Melody Aurora enters the human world, attempting to follow her mother's hoofsteps in connecting the magic of friendship!
“Who’s that girl?”
“Why is she here?”
“Where did she come from?”
“Ugh… where… am… I?” she muttered, regaining consciousness and opened her eyes.
“She’s getting up!” A voice shouted.
Straightening herself up, Melody tried to reach her hooves…
…only to find that…
Her hooves were now two hands, with five fingers each.
“Huh?” she gasped. She then looked at the rest of her body.
She wasn’t pony anymore.
Her rear hooves were now two legs.
She couldn’t feel her tail, she couldn’t feel her wings and horn, and she didn’t feel herself like a pony.
What’s more, she had gained herself a shirt and skirts, which she hadn’t wore them before she entered the portal.
“AAAAAHHHHH!!!” she screamed, overwhelmed from the change upon her.
One night, a mysterious character sneaks into the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom Castle through the magical crystal mirror and makes it away with one of Princess Melody Aurora's valuable items! Now it's up to Melody to enter the other world to retrieve it, and continue the magic of friendship...
It was one peaceful evening in Ponyville. Princess Melody Aurora was returning home after a lovely date with her coltfriend Chaos Control. Three months have passed since the defeat of Queen Myra and the great celebration in Canterlot. Now, it was a time of peace in Equestria.
Twilight Sparkle was waiting for her at the castle door.
“Welcome back home, Melody,” greeted Twilight. “So how was your date?”
“Pretty nice,” she replied, smiling. “We’ve managed to help somepony in distress today!”
“Very good. I’d love to see you two cooperate.”
As both entered the hallway, Melody saw some decorations at the corner, with Spike arranging them.
“Mom, what are those things?”
“That,” she began. “Are presents brought over by an old friend of mine.”
“Who’s that?” Melody gasped excitedly.
“Let’s talk about that during dinner.”
During dinner, Melody asked again.
“So, who was that old friend?”
“Her name is Sunset Shimmer, one of Princess Celestia’s old students.”
“Princess Celestia’s student? Does that mean that you’re her classmate?” she asked excitedly.
“Nah-nah, way out of the box. She was her student before me, but she was quite rude, selfish and dishonest, so she escaped.”
“Escaped? To where?”
“For that, I’ll show you…”
Right after dinner, Twilight led Melody to the library. There, she showed her a large mirror, in the style of a horseshoe.
“A mirror? But it looks so normal,” said Melody.
“This isn’t any ordinary mirror, Melody,” explained Twilight. “This is a portal that leads to another world, and that’s where Sunset Shimmer’s living now. It opens once every thirty moons, and for this reason, we won’t get to meet Sunset Shimmer often.”
“But… what’s in that world?”
“It was horrible,” described Spike. “Back when Sunset stole the Element of Magic, we went through that mirror to get it back, and upon arrival, Twilight turned into some kind of creature I couldn’t even know how to name it, and for me, I was a dog.”
“Really, Spike?” cried Melody with shock and disbelief.
“He’s right,” agreed Twilight. “I wasn’t able to suit myself in that form, and I was nervous.”
“So, did you all get back the Element of Magic?”
“Thankfully, I’ve met my friends who are exactly the same as our world here, and we managed to get it back and teach Sunset Shimmer a good lesson.”
“That’s amazing…” beamed Melody. “Will we enter it one day?”
“Of course, we will,” replied Twilight. “I can make the portal open at anytime, but it’s kinda uh, tedious. So let’s pick another time!”
“Okay then. I can’t really wait to see Sunset Shimmer, too!” she said excitedly. “But hey, uh, what did Sunset find you today?”
“Oh, you’ve got me reminded,” said Twilight. “Well, this wasn’t the first time Sunset visited me. She did visit me several other times, but for this occasion, Sunset wanted to clear out her unneeded items in her house, so she delivered them to me.”
“Did she tell you before that?” she inquired. “I didn’t know she was your old friend and also a visitor.”
“Yep, she did. We did keep in touch through a magical book, the same like how we would write our letters to Princess Celestia often! She’s got a daughter, too, and she wanted to take her to see us as well.”
“Amazing! I have to say this again, I really can’t wait to see her!”
“We will, I will arrange a day. For now, let’s get to our night duties, sweetie.”
“Aww,” she said, hugging her mother.
“My sweet daughter,” chuckled Twilight, smiling with Spike.
A while later, late at night, Melody was deep asleep on her bed, having tired out from all of her day’s activities. Before she slept she left her charm at the side of her bed.
