. He sighed, "Would you please stop staring at me like that, your making me uncomfortable".
"You just made us uncomfortable" said Adagio.
"I was seventeen! I was different back then! Let's not forget the way you three acted back then!"
"Hey none of us were horny pigs! . . . Well Aria more or less" said Adagio.
"Hey! I was not-"
"What about that night with you and Draco?" asked Sonata.
"WE AGREED NEVER TO TALK ABOUT THAT!!!" shouted Aria.
"Girls, girls! May I please finish the story?" asked Draco.
"I don't see what's the point in this story, why are you telling us this?" asked Adagio.
"Because it explains why they are such a threat, and that we-" Draco stopped, appearing to be searching for the right words.
"And that we have to what?" asked Adagio.
" . . . That we're most likely going to have to fight them" Draco finished.
All three girls looked at Draco with surprised expressions. "What!? But we already tried to fight them once! And obviously that didn't turn out so well! Why would we need to fight them again?" asked Aria.
"I said we might have to, and didn't say we defiantly will. But at this point were desperate. We have to get home before its too late" said Draco.
"Before what's too late? Before the portal closes again? Draco, there's Equestrian magic now, we can use that magic to force that portal open" said Adagio.
"No not that" said Draco.
"We'll what is it then? We've been gone for over one thousand years. I don't think we'll be too late for anything once we go home" said Adagio.
"IF we go home" said Aria.
Draco looked to each siren, a face of worry and confusion written on his face. "Y-you . . . don't know. None of you know what's happening to you, don't you?"
Now the sirens looked worried and confused. "Draco, what do you mean by that?" asked Adagio.
Draco facial features changed from worry, to sadness. "Girls I, I thought that all of you knew. Or at least had some sort of idea. I thought that's why you called me for help. Because you knew you were-" Draco stopped, and looked away.
"Draco, what were you going to say?" asked Adagio.
Draco didn't respond.
"Draco, please tell us? Is there something wrong with us?" asked Sonata.
Draco looked to Sonata. What She saw made her want to cry.
Draco had tears in his eyes. Something the sirens never see. Draco was a tough man. A gentleman, but tough. He is usually calm, mature, and very professional. But when push comes to shove, he can get very scary. He never shows any emotions of fear or sadness. He may feel it, but he tries to hide it. The only times that Draco had shown any of these emotions at all, is when Draco is placed in the worst possible situation. The absolute worse.
Draco has faced death before, but he never showed fear. He was never sad or scared when he himself faced death. The only times Draco had cried is when the situation became worse then desperate. He only cries when the fate of someone close to him has their life in danger. When someone he loves most and values deeply is placed in a situation of absolute life and death, and Draco cannot save them.
Draco has been with the sirens for over one thousand years. They are most certainly more then friends, they are family. They watch each others backs no matter what the situation is. When the Sirens are in danger, that is when Draco gets scared, that is when Draco shows fear.
Draco cries when the Sirens are going to die, and he has little to no chance of saving them.
They have only seen him do this twice before. But when they see him cry, they know the situation is worse then bad. No word can describe what situation they are currently in. A situation where they realize, they are in danger of dying.
All girls hearts stop as they see the tears in Draco's eyes.
Draco does nothing to hide his fear and sadness. The girls have to know.
They have to.
"I-I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry-"
"Draco, is something going to happen to us?" Adagio interrupted.
There was a pause, before Draco spoke. "Allow me to finish my story, then I'll explain-"
"NO DRACO! If there's something wrong with us then I want to know what it is right now!" Adagio shouted, tears forming in her eyes.
Draco looked to the other two sirens. Sonata also had tears, hers forming quicker then Adagio. Aria was holding back on tears, although it was obvious she was making an effort to do so. Aria was the toughest of the Sirens. Yet even she couldn't help but want to cry.
'No matter how tough you are, if you have a heart then you will still cry. Knowing that the one you love might just leave you forever. Whether by a new life, a change of life, or the end of a life' Draco thought to himself. He sighed, "alright girls, I'll tell you. I still need to explain my story so that you girls can know exactly what we are up against. But I will tell you what's happening, is that okay?"
All girls looked to each other, then nodded.
Draco took a deep breath, then said in a sad tone. "I'm sorry girls, I am so, so sorry. But all three of you are dying".
Adagio and Sonata were speechless. Aria barley managed to force herself to speak. "B-but how? We feel just fine?"
"Do you? Do you really feel fine? You haven't noticed any change of appearance, or change in strength or health?" asked Draco.
The Sirens response was "no".
"I guess it hasn't hit you physically yet. But as for appearance, its quite obvious its happening quicker then I thought it would"
"But what do you mean we're dying? How are we dying? What's wrong with the way we look!? And how are we dying anyway?"
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Draco.
None of the girls responded.
Draco sighed, then looked to the window. "What's wrong with your appearance is that you are finally showing your age. Something shouldn't happened to immortals. I don't know exactly what happened the night you fought with the elements. But whatever happened must have completely taken your siren powers away. Thus taking away your immortality".
"Our age is showing? You mean, we're starting to look . . . old?" asked Adagio.
Draco nodded, "indeed. You are over one thousand years old. The siren magic was keeping you alive. But now that its gone, all of your age is finally catching up to you. Your body is finally receiving one thousand years of age. Problem is, your human, and humans don't live that long. In short, without your siren magic, your age is catching up to you at an alarming speed. At this rate I'd say you'll be in your sixties in two months".
"So, this is all because we lost the battle of the bands?" asked Sonata.
"Indeed. You are dying of old age because you lost your Siren magic. That is why I must finish my story, so I can tell you why the Elements of Harmony are a threat. I don't know who these girls possessing the elements are. But I know one thing for certain.
The Elements of Harmony are the one who killed you. And I will make them pay".
Draco shifted into position, as the Rattlesnake member entered the tent. The moment he entered, Draco leapt forward while turning, came close to the ground in front of him, then bucked upwards into his crotch. While the Rattlesnake member fell to the ground screaming. Draco rushed out of the tent and sprinted away from the campsite.
Three of the members chased after him (hammer pony included), the other two stayed behind to help the injured member. The hammer pony was cursing Draco as he chased him. The two unicorns beside him blasted their spells at Draco.
Draco evaded each shot. He returned a few of his own spells, not even bothering to aim. He fired mostly to make sure the Rattlesnakes continued following him. He knew he couldn't get a proper shot with how fast he was running.
Suddenly, something caught him by surprise from the right. Two of the Rattlesnake members were pegasus. Pegasus being the fastest of the three races were not only able to pass their fellow members and catch up to Draco. One of them swooped in, grabbed Draco, and flew into the air with Draco struggling in his legs.
As they ascended into the air, Draco thrashed about. He made failed attempts to kick and punch at the pegasus. He fired random spells in attempt to hit the pegasus. Sadly when your a unicorn, you can't exactly hit something that's not in front of you.
"Over here!" shouted the second pegasus, appearing out of nowhere.
The pegasus threw Draco towards the second pegasus. When he caught Draco, he spun him around, increasing the speed that Draco would be traveling. Once he had spun fast enough, he threw Draco higher into the air. Draco ascended for another twenty seven feet until the first pegasus appeared above. The first pegasus bucked him in the gut, abruptly halting his body from ascending and causing his body to fall back down. While falling, both pegasus swirled around him, taking turns hitting Draco. The first would punch his face, the next would buck his spine. Each blow, one after another.
So much was happening, it disorientated Draco. He felt the force of gravity as his body fell back to Equiis. He felt the pegasus attacking him, taking turns dealing as much damage as they could. His eyes saw spinning colors as the two pegasus flew around him at incredible speed, hitting him at the same time. He heard the mocking cheers, coming from the Rattlesnake members below.
'Their . . . mocking me?' thought Draco.
"Hit him again!"
"Right in the jaw! That's how you do it!"
"This unicorns pathetic! Look at him!"
"I really wanted to use my hammer".
"Forget the hammer! Leave the pegasus to do it! Show him! Show him what happens when you mess with the Rattlesnakes!"
These were the shouts coming from the ground, it infuriated Draco.
'No pony insults Draco Santino Jack!' thought Draco.
The three equines were falling close to the surface. A thirty feet gap between them.
'Enough' thought Draco.
The first pegasus swung Draco by the tail towards the second pegasus. The second bucked him in eyes, making Draco flip in mid-air.
'Enough!' Draco internally shouted. His horn began to glow a bright blue, with electrical sparks flying at random.
The pegasus taking no notice continued to attack Draco. The first grabbed Draco, causing him to stop falling. He grabbed Draco by the mane, and hung him in position for his partner to dive down and attack. He was making Draco a target.
"This is what happens when you mess with the Rattlesnakes!" the pegasus shouted. He looked up to his partner and shouted, "do it!"
The second pegasus nodded and dove down, aiming towards Draco. He was about to ram his hind hoofs into Draco, until everything stopped. Upon closer observation, everything hadn't stopped, everything had slowed down. Draco's magic had caused this.
Suddenly, a large blue light with electrical sparks shined off Draco. He looked to the pegasus who was going to attack him, pure rage in his eyes. The light grew, expanding too large and bright for anyone to see clearly. From within the center of the light, the Rattlesnakes heard Draco shout, "ENOUGH!!!!"
The Rattlesnakes from the ground heard an explosion. The force off the explosion caused the Rattlesnakes to fall to the ground. The ground was shaking, and they heard screaming.
When the bright light was gone, and the shaking and screaming had stopped, the Rattlesnakes lifted themselves from the ground and gasped at what they saw in front of them.
There stood Draco, and two unconscious pegasus laying on the ground near him.
Draco's eyes were glowing, a bright aura surrounded his body, the very force of his energy appeared to be breaking down the ground beneath him. His right cheek was swollen, his nose was bleeding, both eyes bruised (the right one had blood covering it), his left foreleg was broken, five broken ribs (although not apparent), had minor internal bleeding in his spleen (also not apparent), and a dripping cut on his forehead. He was panting, not from pain, but from rage.
Pure, unadulterated, rage.
Despite his injuries, Draco used his magic to approach the hammer pony at lightning speed.
The hammer pony didn't even have a second to process what had happened. Draco was close to the hammer pony, his glowing horn being half an inch away from his forehead.
"You really shouldn't have pished me off".
"W-what!? But! You! How-" the hammer pony stuttered.
Draco raised his hoof to his mouth. "Shhh, quiet".
The hammer pony sealed his mouth.
Draco smiled sinisterly. "Much better. That was quite the beating your pals just gave me. Now I see why most ponies wouldn't dare to mess with you. Problem is doe, I'm not most ponies. I'm Draco Santino Jack, and you don't buck with Draco Santino Jack! You dig?"
He nodded, appearing , for the first time, legitimately afraid.
Draco's sinister smile widen. "Good to see we're at an understanding. I also hope you'll understand why I'm gonna have to kick all four of ya ashes now".
A unicorn Rattlesnake laughed. "And what are you possibly going to do?"
'He doesn't seem very intimidated by me, lets fix that' Draco thought to himself. He placed a hoof onto the hammer pony's shoulder and looked to the unicorn who spoke. "If your two sleeping pals over there wasn't a good enough example, then maybe I need to show you one more". Draco looked back to the hammer pony, "and it looks like your my special guinea pig of the day!"
"W-what are you gonna do?" asked the hammer pony.
"I'm glad you asked. Since you pished me off I'm going to royally ditch slap all your pals. But not you. Your holding a hammer bigger then my entire body, but your too scared too use it. Out of the six of you, your the biggest ditch of them all! So I'm gonna do to you with what I do to all my ditches. I'm gonna shove my horn up your ash, and I'm gonna blow my load all over your insides" said Draco.
" . . . W-wha-"
"No homo"
There was a flash of light, preventing the other Rattlesnakes to seeing what was happening. There was a movement of hoofs, a squishing noise, a scream, followed by a loud zapping noise. The screamers voice went high pitch, making it louder and screechy. Like a little filly having just seen a ghost. Suddenly, there was a second scream, finished off with an explosion.
Starswirl was waiting at the bottom of the mountain near the campsite. He shifted uncomfortably, waiting for "that blasted buffoon" as Starswirl was currently calling him, to send a signal indicating that it was safe to retrieve the hostages.
'You better not get any of the hostages hurt or worse kid! If any pony gets hurt because of your stupid antics, it had better be you!' thought Starswirl.
Suddenly, Starswirl heard somepony scream in the distance, then an explosion.
" . . . . I DIDN'T MEAN IT LITERALLY! YOU BLASTED BAFFOON!!!" shouted Starswirl, as he quickly made haste to the hostages.
It only took seconds for the hostages to recognize Starswirl.
"Oh my Celestia! Its Starswirl the Bearded!" said one of the hostages.
"Thank Celestia! We're saved!" said another.
The eldest hostage approached Starswirl. "Thank you for coming to save us Starswirl. Might I ask, what ever happened to that immature lad from earlier?"
"Him? He's fine . . . I think". 'Just hold on tight kid' thought Starswirl.
Using his magic, Starswirl placed his horn to the cage lock and unlocked it from the door. Once the hostages were freed, Starswirl pointed and instructed the direction that they needed to travel to get to safety. Then, Starswirl tried to leave, before the elder hostage stopped him.
"Wait! You aren't coming with us?"
Starswirl shook his head. "I've got to go get my partner. We'll catch up to you".
The elder hostage nodded and watched Starswirl run off into the distance.
'Hold on Draco! I'm coming!' thought Starswirl.
After traveling a couple minutes, Starswirl saw a pony, beating another pony to a pulp. Starswirl instinctively rushed in and pushed the pony off the other. He was about to attack, until he heard the pony's voice.
"Ugh! Celestia jam it old man! What did you do that for!?!"
"What! Draco!?" Starswirl turned to the pony on the ground and saw that he was being beaten to a pulp by Draco, not the other way around as Starswirl had initially thought. "You . . . your okay?"
"Ya, well, more or less" said Draco, as he slowly lifted himself to his hoofs.
Starswirl sighed with relief. "That's good, for a second there I thought that- BY CELESTIA'S SUNNY SIDE FLANK!!!" Starswirl had just realize the six bodies that were laying around them. One of them caught his attention the most.
"DRACO!!! Is that Rattlesnake members flank INSIDE OUT!?!" Starswirl roared.
"Uh . . . well . . . its not exactly . . . outside in, if that makes sense . . . heh, heh, heh" Draco chuckled weakly.
" . . . . Well Draco, I'm certainly glad those Rattlesnakes didn't kill you" said Starswirl, calmly.
"Oh! Really?" asked Draco.
Starswirl nodded, "indeed. For if those Rattlesnakes had killed you, I wouldn't have had the chance to THROTTLE YOU MYSELF!!!"
"I would like to congratulate you two on your success. And I would like to give you my personal thanks for rescuing those hostages. Although you may be so keen on celebration, might I suggest a quick check up at the castle infirmary . . . especially for you Draco?" said Princess Celestia.
"N-No, its fine your highness. This is nothing but scratches, not even a flesh wound" said Draco, weakly.
Draco and Starswirl had arrived back to Canterlot castle to report the success of their mission. Draco and Starswirl were bowing in front of the princess in her throne room. Starswirl seemed in good shape, the complete opposite could be said about Draco.
His injuries had double after Starswirl had finished with him. His entire face was swollen to the point where he could hardly see out of one of his eyes. His right shoulder was dislocated, his tail was ripped off, several teeth were missing, a small chunk of his ear was ripped, and his nose was smashed. And those were just the visible injuries.
"Besides, I heal quickly. I should be fine after a good nights sleep" said Draco.
"I see . . . well in any case I do hope you are more carful next time Draco. For next time, you may not be lucky enough to come out alive" said Celestia.
"I'll be sure to remember that" said Draco.
"Just like how you remembered how many members we were up against" said Starswirl sarcastically.
"Heh, heh- OW! It hurts to laugh"
Celestia chuckled, "you two best be off. I have some work that needs to be done, and I have a feeling you two have your own plans for the evening".
"Rightaroony princess!" said Draco. He gave her a salute and marched away.
Starswirl sighed and gave the princess a final bow. "I apologize for his rudeness your highness".
Celestia smiled, "Think nothing of it Starswirl, not everypony is as mature as you and I. Some enjoy the life of immature antics and freedom to do as they please. Its best not to intervene, unless you have to".
"Indeed so, yet he acts like a child in the body of a grown stallion" said Starswirl.
"That's just the way some ponies enjoy living. Not everypony can be as sophisticated as you are Starswirl".
"Yes, well. As true as that may be I still feel that Draco's antics are still very . . . inappropriate for a stallion of his age. Tell me, have you ever thought about having children, your highness?"
"Oh, I can't say I have. Why?" asked Celestia.
"Because I feel that if you had children, they'll be more mature then Draco the second they are born. Anyways I must be off, farewell your highness" said Starswirl.
"Goodbye Starswirl" said Celestia.
As soon as Starswirl left, Celestia thought to herself. 'Children . . . raising a family would be rather nice. But I have far to much on my hoofs right now, that'll never happen . . . but, perhaps . . . maybe someday . . ."
Five minutes later and down the hall. Draco was humming to himself as he was thinking about where he should go to flirt when he heard a voice call from behind.
"Hey kid, slow down will you?"
Draco groaned, "what do you want Starswirl? Can't you see that I'm- GAH!"
Starswirl had walked up to Draco, grabbed him by the neck, and forced him against the wall.
"Listen good you stupid welsh! I did not train in magic my whole life for some kid to come along and think that he's the toughest pony around just because his special talent is fighting magic! I use my magic to help serve, protect, and discover! Magic is supposed to be an art, an unknown abyss, waiting to be discovered and explored and teach us things that we have yet to learn! But you come along and treat magic like its your own personal plaything! You think your so special just because you can handle yourself in a fight, well your not! Your just a stupid, naïve, immature, little brat who doesn't know his proper place in this world! I will use my magic to protect others by any means necessary. And if you endanger anypony, and I mean anypony at all with your barbaric nature! Then I won't take a second to bring you down". Starswirl released Draco. Draco fell to the ground, coughing and holding onto his neck. Starswirl was so mad he didn't realize, he was strangling Draco the entire time. Starswirl looked down to Draco, pure rage in his eyes. "Your not special Draco, you never were, and you never will be. Perhaps that's why you have no friends. They can see how stupid you are. Then again, that would also explain why you have no family". Starswirl began walking away, not without leaving one last comment.
"They were as stupid as you".
Draco laid there, even after Starswirl had left, he continued to lay in the middle of a hallway. The words that Starswirl had said, it all sank deep into Draco. All the pain that he had suffered tonight. All the damage he had received from the Rattlesnakes, none of it could compare the words he had received from Equestria's most powerful unicorn.
Yes he had no friends, but he didn't mind. He had lived his entire life alone anyway. No friends, no family, he had always been an orphan. He had never even met his parents let alone even have the chance to form a bond with them. And no pony would ever talk to him after they found out that his special talent was fighting magic. They we're scared of him. Scared that he was going to attack them. All because of his special talent, and the cutie mark he had received.
He didn't care, he shouldn't care, yet he didn't know why it hurt so much.
Draco laid there for what felt like hours, until a stranger approached him.
"Excuse me, Draco is it? Are you all right?"
Draco slowly lifted his head and saw a brown stallion with orange hair and eyes looking down at him with an expression of worry. He wore a orange red tunic and pointed cap, silver gauntlets with blue sleeves on his fore hoofs, brown boots with metal guard plates on his hind legs, and had a sword and shield holstered on his back. His cutie mark was a crystal looking seed with a two separate colors splitting it (left said cyan blue, right side pink), the seed appeared to be placed underground, and a crystal looking tree was coming out of the ground.
Draco sighed, "what do you want Buttonamous?"
"Oh! You know who I am?" asked Buttonamous.
"Who hasn't heard about you? You saved the Crystal Empire from that King Sombra guy".
"Well not exactly. I helped save ponies who had lived in the Crystal Empire, but I don't think we actually saved the empire itself. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna did the heavy lifting when it came to actually getting rid of King Sombra. Of course, that was before Princess Luna was banished . . . and the entire empire disappeared" said Buttonamous.
"Oh please, you and those two friends of yours stayed to fight while everypony else ran in panic!"
"There were still quite a lot of ponies who stayed to fight Draco. Sure we did a lot of the work but we're no more special then the others who stayed to help. Like this one mare for instance. Sacrificed herself to save over a thousand ponies! Ponies who could have actually died! Poor girl, I wished I could have gotten to know her better. Well, I got to know her when she came to back to life, but that's different".
Draco gave Buttonamous a confused expression. Buttonamous seeing this responded, "oh, well, she was a phoenix pony". Draco's expression didn't change. "You've never- oh that's right! Phoenix ponies don't reveal themselves to other countries so no pony knows about them! Well this may sound farfetched, but believe it or not. Phoenix ponies can die, burn to ash, then bring themselves back to life! Just like a phoenix would! As crazy as it sounds, its true! The mare who sacrificed herself burned and came back to life, I saw it with my own eyes! Sad part is though is that when a phoenix pony comes back to life their not the same as they once were. They come back to life as a whole new pony, looks, personality and all. Poor girl, I really do feel bad for her and her companions. Now what was her name . . . ah! That's right! Phoenix Sprite!"
"I honestly have no idea what your talking about" said Draco.
"Oh don't worry about it. Just reflecting on old memories. My point is though is that yes, I did play a very big part in that war. But I wasn't the only one who was there, I had lots of help. Speaking of help, I couldn't help but noticed that you seem a bit down. Are you alright?"
Draco huffed. "Do I look alright to you?"
"No, not really. Getting lectured by a unicorn like Starswirl can be quite frightening. Well, for you maybe, but for me its nothing".
"Oh gee, thanks. I feel SO much better!" growled Draco.
"I'm sorry. But to me, it seems like you could use a friend" said Buttonamous.
"Pfft! Friend? I don't need friends! Booze and hot mares, now that's what I need!" said Draco.
There was a pause, before Buttonamous spoke. "Draco, would you mind if I showed you something?"
"Like what?"
"Something I'm technically not allowed to show you" said Buttonamous.
""Then why would you show me?" asked Draco.
Buttonamous leaned in close to Draco's ear and whispered, "because I want to".
After a short minute of thinking, Draco sighed and reluctantly lifted himself from the ground.
He followed Buttonamous to the lower parts of the castle and into the basement.
The castle basement was made mostly of stone and brick. They used this part of the castle mostly for storage. Whether it be magical or non-magical items.
As Draco followed Buttonamous, he noticed a door slightly opened. Curious, Draco looked inside and saw a tall purple mirror. Buttonamous creped behind Draco and saw what he was looking at.
"Ah, it seems you have discovered the portal mirror" said Buttonamous.
"Portal mirror?" asked Draco.
Buttonamous nodded. "Its said that this mirror is actually a portal to another world. But the portal can only open every three and a half years. Its also said that this world is a complete opposite of ours. Animals don't talk, nature controls itself, and there is no magic!"
Draco stared in awe at the mirror. "A-are you serious?"
Buttonamous gave Draco a serious expression, before a burst into laughter. "No I'm not serious! Are you kidding! A world without magic? Ya! Like that'll ever exist! That's just an ordinary mirror that was placed down here for storage. Like it'll ever become a portal to another world! HA!" Buttonamous turned away from the mirror and continued down through the basement.
"Ha, ha, very funny" said Draco as he followed Buttonamous.
The two walked on until they were at the deepest part of the basement. Buttonamous led Draco inside a dark room filled with books and scrolls. Buttonamous brought Draco to a table and placed a large book in front of him. Buttonamous blew the dust off the book, then opened to a random page. He flipped through several pages until he stopped at a page showing a picture of a large crystal tree inside a cave.
"You brought me down here just to show me a picture of a tree?" asked Draco.
Buttonamous smiled. "That's not an ordinary tree Draco. That is the Tree of Harmony!"
"Tree of Harmony?" Draco asked with a confused look.
Buttonamous nodded. "This tree possess one of the strongest magic to ever exist within our world. Its magic is actually what helps keeps this world connected. Magically, and physically".
"Physically?" asked Draco.
Buttonamous flipped to a different page. The page he had flipped to showed a picture of three ponies. One was a brown stallion that looked completely identical to Buttonamous, sword, shield, tunic and all. Next to him was a white pegasus with blue hair and freckles. He wore a hooded cloak, brown chest guard, and had a bow and quiver holstered on his back. The third was a unicorn. She wore a purple cape, a gold jeweled head band, and had a red staff with a blue crystal ball attached holstered onto her back. The three ponies were in the same cave as the tree. Except in this picture, the tree wasn't there. The three ponies appeared to be digging something into the ground.
Buttonamous took a deep breath before explaining. "A long time ago, thousands of years after Lauren Faust had created our planet, Equiis. The world had become unstable and was on the verge of destruction. All four races of ponies did there best to keep this planet alive. Alicorns, unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. Yet nothing-"
"Wait hold up! Four races? There's only three" said Draco.
"Not back during this time period. Back then, there were plenty of alicorns as there were with unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies" explained Buttonamous.
"So why are there only two now?" asked Draco.
There was a short pause before Buttonamous spoke. "They died. All of them died, except for two".
"How did they die?" asked Draco.
"That's a story for another time, for now, let me focus on this one".
Draco nodded.
"As I was saying. All four races of ponies did there best to keep this planet alive. Alicorns, unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. Yet nothing they did worked. There magic just wasn't strong enough. However, one day three ponies were taken to a hidden place within a dark forest. Upon entering the forest, they discovered Lauren Faust herself. She told them that the only way to save the planet from destruction was to plant a tree. A tree that could control all of the creatures magic who lives on this planet, and use it to keep the world alive! So the three ponies embarked on a quest to plant these seeds given to them, and save the world! In short, they succeeded. They planted the tree, and just like Lauren Faust had said, the tree used the magic of everypony alive to keep the planet alive! However, the tree couldn't just used any old magic to keep the planet alive. Being a unicorn yourself you should know that this world possesses all kinds of magic. But this magic, this magic was special. Do you know what kind of magic the tree used?"