Unbeknown to her, a mysterious figure came out of the crystal mirror in the library. Upon arrival, the figure seemed to steady itself, as it wasn’t suited to the surroundings. After a while, it managed to calm itself, and find its way through.
The figure had difficulty climbing up the stairs so it had to walk slowly. When it reached upstairs, it felt through the doors, looking inside each room.
Upon reaching Melody’s room, the figure looked everywhere, tiptoeing quietly. Suddenly, it noticed her charm. Feeling tempted, it quietly slipped the charm into her pouch. Just as it was leaving, it was leaving excitedly that it couldn’t see where it was going and slammed itself onto the door.
“Who’s that!?” Melody, jolted by the sudden crash woke up and switched on the room light. There, standing across the room, was a light orange, chrome orange-haired unicorn mare. She had a flaming phoenix wing as a cutie mark.
“You… caught… me…” the unicorn spoke.
Melody looked at her side. “My charm!” she cried. “You stole my charm!”
Busted, the unicorn went out of the room, with Melody on pursuit.
“Give me back my charm!”
As the chase passed Twilight’s room, Twilight, who happened to hear her daughter’s cries opened the door to see them running.
“Melody, what’s going on!?” Twilight asked and followed.
Upon reaching the stairs, the unicorn, suddenly realized that it couldn’t go down fast, abruptly stopped. That gave Melody the chance to pounce on her, sending both of them into a tumble down to the hall.
As they landed, the charm dropped out of the unicorn’s pouch. The unicorn got up first, picked up the charm and hurried all her way back to the library. Melody, still relentless, followed her…
… until the crystal mirror.
“Sorry, but I’ll see what I can do with that… Princess!” The unicorn leapt into the mirror and disappeared, much to her shock.
Melody tried to follow her, but instead bumped into a wall of glass. The portal had closed, right after the unicorn had passed through it!
Twilight arrived in time to see Melody standing ashen-faced and in shock in front of the mirror.
“Melody, what’s going on just now?” she asked, rather concerned.
“That unicorn… she stole my charm and went through the mirror before I can chase her!”
Those words reminded Twilight on the moment when her crown was stolen by Sunset Shimmer.
“Tell me, how does the unicorn look like?”
“I don’t know really, but all I know is that she’s light orange…”
“Light orange…” Twilight pondered. No, no way, she thought. She couldn’t be Sunset Shimmer. Sunset Shimmer’s already good now, so who could that unicorn be?
“Don’t worry, Melody,” Twilight said at last. “I know a way to open back the portal.”
“Really!?”
“Of course I know! Meet me here in the morning.”
But Melody still felt uncomfortable. “But… I’m not feeling easy, without my charm…”
“Don’t fear,” Twilight patted her neck. “You can still get it back. Let’s go back to bed now. I’ll be sorting out next morning.”
Melody went back, still unsure. All night long she couldn’t sleep well and kept thinking about her charm.
As the morning sun rose across Equestria, Melody, slowly gathering strength, crawled out of her bed after a sleepless night. It had been a hard one for her, let alone losing an element of protection.
Melody went down to the library to find her mother.
“Mom, are you… what!?” She was wide-eyed to find her mother, modifying the mirror by adding extra equipment onto it. “What are you doing?”
“There. All done,” began Twilight. “This is what you do when the portal is closed when 30 moons is over.”
“How?” she asked, puzzled.
“Simple. Sunset can communicate with me using magic from the mirror world to me using a book Princess Celestia previously left her. By using the same theory, I can open up the portal, using this!”
With that, Twilight inserted the magical book at the top of the mirror. Surprisingly, the mirror looked as if it came to life. In no time, the crystal mirror’s portal was reactivated.
Melody watched the whole process in awe.
“Now then,” said Twilight. “Get into the portal.”
“Are you coming?”
“Uh, unfortunately, no. I need to see Princess Celestia for some affairs today.”
Melody was dismayed. “H-how am I supposed to get the charm back without you?”
“Look, Melody,” advised Twilight calmly. “I’ve been into the portal several times, and all the while I’ve been linking the two worlds using the spirit of friendship. You are to enter this world not only to get back your charm, but make some new friends there.”
“How long am I supposed to live there? And how are you going to tell my friends and everypony about this?” Her mind was still spinning.
“Keep calm, dear,” continued Twilight. “I will inform Princess Celestia and everypony on what you’re doing, and I’ll be writing to Sunset Shimmer so that she can keep track on you. You are to stay as long as I’ll be here to bring you home.”
As Melody was still pondering, Twilight went over and hugged her. “It’s okay. No matter where you go, or no matter what you do, you’re still my daughter. I’ll be your guide with Sunset Shimmer.”
Touched, Melody hugged her back with tears. “Th-thank you…!”
“So, what are you waiting for? Get your adventure started now!”
Turning to the mirror, Melody steadied herself, took a deep breath, and charged right into the mirror and was gone.
At first, it seemed fine. But a while later, Melody could feel mysterious forces acting on her on all directions.
“Whoa, whoa, ahh…” she screamed within the dimension before everything around her went black…
For a moment, Melody fell unconscious. She couldn’t feel anything.
A while later, Melody slowly heard voices.
“Who’s that girl?”
“Why is she here?”
“Where did she come from?”
“Ugh… where… am… I?” she muttered, regaining consciousness and opened her eyes.
“She’s getting up!” A voice shouted.
Straightening herself up, Melody tried to reach her hooves…
…only to find that…
Her hooves were now two hands, with five fingers each.
“Huh?” she gasped. She then looked at the rest of her body.
She wasn’t pony anymore.
Her rear hooves were now two legs.
She couldn’t feel her tail, she couldn’t feel her wings and horn, and she didn’t feel herself like a pony.
What’s more, she had gained herself a shirt and skirts, which she hadn’t wore them before she entered the portal.
“AAAAAHHHHH!!!” she screamed, overwhelmed from the change upon her.
“What’s wrong with that girl?”
“Is she crazy?”
“Has she lost her memory?”
“Alright, everybody, settle down. What’s that entire racket?” Suddenly, Melody heard a familiar voice. Emerging out of the crowd was a fine-looking, tan-skinned, blue-eyed teenage boy with a gray T-shirt and khaki pants, with orange hair.
“It’s Chaos Control!”
“What’s going on!?” Chaos demanded. The crowd pointed to Melody.
Melody, still panicked on her new looks, was suddenly arrested by the glimpse of Chaos.
Chaos slowly bent down and approached her.
“Who… are you?” began Chaos. “Are you okay?”
“Um, uh…” stammered Melody, too frightened to speak. “What do I look like?”
“You don’t know who you are!?” he replied with a concerned face. “You’re a human!”
“Human…?” she asked, bewildered.
“Chaos? What’s wrong? And… who’s that?” A gray-skinned, pink and black-haired teenage girl arrived seeing the commotion.
“Beryl, who do you think she is?”
“I’ll handle this,” she spoke to him. Bending down over, Beryl asked her, who was still feeling on her new looks. “Are you okay?”
“I’m… not fine…” she replied weakly. “I don’t even know what I am, and… what’s a ‘human’?”
“Are you from another world?”
Melody was stunned. “How did you know that?”
“Just guessing it,” Beryl winked at her. “I remember my mother told me about somebody from another world who used to visit her and her friends when she was young!”
“Uh… really?”
“And not to mention, we have a staff here who is from another world as well.”
“Who is she?”
“Madam Sunset Shimmer.”
“Sunset Shimmer…?” Melody was taken aback from the name.
“Wait, do you know her?” asked Chaos.
“Well, well, look who’s here?” a voice came out from the crowd. Emerging out was a orange-skinned, amber-haired girl with a dark gray jacket.
“Phoenix, what are you going to do now?” demanded Chaos.
“Oh, yeah?” she sniggered. “Well I saw the commotion, so I came here to see what’s wrong.”
“Does this have to do with your business?” defied Chaos.
“Phoenix? Who is she?” Melody inquired.
“Phoenix Dawn,” replied Beryl, whispering into her ear. “She’s Madam Sunset’s daughter, and she’s infamous in Canterlot High School for being a bully and a meanie.”
“Canterlot High School? When have I heard of it before?”
“Now then, my little friend,” Phoenix turned towards Melody. “I’m not sure if you remember me or I remember you, but, is this what you’re looking for?” She dug her hand into her pocket, and took out something necklace-like, resembling a symbol.
Melody instantly recognized the item.
“My charm! So it was you who stole it! Give me back!” she raged at her, not knowing that she was pointing her fist at her instead of her finger.
“Oh, ho ho, you still don’t know how to do the human way, don’t you?” she jeered. “Catch me if you can!”
“I don’t know what’s this ‘human’ thing all about. Give me back my charm!” To everyone’s amusement, as Phoenix began to run, and instead of getting up and chasing her, she was crawling on her hands and knees!