Draco shook his head.
Buttonamous smiled, "Friendship. The Tree of Harmony used the magic of friendship to keep this world alive. None of us would be here today if those brave ponies had never planted that tree".
"So, this Tree of Harmony. It uses friendship to keep the world connected. Not just magically, but physically?" asked Draco.
"Yes, isn't that what I just told you?"
Draco shook his head, "but that just makes no sense! Friendship isn't magic! Its just a thing that ponies form with one another so that there not lonely- what are you laughing at?"
Buttonamous wiped a tear from his eye as he chuckled. "Draco, no offense, but your not really a "ponies pony" are you? Friendship isn't just so ponies aren't lonely Draco. Friendship is so much more then that! The words that describe what pure friendship is, I can't tell you, because no such words exist! Friendship is such a powerful thing! It can do wonders to the world! There's just no way to describe it. If you wanted me to, the best I could say is this: Friendship, is magic!"
"I- I still don't-"
Buttonamous placed a gentle hoof onto Draco's shoulder. "Your a smart unicorn Draco. Seventeen years old and your already more advance then most other unicorns! You know so many different forms of magic, however, I think its about time you learned a new magic".
"Hmm? Which one?" asked Draco.
"Have you not been listening to me the whole time! I think its about time you learned the magic of friendship!"
"But, where would I even start?" asked Draco.
"Oh lucky for you, that's an easy one". Buttonamous flipped to another page. This page showed a picture of the same three ponies, only this time they were standing in front of a castle. All three of them hugging, and smiling.
"Make some friends".
Draco looked at the picture for a few minutes, thinking about what Buttonamous was saying. Slowly he said, "why are you showing me this?"
"Well, because you look like a stallion who doesn't know who he is. You have your cutie mark, your special talent, yet you still seem so . . . lost".
"I have no id-"
"Draco, I know exactly what you are. Your a pony who flirts with mares day and night. You drink during the day and you party during the night. You make yourself feel as if you have the best life in the world. You talk to others as if your better, and you fight, because you try to convince yourself that you really are. But your not, Draco. In truth, your a lonely pony. No family, no friends, everyponies afraid to come near you. Deep down, your in pain. So what do you do, you distract yourself from the pain. Your drinking, flirting, and partying, are all distractions from your grim reality. However, you've realized this. So to convince yourself that there not distractions, you try to convince yourself that your better then everypony else. You fight, train, and mock others just to prove to yourself that these distractions are just who you are. But your not that, Draco. Flirting, swearing, drinking, that's not the real you. The real you is hidden away, deep inside yourself. You've hidden the real you away, because you do not like the dark reality around you. You act like you don't need friends but in truth you do! You really do need friends Draco. Starswirl said that your not special, well you know what? I think that the smartest and most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria, is wrong".
Draco's eyes widened at Buttonamous's last words. Tears slowly formed as these words sank in.
"I believe that you have so much potential. Yet you don't see it, because even you don't believe that your special. You try to distract yourself, making yourself think your happy, but deep down, you not. You've been depressed for so long, and I think its about time you did something about it. And if you ask me, the first step to fixing this is simple. Make some friends, that's all you need to do. Make some friends, that way you can learn the magic of friendship"
Draco wiped his eyes and smiled. "Thanks Buttonamous. All doe ah th- I mean, all though I think what your saying is true I am curious. You talk as if you know me, yet we've never talked before".
"Ah, well everypony knows who you are. But that's not what your asking. Sure I know your name and why everyponies afraid of you, but the way you feel, the way you act. I know, because I'm an adventurer. And what your going through is common amongst adventures who have suffered sever losses".
"Really?" asked Draco.
"Yup, I'm one of those adventures. You suffer a loss, so to distract yourself from it you go on more adventures. At first, adventuring was supposed to be a dream, a persuit to happiness. Then something happens to bring you down in the dumps. Whether it be the death of some one close to you, or you failed a quest. Either way, something happens that turns the dream of adventuring into a distraction from your pain. Do you remember that phoenix pony I told you earlier? Phoenix Sprite?"
Draco nodded.
"Now that mare, that mare right there. Never in all my life had I ever seen an adventurer with as much loss as she was suffering through".
"Phoenix Sprite was an adventurer?" asked Draco.
"Oh ya, one of the best kinds! So many ponies know about her, I'm actually quite surprised you don't. The only pony of her kind to become an adventurer. Ponies from all over Equestria called her by so many names! The Ever Burning Flame, the Scorching Traveler, the Fiery Punisher, my favorite is the Phoenix Adventurer. Nice and simple, that last one. All and all, she was the first phoenix pony to have ever become an adventurer. However, when your an adventurer, you tend to suffer some loss, its unavoidable. The longer your an adventurer, the more loss you'll suffer. And for Phoenix, well, she's been alive a very long time. Actually, she's still alive now that I think about it. And she's still adventuring. But that just proves my point! If you ever see her she'll act happy and dandy. But nowadays, she just adventures because she's in pain. She needs a distraction. And I don't want that to be you Draco. I don't want you to have to look for distractions, do you understand?"
"Ya . . . I guess I do . . . thanks Buttonamous"
"No problem Draco".
Draco looked back to the book and saw something he had missed. He flipped the page back to the tree and saw five gems encrusted into it. "Hey, what are these?"
"Oh, that, those are the Seeds of Harmony".
"Seeds of Harmony?" asked Draco.
"Yes, you see. At one point the magic of friendship grew too powerful, even for the tree. So, the Tree of Harmony took the excess magic and stored the pure elements of friendship into six seeds".
"Six? There's only five in the picture" said Draco.
"The sixth is hidden within the trees core" Buttonamous explained.
"Oh, so, what are the pure elements?"
"The pure elements of friendship. The tree took the friendship of magical and separated it from its base elements. Some forms of magic have base elements. For friendship, it has six. These seeds can actually be separated from the tree and used in case of emergency's. That's actually how Princess Celestia and Princess Luna defeated Discord you know".
"Is that so? Can anypony wield these seeds?" asked Draco.
Buttonamous shook his head. "You see, each seed can only be used if a pony possess the pure essence of that element. To explain more simply. Each seed represents an element of friendship: honesty, loyalty, generosity, laughter, kindness, and magic. Only a pony who represents the full nature of that element, can they truly possess the full power of the seed".
"So, because the princess's represents the elements from the seeds of harmony, they can use the seeds full power?" asked Draco.
"Mmmm, not exactly. You see, in order to truly wield the full power of the seeds, you need a pony that represents the full element. That means that you would need six ponies. Six, not two. The princess are powerful alicorns. They can wield the seeds, but the seeds aren't even at half their power. There's actually a prophecy about it now that I think about it".
"Prophecy? About the seeds?" asked Draco.
"Yes, it is said that one day six ponies will have the abilities to actually wield the seeds. That these ponies will become the bearers of the elements of friendship. The Elements of Harmony. And the Elements of Harmony will protect Equestria in its most darkest of times".
"You say that like something bad is going to happen" said Draco.
"Maybe something will, maybe something won't. Who knows. I've been around long enough to know that this world isn't always safe. And I sure as tarterus can not wait for the day that the Elements of Harmony reveal themselves".
"Why's that?" asked Draco.
"Because then maybe this world can finally live in peace. I mean have you seen everything that's happened the past millennium? Discord, King Sombra, Nightmare moon, and whatever other evil forces that have tried to take over Equestria. There are so many bad ponies out there Draco. If only the bad ponies could see that they have no chance what so ever of fulfilling their dastardly deeds, then maybe this country can finally live in harmony. That would be nice, living in harmony. I can imagine it too: living in a brand new era full of peace and harmony. A time where the entire world is safe from anypony evil, and all of those who are evil have been vanquished. The Era of Harmony. That be nice. Maybe then I can finally die and rest in peace".
"I didn't hear the last part, what you say?"
"Oh don't worry about it" said Buttonamous, waving his hoof. He closed the book and returned it to its shelf. "Oh and can you not tell anypony about what I've told you? Technically I'm not supposed to tell anypony".
"Ya sure, but I was wondering. How strong exactly are the seeds of harmony?" asked Draco.
"Well the seeds defeated Discord. So that should be a good enough explanation. But remember, the Seeds of Harmony is just that, seeds. Once the bearers of the elements reveal themselves, then they will become more then just seeds. The magic of friendship can truly be spread throughout the country, maybe even the world! And it can defeat any evil foe, and I mean ANYONE! I should know, I wielded them myself" Buttonamous said this before he could stop himself.
Draco immediately turned back to Buttonamous, expression filled with excitement. "You wielded the seeds!?!"
"Oh darn! Can you keep that a secret, I'm not supposed to tell anypony that either. It just sort of slipped out".
Draco nodded.
"All in all, once the Seeds of Harmony become the Elements of Harmony, then there is nothing that can stop its magic. Although it does have its consequences for using the seeds for extended periods of time. The seeds need to be returned to the tree every once in a while, or the tree will be at risk of dying".
"You seem to know a lot about the Tree of Harmony, how come you know so much if its supposed to be a secret?" asked Draco.
"Oh, well. Some have the privilege to obtain this knowledge. As for me . . . lets just say I've had a few . . . close encounters with the tree".
"Wait? You've been to the Tree of Harmony?" asked Draco.
"Okay, your starting to enter uncharted territory Draco. Sorry, but I'm afraid its time to go back upstairs" said Buttonamous.
"Aww, but we got to the good part! Tell me about the tree! And how you used the seeds!"
"Sorry, but I made a swear oath to the princess herself not to tell anypony. Although if you like, I can tell you about some of my adventures".
"That be awesome!" shouted Draco, hopping up and down like a school filly. He stopped and fixed his composer after he realized what he was doing. "Uh, I mean. Yes, I would like that".
Buttonamous smiled and nodded, as he walked to the door.
"Hey, can I ask you one more question before we go?" asked Draco.
"Sure, what's up?"
"I was wondering. Those three ponies in the picture, the ones who planted the Tree of Harmony. Who are they?"
"Oh them. There just three friends who helped to save the world. Although they never gave themselves a name, ponies who know of them tend to call them the Spirits of Harmony".
"Spirits of Harmony?" asked Draco.
"Well, Spirits of Harmony, Gardeners of Friendship, Planters of Peace. You know, all these legendary hero's seem to have lots of names now that I think about it. But I personally like the Spirits of Harmony. That one has a good ring to it".
"So the Spirits of Harmony planted the Tree of Harmony, but, what were their names?" asked Draco.
"Ah, well. I don't think I'm allowed to tell you that. Sorry".
"Jam! All right fine! But I did notice that one of the Spirits actually looked a lot like you. You a fan of him so you dress like him?" asked Draco.
Buttonamous laughed, "I guess you can say that. All right, no more questions. Let's get out of this basement already".
"Okay, oh and Buttonamous".
"Ya?"
" . . . Thanks. For making me feel better" said Draco, turning away to hide his blush.
"No problem" said Buttonamous, smiling.
Draco exited the room, Buttonamous followed behind.
"Hey, you think I can call you Button for short? Buttonamous seems a bit to long, don't you think?" asked Draco.
"Sure, I don't mind" said Buttonamous.
"Hey, and what about Button Mash!"
"Why the "Mash" part?"
"It has a good ring to it" said Draco.
" . . . No". With that, Buttonamous closed the door and head back upstairs with Draco.
Once Draco had finished his story, he looked to the girls and saw all of them with expressions of fear, and amazement.
"Now do you girls understand what kind of trouble we're in?" asked Draco.
"The Elements of Harmony are that strong! I-I had no idea" said Adagio.
"Wait, hold the phone. How does any of this involve us fighting the elements?" asked Aria.
"Don't you get it? The Seeds of Harmony are no longer just seeds anymore. They are now wielded by the Elements of Harmony, therefore, they can unlock their full power now! And they'll use it to stop any evil foes, any at all. And that includes you three".
"U-Us? B-But we're not evil! We just wanted to go home!" said Sonata.
"Yes, but the way you tried to get home made you appear as the enemy" explained Draco.
"Well the elements don't seem that tough. Ya they took away our magic, but you make it sound like they can obliterate us with a single touch" said Aria.
"Because they can! They took away your siren powers and CHOSE to let you live! But if you girls take even one step back into our world, then there's no guarantee that they'll make that choice again!" Draco practically shouted.
There was a pause, before Sonata spoke. "So, if we're dying from age, is there any way to save us?"
Draco sighed. "Yes, and that's exactly why I told you the dangers we are in. Here, look at this". Draco reached into his shirt and pulled out a dark red heart shaped amulet with pitch black side trim. "These amulets are what allowed us to use our magic in the human world. Its also what has kept us alive for so long. Now that your amulets destroyed, you no longer have your siren magic. So what's the logical thing to do? Fix your amulets of course! Problem is, your amulets aren't ordinary jewelry. It was never made. When we first came into this world your siren magic manifested itself into these amulets. Therefore, the amulets aren't broken, your magic is. So how do you fix magic? With magic of course? Again, another problem. Now this may sound a bit confusing. You see, you cannot fix your magic because you need magic to fix magic and magic does not exist in the human world! But I do know a place that does have the magic you need to fix your magic and that is!"
"Equestria" gasped Sonata.
"Exactly! Now do you see the problem! If you girls want to fix your magic and stay alive, we're going to have to go back to Equestria. Problem is, that means were going to have to face against-"
"The Elements of Harmony" interrupted Adagio.
"Right you are! The Elements of Harmony! Now, let's say we do find a way back through the portal. Let's say we do somehow make it past the elements and all of Equestrias top security, because chances are the four of us are still wanted criminals. We've been gone for over a thousand years, and I'm sorry for bringing this up, but last time I checked. The sirens were an endangered species, and they were dying out very fast when we were banished. We can't use any old magic to fix your siren magic. We have to use the same type of magic in order to fix your magic! And there's no guarantee that the sirens are around anymore" explained Draco.
There was a pause, before Sonata spoke. "So . . . that's it? There's nothing we can do? W-We're just g-going to d-die?" Tears quickly formed in her eyes and were beginning to fall down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, but your chances are slim. I'd even say you have no chance at all" said Draco, bluntly.
Sonata started to cry. Adagio placed her arm around Sonata, and Aria place a hand to her shoulder.
"But come on? What did I teach you girls?" asked Draco.
"Draco, what are you-"
"What did I teach you girls about chances?" Draco interrupted Adagio.
"T-That its okay to have a small chance then no chance at all?" asked Sonata.
"Exactly!" shouted Draco. Draco jumped up from the sofa and pushed the window curtains aside, allowing light to come into the apartment. "Just because our chances are slim, just because the odds seem impossible, just because we are destined for failure doesn't mean we should give up so easily! If you have any chance, big, small, even the tiniest sliver of chance, then you take it! Having a little chance is better then having no chance at all! Now lets think: the portal back to our world is most likely closed, the Elements of harmony will be in our way, we're most likely going to be chased by an army of guards, and there's the possibility that your species is extinct. Ya, bad predicament we're in. Now, let's think of how much of a chance we've got! The Elements of Harmony most likely exist in both this world and the other, due to there only being two Equestrian's in the human world. So, getting past the human elements will be easy since they are not accustomed to magic. Then there's the situation of opening the portal-"
"Oh! One of the Equestrian's lives in the human world, she might know a way to open the portal!" Sonata interrupted.
Draco looked at Sonata impressed. Adagio and Aria looked surprised that Sonata had said something smart.
"Good thinking Sonata! We can open the portal with the Equestrian! Once the portals open, all we have to do is find a way to get past the elements!"
"Hey, do the elements need all six bearers to activate their full power?" asked Adagio.
Draco's face was suddenly full of Glee. "YES! YES THEY DO!"
"So if we take away one of the elements" Adagio started.
"The elements won't be able to use their powers on us" Aria continued.
"Thus allowing us to bypass them and escape unharmed!" Draco finished.
"Then we can get past the elements without having to fight them at all!" said Sonata.
"EXACTLY!!! Oh I love you girls! Yes! That's exactly what we'll do! That's our chance!" shouted Draco. He quickly turned around, grabbed the taco meat, and headed into the kitchen.
"Uh, Draco. What are you doing?" asked Adagio.
"I'm cooking you dinner of course! Tonight we eat, rest, and have fun! You and Aria still need to open the presents I gave you! We'll enjoy our time tonight! Then tomorrow, we'll go set our plan into motion!"
"Wait, do you mean what I think you mean!?" asked Sonata.
"That's right girls! After one thousand years, we're finally going home!"
Sonata jumped into the air and cheered. Adagio and Aria fist bumped.
"I doubt it, its to soon for them to know anything's happened".
"Well what if-"
"Shh! She's waking up!"
Sunset Shimmers slowly opened her eyes and looked to see where the voices were coming from. She saw that she was sitting in a chair in a dark room. The voices who had been talking were in the darker part of the room, making her unable to see them. She tried to stand, but she discovered that her hands were tied to the back of the chair.
"Where am I? Who are you?" asked Sunset Shimmer, looking around in panic.
"Oh, you don't recognize us Shimmer?" asked one of the voices.
'That voice'. "A-Adagio?"
The sirens stepped out of the darkness and revealed themselves to Sunset. Sunset glared at the sirens angrily. "So, you girls still haven't learned your lesson I see? Your still trying to take over our school and now your doing it by kidnapping me? Is that it?"
Adagio laughed, "oh please! Take over your school? Now why on earth would we want to take over that miserable place?". Adagio stepped closer to Sunset and placed her face close to hers. "What we want is something MUCH more!"
Sunset chuckled. "Well whatever it is, you won't succeed! We took away your magic! Your not a threat anymore, none of you are! You honestly expect me to be intimidated by you three?"
"No, its not us you should be intimidated by. Its actually "him" you should be worried about" said Adagio, pointing to the corner of the dark room.
"Who?" asked Sunset, looking to the corner.
Draco stepped out from within the shadowy corner, giving Sunset a sinister smile. "Hello darling, how are you?"
"What!? W-Who are you?"
Draco chuckled at Sunset's fearful expression. He walked up to Sunset and placed his hand to her chin, gently lifting her head to face his eyes. "My names Draco Santino Jack. Or as you humans in this world call me, Count Dracula!"
"Dracula? Impossible".
"Oh is it now?" asked Draco, as he pulled a knife from behind him.
I-If you hurt me, my friends will find out! Then you'll be in trouble!" said Sunset.
"Oh I intend on meeting one of your friends very soon. But until then I felt I could use a bit of "power". And you possess Equestrian magic, this will make it SO much better!" Draco place the blade to the top of Sunsets shoulder. "Now, hold still". Sunset gasped as she felt the blade cut into her skin. She could feel blood already leaking out of her fresh wound. Draco looked back into Sunsets eyes and smiled. "Don't get the wrong idea. I know you teens find this kind of thing very romantic, but I just want to clarify that I'm over a thousand years old and not interested. Oh and don't expect me to start sparkling in the light either, don't know how you people got that idea".
Draco placed his mouth to Sunsets wound, and began drinking her blood.
Sunset gasped and looked away, blushing. 'Oh my god he really is a vampire, but how-'
Before Sunset could finish that thought, Draco spoke. "And I know what you are thinking, how is it that this world secretly had three sirens and a vampire hiding amongst them? Well first off, would you believe me if I told you I wasn't a vampire?"
"But your drinking my blood. Are you some sort of sicko who just enjoys drinking a girls blood?" asked Sunset.
"Nope, actually I hate doing this. One thousand years of doing this and I still get naissance. But, that's just what happens when you have to live a life like mine". Draco placed his mouth back to Sunsets shoulder and continued drinking. As he did so, the amulet around his neck began to glow. The more blood he drank, the stronger the glow became.
'I need to get to the girls and warn Twilight! What happened to my communication book?' thought Sunset.
Sunset was humming to herself peacefully. She was on her way to go and meet her friends for lunch at the mall. She was unaware of the three sets of eyes watching her through nearby bushes.
"So, first part of our plan is to kidnap Sunset?" asked Sonata.
"No Sonata, the first part of our plan is to watch her walk around all day" said Aria sarcastically.
"Well that's not a good plan. We won't get anything done just by watching her" said Sonata, oblivious to her sisters sarcasm.
" . . . Your an idiot".
"Both of you shut up! We need to figure out how to get her back to our apartment without getting caught" said Adagio.
"We could just hit her over the head with a mallet or something" said Aria.
"Great idea Aria! Then we can have a good laugh while were on our way to the police station!" growled Adagio.
"Okay fine! So what do you think we should do!" said Aria, angrily.
"Oooh! I know! Follow me!" said Sonata. She quickly leapt from her hiding spot and ran towards Sunset.
"Wait! Where are you going!" shouted Adagio.
"That idiot!" said Aria, face palming.
Sonata ran up to Sunset and politely tapped her on the shoulder.
Sunset turned and was taken aback when she saw Sonata.
"Hello there!" said Sonata, cheerfully.
"Oh! Uh . . . hi" said Sunset, confused. She looked around, looking for the other sirens, then turned back to Sonata. "What are you doing here? Where's your friends?"
"Oh! You mean my sister? Well, there not with me at the moment cause their busy with some super duper important things! So I came here by myself to ask you something REALLY important!"
Sunsets confused expression turned to a worried one. She was curious as to what the Sirens were up to that was really important for Sonata to come here by herself. "You needed to ask me something?"
Sonata nodded. "You see, me and my friends are in big trouble and we need to go back to Equestria! And we think that you know how to get there, do you?"
"Do I what?"
"Do you know how to get back to Equestria?" asked Sonata.
Sunset now looked serious. "Wait, after everything you and your sisters have done, you still come to me and ask me if I know a way for you to go back to Equestria?"
Sonata nodded, smiling.
Sunset frowned. "Even if I knew how to get back to Equestria I wouldn't tell you how to do it. I'm not going to let you or your sisters terrorize the citizens there!"
Sonata frowned. "Aw! Please Sunset! I promise we won't try to terrorize anyone! We just want to go back home so we can try to get our siren magic back".
Sonata didn't know, but a few yards away behind some bushes. The two sirens were both face palming so hard, they left marks on their faces.
Sunsets eyes grew when she heard this. "What! Your going to try and get your siren magic back?"
Sonata clasped her hands to her mouth. "Oh my gosh! I don't think I was supposed to tell you that!"
"Ya, your right about that. There's no way I am ever telling you how to get to Equestria! And if I see you or your sisters do anything that I don't like, I won't waste a second getting the Elements of Harmony to stop you!"
Sunset sighed. "Fine, I didn't want to do this but you leave me no choice. Would you like to be our hostage?".
"I-I, what!"
"Would you like to be our hostage?" asked Sonata.
" . . . You have three seconds to go away before I call the cops" said Sunset, reaching for her phone.
"Aw come on Sunset! It'll only be for a little while!" Sonata whined.
"One"
"And we'll take good care of you! And feed you plenty of food and water!"
"Two!"
"Ooh! You like tacos! We have lots of tacos!"
"Three!"
Before Sunset had a chance to dial nine one one, she was suddenly struck on the back of the head with a mallet. She fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Aria! That wasn't a very nice thing to do!" said Sonata, angrily.
Aria tossed the mallet away, chuckling. "Whatever, she was about to call the cops, I didn't exactly have a choice!"
"Hurry up and grab her before some one DOES call the cops!" said Adagio.
The Sirens lifted Sunset up and started walking down the sidewalk until a white car pulled up next to them. The driver lowered the window, revealing Draco.
"Get in!" he shouted.
"Draco? You stole a car?" asked Adagio.
"What? No! This is mine" said Draco.
"When did you get a car?" asked Aria.
"Don't worry about it! Throw that girl in here and get in already!" shouted Draco.
Sonata opened the back door, allowing Adagio and Aria to (literally) throw Sunset into the car. Once the Sirens were in, the car made a skid sound as it sped off.
"This is nice! How did you get the money to afford this?" asked Adagio.
"Well with my treasure from the eighteen hundreds of course. I'm actually wondering why none of you have a car of your own" said Draco.
"Wait? Treasure!? You have treasure?" asked Aria.
"But of course I do! We all do!"
All Sirens looked at Draco with confused expression.
"None of you remember getting treasure?" asked Draco.
"No, I think I would have remembered getting something like that!" said Aria.
"Well I remember giving that treasure to Sonata and telling her to give it to you" said Draco.
"But we didn't get anything . . . Sonata". Adagio and Aria turned to Sonata. "Sonata, how come we didn't get treasure?" asked Adagio.
"I-I uh . . . might have . . . lost it" said Sonata, weakly.
"Well why didn't you tell us! We could have help you find it!" shouted Aria.
"I lost it over the Atlantic ocean" said Sonata.
"SONATA YOU-"
"Girls! Don't worry about it! Where we're going we don't need that treasure anymore!" shouted Draco, as he stopped the car in front of the apartments.
Draco helped the Sirens get Sunset Shimmer out of the car, into the apartments, and tied her to a chair. From there, Draco searched Sunsets purse for anything that could help with their mission. He stopped when a brown book started vibrating from within the bag. "Hello, what is this?" He observed the contents of the book, then started laughing. "So that's how you communicate!"
"What are you so happy about?" asked Adagio.
Draco showed her the book. "You see this? This is a-"
Sunset awoke from her thought, "what did you say?"
Draco wiped his mouth and stepped away from Sunset. He reached into his coat and pulled out a brown book, causing Sunset to gasp. "This is a communication book, it allows you to talk with anyone from Equestria who also possess a communication book. And from what I've read so far, it seems that you have been having lots of conversations with a princess called "Twilight Sparkle". And it seems that she was the one who opened the portal to the human world when you asked her to help take care of my friends".
"Friends? Your "friends" tried to take over the school and enslave everybody!" shouted Sunset.
"Oh, is that what you think? Is that what you and the rest of the elements thought when you blasted them with magic? Getting rid of their siren magic? Do you still think we're trying to take over this world?" asked Draco.