“That’s not the way to move. You should walk like this,” Beryl immediately helped her up. But still, Melody, still not used to her new looks couldn’t stay still immediately.
“I’ll get you for that!” Melody tried to run on twos, but then tripped and fell after a few steps. She got up, ran, tripped and fell, got up, ran, tripped and fell, again and again.
“Hahaha, useless jerk!” derided Phoenix, sticking her tongue, irritating Melody.
While the others laughed and guffawed the scene, Chaos didn’t look at all happy.
“She’s doing it again,” lamented Chaos.
“I can’t totally believe it! I’ve met somebody again from another world!” Beryl, on the other hand, was excited.
“Yes, but can’t you see that she’s in trouble?” he asked back. “I’m totally not amused with this situation. This must be reported at once!”
“I know that. Phoenix has gone too far already.”
“C’mon! We’ve gotta find somebody to report.”
For the next minute, the chase continued. Soon, Melody was bruised all over on her face, her chest and her knees. Yet Phoenix was relentless.
“Give it up, loser! You’ll never learn how to live in this world!”
“What’s going on now!?” Suddenly, the voice of a teacher boomed out. Standing at the entrance of the school, was a teacher, dressed in black, orange-skinned, red and yellow-haired with cyan eyes, and wore spectacles. She walked towards Phoenix, who was startled by the call.
“Mom!”
“Phoenix Dawn! What are you up to again!!?” she growled at her. “And all of you, what are you all doing? Go back to your classes!”
“But mom, she’s just a useless, handicapped girl! Look at her!”
“Is that so?” The teacher looked at Melody, who was surprised at the presence of a teacher, and also a bully’s mother. Fear triggered over her, as her mind was racing on what the teacher would do to her.
“Madam Sunset!” Chaos and Beryl, who spotted her managed to call her.
“Chaos and Beryl, explain to me what happened.”
“First, I saw this huge crowd gathering at something, which screamed really loud. We then went on to find this girl, who seems to end up in this compound… in a strange way…” said Chaos.
“We asked everything about her. She seemed like she lost her memory, but the next thing I asked her, she was from another world…”
“Another world?” asked Sunset again. She glanced at Melody, still sitting with fear.
“You must be… Melody Aurora?” she asked her.
“I am,” she replied weakly. “You’re… Sunset Shimmer?”
“I knew it was you,” chuckled Sunset. “I knew a lot about you from your mother.”
“Wait, Madam! You know her?” asked Chaos.
“Of course I do! I’ve got a long connection with her mother when I was young.” She turned back to Melody. “Your mother’s name is Twilight Sparkle, if I’m not mistaken?”
“Uh, yes,” she nodded.
“Twilight… Sparkle…” repeated Chaos.
“Oh, I’ve finally remembered now!” said Beryl brightly. “Looks like she’s the one my mom’s talking about! I can’t believe that you’re her daughter.”
“I… am.”
“Now then, Melody,” said Sunset, helping her up. “What brings you here?”
“Well, you see…” Melody related her story to Sunset.
Chaos and Beryl, on the other hand, could not believe what they heard.
“A charm,” said Chaos. “That protects you?”
“It’s a practice,” replied Beryl. “Wearing it makes them believe a good spirit is protecting her.”
“Oh…”
“And now, Phoenix,” Sunset turned back to her daughter. “So you’ve sneaked out of my house in the middle of the night just to steal something that doesn’t belong to you!?”
“But Mom, listen…”
“No buts, return it to her, now!” Sunset demanded.
Reluctantly the brat returned the charm to Melody. Melody graciously took it.
“Thank… you…”
“And off you go! Don’t ever make me see you causing trouble again! I’ve been warning you too many times!”
“Humph!” she groaned unwittingly and scooted off.
“I’m sorry how my daughter treated you,” apologized Sunset. “She’s a headache in this school.”
“It’s okay, Sunset. I was quite confused here. I just don’t know… what I am…”
“Oh, and how about you’ll like it if you two introduce to her as well?”
“Sure thing. I’m Chaos Control.”
“And I’m his twin sister Beryl.”
“Chaos and Beryl…” repeated Melody while attempting to shake hands with them. “Both of you sound like my friends back in my world…”
“Huh?” asked Chaos, bewildered.
“She’s right,” said Sunset. “If you were to go to Melody’s world, and if you don’t change your own selves, you’ll find her friends, who have exactly the same name as you all.”
“So, does that mean that there’s another me in her world?”
“That’s correct.”
“I think we should ask Mom about more…” said Beryl.