Sunset glared at Draco. "I don't think, I know!"
"Well, for some one who used to be Celestia's pupil you are quite stupid" said Draco.
Suddenly, the book within Draco's hand vibrated. He opened to the latest page and chuckled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some writing that I must attend to".
"Wait, what are you doing with that book?" asked Sunset.
"Oh I'm just chatting with your little princess friend. She does seem quite nice. Loves learning, making friends. I think she and I would be great pals if it wasn't for the fact that she works for that dreaded princess. Oh well, guess not every friendship was meant to happen".
"What are you telling her?" asked Sunset.
"Well to come here of course! What else could I possibly be telling her? Invitation to a nice evening tea?" said Draco, sarcastically.
"But your handwriting is different, she'll know that it was stolen".
"Exactly! Now correct me if I'm wrong. But if I was in Twilights situation and I knew that a one of a kind item that allowed me to communicate to a friend was stolen, then I would start making assumption. What assumptions would I make? Well, I would start assuming that something bad has happened to my friend. From there I would go and try to find her. Now, does that sound like something Twilight would do?"
Sunset didn't answer, her facial expression was a good enough answer. Draco smiled and turned to walk out the room.
"Don't you worry your little head off lass. I'm not going to hurt your friends, not unless they make me, that is". With that, Draco and the Sirens left the room, shutting and locking the door behind them.
Sunset was on the verge of tears, as she struggled to free herself from the chair. "Please Twilight! Don't fall into their trap!"
"Twilight, I think you might be over reacting a bit" said Spike, as he followed the Princess of Friendship running back and forth around the room.
She was collecting supplies and placing it into her saddlebag. "I am not overreacting Spike! I think Sunset might be in trouble-"
"What if someone just took her book and is toying with it?" interrupted Spike.
"Well its better to be safe then sorry, now isn't it?" said Twilight. She placed the last item into her bag and ran into the room with a large circular shaped contraption. Using her magic, Twilight placed a large brown book on top of the contraption, activating a portal.
"Well can't I at least come with you?" asked Spike.
"No Spike, I need you to stay here in case anypony tries to come in contact with me. If anypony does, tell them that I am highly busy and can't get to them".
"Why can't you just get the crusaders to do that? Their always willing to help" Spike complained.
"Because their our guests. And I'm not going to have our guest do work for us. Especially not after everything they've gone through. Speaking of which, Discoro!" shouted Twilight.
A few moments later, a gray pony with black hair entered into the room. He had piercing red eyes with yellow sclera. He had a bat wing and a blue bird wing, and his horn was swirled and crooked.
"Yes Twilight?" asked Discoro.
"I'm going to be gone for awhile so if you need anything, just tell Spike".
"Yes mam, I'll be sure to tell the crusaders that as well".
Suddenly, there was a crash from the other room.
Discoro blushed and chuckled weakly. "Sorry about that, you know how much those girls like to play". He turned and ran out the door. "Scootaling! You better not be firing Apple Ghouls body parts out of a party canon again!"
Twilight sighed and turned to Spike. "Please make sure those girls don't do something to hurt themselves".
"Don't worry Twilight! I'll keep them safe!" said Spike, giving her the thumbs up.
Twilight nodded approvingly and stepped to the portal. "Oh, and only let the portal stay open for a few hour after eight. I don't want anyone getting in that shouldn't".
Spike nodded.
And with that, Twilight waved goodbye and entered the portal to the human world.
Twilight managed to catch her balance as she fell out of the horse shaped statue. She took of a few moments to look at her new bodily features, placed her backpack comfortably onto her back, then ran towards Sugar Cube Corner. She had to contact all of her friends, and Sugar Cube Corner was the closest to the school. She would go and ask Pinkie to help contact the other.
Once there, Twilight entered and walked up to the front counter.
"What can I get you?" asked the human version of Mrs. Cake.
"Hi, um, I'm actually looking for Pinkie Pie. Is she work-"
"TWILIGHT!!!"
Twilight only had a few second to register the fact that a pink blur had just slammed into her, knocking her to the ground. The pink blur embraced Twilight in a tight hug.
"I'm so glad to see you again!"
"Pinkie! . . . Can't! . . . Breath!"
Pinkie Pie released Twilight from her arms and help her to her feet. "OhIcan'tbelieveyourbackIthoughtyouwouldn'tbebacksosoonwellIknewyouwouldcomebacksoonbutIdidn'tknowthissoo-"
"Pinkie slow down! I have no idea what your saying" said Twilight.
"Oh! Well I'm just soooo glad that your back! I mean the battle of the bands was like two months ago! So I didn't think you would be back so soon! What cha doing here anyway Twi? Back to fight another bad guy?" asked Pinkie.
"Actually, I'm here because I think Sunset Shimmer might be in trouble-"
"WHAT!?! SUNSETS IN TROUBLE!?!"
Twilight quickly clamped her hand to Pinkies mouth, silencing her. So looked around and noticed that everyone in the bakery were staring at them. Blushing, Twilight chuckled weakly and sat Pinkie down in one of the booths. She sat next to Pinkie and started explaining. "Yes, I think Sunset might be in trouble. Earlier today I received messages from Sunsets communication book, but it wasn't Sunsets handwriting. The person who stole the book seems to know exactly what it is, so it can't be just any old human playing with a new toy. I think someone intentionally stole this from Sunset. I don't know if Sunset really is in danger, but I just want to make sure nothing bad has happen to her before I start assuming she's safe. That and we really can't have this book fall into the wrong hoofs, er, hands".
Pinkie nodded and reached for her phone. "Looks like this is a job for, the Mane Six!"
"Mane who?" asked Twilight.
"Oh you know. Me, you, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy! That's what the fans like to call us!"
"Fans?"
"Oh no body from this dimension. I'm talking about the place where people don't have multicolored skin, and they have this HUGE fandom about us! With conventions! And fan art! And this website that lets you write your own stories about our world!"
" . . . Pinkie, are you talking about something that's real?"
"Well their not real to us! But we're not real to them either!"
" . . . Just call our friends already".
"Okeydokielokey!" said Pinkie, as she dialed the numbers.
Pinkie Pie and Twilight waited for over an hour. Eventually, one by one the rest of the group had arrived. Twilight explained to them the situation as they drank milkshakes.
"Well I do hope Sunsets not in any danger, have you tried calling her already?" asked Rarity.
"I have, but she didn't answer!" said Pinkie Pie.
"Well what kind ah trouble do you reckon she's in" asked Applejack.
"I don't know, but whoever stole her book knew what it was and how to use it. So its most likely someone who knows about our world".
"Someone who knows your world huh? If I didn't know any better I'd say it was those Sirens!" said Rainbow Dash.
"That's actually a very good point, the Sirens most likely have a grudge against us after we beat them in the battle of the bands" said Twilight.
The bell on the door to Sugar Cube Corner rung as some one entered.
"They probably stole that book and is using it to communicate with me, but why?" asked Twilight.
"Um, girls?" whispered Fluttershy.
"Do you think they did something to Sunset?" asked Rarity.
"Girls" said Fluttershy, slightly louder.
"They better not! I swear if they laid a finger on Sunset then I'm gonna-"
"Girls!" Fluttershy shouted, interrupting Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy hid behind her hair and blushed as all the attention was put onto her. "Look at the counter" Fluttershy whispered, pointing to the front counter.
All girls turned to the counter, their jaws dropping simultaneously.
At the front counter was Sonata, ordering a box of muffins. Once Mrs. Cake handed the box to Sonata, Sonata turned and was humming to herself as she walked towards the door.
"HEY YOU!" Rainbow Dash shouted, pointing at Sonata.
Sonata stopped and turned to Rainbow. Her happy attitude suddenly dropped as she saw all of the Rainbooms sitting at the table. "O-Oh! Hey there! I didn't k-know you guys went here" Sonata stammered, wearing a fake smile (it was evident that she was scared).
"You did something to Sunset! Didn't you!" Rainbow shouted.
"What! No! I was just coming here for muffins! I would never hurt any of your friends!" said Sonata.
"Uh huh, like were gonna believe that after what you did at the battle of the bands!" said Applejack.
"Girls! Please restrain yourself! Don't you see how scared she is? She hasn't done anything bad to Sunset Shimmer! So stop yelling at her" said Twilight.
Applejack and Rainbow glared at Twilight. "Are you serious!? Twilight she-"
"I mean it Rainbow! Stop yelling at her!" said Twilight, sternly.
Rainbow and Applejack obeyed. Sonata gave Twilight a smile that said "thanks" and left the bakery.
"What was that all about! You just made us lose our chance to finding out if they did something to Sunset!" said Rainbow Dash, angrily.
"Actually, I made it easier. Do you really think she would have told us anything while we were shouting at her?" asked Twilight.
"We'll probably not, but we could have tried to force the information out of her" said Rainbow.
"Rainbow Dash! Are you implying that we hurt her!" exclaimed Rarity.
"No! But we could have done something instead of just let her leave!"
"Rainbow, I didn't just let her leave. I let her leave feeling that she was safe from us questioning her. So now it'll be easier to find out what she's up to" said Twilight.
"What? So, you meant to make her leave so that we could-"
"Follow her!" Twilight interrupted Rainbow Dash.
Twilight quickly left the booth and towards the door. The rest of the girls followed shortly.
"With her guard down, it'll make it easier for us to follow her and see what she's up to" said Twilight, as they walked down the sidewalk.
"Wait? So you still suspect that the Sirens did somthin to Sunset?" asked Applejack.
"Of course! Its too obvious not to suspect them! I only made it seem like I didn't think it was them just to lower her guard. There she is!" said Twilight, pointing ahead of her.
Sonata had walked down the street and into another store. The Rainbooms quickly followed behind and entered into the store. Twilight stopped to look at a sign posted on the window before entering.
It was a large thrift shop filled with random merchandise.
They saw Sonata walk towards the back of the thrift shop, through a door that said "Employees Only".
"I didn't know Sonata worked at a thrift shop" said Rarity.
"That's because she doesn't. Did you girls see the sign outside as we entered? It said that the store is open from between eight A.M. and eight P.M. Rarity, what time is it?" asked Twilight.
Rarity checked her phone. "Its nine thirty".
"Then this store is supposed to be close, so why are all the lights on?" asked Twilight. Twilight walked closer to the employees only door, the Rainbooms followed behind. Once there, Twilight leaned her ear against the door and listened.
"Did they follow you?"
"No, I think I'm safe. And look, I brought muffins! You want one Adagio?"
"What are they saying?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Are they talking about Sunset?" asked Applejack.
"Shh!" said Twilight as she focused back onto the voices in the room.
"Why do you think a bakery is open this late night?"
"Don't know, but I'm glad it is! We can have yummy muffins any time we want!"
"Excuse me!" said a voice from behind.
The Rainbooms turned quickly, expecting one of the Sirens. All of them sighed with relief when they saw it was just the janitor, holding a broom in his hand. He wore his janitor hat in a downwards position, covering his face.
"Oh, sorry sir. I know we're not supposed to be here so late! It just that . . . we . . . uh-"
"Are waiting for some friends to give them a surprise!" shouted Pinkie, finishing Twilights sentence.
"Oh is that so. Well normally people are not supposed to be here past closing time. But for you girls-". The janitor lifted his hat, revealing his face. He had pale skin, piercing red eyes, and short well combed white hair. He gave them a gentle smile. "I'm willing to make an exception. Besides, it does get rather lonely here at nights". The janitor took his broom and started sweeping the floor.
"Oh, well, thank you mister" said Twilight.
The janitor chuckled. "Please, call me Draco".
"Okay well, Mister Draco Sir. We have a friend who's in the employees only room right now. Sonata I think her name is. Do you know why she would be her so late at night? Even though the store is supposed to be closed?"
"Well the store may be closed, but us janitors still have our jobs to attend to. We work after the store has closed, so that we don't disturb the costumers trying to clean messes".
"Oh, so Sonatas a janitor" asked Twilight. All of the Rainbooms had skeptical looks.
The janitor nodded. "Indeed she is. She actually just came back from getting us muffins. Such a sweet girl, always trying to make everyone smile".
"Uh, well . . . do you mind if we see her?" asked Twilight.
"Sorry girls, but only employees are allowed in the back" said Draco.
"But we have to see her! This is an emergency!" said Rainbow Dash.
"Oh, an emergency? What kind of emergency?" asked Draco.
"One of our friends went missing and we think that Sonata might have done something to her!" said Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow! Don't tell him that!" said Twilight, annoyed.
"Your friend is missing? And you think Sonata has done something to her?" asked Draco.
"Please mister, jus let us talk to her please? It'll only take a couple a minutes" said Applejack.
Draco thought for a minute, then smiled to the Rainbooms. "Sure, you can talk to her". Draco walked up to the door and knocked. "Sonata! You have some friends here who want to talk to you!"
The door opened, and Sonata came out. "Oh! Hello! What are you doing here?" asked Sonata, surprised.
'This isn't how the plan should have worked! We were supposed to follow her! Not interrogate her!' thought Twilight. Twilight sighed, "hello again Sonata! We, um, just had a few . . . questions for you. We were wondering if-"
"Did you kidnap Sunset or what!?!" shouted Rainbow Dash.
Sonata was taken aback. She looked to Twilight, "I thought you said that I didn't do anything to her!"
Twilight gave her an apologetic look. "We just wanted to make sure, that's all".
Sonata stomped her foot to the ground. "No! I didn't hurt Sunset! Tell them Draco! Tell them I would never hurt anyone!"
Draco looked confused about the whole situation, then smiled at them. "Sonata has worked for me for a while now. I highly doubt she would hurt anybody. Perhaps this Sunset Shimmer girl you are talking about is just somewhere else at the moment. Have any of you tried contacting her? Or going to where she lives?"
Twilight looked to the Rainbooms, then back at Draco and Sonata. "We haven't been to her house, but we did try and-"
"Wait a minute! None of us said what Sunset's last name was. How do you know her last name is Shimmer?" asked Rainbow, interrupting Twilight.
Draco's smiling expression immediately changed to a worried one. He chuckled, "w-well. Sonata and her friends talk about her sometimes so I just . . . happened to know her last name".
All of the Rainbooms stared at Draco accusingly. "Oh really? So how come you described her as "this Sunset Shimmer girl?" asked Rainbow.
"I-I, well, you see".
"I think your working with the Sirens! Aren't you!" shouted Rainbow.
"Sirens! That's preposterous! I would never-" Draco stopped and looked to the Rainbooms expressions. None of them believed him, and he knew the jig was up. "Oh, blast! And here I thought this could have gone smoothly. Sonata, tell the other to close shop, we're going home".
Sonata walked back into the employees only room. Draco took of his janitor hat and clothing, revealing his normal attire. "Well you girls are quite smart, I'll give you that".
"Wait! You really kidnapped Sunset?" asked Twilight.
"Well in a manner of speaking yes we did forcibly take your friend against her will. But I promise she is in great cond-".
Rainbow ran to Draco and socked him in the jaw, she tried to attack him further before Applejack grabbed hold of her. "Who are you!?! What have you done with Sunset!?!" she shouted.
"Whoa there! Calm down!" said Applejack, struggling to keep hold of Rainbow.
"Calm down! He just admitted to kidnapping Sunset and you want me to calm down! Who does this guy think he is anyway! Who are you!?!"
Draco felt his jaw, then chuckled. Rainbow looked to Draco's jaw and stopped struggling due to being shocked. His jaw was clean, Rainbow didn't even leave a scratch. "But, I punched you as hard as I could!"
Draco's chuckle turned into a laugh. "Indeed you did, and I would have felt it too if your Equestrian friend hadn't provided me with the "nutrients" to become stronger".
"Nutrients?" asked Twilight.
Now Applejack looked ready to pounce on Draco. "What did you do to Sunset!"
"I told you, she's fine. But I do believe its time we part ways" said Draco.
"Not until you tell us what you did to Sunset!" said Twilight.
"Sorry girls, but its closing time" said Draco. He snapped his fingers and as he did, the lights went out.
"What happen to the lights?" asked Rarity.
"Oooh! Are we playing three blind mice?" asked Pinkie.
"What's happening! I can't see!" shouted Fluttershy.
"Their getting away!" shouted Rainbow.
"Girls remain calm! Their just escaping, they won't hurt us! We'll try and go after them as soon as we- OOF!" Twilight didn't finish, something had hit her on the back of the head.
"Twilight!!! Are you- GAAGH!" Applejack shouted. Something had also hit her on the back of the head.
"Applejack! Twilight! Are you okay! Where are you! I can't see!" Rainbow shouted. She had felt Applejack release her and disappear.
"Rainbow what happened!? are they alright?" asked Rarity.
"Omygoshomygoshomygosh!!!" Fluttershy wailed.
"This doesn't seem very fun anymore!" shouted Pinkie.
Suddenly they heard the doors to the store open and close.
"This way! Follow the sound of my voice!" shouted Rainbow.
A few moments later, Rainbow had led the Rainbooms outside. They could see again thanks to the light the full moon was providing. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie gasped when they that Applejack and Twilight were missing.
"What happened to Twilight and Applejack!?" asked Rarity, starting to panic.
"They were just with us!" shouted Rainbow.
"Do you think the bad guy took them?" asked Pinkie.
"They must have. Great, now they have Sunset, Twilight, and Applejack held hostage!" said Rainbow, angrily.
"Should I call the police?" asked Rarity.
"The police? Ha! You think the police can take on the Sirens?" asked Rainbow.
"But didn't they lose their magic?" asked Rarity.
"Ya! But whoever that guy was is probably also using magic! Didn't you see when I hit him? I didn't even leave a scratch! I can take down a football player with one punch! So that scrawny guy must be using magic!"
"So what do we do then?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"We go find them of course!" said Rainbow.
"But how are we going to save them? If this Draco fellow is using magic, then how can we get past him?" asked Rarity.
"I don't know. But the first thing we need to do is find out where their heading!" said Rainbow.
"Um, I think I know where their going" said Fluttershy.
"Oh, really? Where?" asked Rainbow.
Fluttershy pointed to a trail of oil going out of the parking lot and down the road.
Rainbow smiled. "Alright! Lets go find them! Then we'll decide how to save our friends!"
"That was easier then I thought! Who would have thought breaking into a thrift shop and using that place for a trap would be so simple! Good job by the way getting the elements to follow you from the bakery" said Draco, as he drove and ate a muffin simultaneously.
"It wasn't too hard. I made myself look innocent. Of course, they didn't believe me" said Sonata, biting into her own muffin.
"Hey one question, why did we bring the farm girl with us? I thought we only needed the princess" said Adagio.
"Oh it was too dark in there, I accidently knocked out the wrong person before I realized it" said Draco, obviously lying.
"Draco, we can tell when your lying. Why did you bring the farm girl with us?" asked Adagio.
"I-I, uh . . . I just need to find out a few things. That's all" said Draco.
"A few things? Draco, do you know who this girl is?" asked Adagio.
Draco didn't answer. They drove for a few minutes before Adagio said, "Draco, do you know who this girl is?"
Draco sighed. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. And maybe I'm wondering why you girls didn't tell me she was part of the Elements of Harmony".
The car went silent for a moment before Sonata spoke. "Oh, so you do know".
Draco chuckled, "How did you think I wouldn't know? She looks just like Almata!"
"We didn't want you to worry-"
Draco cut Adagio off. "Don't worry about it, I understand. Lets just . . . not talk about it until we get home, okay?"
The Sirens nodded and remained silent for the rest of the ride.
As they stopped at a stop light, Draco looked in the mirror to the unconscious farm girl in the back seat. He smiled as he felt tears form in his eyes.
Something nudged against Applejack, awakening her from her sleep. She stirred slowly, focusing on the blurred images besides her. She groaned, feeling a massive headache growing stronger as she became more conscious. Then, reality hit her, and she knew that something was wrong. Her eyes shot opened and she looked around. She was in a dark room, besides her was Twilight and Sunset Shimmer. She tried to move, then realized that she was tied to a chair. All of them were. She heard a chuckled, then turned her head forward to see the Sirens standing there. Besides them was a tall thin man, the same man that was with the Sirens at the thrift shop. "T-Twilight? What . . . what happened?"
"Well good morning young lady. I hope you got plenty of rest, because we have a big day ahead of us" said Draco.
"Where am I!?!" shouted Applejack.
"I'd like to know that too! Why have you kidnapped us!? And I swear if you try to hurt us then I'll-"
"Oh will you shut up already! No body said that anybody was in actual danger! On the contrary! I've actually told your Sunset Shimmer friend here that she was completely safe! We have no intentions on hurting you or your friends!" said Draco.
"Oh ya! Then why'd you hit me over the head for?" asked Applejack.
"Well we had to bring you here somehow and knocking you out was the only solution! I highly doubt any of you would have come here willingly" said Draco.
"Oh and I highly doubt that your telling the truth! Sunset, have they done anything to you?" asked Twilight.
"Actually, they haven't done anything except hit me over the head with a mallet and keep me tied to a chair" said Sunset.
"W-What? They haven't hit you? Or make you starve?" asked Twilight.
Sunset shook her head. "They've kept me well fed and watered. And they haven't touched me at all, well, except for the mallet. But asides from that they've been treating me as well as possible" said Sunset.
Draco smiled. "You see, we don't intend on hurting any of you".
"Then why have you kidnapped us?" asked Twilight.
"Well we can't have you getting involved in our plans now can we? We need you to just stay out of our way, let us do our plan, then your free to go. Simple" said Draco.
"And what is your plan? World domination?" asked Twilight.
Draco chuckled. "You really are Celestia's student, aren't you? You act so much like her . . . its sickening!"
"How did you know I was Celestia's student!? And what do you mean I act just like her!? You say that like you've met her!" shouted Twilight.
Draco frowned, he turned away and placed his hand to the door knob. " . . . Because I have".
"Y-You've met Princess Celestia?" asked Twilight.
Draco didn't answer, he turned to the Sirens. "Sonata, you stay with them. Adagio, Aria, and I have some things to discuss".
"Sure! I'll watch them!" said Sonata, with enthusiasm.
Draco nodded, then left the room with Adagio and Aria following behind.
As soon as they left, Sonata picked up another chair from one of the dark corners and sat a few feet in front of Sunset, Twilight, and Applejack. "So, what's up?" asked Sonata.
"What's up? What do you mean "what's up", we've been kidnapped and tied to chairs, that's what's up!" shouted Applejack.
"Ya, sorry about that. Draco really doesn't want you to get in the way of our plans. It's really important that we get back to Equestria-"
"EQUESTRIA! That's your plan!?!" shouted Twilight.
Sonata nodded. "We're going back to Equestria to get our Siren magic back!"
"You girls are still trying to take over the world?" asked Applejack.
Sonata huffed. "Why do you guys keep thinking we want to take over the world?"
"BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU TRIED TO DO LAST TIME!!!" shouted Twilight.
"No we didn't" said Sonata.
"Ya! You did! You enslave everybody at the school and tried to make them adore you!" said Twilight.
"Well ya! We had to make everybody adore us so that we could use their negative energy to help us get home! We never wanted to take over the world! We just wanted to obtain enough magic so we could go home!" said Sonata.
"Ha! As is I'm going to believe that!" said Twilight.
"Twi, she's not lyin" said Applejack.
"But Applejack, she took over everyone's minds with their magic! You honestly expect me to believe they did this just so they can go home?" asked Twilight.
"I know when someone's lyin Twi. And she ain't. Sunset, you've been here longer then we have. Have they told you this?" asked Applejack.
Sunset shook her head. "They wanted to wait until you two were here first".
"But why?" asked Twilight.
"Well duh silly! It wouldn't be fair for me to tell you about us and for you not to tell me about you!" said Sonata.
"You wanted to wait so that we can tell you about ourselves?" asked Applejack.
Sonata nodded. "It's only fair. Plus I'll tell you all about us! Like how we first came her, and how we met Draco!"
"Ya, I'd like to know exactly who that guy is" said Sunset.
"Tell me about you first, and I'll tell you everything you want to know!" said Sonata.
"And why should we believe you?" asked Twilight.
"Because, I pinkie promise!" said Sonata, extending her pinkie finger to Twilight. She then realized that Twilight was tied up and chuckled with embarrassment. "I guess you can't do pinkie promises right now. Um . . . I guess you'll just have to believe me? Please! I really want to know how you became Celestia's student! And you Sunset Shimmer! I really want to know you got stuck in the human world! Please tell me! Please!" Sonata begged, giving them a sad puppy dog face.
"I-I don't know Sonata. I don't really feel comfortable telling people about myself" said Sunset.
"Actually, I'm curious about that too" said Twilight.
"What!"
"Well, you used to be Celestia's student. And Celestia has told me so little about you. So I'm actually curious as to how you ended up in the human world as well".
"But Twilight!"
"Sunset, I know it makes you uncomfortable. But we're your friends. Plus if you tell us, we can finally figure out who that Draco guy is" said Twilight.
Sunset glared at Twilight for a moment, then sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you about myself".
"Before I became Celestia's student I was just an ordinary unicorn living in an orphanage. No body knew what happened to my parents. The ponies running the orphanage found me at their doorstep one day, with a note telling them my name. I had a hard time with bullies, of course everyone does. Besides from that life wasn't all that difficult. That is, until I turned ten years old. I was the only unicorn who couldn't use magic. Every time I tried, something bad would happen. I couldn't even use a simple levitation spell without blowing something up. Back then, I was terrible at using magic. Then one day this bully who enjoyed teasing me snuck into a list of entrance exams and put my name onto the list. He did this because he knew how bad I was at magic and he wanted me to make a fool of myself in front of all these high class ponies. I didn't find out who did it until after it was over. I remember I was playing with my toys when this counselor came in and told me I had to go to the castle immediately. I had no idea what she was talking about or why. And I had never gone anywhere near the castle before, so I was very afraid. I went with them to the castle, and they brought me to the room where I would be judged. They wanted me to make a seed turn into a plant. When I asked them what kind of plant, they said "any plant you like". I had never done a spell like this before, and was starting to panic. I was too scared to even tell the judges that there had been a mistake. So I decided to just do my best and hope that they could extinguish the fires fast enough. But when I did the spell, I didn't hear any explosions or fire. I had my eyes closed, expecting the worse. But when it didn't come I opened my eyes and saw . . . the most beautiful plant ever. And it seemed that the judges thought so too. They were complementing on it and making notes. I felt so happy that nothing bad had happened, that is until a couple of guards walked in with a secretary. They said that there had been a mistake and that I wasn't supposed to be here. The guards were about to take me away for questioning, until the princess herself walked into the room. She told them not to take me away, and that she wanted to talk to me privately. She took me into her bedchambers and started asking me questions like "why was I here, how did I do that spell". And I tried to answer her the best I could, but to be honest, I was a blubbering mess. I was crying so hard I was actually surprised that the princess understood me. But by the end of it all she . . . hugged me in her wing and . . . told me that everything was okay . . . that I wasn't in trouble . . . and . . . I felt better . . ." Sunset cleared her throat and continued.
"Anyways, after that things seemed to take an unexpected turn for me. Celestia made me her student, I moved into the castle, and I was suddenly good a magic. But the best part is, after the entrance exam I found out that I had gotten my cutie mark. It looked like a sun so I assumed it meant that I had to follow in Celestia's footsteps. Making myself just as good as her. So that's what I did, or tried to do I mean. I worked day and night learning and studying about magic. I wanted to be the best unicorn to ever live! I wanted to be better then Starswirl the bearded! But in doing so, I ended up changing myself. I wasn't as friendly as I once was. In fact, I ended up ditching the whole idea of friendship entirely. I felt that I was too good for anybody to be my friend. And I pushed everyone out of my life. Even those who were . . . closest to me . . ."
Suddenly, Sunset started to cry. Not a loud cry, but a soft, gentle one.
"Sunset, you don't have to talk about it anymore if you don't want to. I think you've said enough" said Twilight.
Sunset sniffed. "No its okay . . . its just that . . . I-I . . . I had b-been an orphan a-all my l-life. Then Celestia brought me in and t-treated me like I was her d-daughter. I was like f-family to her and I just s-shoved her away!" Sunset sniffed, holding back the urge to sob. "And you know what's the worst part. I even had a brother too, and I did something s-so much worse to him!"
"You had siblings?" asked Twilight.
Sunset nodded. "Not biological siblings. I'm not sure if you know this but, Celestia adopted a baby a few years before I became her student-"
"Wait, are you talking about Glee? The little human boy?" asked Twilight.
"Ya, that's him" said Sunset.
"I thought humans don't exist where your from" said Applejack.
"Well Glee was . . . different. He was the only one of his kind you see" Twilight explained.
"You knew Glee?" asked Sunset.
"Oh he and I used to play together, when we were younger" said Twilight.
"So, this princess a yours adopted a little human boy?" asked Applejack.
Sunset nodded. "She found him in this forest near Canterlot and b-brought him home. She raised him and treated him like a son. Then when he was introduced to me he immediately started treating me like I was his sister. He would hug me and s-say that he loves me. And he was always so h-happy! He hardly ever cried, and he always tried to make others smile! E-Even me . . . but I never let him. I always shoved him away and told him not to disturb me. But this never seemed to bother him and he always tried to come back to me. He was even there for me during the day that I ran away to the human world. You see, I had become obsessed with power and wanted to become the strongest in the land. That way I could prove that I was worthy enough to become a princess. But the princess wouldn't let me. She said that I was becoming power hungry, and I didn't want to believe her. But one day I found this mirror that was actually a portal to another world. I became obsessed with this mirror and wanted to find out if I could obtain the power I needed from this world. So I tried to do a bit of researching on the mirror. The princess, however, didn't like that. She said that I wasn't allowed to research anything on the mirror anymore and that I should just try to forget about it. But I couldn't, I had to find out what world this mirror would take me too. I was obsessed with the mirror. I felt that if Celestia didn't want me to obtain power in our world, then I would try to obtain it in this new world. So, I continued my research behind her back. Then I discovered that the mirror can actually open by itself, but only after every three and a half years. So when that day came I couldn't help but do a little last minute research before I explored this new world a bit. However, Celestia discovered me and sent me to my room. I wasn't allowed to leave or go any where near that mirror. But I had to go to the mirror, I had to! So I decided that I was going to steal a few books from the library and sneak into the mirror without getting caught. But before I left, my brother had knocked onto my door-"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ten Years Ago~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I was just reading about the mirrors origins! I wasn't trying to find out if I could actually travel in it!" Sunset lied as she walked down a hallway towards her room.
"I have told you! You are forbidden to do any more research about that mirror! Do you understand!" shouted Celestia.
"No I do not understand! Why can't I learn about the mirror!? Why is that mirror so important that I can't do a little research about it!?" shouted Sunset.
"I have told you why Sunset! And I have told you time and time again that you are not allowed to research about that mirror! Yet you choose to disobey me time and time again! I want you to go straight to your room and not go near that mirror! Do I make myself clear!?!"
"I was already going to my room!" shouted Sunset, as she opened her door. and walked in.
"AND I MEAN IT SUNSET SHIMMER! STAY AWAY FROM THAT MIRROR!!!" shouted Celestia.
"FINE!!!" Sunset shouted, slamming and locking her door. She jumped onto her bed and groaned into her pillow. "I swear! That mare acts like she's my bucking mother! I don't care what she says! I'm going through that mirror! Even if its the last thing I-" Sunset stopped, as she heard a gently knock on the door. "Its probably that bucking princess again. WHAT DO YOU WANT!!!" shouted Sunset.
"Sunset Shimmer its me, Glee. Are you okay?" came a small childish voice outside the door.
'Ugh! It's that jam monkey again!' Sunset thought angrily. "Fine! Now leave me alone!"
"Can I come in?" Glee asked.
"NO! Now get lost!"
"Please can I come in, if you want we can talk about why your so mad?" Glee asked, trying to help.
"I said GET LOST!" she shouted.
"Oh . . . okay . . . . love you" Glee said calmly.
Sunset sighed and placed her hoofs to her temples. 'Great, now I feel bad'. Sunset leaped from her bed and ran to the door. She quickly opened and unlocked the door. Once opened, she saw a nine year old human child, a few inches taller then her. He had well combed brown hair, blue eyes, and rosy cheeks. He was wearing brown pants and a green shirt. Sunset sighed again, "fine, get in here".
Glee smiled as he walked into Sunsets room. Sunset closed the door behind Glee and watched him look around her room. She quickly covered her drawing board with a sheet when she noticed Glee staring at it. It had information regarding the mirror on it.
"What do you want kid?" asked Sunset.
"Well, I saw you and mom fighting again, so I thought that if I talked to you, I could help you feel better".
Sunset gave a weak chuckle "ya, sure, as if anypony could make me feel better".
"Well, what's wrong?" Glee asked.
Sunset laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling for a few moments. 'Why does this kid care so much about me? He's not my brother, yet he treats me like I'm his sister. I just don't get it' Sunset thought to herself. "Glee, what am I to you?"
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean, what am I to you? As in, am I a friend, or family, or just somepony you happened to be living with?"
"Oh, well, I think of you as my sister"
"And why's that? I'm not your sister, we're not even remotely related in the slightest! So why do you consider me as your sister?" she asked
"I don't know, maybe its because of mom. Your her student and I'm her son, so I guess that makes us close, right?" Glee asked.
"Ha, please. Sure I'm her student, and I guess you do qualify as her son, but that doesn't make us close at all"
Glee's eyes began to tear up as she said this. " Oh . . . ya . . . I guess so . . ."
Sunset noticed this and sighed. "Jeez your not going to start crying are you?"
Glee shook his head and started walking towards the door.
'Am I really going to let the kid walk off crying? He's not my brother, why should I care. Because he's the closest you have to a brother. But he's a freak! He's not even a species that exists! He's not my brother! But he's still a little boy who thinks the world of you! Your leaving to that other world today! Are you really going to leave him crying? . . . Sense when did I start questioning myself? Jam it! Fine!' Sunset hopped off the bed and placed a hoof to his shoulder, stopping him from leaving. Sunset sighed, "look kid, I'm not going to be here forever. The truth is, I found out about this . . . place, that I could go to if I travel through a . . . lets just say, a particular item that Celestia doesn't want me snooping around. Fact is, I intend to go to this place, and when I come back, I might be a bit different".
She paused for a moment, before saying, "but If you still consider me a sister when I do come back, then I'll consider you as my brother, deal?"
Glee smiled and nodded excitedly.
"And who knows, I might just let you in on my little plan as well. Only if you listen to me when you get older, understand?" said Sunset Shimmer.
"Only you? So I don't listen to mom?" Glee asked.
"Celestia, er I mean, your mom might not like the things that I'll be doing when I get back. But don't worry, I'm sure I can "persuade her" into going along with my plan. So how about it, do you want to be in my plan?"
"Ya!" Glee said, excitedly.
"Good, now, I'm going to leave to the library, there's something I need to research on that Celestia doesn't want me knowing about, so, if I get caught then I'm going to have to make a quick get away to that other place. If this happens, then I might be gone for a while. So I want you to never forget that you said that you would help me with my plan, understand?" she asked.
Glee quickly nodded again.
"And to make sure you never forget, I want you to have this", Sunset Shimmers then gave Glee a gold necklace, with her cutie mark encrusted into the front.
Glee gasped, and gave her a hug, "thanks Sunset Shimmers!"
"Ya . . . sure . . . . now get off me".
Glee let her go and smiled. She returned a smile and ruffled his hair, "guess this is goodbye, see you around kid".
And with that, Sunset Shimmers left her room towards the library.
"I went to the library and grabbed the books that I needed, but the librarian caught me and informed Celestia. She and a few guards tried to catch me, but I managed to escape into the mirror before they did. I've been stuck in this world ever since . . . and it hurts me so much! I didn't just shove Glee away! I actually tried to get the poor kid in on my plan! W-What kind of a monster does that!?" Sunset cried.
Sonata walked to Sunset and wrapped an arm around her, comforting her. She took a cloth out of her pocket and wiped Sunsets eyes.
"T-Thanks. I now know that what I did was wrong. I-I just wish there was someway I could fix it. And I'm afraid to talk to him and Celestia. Their both probably still mad at me. Glee should be about nineteen now so he might not remember. Then again, he's probably still upset . . . I don't know. I want to do something, anything to say that I'm sorry. But its just been so long! I just don't know if a simple apology would count for anything anymore" said Sunset.
"Ah sugar cube, you'll never know if ya don't try. Sure you made some mistakes in the past. But if you show them that your truly sorry, then they might just be willing to forgive you! Its the thought that counts!" said Applejack.
"Ya . . . I guess your right. I won't know if I don't try . . . hey Twilight. You said you were friends with Glee. How is he anyway?" asked Sunset Shimmer.
"Oh! He's . . . um . . . he's . . ." Twilight couldn't answer, she narrowed her eyes and looked away.
Sunset frowned, and glared at Twilight. "Twilight, did something happen to Glee?"
Twilight didn't answer.
Sunset was beginning to worry. "Twilight! Did something happen to Glee!? Did something happen to my brother!?"
Twilight slowly looked to Sunset, frowning. She shook her head, "I'm sorry Sunset. I really am but . . . Glee is . . . gone".
"Gone! How is he gone! Like did he leave or is he . . . is he-"
"No! He's not dead! He's alive, but . . . no one knows where he is. He ran away a long time ago, and none of Celestia's guards could find him. I asked Celestia and she wouldn't give me all the details. But she did tell me that Glee's . . . not in Equestria anymore. He left the country, and he hasn't been seen ever since" explained Twilight.
"Oh . . . he's not in Equestria anymore . . . I see . . . guess I'll never have the chance to say sorry". Sunset looked away, hiding the fact that she was about to start crying again.
"Sunset, I-"
"Its fine! Really! It is! Just . . . just fine . . . I think its your turn Twilight" said Sunset.
"Oh, well . . . alright then. Well there's not much to explain about myself. I've always been interested in learning since a very young age. I entered into the entrance exam when I was ten. I became Celestia's student shortly after as well as getting my cutie mark. Then when I was eighteen I moved to Pony Ville to study the magic of friendship. I made a lot of new friends, became one of the Elements of Harmony, and helped Princess Luna return to her sister. About a year later I became an alicorn, defeated Tirek, and became the Princess of friendship" said Twilight.
Sonata frowned, "aw come on! That was WAY too fast! I wanna hear the details! Like how did you defeat Tirek? Who is Tirek anyway? Who's Princess Luna? You have to give me more then a summery!"
"But I pretty much summed up how my life played through" said Twilight.
Sonata crossed her arms. "Sunset did a way better job telling us about her!"
"Well I-"
"Here, why don't I go now" said Applejack, hoping to avoid Twilight having to forcibly explain more details about herself.
"Ooh! Okay! Then it'll be my turn!" said Sonata.
"Only If you promise to tell us everything we want to know, got it" said Applejack.
Sonata nodded.
"Well, I've live on a farm ma whole life with ma brother, sister, an Granny Smith. My Granny takes care of us cause my Ma and Pa died in a car crash when I was young. My brother, sister, and I were too young at the time too remember any of it though. From what my Granny told me, my Ma and Pa were great people. They were honest, hard working farmers. They never cheat and they never steal. So at a young age I decided that that's what I wanted to be. Follow in my parents footsteps an take care of the farm. Well, my brother and I take care of it mostly. My Granny's a bit too old to take care of it. And my sisters too young to take care of the bigger chores. And . . . that's it really".
"Wait, that's it?" asked Sonata.
"Well I'm not from a magical world like you three are. I'm just a farm girl! I don't have anything really worth saying! Unless you wanna talk about the different breeds of apples that I know of" said Applejack.
Sonata sighed. "That's okay. I was just expecting a bit more, that's all. Sunset I'm satisfied with, Twilight you did terrible (Twilight huffed angrily), and Applejack . . . you were okay".
"Gee, thanks, I didn't know we were being judged on how well of a backstory we have" said Applejack, sarcastically.
"Well its a fun way to pass the time before we commence our plan tonight!" said Sonata, smiling.
Twilights eyes widened with shock. 'Tonight! Their plans are tonight!' she thought to herself. "Speaking of which, you haven't told us about yourself".
Sonata gasped. "Oh ya! I have to tell you about me! Well its a REALLY long story! So don't go falling asleep on me".
"Oh don't worry, we won't" said Twilight. All three girls sat upright, having complete focus on what Sonata was going to say.
"Well, it all started one thousand and . . . something years ago! My sisters and I lived in a small colony of sirens. Life was normal, well, except for the fact that we were an endangered species that was hunted down by everypony. But beside from that, life was completely normal! We would absorb the negative energy out of ponies with our music. We would play around towns, scaring everypony. It was a lot of fun! But we didn't know at the time that what we were doing was wrong until it was too late. Scaring the other ponies is actually how we met Draco. You see, back then Draco used to work with Starswirl the bearded-"
"Hold on! Draco, the man who helped you kidnap us, worked with Starswirl the Bearded!?" asked Twilight, practically shouted.
Sonata nodded.
"We . . . guess what they say is true. You either die a hero or you live long enough to become a villain" said Applejack.
"Is that a saying in your world?" asked Twilight.
"It comes from a movie-"
"I think we're getting side tracked!" said Sunset, loudly.
"Oh, right. Please continue Sonata" said Twilight.
"Ok, well . . . what was I saying . . . oh ya! So, Draco used to work with Starswirl the bearded at the time. And they were assigned to stop us from wrecking havoc in this city. Long story short we escaped Starswirl, but Draco managed to find our hiding spot. He tried to arrest us at first. Then we explained to him that we were only playing, and that we were an endangered species. He believed us and tried to convince Starswirl to let us go without punishment. He told him that he was willing to transport us out of Equestria if it meant that we wouldn't be punished. But Starswirl refused, and forced Draco to tell him were our hiding spot was. Starswirl then captured us with his magic and took us to Canterlot to await trial. No pony believed us when we told them that we were just playing. To them, we were monsters who wanted nothing more then to attack everypony who walked near us. No one believed that we were just kids. The only one who did believe us was Draco. So, while we were in the Canterlot dungeons, Draco came to rescue us. And he brought help with him as well".
"I-Im scared Adagio" said Sonata, hugging onto her sister in the dungeon.
"Me too Sonata" said Adagio.
"What are they going to do with us?" asked Aria.
"I don't know. But I don't think its good" said Adagio.
Sonata started crying into her sisters chest. A guard came to the cage they were in and slammed that bars with his spears. "Quit making such a ruckus!" shouted the guard.
"Or what? You gonna stab them?" came a voice from behind the guard.
The guard turned, but not quick enough. The stranger blasted him with a knock out spell, causing the guard to fly into the wall across the room. The stranger went to the guard, grabbed his keys, then returned to the cage. "Are you three okay?"
"Draco!" the Sirens gasped simultaneously.
"Sup girls, how you doin?" Draco asked, sarcastically. He unlocked and opened the cage, freeing the Sirens. The Sirens immediately dog pilled onto Draco, giving him a hug. "Can't . . . breath!"
"Oops! Sorry" said Adagio, lifting herself off of Draco.
Draco lifted himself to his hoofs, stretching his back and making a cracking sound. "Jeez! For a couple a kids you sure are heavy!"
"How did you find us?" asked Aria.
Draco smiled. "Actually, I had a little help". He pointed to the door. At the door was a green stallion, keeping a lookout.
"Is it safe?" asked the stallion.
"All clear out here!" came a second voice outside the door.
"Who's that?" asked Sonata.
"She-"
"Did I hear somepony ask for an introduction?" said the voice outside the door.
"Oh is now really the time? We're on a schedule!" said the green stallion.
"There is always time for introductions!" said the voice.
There was a puff of smoke, followed by fire. A few moments later the fire disappeared, leaving a light orange pegasus standing in its place. She had a creamy orange colored mane, light gray eyes, and wore a cape and magicians cap. Both with phoenix designs. She stood on her hind legs, standing in a victory pose.
"I am the awesome and amazing! Phoenix Sprite! And I have come to help rescue you!" Phoenix bowed, then smiled smugly at the Sirens. "You are welcome!"
The Sirens stared at the mare smiling in front of them, confused.
The mares smile faltered to a frown. She cleared her throat and straightened her hat. "Perhaps you did not hear me. I am the awesome and amazing! Phoenix Sprite! And I have come to rescue you!" Phoenix smiled at the Sirens, hoping to have made a positive reaction to the girls. When the Sirens continued to stare at Phoenix, she frowned and sighed. "Phoenix Sprite! You know, legendary adventurer! Savior of Equestria! Savior of the entire world in fact!"
The Sirens continued to stare with confused expressions.
Phoenix was starting to become annoyed. "The phoenix adventurer!? The ever burning flame!? Any of these ring a bell!?!"
" . . . . Who?" asked Sonata.
Phoenix face hoofed. "Well . . . guess not everypony knows about me yet . . . WHY DOES EVERYPONY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME YET!?!"
"Is now really the time to worry about you reputation?" asked Draco.
"I agree! Is now really the time? You always do this!" shouted the green stallion at the door.
"I am not worried about my reputation! I am merely trying to make sure that this hero is never to be forgotten!" said Phoenix.
"And your doing that by boasting?" asked Draco.
"It is not boasting! It is clarifying my complete and unadulterated awesome heroicness!" said Phoenix.
" . . . Ya, your boasting" said Draco.
"I am not-"
"Um, guys! I don't mean to interrupt this completely useless argument. But any second now a squad of guards are going to come in here and kick our flanks! So do you think we can, oh I don't know, LEAVE!?!" shouted the green stallion.
"Leos right! We must leave immediately! Draco, you keep your friends safe. Leo, you help Draco. Phoenix will try and get us out of here!" said Phoenix, as she ran out the door.
Everyone quickly followed her.
"Do you know where we're going?" asked Leo.
Phoenix chuckled. "Of course I do! Phoenix knows these dungeons like the back of her hoof!"
"What about the guards?" asked Draco.
"The guards shouldn't be patrolling this part of the dungeons at this time unless its Monday. That's when they have alternate shifts to their guard posts." said Phoenix.
"But it is Monday" said Leo.
"Please, I do believe Phoenix would be aware if today was Monday. Today is actually in fact-"
Suddenly, the group heard a squad of guards making their way down the hall towards them.
"Monday!" Phoenix practically shouted. She turned to the group and pointed in the opposite direction. "Go, go, go! The other way! Hurry!"
The group obeyed and ran in the opposite direction. They ran down the hall until they made it to a path that split into two.
"Take the right path, that'll lead us to the stairs which should be the way out!" said Phoenix.
"But there's going to be guards at the top!" said Draco.
"Don't worry, Phoenix has a plan!" said Phoenix.
They took the path and eventually made it to the stairs. Once at the top of the stairs, they stopped in front of a think wooden door. Sure enough, two guards were posted outside the door.
"How do we get past them?" asked Draco.
Phoenix smiled. "Step aside followers! And watch as I amaze you with my cunning use of phoenix magic!" Phoenix dropped to her belly and carefully blew against the bottom of the door. As she blew, a light gray fire formed from her mouth in a blow torch sort of fashion. She placed the flame to the bottom of the door and cut a hole into it. Once she cut a hole, she then charged the density of her magic into a small flame, making it stronger. Once she determined it was strong enough, she fired through the hole at an object no on could see.
Everyone heard an explosion in the other room. The guards that were at their post immediately left to the explosion. Phoenix smiled and bucked the door open. "Come on! That distraction won't last long enough!"
They followed Phoenix through a very large room. On one side of the room there was a large fire (one that everyone assumed Phoenix had started). Several guards were running to the fire, trying to see what had started it. Fireponies were running with hoses and buckets of water to extinguish the flame. They ran towards the exit as fast as they could.
"This way! We just have to make it through this-"
When they were five feet away, the door had suddenly burst open, revealing Starswirl the Bearded. The grouped skidded to a halt when they saw who had entered.
"Door" Phoenix finished her sentence.
Starswirl looked at the group with a confused expression. "Draco?"
"Hey" said Draco.
Starswirl looked to Phoenix. "Phoenix Sprite? And her companion?"
"H-Hello" Leo said weakly.
He then looked to the Sirens, and his expression turned to an angry one. "And why are THEY out of their cell?"
Phoenix looked to the Sirens, then back at Starswirl. She smiled then walked up to Starswirl (Leo followed, staying close to Phoenix). "Ah, Starswirl, I'm glad your here". She suddenly turned to the group and stood in a fighting stance. "Draco here was helping these criminals escape!"
"What!?!" Draco shouted.
"They caused that fire over there as a diversion. I barely came here a few moments ago to stop them when you arrived" said Phoenix.
"You lying son of a ditch!" shouted Draco, taking a step towards Phoenix.
"Don't take another step or I'll be forced to take you down!" said Phoenix, aggressively. She turned to Starswirl. "Don't worry Starswirl, I'll take care of them!"
Draco walked to Phoenix and shoved her. "Oh so that's how It is huh? An old stallion walks up to you and now your on his side!?"
Phoenix shoved him back. "No I am on no ponies side! I am on the right side! MY side! And technically I'm older then him!"
"Well you sure are stupid for an old wrinkly mare!" shouted Draco, shoving her harder.
"Phoenix does not have wrinkles! This body may be forty eight years old, but I am as beautiful as ever! And don't you dare insult Phoenix Sprite" shouted Phoenix, socking him in the jaw.
"Ooh!" said Adagio.
"Ouch" said Aria.
Leo and Sonata looked scared. Starswirl merely watched with a calm expression.
"I can say whatever I want to Phoenix Sprite! Because Phoenix Sprite is a stupid boaster who won't stop talking in THIRD PERSON!!!" shouted Draco, punching Phoenix.
"Well at least I'm not a stupid kid who thinks the world revolves around me!" shouted Phoenix, hitting Draco's shoulder.
"We'll at least I'm still me! And not somepony traveling in the wrong body!" shouted Draco. He tried to punch her, but she caught his hoof in midair.
"Take. That. Back!" Phoenix growled.
"Oh I'm sowwy, did that make you mad? Please, allow me to apologize. I am humbly sorry for my atrocious behavior Misses Phoenix Sprite the seventh!"
"Shut up!" Phoenix growled.
"Or is it the sixth? Are you Phoenix the sixth?"
"I said SHUT UP!!!" Phoenix shouted, twisting his hoof.
"I have no idea what their talking about" Sonata whispered to her sisters. Her sisters agreed, they were equally confused.
"GAH! O-Or are you the fifth! Phoenix the fifth!" Draco shouted, ignoring the pain in his hoof.
Phoenix didn't answer, she glared at Draco, panting from anger.
Draco chuckled. "So . . . number five huh? So you must be, what, five hundred years old? How does it feel Phoenix? Knowing that you can never truly live a normal life. That no matter how many friends you make you will lose them all in the end. From either them leaving you, or you leaving them! Either they die and pass on! Or you die and move on!"
"SHUT UP!!!" Phoenix bellowed. She grabbed Draco and threw him at Starswirl. Starswirl used his magic to form a force field, preventing Draco from hitting him. Draco tried to lift himself to his hoofs, but Phoenix was too quick. She grabbed Draco by the shoulders and pinned him against Starswirls force field. "Listen very closely Draco! I am not the kind of mare that you should make angry! I have seen things that would make you wet yourself! Terrible things that would haunt you day and night! Things that would make you wish you were dead! Because death would be much more peaceful then what I've had to face! Do you want to know what I've seen Draco? I've seen wars like you couldn't imagine! The most gruesome deaths that anypony could ever think, and worse! Oh, I've seen so much worse! But do you want to know what's the most terrifying?" Phoenix leaned close to Draco's ear and whispered. "I've seen . . . myself!" She leaned away from Draco's ear, smiling deviously. "Out of all the terrifying things that inhabit this world, I by far am the worse of them all! I didn't just see those wars. I didn't fight in those wars or lead those wars. No, no, no, I controlled those wars! Every villain I've fought, every monster I have faced! Every last one thinks that they have the upper hoof, that they are in control! But they are wrong! All of them are wrong! They aren't in control, they are but mere controllers! I am the master of those controllers! Me! Phoenix Sprite! I AM IN CONTROL!" She released Draco and stepped back. "Even now I am in control. This whole argument has been a diversion so that I could figure out a way to get past Starswirl. Starswirl has known from the very beginning what I was up to. He knew that I'm helping Draco rescue the Sirens. Isn't that right Starswirl?"