“Off you go, you two,” said Sunset to them. “I need to take care of Melody for a little while…”
Sunset went to support Melody who still had difficulty walking on two feet.
“Okay, stay still, don’t panic…” assured Sunset as she helped Melody to the medic room.
At the medic room, Sunset gently applied bandage on all of Melody’s bruises.
“I’m sorry that my daughter has caused trouble to you.”
“It’s… okay. But, anyhow, has my mother told you all about me?”
“Well, I just received her message. I just came at my staffroom desk when my magical book rang, and I knew that Twilight had sent a new message to me. I read from it that you have arrived in Canterlot High, so I went to that statue to check out, and that’s when I saw the commotion.”
“Does Phoenix really causes trouble all over Canterlot High?”
“Well, she does, and I have to lecture her all the while. I guess, my bad traits are hereditary.”
“You have a bad past, don’t you?”
Sunset paused. Then she hung her head with remorse.
“I do,” she said humbly. “I was rude and selfish, and I did not know anything about friendship, and at one point I transformed into a she-demon, terrorizing everyone else. That’s when your mother came and turned me back to normal, and from that point on, I began to regret everything bad I did, and I wouldn’t have been myself today, if not for your mother and my friends.”
“Oh…”
“Well then, feeling better?”
“I… guess so…” she replied, trying to stand up.
“Steady yourself,” supported Sunset. “I know, your mother and I experienced this when we first arrived in this world.”
“I can’t use magic, can’t I?”
“Definitely you can’t, but on certain occasions, me and my friends will grow extra parts.”
“Really? How?”
“Well, only when we sing together as a band. The magic of friendship within us makes us grow these extra parts. That’s the magic left behind by your mother.”
“Pretty interesting…”
“Now then, shall I take you to see the principal and the vice principal?”
“Why?”
“I need to tell them about you, that you’re just a temporary visitor here. Gotta deal with some process, you know.”
“Oh, alright, I’m coming,” she finished, steadily walking out and following Sunset Shimmer.
It wasn’t a hard process signing with the principal and the vice principal. After all, Melody Aurora was marked as a temporary visitor, but for a special case.
“Well, what do you think of them?” Sunset asked Melody as they left the room.
“I guess, nice,” she replied. “Reminds me of Princesses Celestia and Luna.” She still felt embarrassed, as she forgot that she didn’t have a horn and she concentrated with all her might, thinking she would levitate the pen and sign the forms.
“Remember,” advised Sunset. “This isn’t Equestria, so you can’t use magic as you like. You have to rely on your body senses and actions to do the activities here.”
“Kay, I get it.”
“Now, go and explore this place. I’ll be calling you when it’s time to go home.”
“Go home? When?”
“In the evening. Anyway, enjoy! I have some duties to do now,” she finished and hurried off.
“Madam Sunset’s really nice,” Melody thought to herself while walking down the corridor. “For someone whom Mom has met.”
Just then, a loud bang, followed by party streamers and confetti raining down her interrupted her thoughts, and made her jump with fright.
“Ahh!” she shrieked. “What the hay is going on!??”
Then two brown-skinned young men, one of them with blue, shaggy hair appeared in front of her.
“Hey, you, wanna come in and have some fun?” the shaggy-haired one asked.
“Huh?”
“Trust me, young lady. This is gonna be super-duper-uber great!” the other one followed. Then both of them shoved her into the room beside her. In the room was decorated with colorful party streamers and balloons, with snacks lined up on tables.
“Pepper! Look who’ve we’ve got!”
“Pepper!?” Melody was stunned. In the middle of the room sat a peppermint-skinned, light ultramarine, puffy-haired girl, finishing her drink of cordial.
“Oh, Peanut and Pizza, what have you got here?” She went forward and upon seeing Melody, she asked. “Hey, who are you? Like I’ve never seen you before.” She looked at her all over.
“Err, and I’ve never seen you too,” replied Melody awkwardly, still surprised by the sudden presence of the two boys.
“What’s your name?”
“Err, Melody Aurora?”
“Ooh, that’s nice! I’m Pepper Flake,” the girl introduced. “And they’re my brothers Peanut Butter and Pizza Frenzy!”
“Sorry if we’ve scared you,” apologized Peanut.
“But you know, this is our way of welcoming someone to the party,” continued Pizza in a humorous way. “And yeah, we did annoy some on the way.”
“Err, it’s okay. I’m new here, that’s all.”
“Oh, you’re new?” chipped in Pepper. “Tell me, where are you from?” she asked, grabbing her shoulders and stared into her face to face.
“Um…” she stammered. Before she could answer, just then, the door burst open, and standing there, was a pink-skinned and pink-haired woman, who was no other than Pinkie Pie.
“Hey~! Whassup, kids?” greeted Pinkie. All through the years, Pinkie’s personality in the human world never changed. “So, how are you all guys doing?”
“Err, we’ve got somebody new over here,” replied Peanut and he signaled to Melody.
“Oh, hey, who are you?”
“Err, I’m… Melody Aurora, daughter of Princess Twilight Sparkle…”
“*gasp* You’re… Twilight’s daughter!??” Pinkie exclaimed. “Omigosh! I met your mother some time back!”
“… really?” Then she remembered Sunset’s words. Her mother had not only visited her but had seen Pinkie Pie and some others as well.
“Wait, what!?” cried Pizza.
“Like when have I heard of this name before?” asked Pepper, scratching her head. “Princess Twilight Sparkle…”
“Oh, just an old friend of mine,” replied Pinkie to her daughter, then she looked back at Melody. “Oh, my goodness, I can’t really believe it! What really brings you here?”
“Err, well, my mom sent me here, to make friends with you all…”
“Friends!!?” gasped Peanut. “Oh, man, this is gonna be exciting, making a new friend…”
“Howdy, fellas!” A familiar voice called from the outside.
“Oh, it’s Applejack! Applejack, look who’s here!” Pinkie called, opening the door. Sure enough, Applejack entered the room with a crate of ciders. Applejack, too had never changed from her pale skin, her yellow long hair and her trademark cowboy hat.
“Whew!” she sighed as she laid down the crate on the table. “I bet everybody’s looking good and uh, who are you?” She turned to Melody.
“Twilight?” repeated Applejack. Then she remembered. “Oh, fancy me seeing you here! I kinda miss meeting your mom, y’know.”
“Is that so?”
“Mom, how long do I have to wait out there!??” a man’s voice called.
“Oh, sorry to keep y’all waiting. Come in, fellas! We’ve got some guest here.”
“A guest? Who was it!??” In came a white-skinned, pink-eyed, brown-haired girl, aged almost twelve with paint smudges done in two ponytails.
“Malinae’s always excited as she is, don’t you think?” Pepper asked Melody.
“Malinae?”
“Yep, that’s me!” she replied brightly. “And who are you, big sister? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”
“She’s Melody Aurora,” introduced Pizza.
“Call me Melody,” she said. “I’m from another world.”
“Another world!??”
“We know her mother well, darling,” explained Applejack. “Oh, and those outside, why don’t y’all come in as well.”
“Who’s that guest anyway?” another voice asked. This time, coming in was a brown-skinned and dark brown haired man, wearing gloves and carried in yet another crate of cider.
“Hi, sir,” greeted Melody to the man. “You must be… Mr Niku?”
“How did you know my name?”
“She’s from another world. I know her mother,” replied Applejack.
“Another world…? Man, this is getting ridiculous…”
“Hey, that’s not ridiculous,” frowned Pinkie. “She’s the real thing!”
“She’s got friends in her world that she could even know us, too. Am I right, Sugarcube?”
“Um, I guess so.”
“Now then, who’s that guest inside here?” Next to come in was a tall, khaki-skinned, blue-eyed, dark brown-haired girl, followed by an ochre-skinned, green-eyed, dull golden-haired man, wearing glasses and his long hair done in a ponytail, as well as wearing a olive green sweater, both were carrying in crates of cider.
“Oh, you must be Fiji and Raisin Brandy!” Melody pointed quickly.
“… wait! How did you even know my name!?” Raisin asked, shocked.
“And even mine, too! I don’t even know you,” retorted Fiji.
“That’s just a long story,” chuckled Applejack. “Just to cut that short, she’s from somewhere far away, here to make friends with all of us.”
“Far away?” Fiji asked with disbelief.
“She’s from another world!” Peanut chipped in.
“Another world??” Raisin scratched his head, puzzled.
“She is, she is!” chirped Malinae. “Can’t you see that I’m excited as I am? Getting to meet someone new!”
“Chill it, Malinae,” calmed Pepper. “Don’t get overexcited!”
“Come on, let her be,” Melody smiled. “I know her personality quite well.”
“Raisin Brandy! Where are you?” The voice of Apple Bloom called.
“Apple Bloom? What’s wrong?”
“There you are!” she panted into the room, and with her was a man in red jacket and old blue jeans. He was indeed, Big McIntosh.