Starswirl chuckled. "Quite right Phoenix. Although I am quite confused on why you would want to help these criminals escape from prison?"
Phoenix stepped towards Starswirl, glaring angrily at him. "How could I not! Especially after what Draco told me! Why would you want to banish three children!?"
"Children? My word, has Draco's lies honestly gotten into your head Phoenix? They are not children, they are monsters! And monsters must be dealt with!" said Starswirl.
"Even monsters have feelings Starswirl! Monsters live lives of their own too! And just like us, monsters start off as children! They need to learn things just like we do! You can't punish them for not knowing what they did was wrong!" shouted Phoenix.
"My dear, I think this new body of yours has taken some of your wisdom away" said Starswirl.
"The same can be said about you. I think age has taken some of yours as well!" said Phoenix.
"I may be old, but I still know what is right!" said Starswirl.
"And banishing children is the right thing to do!?" shouted Phoenix.
"Phoenix you have been my friend all my life. Please do not tarnish this friendship by letting your emotions get the best of you!" said Starswirl.
"Oh I think you've done a fine job tarnishing this friendship all on your own! Do you even know the meaning of friendship? What it means to be a true friend? All your life you've chosen the path of learning over the path of friendship! Some believe that your magical strength comes naturally to you, that its your "special talent"! But I've known you since you were a child! Your strength comes from your loneliness! Studying all your life! Hiding in a dark room with a pile of books and a candlestick! I wish I could say we were friends Starswirl, but I don't think we were friends from the very beginning! And I just don't think you are even capable of learning the magic of friendship!"
Starswirl chuckled. "Friendship cannot save you from your predicament Phoenix. You talk like friendship is the key to all of your problems!"
"I prefer to think of friendship as a "sponge". You can't unlock a path to a happy life, because things will always get in the way and make it dirty. But you can make it clean, so that the path can be more visible. Nothing stays clean forever. Friendship can help you during those dirty nasty times. You can fall in the muck, and they'll be there to help pick you right back up. There is no "key" to your problems. There never was and there never will be. But if you ask me, I'd prefer the sponge any day!"
"Such odd words of wisdom, coming from a boaster" said Starswirl.
"I assume you preferred the poet" said Phoenix, cocking an eyebrow.
"It matters not who you were, what you are, or what you will become! The law stands over friendship! And these monsters will receive what is coming to them!"
Phoenix laughed. "You just don't get it do you Starswirl! Nothing stands over friendship! Nothing! Not even the law!"
"And that is where I will prove you wrong!" Starswirl charged his horn and fired force fields at everypony, trapping them all. "Remind me again what you said earlier Phoenix? I do believe you said the you were the "master controller". Well I have you and your friends trapped! Tell me, who's in control now?"
Phoenix chuckled, then pointed down.
Starswirl looked beneath him and saw a metal plate with electrical sparks flying off of it. "WHA- WHEN DID YOU?"
"To answer your question. Who's in control? The awesome and amazing Phoenix Sprite of course!" shouted Phoenix.
There was a burst of light, followed by Starswirl screaming. When the light was gone they saw Starswirl unconscious, the ground beneath him appeared burnt. The force fields disappeared, freeing everyone.
"What did you do?" asked Leo.
Phoenix walked up to Starswirl and checked his pulse. She sighed, "still alive. The ponies tough for his age, I'll give him that". She pushed Starswirl aside, revealing a hole with broken metal tubes sticking out.
"What's that?" asked Draco.
"This is a gas tube. I recognized it as soon as Starswirl opened the door. Before the three races of ponies started living together, earth ponies would use gas filled tubes to open the doors to higher class ponies. Giving the illusion that the doors are opening by themselves without the use of magic. So while I had Draco pinned against Starswirls force field, I used my phoenix magic to charge a few volts of electricity into the metal plating and into the gas tubes. It took a few minutes, but the electricity surging through the plate combined with the gas caused a small explosive reaction to occur. Funny, just like everypony else. Even Starswirl thought that he had the upper hoof. And yet once again, I'm two steps ahead of everypony". Phoenix placed a hoof on top of Starswirl and knelt close to him. "Let this be a lesson, don't anger the one who's in control. Or you might wish the master hadn't chosen you to be her controller!" She pushed him away and turned to Draco. "Sorry for making you mad, I had to make it look real".
"Ya, well if you want to give me a real apology you can start by getting us out of here!" said Draco, angrily.
Phoenix smile. "I agree! Lets get out of here! Come on!"
"Sonata, can I stop you for a moment" said Twilight.
"Sure! Why?" asked Sonata.
"Well its just that. I kind of thought you were going to give us real facts about how you came into out world. Not a fictional story about hero's coming to your rescue" said Twilight.
"What do you mean? Everything I've told you so far is real!" said Sonata.
"I don't think it is Sonata. It's really hard to believe that Phoenix Sprite actually came to help you and your sisters escape" said Twilight.
"But she did! Draco found her at a campsite and asked her to help him rescue us!" said Sonata.
"Who's Phoenix Sprite?" asked Applejack.
"She's a fictional character created for adventure books. Its the longest lasting book in our world because the main character, Phoenix Sprite, can die and come back to life as an all new character. Its lasted for hundreds of years now. And although I am confused on how you know who Phoenix Sprite is because those books weren't invented during your time, I still find it highly unlikely that a fictional character like her came to your rescue".
"I know it sounds fake! But I'm telling you its real! She's not a fictional character! She's real!" said Sonata, becoming annoyed.
"Phoenix Sprite is a phoenix pony! There's no such thing as phoenix ponies Sonata!" said Twilight, also becoming annoyed.
"Ya well how do you know! Have you ever been to Alburnia?" asked Sonata.
"Alburnia?" asked Applejack.
"Its the phoenix ponies home country. And no I have not been to Alburnia, no pony has because it doesn't exist! There is no such thing as Alburnia! There is no such thing as phoenix ponies! And there is no such thing as Phoenix Sprite!" said Twilight.
"Phoenix Sprite is a hero! Not a fictional character!" said Sonata.
"She sounds like a soda to me" said Applejack.
"She's fake!" said Twilight.
"Real!" said Sonata.
"Fake!" said Twilight.
"REAL!!!" shouted Sonata.
"Oh my Celestia, I see where this is going. Look, lets just say that Phoenix Sprite is real for the time being. What happened next?"
Sonata crossed her arms. "Well, we escaped the castle and were trying to escape Canterlot. But the alarms went off. A bunch of guards came and almost cornered us. So Phoenix brought us to a cliff on Canterlot's mountain.
"This way! we're almost to the cliff!" shouted Phoenix.
"What are we gonna do then!?" shouted Draco.
"We're going to fly away! That's what! I'll use my magic to form a lighting flash! That way it'll blind the guards long enough for us to escape! I'll hang onto Leo, your going to have to grab onto one of the Sirens. Do they know how to fly by any chance?" asked Phoenix.
"Well duh! Were not babies!" said Adagio.
"Phoenix doesn't take too kindly to snippy little sirens! Let's not forget who's rescuing you here!" said Phoenix.
They ran for a few minutes until they were at the edge of the cliff.
"Everypony jump!" shouted Phoenix.
Just as they tried to jump, everypony froze in mid air.
"What happened? are we flying?" asked Leo.
"No, someone's got us!" shouted Phoenix.
"RIGHT YOU ARE PHOENIX!!!" shouted a familiar voice.
They turned to the direction of the voice and saw Starswirl. He was smiling deviously at them and he had several squads of guards behind him.
"I congratulate you on having been able to come this far Phoenix. But I'm afraid the charades end here!" shouted Starswirl.
"Starswirl! You are not banishing these girls!" shouted Phoenix.
"You cannot tell me what to do! I am the princess's personal wizard! I am now the one in control!" shouted Starswirl, a twitch having developed in his left eye.
"You won't be in control much longer if you do that spell Starswirl! Its unstable! All of Canterlot will be in danger! Even Equestria!" shouted Phoenix.
Draco looked to Phoenix, confused. "What are you talking about? How is Equestria in danger?"
Starswirl laughed. "So that's what this is all about! The only reason you wanted to save these siren's is so that you can prevent me from creating that portal! Well your too late Phoenix! I'm making that portal! And there is nothing you can do about it! Don't you see? I'll be making Equestria safer! We'll never have to worry about monster's like them ever again!" Starswirl laughed in a maniac sort of manner.
"By Celestia he's lost it!" shouted Leo.
"Phoenix what is he talking about? How is Equestria in danger?" asked Draco.
Phoenix groaned loudly. "Its a long story so I'm giving you the summarized version! I found out ten years ago that the princess and Starswirl wanted to find a way to make Equestria safer! Starswirl recommended creating a portal that could banish monsters and villains out of Equestria permanently! The princess agreed and Starswirl has worked on it since! However! I found out that this wasn't an ordinary portal! It's a portal that sends you to another dimension! And no ones supposed to do that! Traveling to other dimensions can rip the fabrics of reality itself! I didn't think it was possible, but apparently Starswirls found a way to open this portal! That's why when I found out about you and the Sirens I just had to help you rescue them, so I can stop Starswirl from opening that portal!"
"But we can make Equestria safer Phoenix!" shouted Starswirl.
"Ya, or we might break reality and nothing will have or will ever exist! Don't open the portal Starswirl!!! Its unstable and you know it!!!" shouted Phoenix.
"No! Not when I've come so close to ridding this world of all its evil!" shouted Starswirl.
"Let's just say this portal does work! Let's just say that by some miracle! This portal doesn't break reality and it actually works! What happens next? Are you going to send everypony who's evil into this brand new world? And what about the inhabitants of this new world? What'll happen to them!?!" shouted Phoenix.
Starswirl laughed. "Not our problem!"
"He's going to banish the sirens to another world!?!" shouted Draco.
"Not if we stop him!" shouted Phoenix.
Suddenly from within the distance, the Canterlot bell tower could be heard, ringing eight times.
Starswirl laughed. He looked to the sky and laughed harder.
Everypony else also looked to the sky.
The full moon usually provided enough light to help see through the night. However, the moon shinned brighter then usual, and emitted a strange light.
"Do you know what that means? Does anypony know what that mean!?!" shouted Starswirl.
"It's just the moon. It does that every few years" said Draco.
"NO!!! Not every few years!!! Every three and a half years to be EXACT!!!" shouted Starswirl, laughing. "I have predicted that every three and a half years the moon is in perfect position to causes a slight change of imbalancement through out our worlds magic! If I can take our magic and combine it with a teleportation spell! Then take the imbalance frequencies and concentrate it into one single area! With a magical density high enough, I can take this imbalancement and our magic-"
"And convert it into a physical form thus creating a portal!" shouted Phoenix, finishing his sentence.
"Glad to see you were paying attention!" shouted Starswirl.
"Hold on, an imbalancement to our worlds magical frequencies? Impossible! That would take quite an anomaly for something like that to occur. How does the moons position relate to any of this?" shouted Draco.
"That my dear boy is thanks to the princess of the moon herself" said Starswirl.
"What!?!" shouted Draco.
"As you may know. Several decades ago Celestia banished her sister to the moon. Both sisters receive their magic from either the sun or the moon. And vice versa as well. The sun and moon receives its magic from the two princess's. Because the princess's are millions of miles away from the sun and moon, it caused a perfect balance between the sisters and the star and satellite. This allowed them to move the sun and moon with ease. However, now that Luna is physically on the moon. Her magic is much closer to the moon, causing an imbalance that occurs depending on the moons position. And it looks like TONIGHT is that moons position!" shouted Starswirl.
"I can't believe it. A portal to another dimension . . . he's actually going to make a portal to another dimension!?!" shouted Draco.
"Oh my Celestia we're gonna die!" shouted Leo.
"No we're not! Cause Starswirl is not making that portal!" shouted Phoenix.
"HA! HA! HA! IS THAT WHAT YOU THINK PHOENIX MARE!?!" shouted Starswirl. He walked to the edge of the cliff and activated his horn. First a lumpy ball appeared, then the ball smoothed itself out. The ball turned purple and started expanding. As the ball expanded, dark black electricity emanated from it. Then, he fired the ball into the air.
A few moments later, the ball had risen high into the air, and stopped. The ball then started flattening itself into an oval shape. The oval slowly stretched itself until it was fifty feet wide. Then, its color started to change. It changed from purple, to blue, to green. Until it was flashing a whole spectrum of colors at rapid speed. It started swirling and continued to stretch. One hundred feet, one hundred and fifty feet. It didn't stop.
Starswirl laughed manically. "It worked! My portal worked!!! Todays the day everypony!!! Todays the day that I save you from evil!!! I will rid this world of all its evil!!! Once and for all!!! I WILL BE THIS WORLDS SAVIOR!!!" Starswirl shouted, the corner of his mouth foaming.
"He's gone mental!" shouted Leo.
Draco growled. "JAM IT!!!"
Starswirl looked back to the ponies he had trapped in his force fields. "And now my little ponies! Its time to see how well this portal works!!!"
He took the Sirens and slowly drifted them towards the portal. "Starting with you!!!"
"Wait! Stop! Please!" shouted Adagio.
"We won't cause any more trouble! We promise!" shouted Aria.
"Please don't send us away! Please!" begged Sonata.
"MONSTERS LIKE YOU DON'T DESERVE MERCY!!!" Starswirl shouted.
"Leave them alone you ash hole!" shouted Draco.
"And your next Draco!" shouted Starswirl.
"W-WHAT!?!" shouted Draco.
"Once I'm done with these monsters, I'M SENDING YOU THROUGH THE PORTAL NEXT!!!" shouted Starswirl.
"YOU BLASTARD!!!" shouted Draco, slamming his hoof against the force field.
"NO PONY CAN SAVE YOU NOW!!! NO TRIAL!!! NO ARGUMENTS!!! JUST JUSTICE!!! SWEET, SWEET JUSTICE!!!" shouted Starswirl.
He brought the Sirens closer to the portal.
"Draco!" shouted the Sirens.
"GIRLS!!!" shouted Draco, pounding against the force field.
"DRACO!!!" the Sirens shouted, before Starswirl forced them into the portal. There was a flash of colors, and slowly the Sirens screams faded away.
They were gone.
"NOOOOO!!!" Phoenix and Draco simultaneously screamed.
Starswirl laughed. "YOUR TURN DRACO!!!"
Slowly, he lifted Draco towards the portal. "Your going to pay for this Starswirl!"
"Ha! That's what you think! Everything I'm doing is for the sake of pony kind! Even the princess agrees with what I am doing! I won't be punished in the slightest! On the contrary! I will forever be known as the hero who defeated the monsters!!! The one who banished the sirens!!!"
"I won't let you get away with this Starswirl!" shouted Phoenix.
Starswirl gave Phoenix a devious smile. "Then I'll have to BANISH YOU TOO!!!"
A guard walked up to Starswirl. "But sir, isn't that Phoenix Sprite? She's a hero, she wouldn't do anything to harm us. Why would-"
Before he could finish, Starswirl fired a beam of magic at the guard, knocking him to the ground. "DO NOT QUESTION ME!!! I KNOW WHAT IS BEST!!!"
"But Starswirl-"
"SHUT UP NURSE!!! SHUT UP!!!" shouted Starswirl, interrupting the squad medic. He turned back to Draco. "I'm sending you, the phoenix and her little companion to that world! AND NO ONE IS STOPPING ME!!!"
"Hey what did I do!?" shouted Leo.
"Starswirl! You've gone mad with power! Stop this now!" shouted Phoenix.
"Stop this? STOP THIS!!! Why would I stop this! I am going to save everypony! And you want me to stop! You want me to stop a portal that could save everypony!!! YOUR JUST LIKE THE MONSTERS!!! AND I'LL TREAT YOU THE WAY MONSTERS SHOULD BE TREATED!!! WITH JUSTICE!!! AND WHAT IS THE BEST FORM OF JUSTICE!?!" He used his magic and threw Draco towards the portal.
"BANISHMENT!!!" Starswirl shouted.
"DRACO!!!" shouted Phoenix.
"AAAAAAGH!!!" Draco screamed, as he was hurled towards the portal.
"AAAAAAGH!!!" Draco scream, as he was hurled towards the portal.
Mere seconds before he hit the portal, a bolt of magic fired at Draco, causing him to fall down and crash into the cliff.
"Draco!!!" shouted Phoenix.
"I-Is he?" said Leo.
Draco laid on the ground for a few moments. Then slowly lifted himself to his hooves.
"He's alive! But- but how?" asked Leo.
Phoenix sighed with relief. "Starswirls force field must have protected him".
Starswirl looked completely bemused. "W-WHAT!?!"
Several guards looked to the sky and gasped.
Phoenix looked to what they were looking at and frowned. "Sweet Celestia".
"P-Phoenix! What's happening? Is the portal supposed to look like that?" asked Leo.
"I knew it. I knew this would happen" said Phoenix.
The portals bright spectrum of colors had suddenly changed. Flashing between black and red. Its smooth swirling motion had also gone out of whack. Rapidly changing its speed of motion, turning from and oval shape to a triangle to a square. Bolts of magic were firing down and striking the ground below at random.
"What!?! What happened to my portal!?!" shouted Starswirl.
"Its just like I told you Starswirl!" said Phoenix, glaring angrily at Starswirl.
"Y-You!!! You must have done this!!! You sabotaged my portal!!!" shouted Starswirl, pointing at Phoenix.
"No! All of this was you! I told you that no pony is meant to travel through dimensions! It rips holes in the fabric of reality if you do! You opened the portal and had it stabilized at first. But as soon as you sent the Sirens into the other dimension, that's what did it! That's what cause the portal to become unstable! You sent those Sirens to another dimension, and NO PONY IS SUPPOSED TO DO THAT!!! THE PORTAL IS NOW UNSTABLE!!! AND IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!"
"But, but, but I-"
Suddenly, a bolt of magic fired towards the cliff, striking one of the guards. The guard screamed, then disintegrated. Several more bolts fired after that, striking more and more guards. Some were protected by their shields. Others weren't so lucky.
"Oh my Celestia!!! Their dead!!!" shouted Leo.
Phoenix slammed her hoofs against the force field. "CLOSE DOWN THAT PORTAL BEFORE THE ENTIRE CITY DIES!!!"
Starswirl lit his horn, only for it to flicker, then die out. "I can't! The portal is too strong! I can't control it anymore!"
A bolt of magic struck down, aiming towards Starswirl.
"LOOK OUT!!!" Draco shouted. He pushed Starswirl out of the way, and was hit with the bolt. He screamed in pain, then fell to the ground.
"DRACO!!!" shouted Phoenix.
"Why didn't he turn to ash?" asked Leo.
"The bolt must have grazed him. But that wound looks like its fatal!" shouted Phoenix.
Starswirl was confused. Once he was aware of what had just happened he walked up to Draco. He knelt down next to him and gently placed a hoof to his chest. He saw a deep cut on his side, it was severely burnt. "I-I don't understand. Why would you save me, even after I tried to banish you?"
Draco laughed, spewing a few drops of blood. "I may be a monster in your eyes old man. But not every monsters bad. It doesn't take . . . a good eye . . . to see the good ones . . . it . . . takes . . . a good . . . . heart". Slowly, Draco closed his eyes, and let his head fall limp to the side.
"Kid?" Starswirl nudged Draco. He didn't move. "KID!!!" Starswirl shouted. He looked to Phoenix, pure fear in his eyes. "Please help me! I was wrong and I don't know how to fix this! Please! HELP ME!!!" He released the force fields, dropping Phoenix and Leo back to the ground.
Phoenix ran to Draco and placed her ear to his chest. "His heart is failing! I'm going to try my best to recover him! Starswirl! I may know a way to fix this, but we need help! Do you know the Spirits of Harmony?"
"Indeed I do" said Starswirl.
"Good, find them! We need them here now!"
"Actually Phoenix! That won't be necessary" came a voice nearby.
Phoenix turned to the voice and saw three ponies standing a few yards away, approaching them quickly.
One was a brown earth pony with a red orange mane and tail. He had a shield and a sword on his back. He wore a blue pointed cap and tunic, as well as brown boots and gauntlets, both with metal armored plating's
Next to him was a white pegasus with a hooded cloak and a bow holstered onto his back. He had blue eyes and freckles.
The third was a unicorn. She wore a pink, white, and purple robe, a golden jewel encrusted head band, and had a staff with a small crystal sphere attached holstered onto her back.
They ran up to Phoenix quickly. The earth pony gave Phoenix a smile. "Long time no see Phoenix".
"Buttonamous? How did you get here so quickly?" asked Phoenix.
"There's a giant figgin portal in the sky killing everypony!!! Of course I'm going to be here!!! What did you think I was going to do? Wait it out hiding at home?" said Buttonamous, sarcastically.
Phoenix smiled at Buttonamous. "Well I'm glad your here! This stallions been hit, and I'm losing him fast!"
Buttonamous frowned as he realized the stallion hit was Draco. "Wait, I know this stallion! Is he okay?"
Phoenix checked his wounds for a minute, then shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't know if I can save him".
"What about your phoenix magic? Can't you save him with that?" asked the unicorn Spirit of Harmony.
"No, I'm sorry but I don't think even that will work this time. His wound is fatal, I can't heal fatal wounds!"
"He's going to die?" Buttonamous asked with an expression of pure disbelief.
"I-I'm sorry. I can't save him . . . I'm sorry. The best we can do is try and seal that portal" said Phoenix.
"But Phoenix, he's suffering. It is not apparent due to him currently being unconscious. However, if he is still alive then subconsciously he is in sever pain. If he is inevitably going to die, then shouldn't we end his suffering?" asked the pegasus Spirit of Harmony, with a very calm voice.
"I-I . . . I don't know. That would be the best thing to do. But I'm not going to kill him!" said Phoenix.
"Well we can't let him suffer either!" said Buttonamous.
"Well I don't think we have the time to worry about this! I want to save him! And I don't want him to suffer! But there's nothing we can do! We have to focus on saving the world!" shouted Phoenix.
"World?" asked the pegasus Spirit of Harmony.
Phoenix pointed to the portal. "The portal hasn't stopped expanding ever since Starswirl opened it! It'll keep expending until all of Equestria is covered! Even after that it'll continue to expand until it has covered the rest of the planet! The fate of Equestria isn't in danger! The fate of the WORLD IS!!!"
"This is all my fault!" said Starswirl, sitting down besides Draco.
"Yes it is! But there's no time to worry about that! We need to focus on getting that portal closed now! I'm sorry but there's nothing we can do for Draco!" shouted Phoenix.
"Draco . . . he died saving my life . . . an old stallions life . . . I don't deserve to live" said Starswirl.
"Well that's too bad cause your still alive! So you might as well stop mourning and put yourself to use! There's nothing we can do for Draco!" shouted Phoenix.
Starswirl frowned. "Indeed . . . there's nothing we can do . . . nothing at-" Starswirl froze. He looked to Draco, then to Phoenix. "No, there's nothing you can do". He jumped to his hoofs and charged his horn. "But I still have a trick up my sleeve!"
"What are you-"
There was a flash of light, then Starswirl was gone.
"Did he just teleport?" asked the pegasus Spirit of Harmony.
"You coward! Fine! We don't need you!" Phoenix shouted, turning towards the Spirits. "Okay, here's what were going to do. That portal was created due to a imbalancement in our worlds magical frequency which was also caused by the moons position. I know, confusing, doesn't make sense, how did the writer come up with this garbage? But! Let's just pretend that we understand what's happening! Well I know what's happening but you lot must have no idea since you just got here. There is no time to explain so your just going to have to trust me! What we need to do is rebalance the frequencies in the portal. It should close the portal, but its physical form still remains. Then there will be a large swirly colorful circle in the sky that has no purpose what's so ever. It won't harm anypony anymore, that is until the portal reopens again in three and half years. That's when the freuquecnies are messed up again"
"Well why don't we just close the portal each time then?" asked Buttonamous
"Because the only way to close the portal is to restore the frequecnies at the source!"
"But somepony will have to physically enter the portal to do that!" said the unicorn Spirit of Harmony.
"I am aware. Don't worry about that for now. We still have another problem. Once we close the portal we still have the portals physical form to worry about. We can't let it just sit in the sky for the next three and a half years. We need to find a way to get rid of it! But its not that simple! We can't just get rid of the portal, its too powerful! We need to somehow store that portal into a stabilized environment. Or place it into an object that will allow it to stabilize"
"What item could do that?" asked the unicorn Spirit of Harmony.
"I don't know! Any item could work, but it has to relate to the portal somehow!"
"Relate? What does that mean?"
"To put it simply, imagin if the item and the portal had minds of its own. They have to agree with each other and accept each other!"
"That doesn't make any sense!"
"NOT ALL MAGIC MAKES SENSE!!! JUST HURRY UP AND FIND SOMTHING THAT'LL WORK!" shouted Phoenix.
The Spirits nodded and left. Phoenix turned to Leo. "Leo, I need you to go and help them. Find me an object that I can store the portal into. But make sure its big!"
"Y-Ya! Sure! I'm on it!" said Leo, as he ran off towards the castle.
As they all left, there was a flash of light, and Starswirl appeared. "Oh what now?" said Phoenix. She turned and saw Starswirl. She walked up to him and slapped him across the face. "Any particular reason why you left!?!"