“Some naughty boys are playing near your plants and are damaging them!”
“Seriously!?”
“Eeyup,” replied Big McIntosh.
“ARRRGGGHH!! Not these boys again!!!!” shouted Raisin and he went totally insane. “Just wait ‘till I get my hands on them by ruining all of my hard work!” He stormed off, leaving the others wide-mouthed.
“I guess I’d better apologize you for Ray’s behavior. He’s always like this when anyone touches his plants,” said Niku.
“Nah, it’s okay. I know him well.”
“You seriously do?” asked Fiji.
“Yes she does,” finished Applejack. “After all she’s the daughter of somebody from another world.”
“Well this almost makes sense to me,” replied Pizza.
“If you excuse me,” said Melody. “I’m leaving right now. I have to explore this whole place. Kinda looks huge to me…”
“Oh, okay! Take your time!” bade Pinkie. “Don’t forget to drop by me and Cheese Sandwich’s shop for some tasty treats!”
Melody continued walking down the corridor, at the same time observing the surroundings. She could see classrooms everywhere, with teachers teaching a room full of students. She was even wondering where Sunset Shimmer was teaching!
She was approaching a signboard showing symbols of a man and a girl. She stood there and stared for a long time.
“Excuse me, young lady. What are you looking at?” The voice of a boy called.
“Err, may I know what are these?”
“Excuse me, you don’t know what those mean?” He casted a weird look at her. “These are toilets, boys this way, girls that way.” He showed them the correct toilets.
“Umm, okay,” she thanked, rather awkwardly.
She entered the girls toilet, and was totally speechless at the surroundings.
“No way, how can I use them?” she asked herself. “Gah, how I wish Sunset Shimmer was here with me!”
She left the toilet, and almost mistakenly entered the boys’ toilet.
Just as she returned back to the corridor, suddenly, she saw something amiss.
Several critters, bunnies, squirrels and hamsters are rushing through the corridor, and carrying with them were cloths of different colors!
“Am I seeing things?” she rubbed her eyes.
It was when she noticed two girls, one with gray skin and magenta hair, the other with lavender skin and light turquoise hair running towards her. They were looking cross.
“You there!” the magenta-haired girl shouted to her.
“Wh-what’s wrong?”
“Have you seen a bunch of animals passing by your site just now?” the turquoise-haired girl continued.
“Wh-what did they do?”
“Don’t lie to us!” the magenta-haired girl demanded, grabbing her shirt. “They nibbled, destroyed and stole our cloths for our mom’s designs just now!”
“Really!?” Melody replied, shocked. She pointed to that direction. “Uh, they went that way…”
“Thank you,” the latter responded, released her and ran to that direction. The other girl followed.
“Wait for me! I want to help!”
Despite the girls not listening to her calls, Melody was able to keep in pace with them.
The chase led them towards the open field, where a tan-skinned, purple-eyed, green-haired young lady was working at the nursery. Upon seeing the critters, she giggled.
“Oh, my little ones. What are you doing with those pieces of fabric?”
“Honey Drops!” the magenta-haired girl yelled at her. “Just what do you think by letting your critters go out and destroy my fabrics!?”
“Haven’t you forgotten once that your critters pooped on our fabric and we had to spend THOUSANDS to replace EVERYTHING!?” the turquoise-haired girl added.
“N-no way!” she denied embarrassingly. “I did try to secure their homes properly but I dunno who on earth let them out!”
“Oh yeah? Well…”
“Girls! You seriously don’t have to argue like that!” interrupted Melody, trying to calm the situation.
“So what? It’s her responsibility to keep her animals locked!” the magenta-haired girl shouted.
“I do not wish to argue, but please, I do not want my mother to get scolded by yours either!”
“Alright, girls, what’s going on?!” The voice of a woman called. Coming towards them were two women, one white-skinned with purple, fashionable hair and another one yellow-skinned, and pink haired.
“I just don’t know why, Auntie Rarity. I seriously don’t know how would the animals suddenly escape when I tried to feed them!”
“Fluttershy, don’t tell me…”
“Alright, alright, calm down,” the kind-hearted Fluttershy, whose personality had never changed over the years spoke. She turned to the animals. “Now then, tell me why were you taking Rarity’s fabrics away?”
The animals squeaked and chattered in a sound Melody and the others couldn’t even understand.
“Oh, is that so? Well next time, please tell me in advance. Don’t simply go and steal Rarity’s fabrics by your own.”
The critters hung their heads with shame before returning to their respective cages.