Starswirl rubbed the cheek that was slapped and handed something to Phoenix. "I left because I knew of a way to save Draco".
"What? But his wounds are fatal! Magic can't restore fatal wounds" said Phoenix.
"This isn't magic, its . . . just take a look" said Starswirl.
Phoenix took the object from Starswirl and observed it. It was a crimson red heart shaped amulet with black metal side trimming. Seconds later, she instantly knew what it was. "Starswirl, please tell me this isn't what I think this is".
"I know you said not to. But I couldn't resist" said Starswirl.
Glaring at Starswirl, she pointed to the amulet. "This is from the Vamperisael Cave, isn't it?"
Starswirl didn't answer, he didn't need to. Slowly, Phoenix came closer to Starswirl, placing her face directly into his. "You idiot . . . you blubbering idiot! Your the reason behind those vampony attacks, aren't you?"
"I had to study these amulets to ensure the safety of-"
"Safety!? SAFETY!?! By stealing this amulet, you have endangered the lives of ponies all over Equestria! I told you all of these had to be destroyed! If even a single amulet remains, the vamponies who made these could sense it! Their probably heading here right now!"
"But don't you see! We can save Draco with this amulet! Plus, once he puts on the amulet the source will be lost. Vamponies will no longer be able to trace it-"
"But then he'll have the vamponies curse on him! He will physically become a vampony!"
"Once the amulets healed him he can just take it off! We saved those ponies last time!"
"Yes but this is different!"
"How so?"
Phoenix rubbed her head and groaned in frustration. "Those ponies that were under the vampony curse were just mere slaves. The amulets around their necks caused them to do things beyond their free will. But, those amulets were controlled by the master vampony himself! With his amulet!"
"I am aware of this! I was there too! Now how is this relevant?"
"Because! This isn't a slave vampony amulet! This is a master vampony amulet! If he puts it on he will not act like a vampony because there is no pony to control him! He is in control of his own free will!"
"Well that's good! Right?"
"No its not good! Its not good at all! I restored those slaves to their rightful selves again specifically because they were under control in the first place! The vampony influence had taken the slave ponies real selves and locked them away. That way their real selves would not interfere with the vampony influence. But at the same time, this saved them. The amulets separated their real selves from their vampony selves, preventing them from mixing! That way when I saved them from their vampony influence, they returned back to their normal selves again! But because Draco will not be under any influence, his true self will mix with his vampony self. And although he will be self aware and have full control over his actions. He will be stuck as a vampony permanently!"
"But I saw you! I saw you save all of those ponies from being enslaved and turned into vamponies? How did you restore the master vampony?"
"I didn't" said Phoenix.
"You didn't? But I thought that by removing the amulet from the master vampony, he would lose his control over the enslaved vamponies".
"Yes, that's exactly how I saved the enslaved ponies! I made the master vampony remove his own amulet!"
"Then you saved him".
"I never said that".
"But if he removed his amulet then-"
"Starswirl, HE'S DEAD!!! I made the master vampony kill himself by removing his amulet!"
"What! He . . . died removing his amulet? But, he wasn't even a real vampony. He was turned into a vampony just like the others with the amulets".
" . . . Ponies lives were in danger. Sacrifices had to be made. He removed his amulet and it killed him. His vampony self had mixed with his real self. By removing his amulet, he forcibly removed his vampony self which ripped his real self apart. In other words, it destroyed his life force, thus killing him. And if we make Draco remove this amulet, the same will happen to him".
"But this is the only way. Magic cannot save a fatel wound-"
"But a curse can? Is that what you want to do? Curse him?"
Starswirl shook his head. "I just want to fix what I have done wrong".
Phoenix turned away from Starswirl and said, "this is beyond fixing. If anything, you've just made it worse".
Starswirl didn't answer.
Phoenix looked back to Starswirl with an expression of anger and hatred. "Starswirl . . . Starswirl the Bearded. The greatest unicorn to have ever lived, now reveals his true colors. I feel sorry for the ponies who look up to you, making you their hero. But look at you! Your not a hero! Your a . . . a . . . I can't even think of a word! You disgust me!" Phoenix turned and walked up to Draco. It was clear that he only had a few minutes to live. Phoenix sighed, then knelt down to Draco. She brought the amulet close to his head, hesitated, then turned to Starswirl. "First you banish three innocent children to another world, then you endanger the entire planet with your power hungry plan, and now you have the blood of everypony who has been killed by that portal tonight on your hoofs! And to top it all off. You not only nearly killed this pony who had just risked his life for you after having just watched you banish his friends to another dimension! But now the best you can do to save his life is by cursing him for the rest of it! You claim that those girls you banished were monsters, but the only one I see who has been a monster tonight was you!"
Starswirl didn't answer, he looked away, hiding his shame.
Phoenix turned back to Draco. "I'm sorry . . . I'm so, so sorry". She placed the amulets chain over his head, placing the amulet onto his chest.
The amulet lit up, and engulfed a dark red smoke that covered Draco. From within the smoke, Draco could be heard coughing and gasping for air. After a few moments, the smoke disappeared, leaving a pony who no longer looked like Draco in his place.
He had bright white hair, dark gray fur, and piercing red eyes. His horn had turned sharp, and he now had leathery bat wings. The amulet continued to glow for a few moments before it stopped.
Draco suddenly shot his eyes open, as he sat up, panting. "What! I! What just-"
"Sh! Sh! Sh! Calm down! Everything's going to fine. Your going to live" said Phoenix, placing a reassuring hoof to his shoulder.
Draco calmed himself, and slowed his breathing. He looked to Phoenix, then to Starswirl, then back to Phoenix. He looked at the piles of ash around him and heard the screams coming from the city down below. Slowly, he began to remember what was happening. "You . . . you saved me?" he asked Phoenix.
Phoenix frowned. "I, well . . . not exactly. He did". She cocked her head, indicating to Starswirl.
Draco glared at Starswirl, then slowly stood to his hoofs (with some help from Phoenix). "You saved my life?"
Starswirl didn't answer. He turned away towards the edge of the cliff. "Ponies in this city are dying. The least I could do is save at least one poor soul tonight".
"Ya, that's the absolute least you cou- . . . what?" Draco had suddenly realized the amulet that had attached itself to his chest.
Phoenix saw this and frowned. She knew this would happen. The amulet had physically attached itself to Draco's chest during the transformation process.
Draco tried to take it off but found that he was unable to. He grabbed it from the sides, pulling as hard as he could. It didn't budge. After trying to pull out the amulet, that is when he realized that something about him was different. He looked at his hoofs and saw that his fur was no longer light brown, but a dark gray. He looked at his back and nearly screamed when he saw the leathery bat wings. He felt around his head frantically, and gasped in pain when he accidently stabbed his leg against his now sharp horn. He pulled out a piece of his hair and saw that the dark brown color had now turned white. He felt around the inside of his mouth with his tongue and found out that four of his teeth had now turned sharp. "What! W-What happened to me!?" Draco shouted.
"Draco I-"
"Why is there an amulet inside my chest!!!" Draco shouted, interrupting Phoenix.
"Draco you need to-"
"Its because of me Draco" said Starswirl, interrupting Phoenix.
Draco glared at Starswirl for a moment, breathing heavily from him panicking. "Y-You did this to me?"
"It was the only way I could save your life. You sacrificed yourself to save my life, now it was my turn to save yours" said Starswirl.
"Save- SAVE MY LIFE!?! THIS WAS THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN SAVE ME!?!" shouted Draco.
"I didn't have another choice!" said Starswirl.
"YOU'VE TURNED ME INTO A MONSTER!!!"
"Draco I'm sorry! It was the only way I can save you!" said Starswirl.
Draco paused for a moment, attempting to calm himself down. When he had returned his breathing to a normal speed he said to Starswirl. "Is this permanent?"
" . . . Yes" .
"I can't just take this stupid amulet off?" asked Draco, struggling to keep himself calm.
"I'm sorry Draco. If you take that amulet off, you will die" said Starswirl.
"Oh . . . so I'm stuck looking like this forever . . . just tell me one last thing. What am I?"
"Could you speci-"
Draco rushed to Starswirl at lighting speed. He grabbed Starswirl by the hems of his robe and lifted him above the ground. He glared at Starswirl, his eyes burning with rage. "WHAT AM I!?! WHAT HAVE I BECOME!?!" he bellowed into Starswirls face.
Starswirl did not show fear. He did not show any sign of wanting mercy, he knew that he deserved this. "This amulet has given you the abilities of a vampony. That is why I did not have a choice. Your wounds were fatal, and the only way to heal a fatal wound is with a magic so strong, it can literally defy death. And vamponies have incredible- GAH!"
Draco had socked Starswirl in the jaw and thrown him towards the edge of the cliff. Starswirl nearly rolled off the edge before he stopped himself. Before he had a chance to stand, Draco grabbed him again and lifted him over the edge of the cliff.
"YOU'VE TURNED ME INTO A VAMPONY!?!" shouted Draco.
"I-It was the only way to save you! The vamponies healing abilities saved you from death-"
"THAT'S BECAUSE VAMPONIES ARE IMMORTAL!!! YOU IDIOT!!! YOU DIDN'T SAVE ME!!! YOU'VE CURSED ME!!! I CAN'T DIE ANYMORE!!!" bellowed Draco.
"Draco I cannot ever understand what you are feeling. But just know that you are not the only creature that is immor- AAGH!!!"
Draco had dropped Starswirl, caught him a second later, then lifted him up again. "I DO NOT WANT TO BE IMMORTAL!!! I DO NOT WANT TO SUFFER THE SAME FATE AS THE PRINCESS!!! OR THE SIRENS!!! OR THE PHOENIX PONIES!!! OR ANY OTHER CREATURE WHO CANNOT LIVE AND DIE A NORMAL LIFE!!! I DO NOT WANT TO LIVE THE REST OF MY LIFE KNOWING THAT I CANNOT LIVE A NORMAL LIFE!!!"
"But Draco, what about your marefriend? You can still have a love life! The amulet only affects you! So if you were to have children then they should remain normal!" shouted Starswirl, a tone of panic was apparent in his voice.
"OH AND HOW DO YOU THINK MARIA WILL REACT WHEN SHE SEE'S THIS!?!" Draco suddenly gasped. " M-Maria?"
"Draco, what are-"
Draco head butted Starswirl and turned him the opposite direction, towards the city. "Maria is down there! In the city! Where everypony is dying! All because of your stupid plan!"
"Draco I'm sor-"
Before Starswirl could finish, Draco threw him to Phoenix's hoofs. He glared at him with an expression of pure hatred. "If she dies, then I will NEVER forgive you!"
"Draco, we need to close the portal so that-"
"YOU CLOSE THE PORTAL!!! I'M GOING TO FIND MARIA!!!" Draco shouted, interrupting Phoenix.
He ran off the cliff, extending his brand new wings and descended towards Canterlot below.
"You see. About a year ago, Buttonamous helped Draco learn the magic of friendship. Shortly after, Draco was able to make friends. He was a lonely cranky pants before. Now, he was a lot nicer. He stopped drinking a lot, and he stopped flirting with a bunch of mares. And one day he got a marefriend! And from what Draco's told us, she was truly special to him. She was an orphan like Draco, and most ponies didn't treat her very well, just like Draco! They both had a lot in common, and Draco said that's one of the reasons why they fell in love with each other. Maria loved fighting like him, she liked party's like him, Maria meant the world to Draco! And . . . well . . . what happened next it . . . broke his heart" said Sonata, frowning.
Applejack looked to Twilight, then back at Sonata. "What happen? He didn't save Maria?"
Sonata sighed. "Well no, he didn't save her. But its what she did to him that made it worse. It's actually one of the reasons why Draco absolutely hates Starswirl".
Draco crashed onto the ground. He wasn't adjusted to his new wings yet. He quickly stood to his hoofs and looked about the chaos around him, searching for Maria. "Maria! Maria where are you!?!"
Ponies where screaming. Not only at the portal that was killing everyone, but also at the vampony who had just arrived.
Draco didn't care, he had to find Maria! "Maria! Where are you!?!" He ran through the streets of Canterlot, between alleyways, everywhere he could think of. He tried to search her home, but it was destroyed entirely. He search Maria's favorite places, her parents home, everywhere. He searched for nearly half an hour, until at last, he finally found her. She was running through the crowd of ponies with one of her friends. She and her friend were trying to get ponies to safety, giving them directions and what not.
"Maria!" Draco shouted, running to her.
She and her friend saw Draco coming and immediately became afraid. The ponies around them saw Draco coming and ran to get out of his path. "Maria! He said your name!" said her friend.
"What!" shouted Maria.
"I think he's trying to attack you!" said her friend.
Just as Draco had come close, he attempted to give her a hug. But Maria's friends stepped between them and socked Draco in the jaw. "Maria! Run! I'll take care of the vampony!"
Maria nodded and ran.
"Wait! What are you-GAH!" Draco had tried to get up, but Maria's friend stomped a hoof onto him.
"Stay down vampony!" she shouted.
"What! Monica you dumb ash! Its me! Draco!"
She gasped, having just recognized his voice. "D-Draco? W-What happen to you!?"
"No time! Now MOVE!!!" he pushed Monica off of him and galloped towards Maria. His new vampony abilities made him much faster then he used to be. He quickly caught up to Maria. He tried calling her name, but she ignored him and tried to escape. She ran down an alleyway, and nearly slammed into a wall in front of her. She was trapped. She turned and saw Draco approach her. His movements were slow and calm. "Maria, Maria its me, Dra-"
"Stay away!" she shouted. Positioning herself in a fighting stance.
Draco was taken aback. He froze for a second, then tried to come closer to Maria. "Maria? Don't you recognize me?"
"I SAID STAY AWAY YOU MONSTER!!!" she shouted.
Draco froze. 'She . . . doesn't know who I am . . . she thinks I'm a monster . . . maybe if I told her it's me she wouldn't think that way' he thought to himself. He stopped and sat down five feet away from her. She saw this and calmed a bit, but maintained her fighting stance. Draco cleared his throat and smiled at her.
Maria gave Draco a confused look. "W-What do you want with me?"
"Maria, I need you to calm down and just listen. Please, just listen" said Draco.
"What? Are you trying to trick me or something? So you can suck my blood?" she asked.
"No Maria! No, just . . . just listen" said Draco.
Maria glared at him for a moment, then sighed. "Fine, I'll listen".
Draco sighed with relief. "Good, okay just hear me out. I know I look a bit terrifying right now. Me being a vampony and all, and please don't freak out with what I am about to tell you. Maria, its me, Dra-"
Before Draco could finish speaking, a bolt of magic struck down, hitting Maria directly. She screamed, then there was nothing left but a pile of ash.
Draco stared at what just happened for a few moments. Completely stunned. Slowly, he walked up to the pile of ash and placed his hoofs into it. He lifted some of the ash and watched it fall out of his hoofs and back into the pile. Tears fell as he realized what had just happened. Maria was dead. She died not knowing who Draco was. She died, thinking that he was a monster. More tears fell, and quickly, Draco started sobbing into the pile of ash. "NOOOOO!!!" he shouted. He sobbed for several minutes, hugging the pile of ash in his legs. "Why!?! Why did this have to happen!?! WHY ME!?! W-Why did it h-have to be m-me!" he shouted. He couldn't control his sorrow any longer, and he shouted into the sky. "WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE JUST LET ME DIE OLD MAN!?! WHY!?!" Sudden realization hit Draco, and he stood up, brushing the ashes off of him. "You . . . this is your fault . . . all your fault . . . you killed her . . . Starswirl, YOU KILLED MARIA!!!" He turned and shot straight into the air, flying back to the cliff.
Twilight, Sunset, and Applejack stared at Sonata. All with shocked expression.
"That, that just, couldn't have happened! It just couldn't have! Something like that would surly have been recorded! How come that incident isn't in the history books?" asked Twilight.
"I'm with Twilight. If all of that actually happened, then wouldn't it be in the history books?" said Sunset.
"But its not! The history books say that you and your sisters fought Starswirl. Then he banished you into the human world! There was no Phoenix Sprite! No Spirits of Harmony! And no pony died!" said Twilight.
"Well your books must be wrong! Why else do you think Draco is so mad at Starswirl?" asked Sonata.
"I-I don't know! But its impossible! None of this can be real! Starswirl was the greatest unicorn to ever lived! He wasn't a power hungry maniac searching for the ultimate way to banish evil!"
"Well from my perspective that's exactly how he seemed" said Draco.
All the girls gasped, startled. They were unaware that Draco had been behind them, listening the entire time.
"I thought you had something to talk about with Adagio and Aria?" said Sonata.
"I did but I decided to take a break and enjoy story time with you" said Draco, smiling.
"Well since your here you might as well tell us who you are!" said Twilight.
"Haven't you been listening to Sonata? I don't know what your worlds history books have been telling you. But by the sounds of it, it seems that your history books are wrong! Sonata isn't making up a story. She really is telling you what actually happened that day!" said Draco.
"If that were true, then how come she knows everything that happened even after she was banished?" asked Applejack.
"Because I told them" said Draco, bluntly.
"Oh, I see".
"Wait, hold on a minute! So if the sirens were just innocent kids who were banished to this world by Starswirl the Bearded. Then how come your here? It sounds to me like you manage to escape being banished" said Twilight.
"Well I may have dodged a bullet there at first". Draco stopped, seeing Twilights confused expression. "Oh, right, human expression. I dodged the bolt you see. Do ponies still have crossbows?" asked Draco.
"Ponies have crossbows!?" asked Applejack.
"Well crossbows are mostly used by creatures who have fingers or claws. But there are some forms of modified crossbows that allow ponies to wield it" said Twilight.
"That doesn't make sense, how to you hold it?" asked Applejack.
"We . . . hold it in our hoofs. The same way that you hold things" said Twilight, giving Applejack a confused expression.
"But, but how? Your hoofs are just a flat surface. Are you telling me that ponies in your world can carry things the same way we do in our world?" asked Applejack.
Twilight nodded.
"I . . . that just amazes me how well a society of ponies can live" said Applejack.
"Back to what I was saying. Yes I was able to avoid being banished once. In the end, however, I had to go through the portal" said Draco.
"What? Why?" asked Sunset.
"Well you couldn't expect me to just leave these girls in this world by themselves! Nope, they were just children, they wouldn't have survived! I had to come and help them! But . . . that wasn't the only reason" said Draco.
"What was the other reason?" asked Twilight.
Draco smiled and sighed. "The portal had to be closed. The only way to close it was if somepony physically closed it on the inside. Somepony had to be sacrificed, and that pony was going to be me".
"STARSWIRL!!!" Draco roared, as he flew straight towards the cliff.
The Spirits had returned with a bunch of assorted items. Starswirl didn't even have time to react when Draco crashed into him, bringing them both to the ground. Draco got on top of Starswirl and started punching him repeatedly.
"Draco!" shouted Phoenix, pulling Draco off of Starswirl. But Draco was too strong. He was much stronger then he used to be, thanks to the vampony powers. He ripped himself away from Phoenix and started punching Starswirl again. This time, the unicorn Spirit of Harmony captured Draco in a force field and lifted him into the air. "Again with the force fields!?! Let me go!?! Let me go right now!?!"
"Not until you calm yourself!" said the unicorn Spirit of Harmony.
"Calm myself!?! CALM MYSELF!?! ITS TOO LATE FOR THAT!?!"
"Draco what are you-"
"SHE'S DEAD!!! MARIAS DEAD!!!" Draco shouted, interrupting Phoenix. Draco pointed at Starswirl. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT OLD MAN!!! YOU KILLED MARIA!!! YOU KILLED THE ONLY MARE THAT I LOVED!!! I'LL KILL YOU!!! I'LL BUCKING KILL YOU!!!"
"Draco restrain yourself! I know what he has done is wrong! But we mustn't lose our heads! We need him to help us stop the portal!" said Phoenix
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYPONY ANY MORE!!! YOU CAN ALL DIE AND BURN IN TARTERUS FOR ALL I CARE!!!" shouted Draco.
"Draco, you don't really mean that-"
"YES I DO!!! MY MAREFREIND IS DEAD, I'M A MONSTER, AND BECAUSE OF THIS ASH HOLE, I CAN NEVER DIE! EVEN IF I COULD DIE I HAVE NOTHING TO LIVE FOR ANYMORE!!!"
"Draco! Look around you! Do you see this city! This city is full of innocent lives! All of which are dying because that portal if still open! Now you say you don't have anything to live for anymore but these ponies do! They all still have something to live for! And so did Maria! Maria died because of this portal! Don't let her death be in vein!" shouted Phoenix.
Draco glared at her for a moment, then slowly frowned. Tears fell from his cheek, as he looked away.
"Bella, release him please" said Phoenix.
The unicorn Spirit of Harmony nodded, and released Draco from the force field. Draco fell to the ground and didn't move. Phoenix walked up to him and helped him to his hoofs. Then taking Draco by surprise, she hugged him. "I know it hurts. Losing the one that you love. But you mustn't let yourself mourn just yet. We can't let her death be in vein, that's why you need to help us close that portal. She would want you to keep going, even without her. She would want you to not give up and save everyone's lives. Wouldn't she?"
"Y-Yes, yes s-she would" Draco cried.
"Then help us. Help us close that portal. You may look like a monster, but tell me, are you a monster?" asked Phoenix.
"N-No" Draco whispered.
"What was that? I didn't hear you. I said, are you a monster!"
"No" said Draco, with more confidence.
"ARE YOU A MONSTER!?!" Phoenix shouted.
"NO!" shouted Draco.
She released Draco and gave him a smile. "Then what are you then?"
Draco wiped his eyes and smiled. "I am not a monster. I am not a vampony. I am a unicorn, cursed with the looks and powers of a vampony. But that doesn't mean that I have to be one! I AM DRACO SANTINO JACK!!! AND I AM NOT A VAMPONY!!!"
"Phoenix! I'm back" shouted Leo, having just arrived dragging something large with a rope attached. It was hidden underneath a large tarp.
"Leo! Where have you been? You were gone the longest! And you only brought one item!?" shouted Phoenix.
"Well you wanted me to bring something big! And this was the biggest item I could find that wasn't too heavy!" said Leo.
Suddenly, the portal cracked with thunder, and fired more bolts of magic onto the city.
"No time to explain what it is! Just put it with the rest of the items!" shouted Phoenix.
Leo did as he was told.
"Alright! I'm going to take each item one at a time and see which one corresponds with the portal! Once I have the right item we will have to close the portal! Then store the portal into the item!" Phoenix explained.
"But you still haven't told us how you are going to close the portal!" said Buttonamous.
"Don't rush me! I'll get to that after I find out which item the portal corresponds to!" Phoenix shouted.
She grabbed the first item (a large crystal ball) and walked to the edge of the cliff. She lifted it up and waited a few moments. Then, a bolt of magic shot towards Phoenix, hitting the ball. Phoenix was launched backwards several feet. When she stood to her hoofs, she saw that the ball had disintegrated. "Nope! That wasn't the right object!" Phoenix grabbed another object and repeated the process. Again with the same results. One after another, each object failed to correspond with the portal. "Dang it! What do we have left?" asked Phoenix, lifting her self up for the twenty seventh time.
"All we have is the object that Leo brought" said Buttonamous.
Phoenix ran to the object and ripped the tarp off of it. It was a large mirror. The same one that Draco had seen down in the basements.
"That's supposed to be in the basements! You carried that all the way here!" shouted Draco.
"Phoenix wanted me to find the biggest object!" said Leo.
"That mirror is huge!" said Buttonamous.
"Its the biggest object we've had! Hopefully its the one that will work" said Phoenix.
She dragged the mirror to the edge of the cliff. She then flew to the top and pulled, tilting it so the mirror could face directly at the portal. She waited for several minutes, struggling from the weight of the mirror. "Come on you blasted portal! Show me what you've got!" shouted Phoenix.
Suddenly, the portal fired a bolt at Phoenix, hitting the mirror. The was a flash of color, followed by the sound of an explosion. When the flash was gone they saw Phoenix lying several yards away, disorientated. She quickly got to her hoofs and shook the dizziness out of her head. She ran to the mirror and turned it for everypony to see.
The mirror hadn't disintegrated like the other objects. In fact, the glass was now shinning with a spectrum of colors. Pure magical energy could be felt radiating off of the mirror.
Phoenix cheered. "It worked! The mirror has corresponded with the portal! Once we close the portal, we can store the portals physical form into this mirror! And it'll remain stabilized!" She turned to the others. "Starswirl, Buttonamous, Bella, Oxford, and Draco. All of you need to concentrate your magic into a failsafe spell. But you need to maintain a frequency related to Starswirls. He created the portal, so the portal will only react to his magic! If you four can mimic his magic, then you should be able to cause a reaction to the portal!"
They did as they were told. A few seconds later. Each was holding a small ball of pure magic. "Great! With Starswirls advance magic! Combined with The Spirits of Harmony's harmony magic! COMBINED with Draco's vampony magic! The strength of all that combined should make this spell strong enough to close the portal. There's only one problem. Unicorn magic and harmony magic can be combined and still maintain itself. But combining vampony magic will disrupt the balance of the magic, making it useless. So here's what we're going to do. Your going to combine your magic by force!"
"But you can't combine different types of magic like that by force! Magic like this would explode if we force it to combined!" said Buttonamous.
"Exactly! The explosion should be able to close the portal. However, we need to keep that explosion in a stabilized environment so that it can stay in a state of combustion! While it is frozen in that state, we can deliver that explosion to the portal, unfreeze it from that state, and let it go BOOM!" said Phoenix.
"How can we freeze it in its state of combustion?" asked Draco.
"Simple. If my knowledge does not deceive me, which it never does. I should be able to use my phoenix magic and form a bubble out of pure phoenix fire. That should keep the spell in its state of combustion. Then we will deliver it to the portal and set it off!"
"But how are we going to do that? You still haven't told us how we are going to get this spell into the portal?" asked Bella.
"Ah, yes, well, here's the thing. I know I said that "we" were going to deliver the spell. But in truth its actually going to be me" said Phoenix.
"WHAT!!!" the group shouted simultaneously.
"The portal is too powerful for anyone to get close to it. A pegasus would get sucked into it. And we can't just throw it into the portal, phoenix fire must be maintained on hoof. And no it cannot be maintained with horns. Phoenix fire doesn't work that way so there's no possibility of levitating it into the portal. Somepony has to physically deliver this spell into the portal, and that ponies going to be me" said Phoenix.
"But you'll get trapped in that other world!" shouted Leo.
"Ha! The awesome and amazing Phoenix doesn't care! Does she look worried to you?" asked Phoenix, walking closer to them.
"Yes as a matter of fact you do! I know you Phoenix. I've traveled with you for three years Phoenix. You boast when you are happy or excited. You talk normal when you are serious, and you talk in third person when you are afraid! Whether your afraid of something small, like when your afraid that ponies will forget about you, or they don't know who you are! Or something big! Like getting sent to another world! Phoenix you act all high and mighty but I can tell! Your afraid! Your afraid and you know it-"
"Well what other solution do you have then huh!?! Just let the whole world die!?!" Phoenix shouted. She turned away, rubbed her temples, then turned back to Leo. "You say you know me, but you don't! You just don't! Because you've never seen the real me! But you see this! You see what's happening right now! THIS IS THE REAL ME!!! Every time something bad happens in this world, I'm the one who has to make it better! I'm the one who has to fix it! ITS ALWAYS ME!!! IT ALWAYS IS!!!" Phoenix's voice cracked at the last words. She sniffed, rubbed her eyes, then looked back to Leo. "Its always me . . . saving the day . . . and the results are always the same. I save the day and a few days later something bad happens and I have to go and save it again! And most of those times ponies die! They die! And no matter how hard I try to save them they still die in the end! Do you see how many ponies have died tonight! You say you know me but you don't! Tonight! What's happening tonight! This is who I am! All these ponies who have died tonight! This is considered a normal night for me! . . . AND ITS NOT FAIR!!! Do you think I enjoy this!? That I enjoy seeing ponies die every other day!? Well I don't!? I hate it!!! I hate it SO MUCH!!! . . . But when your me . . . you don't have a choice". Phoenix took the magic from all five ponies and combined it into one. She quickly blew a light gray flame from her mouth, covering the spells into it. Once she stopped, everyone saw a small explosion, covered in a light gray see through fiery orb. "When your me, your going to see death. And when your me, your going to have to make sacrifices, to try and prevent as much death as possible. Even if it means you won't come out alive. Funny, sacrificing myself for the greater good. Its really has become a habit". She looked to the sky and gulped. "Four times I've died saving the lives of others. And now . . . looks like its going to be a fifth. Its always the same . . . its always the same". She turned to Starswirl. "As soon as I close the portal I want you to store its physical form inside the mirror. Then everything should be safe from there. Make sure you lock up the mirror though. I have a feeling that portals still going to open in another three and half years. Although it won't start killing everypony, it can provide anypony the means of transporting their way to this new world. So don't let them! This mirror is a one way ticket! It'll take you to that world, but it can't bring you back" said Phoenix.
"So, you can never return?" asked Draco.
"Well, not until the portal could somehow manifest a way to develop a second portal and place that second portal into an object that could also correspond to the portal. But that could take, oh I don't know . . . eight hundred years? Maybe even a millennium! But by then, I'll be gone, so there's really no point".
"Wait I didn't catch that. The portal manifesting into another portal that makes a second portal and does . . . something with another object? . . . I'm sorry, that explanation made no sense!" said Buttonamous.
"I haven't the time to explain! The portal needs to be closed now!" shouted Phoenix. She took the spell and flew towards the portal. She turned to Leo before leaving. "Leo! Thank you for everything! It was an absolute pleasure getting to travel with you!" said Phoenix.
"I had a good time as well!" shouted Leo.
"Oh and one more thing! Don't forget me! Please! Don't forget me at all! I don't want to become a fictional character that no pony believes in! So please! Don't forget me!" she shouted.
"Don't worry! I'll never forget!" shouted Leo.
"Farewell Phoenix!" said Oxford.
"Goodbye! Thank you!" shouted Bella.
"I'll make sure you are never forgotten!" shouted Buttonamous.
"Thank you Phoenix. Thank you for everything!" said Starswirl.
Draco didn't say anything. He stared in disbelief at the mare above them. The mare who was about to sacrifice herself for them.
Phoenix waved goodbye, then flew off towards the portal
"S-She's just . . . going to sacrifice herself for us?" asked Draco.
"Indeed she is" said Starswirl.
"But she has so much to live for! She has friends! She has . . . I don't know! Lots I assume! I don't know much about her, but I do know that she's done too much for this world to go out like this!" said Draco, angrily.
"Sometimes that is the life of a hero. You can do so much. You can save thousands of life's, save the planet more then once. You deserve a life of riches and rewards. But sometimes that is not the case. Sometimes when you live the life of a hero, you will also die a hero. Sacrificing yourself for the greater good. Yes she deserves more. Phoenix Sprite deserves far more then this. But this is the life of a hero. Sacrificing ones self, in order to save the world" said Starswirl.
"A hero . . . must sacrifice for the greater good? . . . But . . . she'll die" said Draco.
"The portal will not kill her. She will be trapped in that world for the rest of her life. Then she will pass away from age" said Starswirl.
"She . . . will be trapped there . . . forever . . . for a THOUSAND YEARS!?!" Draco suddenly turned to Starswirl. "That thing that Phoenix had just said! She said that there's a possibility that she could return someday!"
"Yes, but it is highly unlikely. For you see, it could take the portal at least a millennium to develop a portal in the new world. And although that would allow Phoenix to return to our world. She would not be alive for when that time does come. Phoenix ponies have long life spans, but not that long!"
"But Vamponies are immortal! So if I went there then I would still be alive for when that day came!" shouted Draco.
"What are you suggesting Draco?" asked Starswirl.
Draco bent his knees and prepared to take off. Before he did, he looked to Starswirl for the last time. "Old man, I hate you, and I always will. Don't ever make the same mistakes that you have made tonight! Because I swear! I will return someday! And if I find the Sirens then I'm bringing them back with me! You can count on it! I WILL RETURN!!! AND THE SIRENS WILL TO!!!"
"Draco! You-"
"Goodbye old man. I hope your happy with what you've done!" He turned to the Spirits of Harmony. "Kind of a chick move not telling me that you were one of the Spirits of Harmony Buttonamous. But that's cool, I understand you had to keep it a secret. Although, now I really wish we could hang out more. But I guess this is good bye"
"You better hurry, she's about to enter the portal" said Buttonamous, giving Draco a smile.
Draco smiled back and launched himself into the air at full speed. "Goodbye, Spirits of Harmony" he whispered to himself.
He mostly used his wings for steering, since he was not quite accustomed to using wings just yet. However, he managed to levitate himself quick enough to catch up to Phoenix. Once he caught up he shouted, "Excuse me miss? I do believe that this portal is off limits! So I'm going to have to ask you to return back to the ground!"
Phoenix turned and glared at Draco. "What the tartarus are you doing here!?!"
He flew up to Phoenix and placed his hoofs against the spell. He could feel his hoofs burning from the phoenix fire covering the outer layer.
"Don't touch that! It'll burn you! Get back down there before its to late!!!" shouted Phoenix.
"Sorry Phoenix, but I'm done taking orders from you! Your listening to me now! Got that! I'm taking this spell into the portal! And your going back down to safety! Understand!" Draco shouted.
"HAVE YOU GONE MENTAL!?! DRACO!!! YOU'LL BE TRAPPED IN THE OTHER WORLD FOREVER!!!" Phoenix shouted.
"Not until the portal reopens in a thousand years like you said!" shouted Draco.
"THAT'S ONLY A GUESS! IT HAS A FIFTY SEVEN PERCENT CHANCE OF ACTUALLY HAPPENING!!!" shouted Phoenix.
"Fifty seven? Good enough for me!" Draco shouted, grabbing the orb from Phoenix. He yelped in pain as he felt the orb burning into his hoofs. "Look! I'm immortal now! So if I get sent into this world, then I can live long enough for the portal to open! That is, if it even opens! But you won't live long enough! You'll die in that world and I can't allow that to happen! I'm taking this orb through that portal and that's that!"
"But you'll be trapped in that world! I can't let you do that to yourself!" shouted Phoenix.
"Draco this is no time for . . . do you hear that?" asked Phoenix.
"What?"
"That! It sounds like . . . singing". Slowly, Phoenix and Draco looked to the portal.
"I do hear singing, is it coming through there?" asked Draco.
"Yes, its coming through the portal" said Phoenix.
"But what could be causing it?" asked Draco.
Phoenix gasped. "The Sirens!"
"The Sirens? Their . . . singing? But why?" asked Draco.
"Sometimes sirens express their emotions through their songs. I can tell that this song . . . it isn't a cry for help . . . they think there is no help" said Phoenix.
"What are they feeling?" asked Draco.
"This music . . . it has a strong meaning . . . yet a sad rhythm. They are sad, scared, and alone. Yet they are trying to be brave, despite their circumstances! But . . . they are crying" said Phoenix
"Are they now? Huh, those brave children" said Draco.
"Draco, how old are they?" asked Phoenix.
"Five, all of them" said Draco.
"Triplets?"
Draco nodded.
"I see, they will need someone to guide them, and keep them safe".
"And that someone will be me!" said Draco, with confidence.
"No Draco! I'll go there and watch them-"
"No you will not!" shouted Draco.
"Why can't you just let me-"
"Because I can't!!! I promised those girls that I would protect them! That I wouldn't let anything bad happen to them! Now there stuck in another dimension! I failed! But now I have the chance to go there and protect them again! I will fulfill my promise! I will be their guardian!" shouted Draco.
"Draco . . . why do these Sirens mean so much to you?"
" . . . Because they remind me of myself" said Draco.
Phoenix was taken aback, not expecting that type of answer.
"All their lives these girls have been treated like monsters. They have no friends and they have no family! All their lives they've been alone! And that's exactly how my life's gone! I know their pain because I too have lived my whole life alone! Day and night, ponies fearing you just because your different! Just because of your look or your special talent! They treat you like a monster and you have no one to help or comfort you! But that is the difference between me and them! That I didn't have anyone to comfort me! But them! They have each other! They are sisters! And somepony needs to protect them!"
"Draco . . . I-I-"
Draco didn't let her finish. Taking her by surprise, Draco quickly gave Phoenix a hug. "You have shown me that I am not a monster. I may look like one, and I'll probably have to start eating like one. But that doesn't mean that I have to be one". He looked into Phoenix's eyes. Both he and Phoenix had tears shimmering in their eyes. "You have so much to live for Phoenix, so much. And I thought that I didn't. But now I see that I as well have so much to live for! And this is it! This is what I have to live for! I need to sacrifice myself! I need to go to that world! Somepony needs to watch over the Sirens . . . and that ponies going to be me. It is my destiny".
"We all have our destinies, and it's up to us to find these destinies. And although we may not like the outcome of it, we still have to pull through. Stay strong, never give up, and most importantly, always believe in yourself. If there is a destiny that must be found, a destiny that must be completed, then there's no pony better for the job, then you. We can chose our destinies. But sometimes its best . . . to let the destinies choose you".
"I have chosen it, and it has chosen me. Then let me begin my destiny!"
He gently kissed Phoenix on the forehead, then gave her one last smile. Tears fell from his cheek as he did so. "Goodbye Phoenix Sprite. And may a happy life be blessed upon you".
He released Phoenix, giving her a slight nudge so that she could fall back to the surface. He extended his wings, allowing the force of the portal to pull him in. He did not struggle, he did not curse, he did not become angry. Draco was as calm as ever, as he accepted his fate.
"I am not a monster. I am not a vampony. I am a hero! I am a friend to the Sirens! I am a stallion who will now start his destiny! I am Draco Santino Jack! Now, let this destiny begin".
He closed his eyes and entered into the portal. As soon as he entered, he released the orb, freeing the explosion from its frozen state. The force of the explosion blasted him back, increasing the speed he was traveling in.
"My Sirens . . . my poor poor Sirens, there's no need to cry anymore".
He felt like he was falling, except instead of down, he was falling upwards.
"I will protect you".
The force of the portal grew stronger, he was now traveling through at an incredible speed.
"I will guide you".
He felt a sudden change in his body. Fingers started sprouting out of his hoofs. His spine was beginning to realign itself.
"I will watch over you".
He saw a bright light, as he came to his final destination.
Sunset had a neutral look, Applejack looked amazed, Twilight looked skeptical, and Sonata . . . was crying.
Draco sighed. "Sonata this was over a thousand years ago. There's really no need to be upset.
Sonata sniffed. "Ya! But its j-just so sad!"
'Oh blimey, here we go again' thought Draco. He walked up to Sonata, giving her a hug and patting her back. "There, there, everything alright".
While Sonata was crying into Draco's chest, Twilight asked. "So that's how you were trapped in the human world? To stop Starswirls portal from destroying the world?"
"Yup, that about sums it up" said Draco.
"So wait, ur a vampire?" asked Applejack.
Draco sighed. "No I am not a vampire. That blasted unicorn cursed me with the abilities of a vampire. I may look like one and I have the powers of one. But I am NOT a vampire".
"But you sucked my blood earlier" said Sunset.
"HE DID!?!" Twilight and Applejack shouted simultaneously.
"Yes I did, and again its because I have the stupid cursed amulet! I can eat normal food, but my main source of energy comes from blood. I can't survive without it. Believe you me I wish I never had to drink blood. Sadly some wishes were never meant to be" said Draco.
"But Starswirl placed that amulet on you to save your life? Aren't you going to appreciate him for that?" asked Twilight.
"You REALLY admire Starswirl the Bearded, don't you?" asked Draco.
Twilight shrugged.
"Yes, I am thankful that he saved my life. And now that I am immortal I can now spend my life with the Sirens. However, I will never appreciate Starswirl for what he has done. I would have never needed this cursed amulet if he hadn't opened that portal in the first place!" said Draco.
"Well . . . everypony makes mistakes" said Twilight.
Draco glared at Twilight. "Are you defending that ass hole!?"
"Well I, its just that. I find it really hard to believe that Starswirl would actually do any of the things that you've told us. I mean, the history books-"
Draco let go of Sonata and punched a hole in the wall. He then turned to Twilight, sticking his face into hers. "STOP TALKING ABOUT THE BULLSHIT WRITTEN INSIDE THOSE GOD DAMN HISTORY BOOKS!!!" He backed away and slowly calmed himself down. "Those history books are a bunch of lies! How can you continue to believe in those books instead of people who were actually there?"
"Well I . . . I . . ." Twilight didn't finish. She looked to the ground, frowning.
"Did you have to be so harsh?" asked Applejack.
He glared at Applejack for a second before answering. "Your right, I shouldn't have lost my temper. I just . . . I don't like being called a liar-"
"But no one call you a liar" said Applejack.
"You might as well have. I tried telling you the true history that happened a thousand years ago. Yet she still persisted on believing the fake one. So she must have thought that I was lying. Let's get one thing straight. No body calls me a liar. No one. Now, how about I get us some tea? Would any of you girls care for some?" asked Draco, trying to change the subject.
No one except for Sonata answered. "I'd like some".
"Alright, be back in a jiffy" said Draco, as he left the room.
"He really hates being called a liar, don't he?" asked Applejack.
"Remind you of somebody?" asked Sunset, cocking an eyebrow and smiling.
"What are you trying to say?" asked Applejack.
"Oh nothing, except that a certain somebody else I know also hates being called a liar" said Sunset.
"Well I don't like being called a liar but I don't react the way Draco just did" said Applejack.
Sunset and Twilight gave Applejack a look that said, "uh huh, sure".
"Okay, well maybe I act a little like that sometimes" said Applejack.
They continued to stare with that same look.
"Alright fine! So I get a little mad! Don't judge me!"
"Wow! You also don't like being called a liar? What's your favorite food? Ooh! And your favorite color!" Sonata suddenly asked.
"Why do you want to know?" asked Applejack, giving Sonata an uncomfortable look.
"Just tell me! I want to find out something" said Sonata.
"Like wha-"
"JUST TELL ME!!!"
"Alright fine! My favorite food is anything with apples, and my favorite color is red".
"Because of apples?" asked Sunset.
"No, not everything I like is because of apples you know" said Applejack.
"Then why do you like the color red?" asked Twilight.
"Well its because . . . ah forget you guys! I don't need to answer that!" said Applejack.
"You won't answer because we're right!" Twilight teased.
"Ooh! I have another question! What's your favorite time of day?" asked Sonata.
"Okay, why do you want to know?" asked Applejack.
"Please just answer! I'm trying to figure something out!" Sonata begged.
"Alright well . . . my favorite time of day is mornings" said Applejack.
"How early in the morning?" asked Sonata.
"Right when the suns comin up, at the very break of dawn, that early" said Applejack.
Suddenly, they heard footsteps approaching the room. "Okay, don't tell Draco I asked you those questions. He might get upset" said Sonata.
"Why would he-"
"Shh! Here he comes!" said Sonata, interrupting Twilight.
Draco entered into the room with a tray full of tea and assorted snacks. He placed the tray down then walked behind Applejack. He untied her from her chair, then proceeded to do the same with Twilight, then Sunset. After that, he sat down in a chair in front of them and started pouring tea into individual tea cups.
"Why did you free us?" asked Sunset.
"Well you can't drink tea with your hands tied up, now can you?" said Draco. He handed each of them a tea cup, then he poured himself and Sonata some. "Please, help yourself to some snacks. I know how hungry you must be after that story".
As Draco sipped into his tea, Sonata asked. "Hey Draco, what's your favorite food?"
"Anything with apples, why?"
"Oh just wondering, oh! And what's your favorite color?"
"Red, and its not because I like blood! Most will assume I like the color red just because of blood!" said Draco.
"Well why do you like red?" asked Sonata.
"Well its because" Draco stopped himself before he could say something he would regret. " I uh . . . just do".
"Okay, then, what's your favorite time of day?" asked Sonata.
"Is there a particular reason for these questions Sonata?" asked Draco.
"No reason, just wondering" said Sonata.
Draco took a sip of tea, then responded. "Very well, my favorite time of day is the mornings. Very early in the mornings, when the sun is barely starting to rise! At the crack of dawn! . . . Um, Applejack, are you alright? You seem a bit . . . distressed".
Applejack had been staring at him with an expression of both confusion and discomfort. "Oh! I uh . . . just . . . just was thinking. That's all".
"Oh well . . . okay". There was a long, awkward silence before Draco spoke. "Why don't you try some of the snacks? I think you'll find it to your liking".
Applejack reluctantly took a snack and bit into it. The snack looked like two small rings made of apple and the center was filled with something brown. After biting, she found out that the brown part was granola and honey.
"Do you like it? I know how much you like apples so I wanted to make you something that you would like" said Draco, smiling cheerfully.
"Its pretty good, thanks . . . hey wait a minute! How do you know I like apples?"
Draco's cheerful smile immediately fell. He tried to pull of a fake smile, even though it was apparent that he was worried. "Well uh . . . your names Applejack so I just assumed that you . . . liked apples and uh . . . Oh! Would you look at the time! Sonata I have to run a . . . thing . . . just keep an eye on them, okay?"
"Wait! You forgot to tie them up again!" said Sonata.
"Oh there's no need for that! We're letting them go in a few hours anyway" said Draco.
"Wait, you are?" asked Twilight.
"Well sure! We're not going to keep you locked up forever! As soon as we go back to Equestria your free to go back to your normal lives!" said Draco as he walked out the room, shutting and locking the door behind him.
Twilight looked down, she showed an expression of worry.
Sunset noticed this and asked, "Twilight, what's wrong?"
Twilight sighed. "The Sirens are going to go back to Equestria tonight. And . . . I don't think we can let them".
"But why Twilight? We told you about ourselves! You know that we're not a threat anymore! So how come you don't want us to go back home?" asked Sonata.
"Well, you said that your going back to Equestria to get your siren powers back. But if your not a threat to us anymore then how come you want to try and get your powers back? Wouldn't you rather want to stay the way you are?" asked Twilight.
"Ya, I don't believe you told us why you wanted your powers back anyway" said Applejack.
"Oh, well its because after you took away our Siren magic we lost our immortality. And without our immortality we'll all turn really old and die! But Draco says that our age is catching up to us or something like that. I don't know, it kinda sounded confusing to me. But the from what I do understand, we're dying. And the only way to save us is by getting our siren magic back!"
"Wait! A darn tootin minute! Your dying!?" asked Applejack.
Sonata nodded. "Me and my sisters are. But don't worry! Draco says he's going to try and help us!"
There was a long pause in the room, before Sunset spoke. "So, you girls never wanted to take over the world to take over our world? You just wanted to go back home?"
Sonata nodded.
Sunset turned to Twilight. "Twilight if what their saying is true then they have to go back to Equestria!"
"I know! I know! Its just . . . I don't want to risk the chance of us bringing them to Equestria and then find out that they were lying to us the whole time!" said Twilight.
"But if we don't go back to Equestria then we'll die!" said Sonata.
"But how exactly are you dying! So you lost your immortality! That shouldn't kill you!" said Twilight.
"Well what if its because of how old they are? They must be over a thousand years old. So now that they don't have their immortality, all of that age is forcing their bodies to age all at once" said Sunset.
"Isn't that what I said?" asked Sonata.
"Uh . . . you tried" said Applejack, putting on a false smile.
"What your saying could be true. But-"
"Here, how about this. What if you went with them to go and get their siren magic back. That way you can keep a close eye on them and make sure that they don't cause any trouble" said Sunset.
Twilight thought for a moment, before saying. "Well . . . I uh . . . alright. I'll take them to go and get their siren magic back".
Sonata ran up to Twilight, giving her a hug. "Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You have no idea how much this means to us!"
Twilight gently released Sonata from her and gave her a stern look. "But only if you promise to never try anything like you did at the school ever again. Deal?"
Sonata nodded.
There was a long silence as everyone sat down and ate and drank the rest of the tea and snacks. After twenty minutes, Applejack broke the silence.
"Hey Sonata, why did you ask those questions before? And how come you asked Draco the same questions?"
"Oh! I just wanted to see how similar you to were! Its so freaky, you guys have so much in common!" said Sonata.
"Ya, freaky. So, that's the reason why you asked those questions? You just wanted to see what Draco and I had in common?" asked Applejack.
"Yup! Guess that saying "like father like daughter" is true! Or is it like father like son? Does it work the other way around or-"
"Wait, what!" shouted Applejack.
The room had suddenly become dead silent. Sunset and Twilight were staring at Sonata. Eyes wide and jaws dropped.
Sonata blinked with confusion. "What? Was It something I said?"
"You said "like father like daughter". Are you implying that Draco's ma Pa er somthin?" asked Applejack.
Sonata looked at her confused for a moment. Then sudden realization hit her. "What! Oh! No! No! No! No! No! I'm not saying that! Why would I say that! Draco's not your dad! How could he be your dad! That makes no sense! Like if Draco was your dad then you'd be part vampire!"
"But in the story. Didn't Starswirl say that if Draco had children, they wouldn't be affected by the amulets curse? So that wouldn't turn them into vampires?" asked Twilight.
Sonata became very worried at this point. Beads of sweat starting forming around her head and she was trying to stop herself from shaking. "Okay, so maybe you wouldn't be part vampire. But Draco can't be your dad! You said that your parents died in a car crash! But Draco's still alive!"
"Actually, they never found my Pa's body. They only found my Ma's" said Applejack, becoming suspicious.
"Oh! R-Really? Well, I, um-"
"Sonata, is there something that you need to tell me?" asked Applejack.
"Um . . . I NEED TO PEE!" Sonata suddenly shouted. She ran to the door, opened it with her key, closed and locked the door, then ran down the hall.
There was a long silence, before Applejack started chuckling. "No way, there's no way that's true! Draco? Being my dad? Ha! As if I'd believe that! I mean, how can that be true anyway?"
"I don't know. We just found out a lot of information from them tonight. They've lived long live, so they clearly have a lot to hide. Honestly Applejack, I wouldn't be surprised if they were somehow involved in your family" said Sunset.
"But how can he? My Parents died in a car crash! That's why we've had to live with my granny all my life! If Draco's my Pa then how come Granny don't mention him?".
"I don't know. But they are hiding something, and I think we have the right to know" said Twilight. Twilight walked up to the door and knocked on it a couple of times. After waiting a few moments, she knocked again. A few moments later, Draco entered.
"Yes? Can I help you?"
"Actually, we wanted to ask you something" said Twilight.
"Does it have to do with why Sonata just ran into her room like the devil was chasing her? Because I do hope you girls are getting along, you didn't hurt her feelings, did you?"
"Oh, no its just. Sonata mentioned something about you and Applejack".
Draco suddenly frowned and showed and an expression of both worry and sadness. "Oh? And what would that be?"
"She um . . . said something about "like father like daughter". I don't know if this meant anything to you or-".
Suddenly, Applejack ran up to Draco and forced him against the wall. "Are you hiding something from me!? If you are you better tell me right now or so help me I will-"
"Applejack! Calm down!" said Twilight.
"Listen to your friend Applejack! There's really no need to get violent!" said Draco.
"Oh I'm gonna get violent if you don't start spilling the beans right now! Who are you? And do how are you involved with ma family!?" asked Applejack, grabbing him by the collar and pulling his face aggressively towards hers.
"Applejack you already know who I am! I told you everything about me! What more could you-"
"No you haven't told me everything about you cause appearently your involved with ma family somehow! So I wanna know how!? How are you involved!?" she shouted.
"Can you at least tell me what Sonata said?" asked Draco, a tone of panic appearent in his voice.
"She was asking me some questions about myself. Like what's my favorite color and food. Then she asked you the same questions! Then she said that she wanted to see how familiar we are to each other! And then she said something about "like father like daughter". What did she mean by that exactly!?"
Draco slowly realized what had happened, then sighed. "Ah, I see. She must have gotten over excited and said that without meaning to. She tends to do that sometimes . . . a lot of the times actually-"
"Are you gonna answer me er what!" shouted Applejack.
"No".
"What?"
"No, I'm not going to answer you".
"But, what!? Why not!?"
"Because there are some things in this world that is best not knowing" said Draco.
"What do you mean by that? Why could I possibly not want to know something like this?" asked Applejack.
Draco sighed and slowly took Applejacks hand. He slowly took the hand on his collar off, and held both hands for a second. He smiled as he felt tears form in his eyes. "Your very strong for your age, aren't you? Not just physically, but mentally as well. You keep a strong mind, so that you can take care of the farm and your sister".
"I-I, what are you-"
Draco released her hands and frowned. "You've been through so much . . . and . . . it is all my fault".
"But . . . how is it your fault?"
Slowly, Draco brushed a few strands of hair out of Applejacks eyes. Smiling, he said, "look at you. All grown up . . ."
"Draco?"
"You look just like your mother you know".
"Draco . . . are you being serious right now? I-Is this some sorta . . . sick joke?" asked Applejack.
Draco walked away from Applejack and sat in one of the chairs. He placed his face into the palms of his hands for a few moments before speaking. "I'm sorry, I truly am. I-Its all my fault. All my fault! I should have never gone out with Almata! I should have never taken her to Italy with me! I should have never . . . never . . ." Draco couldn't finish.
Applejack slowly walked to the chair next to him, glaring at him accusingly. "Draco, Almata is ma Ma's names. How do you know her?"
"Because . . . I was depressed . . . I was a failure and I . . . I don't know. She just . . . came to me one day . . . and the next thing I knew it we were in Italy and . . . then she was gone". Draco looked to the ground. A single tear fell from his eye.
Applejack saw this and softened her expression. "Draco . . . a-are you ma Pa?"
Draco didn't answer. He continued to stare at the ground for a few moments. Until slowly, he nodded.
The room once again went dead silent. Everyone was staring at Draco in disbelief. Sunset slowly leaned into Twilights ear and whispered, "awkward".
Applejack grabbed Draco by the neck and threw him against the wall. "I refuse to believe any of this bullshit! My parents are dead! Your trying to trick me! So that you can make me join you!"
Suddenly, Draco started laughing sinisterly. He rose to his feet as he slid his hands behind his back. "Smart girl, you have discovered my plan! However, your deduction still has its flaws! If you will listen-"
"No! I'm done listening! Your evil! You and the rest of those Sirens!" shouted Applejack.
"We are evil to your eyes! But to ours! We provide the true path to hope! Listen to reason Applejack! Listen to your father!"
"YOUR NOT MY FATHER!!! AND I WILL NEVER LISTEN TO YOU!!!" shouted Applejack.
"Then I will MAKE you listen!" Draco pulled out a thin silver rod from behind him. He pressed a button and a long red glowing saber erupted from the rod.
"Applejack! Use this!" shouted Twilight. She tossed Applejack a similar looking silver rod. This one had an apple design engraved into it. She pressed the button and a long glowing blue saber erupted from it.
Draco lunged forward, swinging the saber. Applejack block the attack with her own saber, then proceeded for a counter attack. Sparks flew off the sabers as they struck each other.
Draco used the force to grab Sunset by the neck and throw her at Applejack. Applejack ducked, causing Sunset to crash into the wall behind her. She exploded on impact, throwing Applejack and Draco threw the ceiling and onto the roof. Once on the roof, Draco and Applejack continued their duel, while the Sirens had just entered into their spacecraft. Twilight had just arrived as well. She had a laser crossbow and was firing at the Sirens. The crossbow did little damage to their ship as they flew off.
"I'm going after the Sirens! You finish off Draco!" she shouted.
Applejack nodded and watch as Twilight jumped off the roof. Moments later, a second air craft could be seen chasing after the first one. Back with Applejack and Draco. Draco swung the saber at her arm. Applejack blocked his attack and proceeded to strike his torso. He block her attack as well and jumped back. As they fought, they were unaware of how close they were approaching the edge of the roof. Applejack made a swing. Draco ducked and kicked her in the gut. She fell and Draco placed the blade close to her neck. "You are beaten. It is useless to resist. Don't let yourself be destroyed as Sunset did!"
Applejack quickly swung her saber, knocking Draco's away from her neck. She jumped to her feet and attacked. Draco blocked, Applejack attacked again. Draco made a swing, this time, Applejack ducked. She struck her saber down and grazed Draco's shoulder. Draco shouted in pain. He lunged forward to attack. There sabers met for a few moments, locked in midair. Then Draco spun the blades, knocked hers away and attacked. He chopped Applejacks hand off.
She screamed and fell to the ground. She cradled her injured arm into her good one, as she crawled away from Draco.
Draco smiled sinisterly at her as he approached closer. "There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you. Applejack, you have yet to realize your importance. You've only begun to discover your power! Join me! And I will train you to become unstoppable! With our combined strength! We can end this destructive conflict! And bring order between our two worlds!"
"I'll never join you!" shouted Applejack.
"If you only new the power of dark magic! Your Granny Smith never told you about your father".
"She told me enough!" Applejack tried to crawl further, only to find out that she was now directly on the edge of the roof. "She told me they died in a car crash!"
"No . . . I AM YOUR FATHER!" shouted Draco.
Applejack stared in disbelief at the man in front of her. She shook her head, not wanting to believe his words. "No . . . No . . . That's not true . . . THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!"
"Search your feelings, you know that it be true!" said Draco.
"NOOOOOO!!! NOOOOOO!!!" Applejack cried in agony.
"Applejack, you can destroy Celestia. She has foreseen this. It is your destiny! Join me! Together we can rule both dimensions as father and daughter!"
Applejack looked behind her, over the edge of the building. Then back to Draco.
"Come with me! It is the only way!" said Draco, extending his hand to Applejack.
Applejack slapped away his hand and rolled off the edge. She screamed as she fell towards the bottom of the two story building. She landed with a thud, then picked herself up and brushed herself off.
"Really? You'd rather jump off a building then join your father in dimensional conquest? Jeez . . . I don't even know what to say".
"This can't be real! This can't be happening!" shouted Applejack.
"Would you relax already! None of this is real!" shouted Draco.
"Wait, what?"
"Ya, your mind kind of went into shock after you heard about the big news" said Draco.
"What big news?" asked Applejack.
Suddenly, Almata appeared behind Draco, hugging him.
"What! Mom!" shouted Applejack.
"High honey!" said Almata.
"But your-your".
"Ya you are having one hell of a day dream right now. Whelp, I'm off to go bang your mom, bye!" said Draco, lifting Almata of her feet and carrying her away.
"Bye Applejack! Sorry not sorry!" Almata shouted.
"What's happening!" shouted Applejack.
Suddenly, Sunset Shimmer appeared out of no where, snapping her fingers in front of Applejacks face.
Applejack rubbed her eyes for a moment and saw that they were back in that same room again. Draco, Sunset, and Twilight were staring at her with very concerned looks.
" . . . What? Why y'all starin at me like that?" asked Applejack.
"Well uh . . . you kind of spaced out after I told you that I was um . . . your father" said Draco.
"Oh ya . . . oh . . . ya". Slowly, Applejack rose to her feet, glaring at Draco.
Suddenly Applejack slapped Draco across the face. "Is this some kind sick game to you! How dare you joke around with this!"
Draco placed a hand onto the spot that was slapped while giving Applejack a confused expression. "Game? Joke? But Applejack, I really am your-"
"Don't say it! Don't you dare!" Applejack shouted, as tears formed in her eyes. Her clenched fists shook uncontrollably as she did her best to restrain her anger.
"A-Applejack?" Draco stuttered.
Applejack gulped and said. "I-If you really are my Pa, then where the hell have you been all this time?"
"I- I . . . I've been in Italy. All these years I've been hiding in Italy" said Draco.
"Oh? And why's that? If you really are ma Pa then why've you been in Italy? Why haven't you been here? Takin care a us?" asked Applejack.
"Because I . . . I . . . I just couldn't".
"And why couldn't you, huh? Why couldn't you watch us? You think that just cause yer wifes dead you think you can dump us off and leave us? Do we mean that little to you!?" Applejack asked, her voice slowly rising.
"No, Applejack that's not it-"
"Does family mean so little to you that you would fake your own death!? That you would pretend to be dead just so you wouldn't have to raise us?"
This made Draco mad. He rose from his seat and glared at Applejack. "H-How dare you. How dare you assume that I would do such a thing? Just so I wouldn't have to raise a family?"
"Then why'd you do it!" Applejack shouted.
"Because I didn't have a choice" said Draco.
"You always have a choice!"
Draco gave a hollow laugh. "Really? After everything that I've told you? After discovering the truth about us and learning everything that we've been through? You honestly believe that me? Of all people? Has a choice?"
"Ya! You damn right had a choice!"
"And what choice was that!" shouted Draco.
"HAVING CHILDREN!" Applejack shouted, accidently spiting on Draco.
Draco ignored it, and his expression fell to a deep sorrow. He sighed and looked to the ground. "Your right . . . I did have a choice. And it was a stupid choice . . . I chose to have kids with Almata . . . We were going to make a family . . . and live a nice peaceful life . . . o-on a f-farm . . . j-just the way s-she would h-have liked it"
Suddenly, Applejack was both startled and shocked at what she saw Draco do next.
Draco fell to his knees and started sobbing. "ONE THOUSAND AND SIXTY FOUR YEARS OLD! AND I STILL SCREW UP!"
Twilight and Sunset at this point had no idea what to do and decided to just sit back and see how this situation played out.
Applejack was mostly stunned, seeing the grown man just drop to his knees and start crying. She hardly knew what to do either.
Draco cried for a few moments, before speaking. "I'm a failure Applejack . . . I-I was then and I still am now. I failed trying to save the Sirens from Starswirl, I failed saving Maria from the portal Starswirl made, I even failed at trying to have a normal relationship with Almata! Everyone I love just . . . goes away in the end . . . everyone I've loved so far either dies, or goes away". He looked up to Applejack, letting Applejack see his now turning red eyes. "A-Applejack . . . I'm sorry . . . I-I truly am! I-I've wanted to be with you s-so bad! All these years I've wanted to be with you! And Big Mac! And Applebloom! B-But You . . . You . . . YOU DON'T DESERVE A PATHETIC FAILURE LIKE ME!"
Draco sobbed for a few moments, before speaking. "I mean look at you, look at how you've grown! Your so strong! You take care of your family! Why, I'd bet if you weren't the Element of Honesty, you'd be the Element of Loyalty, because you sure as hell are loyal to everyone you know! You never lie, cheat, or steal. And you always make sure to watch and protect everybody! Your . . . your like me . . . but a better version of me. Unlike me you haven't failed and you haven't made the wrong decisions. You defeated Sunset Shimmer when she turned into a she demon (Sunset sighed and face palmed in the background)! You defeated my girls in the battle of the bands! Although I'm not exactly happy with the outcome, fact is that you still succeeded! You didn't fail! You saw that everyone was in danger and you, alongside with your friends, made it your mission to protect not only those you care about but those around you as well! And if that wasn't enough, your the Element of Honesty for gods sake! You have been granted the privilege of wielding such power! All because of who you are. Some may think of you as a simple farm girl Applejack. But even that is more of an accomplishment then anything I've ever been able to accomplish my entire life! I mean, Almata tried to get me to use a tractor one time. Nearly set the field we were in on fire mere seconds after I turned it on!" Draco and Applejack chuckled for a second, before Draco's face immediately fell back to sorrow.
"But, that just comes to show you that I'm not worth anything. I never was, never will be . . . Applejack. Out of the entire time that I have had to spent in this dimension I have to say. You are truly the most magnificent girl that I have had the pleasure of meeting. And I truly wish that I could have . . . spent my time with you properly".
"Then why didn't you?" asked Applejack.
" . . . Because I lost Almata" said Draco.
There was a pause that lasted a few moments before Draco said. "Almata she . . . she meant the world to me . . . and I knew that she would be a great mother but . . . When she died I felt that it was all my fault. If I hadn't taken her to Italy, if I hadn't tried to start a family with her . . . she would still be alive. When she died, you, Applebloom, and Big Mac had been born. I wanted to raise you, I truly did. But I still had to return to Equestria. I considered bringing you three with me. But at the same time I was afraid that the portal would take too long to open. And by the time it did open you three would have adapted to this world and never want to return. At the same time I felt I didn't deserve to be with you. I'm a man cursed with the abilities of a vampire. You three would be ashamed of having a father like me. And without Almata by my side I just . . . I couldn't do it. So I located Almata's side of the family and left you three in their care. And ever since then you three have lived with your Grandmother. I never wanted to make any of you suffer the way I did. I never wanted any of you to feel the pain of having to live your life alone. I wanted you three to have a great life and I would do anything to help you have that great life. Even if it meant that I would never be able to see any of you". Draco placed a hand to a chair and lifted himself off the ground and into the seat. He stared at the ground for a few seconds before continuing. "You, your sister, and your brother deserve a happy life Applejack. You don't deserve me . . . I-I'm not good enough for any of you. Even though I have a family, I'm still going back to Equestria. Family is supposed to stick together, yet here I am. Leaving all of you".
There was a long silence before Applejack sat next to Draco. She sat next to Draco and slowly placed a hand onto his shoulder. "I don't like how you left us like that. But I see why you did it. But you do realize that we wouldn't care that you were a vampire, right?"
"But I drink blood in order to survive!" said Draco.
"Yeah, and we kill animals and eat them to survive. You don't see people throwin a fit over that".
"Well that's different! Eating meat is natural! Drinking blood isn't! And technically there are a lot of groups out there who hate it when people eat meat. Have you ever heard of Peta?" asked Draco.
"Ma point is, is that we wouldn't have cared! You have to drink blood to survive! We wouldn'ta thought any different a you".
"But I'm still leaving to Equestria. I'm leaving my family behind, doesn't that upset you?" asked Draco.
"Well if you were leaving us just fer the sake a leaving us, then yea, I would. But yer leaving so you can help yer life long friends! I woulda done the same thing! Although if it were me I woulda informed ma family first before hand instead a leavin them in the dark" said Applejack.
"Ya, I understand. I just . . . didn't want to leave such a burden on you. I mean, once I leave to Equestria I'll never come back. I didn't want to leave a weight like that on you" said Draco.
"Well a course you can come back anytime! Don't you know that Twilight made the portal so it can open whenever she likes?"
A record player could be heard scratching to a halt inside Draco's head. He looked to Applejack with an expression of complete and utter shock. " . . . . What?"
"Twilight made it so that she can open the portal whenever she likes" Applejack repeated.
" . . . You mean to tell me that I kept this secret from you for years because I didn't want to upset you or your family from the fact that I would be returning to Equestria and never come back. Got through all this trouble kidnapping you and your friends. All this, just to find out that Twilight not only has a key to open the portal, but to open it whenever she pleases? Not only that but if we had just asked, you would have help us?"
"Um . . . I guess?"
" . . . Heh . . . heh, heh, heh . . . AAAAAAAAAGH!!!" Draco screamed into his hands, making it sound muffled. "If I had know THAT! I wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble!"
"Well you couldn't a possibly known" said Applejack.
"I still kidnaped you! I thought none of you would help us so I just assumed that we needed to kidnap you in order to . . . to . . ." Draco groaned. "Why!? Why must these things be so difficult!"
There was another awkward pause before Applejack spoke. "Well now you know that we'll be happy to help you. But there's something that I want you to do fer us" said Applejack.
"Ya, sure, what?"
"Well, since you can go through the portal anytime you like now. I was thinkin you could come and visit us at the farm. Plus, I do believe you still got a lot a explainin to do. If you really are ma Pa, then the least you can do is see the rest a the family".
Draco's eyes widen with shock as he looked back to Applejack. "Are you . . . are you accepting me as your-"
Applejack smiled and nodded.
Draco returned a teary smile as he gave his daughter a hug.
Applejack, excepting the hug and said, "now don't get the wrong idea. I'm still mad at you fer keeping this a secret. Although I can understand why you did it. I still feel hurt, so its gonna take awhile before I'm completely comfortable with you".
"I understand, thank you".
After releasing each other, Applejack asked. "So, how exactly did you meet my Ma?"
"Oh, well. It was about twenty years ago back in-"
Suddenly the door to the room burst open and Adagio stood there, a fear of panic present on her face. "Draco! Its Aria and Sonata! Its happening again!"
"No" said Draco, as he rushed out the door.
"Wait, what's happen to them?" asked Applejack, following Draco.
Twilight stood there for a moment before looking to Sunset and asking. "I guess we should follow them, right?"
Sunset shrugged. "Guess it okay to leave the room now". She and Twilight followed Applejack outside the room. Upon doing so, they discovered that they were inside what appeared to be an apartment. The hallway showed apparent marks that showed that picture frames had once been hung up for decoration. After exiting the hall, they found themselves standing in a small living room.
In the center of the living room was Sonata and Aria, bent over and on the ground in pain. Draco rushed over and crouched next to them.
"Sonata! Aria! Just stay calm! It'll pass in a-"
Before he could finish speaking, Adagio screamed in pain. She herself fell to the ground.
"What's happening to them?" asked Applejack.
"Its their age! Its catching up to them faster then I though!" said Draco.
Twilight gasped upon closer inspection. Twilight saw that the Sirens facial features had started to change. Their appearances became older, they now appeared to be in their mid fifties.
"Has this been happening to them often?" asked Sunset.
"Once yesterday. That's actually why we had to kidnap you so quickly. Originally we were going to wait a few days. But that changed when I saw that their situation was worse then I thought".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Fifty One Hours Ago~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Draco had just finished putting away leftovers when he heard a scream from the living room.
"Draco! Draco get in here!"
"Adagio!?!" shouted Draco. He immidiatly rushed into the living room and saw Sonata on the ground. She was clutching onto her chest and was screaming in pain.
"Is she having a heart attack?" asked Adagio.
"Heart attack? At her age? Here, let me-"
Before Draco could finish, Aria suddenly screamed and fell to the ground, clutching onto her own chest.
"What happening to- AAAAGH!!!" Adagio screamed, falling to the ground.
Now all three Sirens were on the ground, clutching onto their chests and screaming in pain.
"GIRLS!!!" Draco shouted, rushing to them. He grabbed hold of Sonata, telling her to calm down. As he attempted to hold her down, he placed his head to her chest. Her heart beat was abnormally fast. Draco stood up, thinking of a solution. Before he could finish, however, all the girls suddenly stopped. All of them were panting and sweating from exhaustion.
"What? What just . . . Oh my god!" Draco knelt close to Sonata, touching her cheek with his fingers to check her facial features.
"D-Draco? W-What are-"
"Shh, relax, don't talk. That must have been painful".
Suddenly, Sonata's eyes filled with tears, and she grabbed Draco by the neck and pulled him into a hug. "T-That r-really h-h-hurt!!!" she cried.
Draco took hold of Sonata and gently helped her to the couch. After setting her down, he went to do the same with the other two girls. There was silence in the apartment for over half an hour as the Sirens recovered from their pain. When the pain had settled, Adagio asked, "Draco, what the hell just happened?".
Draco looked to Adagio for a moment before sighing and turning his head. "I was wrong. About how fast you girls are aging".
"So were aging faster then you think?"
"No, your aging MUCH faster then I initially thought. What happened now was your bodies accelerating its aging speed dramatically. You girls probably aged a good decade right now. Once your bodies finished it returned back to its original aging speed again".
"How is that possible?" asked Aria.
"Don't know . . . This is extremely advance magical side affects that we are dealing with. So advance, it hasn't even been researched before. Or at least, back when we used to live in Equestria this type of magical side affects had never been researched. I don't know how much time you have left or if your bodies are going to do this again".
" . . . I-If you had to guess . . . h-how much time do you think we have?"
"One month!?" Sunset and Twilight shouted simultaneously.
"That's right, if I had to guess the Sirens only have a month left to live. There bodies are aging so much faster then I had initially thought. And when they end up like this, their bodies age by several years within a matter of minutes. Its only a guess but I believe they are aging by a decade when this happens".
Once the Sirens had stopped screaming and begun to calm down. Sunset, Twilight, and Draco helped the Sirens onto the couches.
Draco sat onto the sofa and sighed as he placed his face into his palms. "This situation is going down hill so fast. I need to get these girl to Equestria now. We don't have time to stay any longer".
"What if I help you?" asked Twilight.
"Would you be wiling to? Especially after what the Sirens had done to you before?"
"Well . . . although they did cause a lot of trouble back at the battle of the bands, its not something I'm going to let them die for!"
"That's nice of you and all, but what about your royal Equestrian duties?" asked Draco.
"My what?"
Draco let out an annoyed sigh. "Your a princess Twilight! Are you really going to allow four wanted criminals into Equestria? And what if our plan succeeds? What happens next? Are you going to have the girls and I thrown into prison for the rest of our immortal lives?"
"I hadn't really thought about that. But that's the least of my worries! We should worry about saving the Sirens first!"
Draco chuckled, "one minute your angry at us because you thought we were evil, the next you want to help us. Funny how things turn out like this . . . . alright, if your really going to help us then here's how this is going to end. Once the Sirens have regain there magic then you are to let them free and never come across them ever again! And instead you will imprison me for the rest of my immortal life, understand?"
"You want me to just let the Sirens go?" asked Twilight.
"Yes, you'll let them go, and you will take me instead".
Twilight thought about this for a few moments. As she did so, Sunset leaned close to her ear and asked, "if what Draco said is true, then none of them are wanted for anything. None of them has done anything wrong!"
"Yes, but the Sirens are probably still in trouble for what they did. And Draco's probably still in trouble as well for assisting in their escape".
"Their still in trouble for something they did over a thousand years ago!?".
"I'm afraid so. I could be wrong, but there's a possibility that Celestia is against them. If she wasn't, then how come Starswirl was never punished? Why has the history books never mentioned any of this happening?"
"You think Celestia had something to do with that?"
"Possibly, that's the only explainable reason for the history books never mentioning something as big as this! She must have kept this a secret!"
"Why would she do that?"
"I don't know. Its just an assumption for now, I'll ask Celestia once this situations over".
"So what are you going to do then?"
"I . . . I don't know. They are possibly still criminals so I can't just let them walk without a form of punishment. At the same time they technically haven't done anything wrong. What we could do is help them for now. Once the Siren's have their magic I can send them to my castle and have them stay there until I can get this situation with Celestia handled".
"You're going to have them stay as prisoners?"
"No, I'll have them stay as guests. They can enter and exit the castle whenever they want as long as they don't cause any trouble and don't leave Pony Ville. Their welcome to stay at the castle as guests until I talk to Celestia. I'm sure if I explain to her Draco's side of the story she'll remove any charges against them".
"Will she be that forgiving?"
"Of course she will! This is Celestia we're talking about! She cares about everypony and creature. She's kind, generous-".
"Then what happened to Glee?" asked Sunset, cutting her off.
"I, what, Glee?"
"Glee, my brother! You said that he ran away".
"Well ya but-".
"I haven't seen Celestia in over a decade. I don't know if she's changed during that time or not. But one things for sure, Glee didn't just run away for no reason. Someone or something must have made him run away".
"And your blaming Celestia?"
"Well I have to blame someone-"
"So Celestia!?!"
"Then why did my brother run away Twilight!? Why isn't Glee in Equestria anymore!?"
"I-I . . . I . . . I don't know" said Twilight, frowning and looking to the ground.
"How can you not know? You said you were his friend-"
"No I wasn't, I wasn't his friend. I was his best friend, one of them at least-".
"Then how do you not know!?"
" . . . Because Celestia wouldn't let me know".
"Celestia?"
Twilight nodded. "Celestia told me I wasn't allowed to see Glee anymore when I was ten years old. And I wasn't allowed to talk about him. So I did as I was told and eventually forgot about him. I'm not sure what reminded me of him, but when I was fourteen I asked Celestia what had happened to Glee. And she told me . . . she told me that he was gone . . . and when I asked where she told me that he ran away and that he left the country. I tried to ask why but she wouldn't tell me. All she said was that he ran away due to personal matters".
"Personal matters? So Celestia does have something to do with Glee leaving?"
"She said it was personal. It could have been anything. It could have been her or it could have even been you".
"Me!?"
"You did treat him like dirt before leaving to this world".
"Gee, thanks for the reminder".
"I'm just saying! We shouldn't accuse Celestia of things we don't fully understand! I am sorry that Glee is gone! And I wish I could see him again too! But there are three dying Sirens that we need to help first!"
" . . . Your right, your right. So, your absolutely sure that Celestia will forgive them?"
"Absolutely!"
"Are you girls going to be finished with your conversation anytime soon? Because I do believe we have company" said Draco.
"Yes we're finished. We were just saying- um, company?"
"Someone's outside the window" said Draco, pointing.
Suddenly, a large white canister crashed through the window and landed in the middle of the floor. Making a hiss sound, the canister started spewing a thick white smoke, covering the entire room.
"Smoke bomb! Girls! Get up!" shouted Draco, running to the Sirens.
The Sirens, ignoring the pain in their bodies, leapt from the couches and ran to the opposite side of the room. "What's happening!?!" shouted Sonata.
"We're under attack! What do you think is happening?" said Aria.
"But who would-" before Twilight could finish, everyone in the room heard a familiar voice outside the window shout, "Sunset! Are you in there!?"
"Rainbow!?!" Sunset shouted.
"Don't worry! We're busting you out!" Rainbow shouted.
"Wait! Rainbow! There's been a misunderstanding!"
Rainbow didn't hear Sunset, she was busy throwing several more smoke bombs into the apartment.