“Y-you can understand them?” asked a very curious Melody.
“Of course I can! After all I’ve been taking care of animals since I was young, and I surely knew what they want.”
“Oh…”
“Which reminds me,” Honey Drops interrupted, turning to Melody. “You must be Melody Aurora, aren’t you?”
“How did you know about me?”
“Well, Chaos and Beryl told me about you just now. Can’t believe that you’re a daughter of a successful princess back in your world!”
“Wait, what!?” exclaimed Rarity.
“Wait a minute, did you just say ‘princess’?” asked the magenta-haired girl.
“And you just said ‘another world’?” added the turquoise-haired girl.
“She’s right,” admitted Melody. “I am from another world and my mother is the Princess of Friendship, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
All could not believe their ears.
“Oh, so you’re her daughter!” beamed Rarity with realization. “I knew your mother, and maybe Fluttershy does, too!”
“We are old friends with your mother. I am missing her now,” said Fluttershy.
Melody turned to the two girls. “Let me guess, you must be Platinum Royale and you are Prudence Aura.”
“The heck!?” Platinum cried when Melody could know her name easily.
“How did you know about us? We’ve only met for the first time…” asked Prudence, scratching her head.
“I guess she’s got friends in her world that she can tell you right even without looking at you all in the first place, am I right, dear?” asked Honey Drops.
“Uh, hum.”
“Now then, look at yourself. You must be exhausted, coming from a long way,” Rarity sympathized.
“But it’s just only a step through the portal…”
“But what about the bruises all over you?” asked Fluttershy.
Melody sighed. “It’s Phoenix Dawn.”
“Phoenix Dawn! Oh, that brat again. Looks like you’ve fallen victim to her, too!” lamented Platinum.
“You see, I came here to get back something that was stolen by her. My mom wanted me to make friends with you as well.”
“If that’s friends what you’re looking for, then welcome,” responded Honey Drops, shaking hands with her which made her feel embarrassed.
“Daughter of a Princess, I am absolutely amazed,” commented Prudence. “And don’t care about that Phoenix Dawn! She’s always causing terrible nuisance everywhere…”
“Have you had your breakfast, Melody?” asked Fluttershy.
At that moment Melody’s stomach began to rumble.
“Uh, I hadn’t been eating before I came here,” she said, blushing.
“Very well! Let’s all head to the cafeteria. I’ll have you something nice to eat.”
They all headed to the cafeteria, where they met with Chaos and Beryl again.
“Well, well,” began Chaos. “Have you explored this entire school?”
“I don’t think so,” replied Melody. “I don’t think I can finish exploring in a whole day.”
“Maybe you can if we can help you,” said Beryl. “But we’ve got classes, so that’s impossible.”
“I know that, but it’s even wider than those castles I used to visit in my world!”
“Whoa, I just wanted to visit your world someday,” said Honey Drops.
“I don’t think it’s possible,” said Fluttershy, arriving with everyone’s orders with Rarity. “After all her mother’s master said that it would upset the balance between worlds.”
To everyone’s shock, as the meal was laid in front of Melody, instead of picking the fork and spoon, she bent down her head and took a bite from the apple!
Chaos gracefully went over to help her.
“That’s not the right way to eat.”
“Err, how?” she asked, still munching her food.
“You’ve got hands, don’t you?”
“Uh-huh.”
Chaos held his apple in front of her.
“Now, you see, for a food like an apple, use your hand, and hold it like this, and…” He took a bite from his apple, chewing it.
Melody tried to do the same, but she couldn’t hold it right. Beryl had to help her.
“A little bit of practice can get it right. You’ll soon get used to it.”
“And how about this?” she showed her the spoon. “And this? And this?” And the fork and the penknife as well.
“Watch this,” demonstrated Platinum as she cut the steak nicely with them and shoved it into her mouth. As for the spoon, she gently dipped it into her cereal, then held it into her mouth.
Melody watched the whole simple action with amazement.
“It takes practice,” advised Fluttershy. “Though it can be quite hard for you at first as somebody from another world…”
“Well, well, it seems someone doesn’t know how to eat well, huh?” Phoenix Dawn, who was watching the entire scene stepped out, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Phoenix!” gasped Melody.
“If you can’t really live in this world,” she smirked at her, taking the apple away from her. “Then why don’t you just GET LOST OUT OF HERE!?”
She whacked the apple onto the floor, shattering into pieces, leaving Melody dumbfounded.
“Phoenix, enough!” burst out Chaos explosively. “Melody is new here and you can’t just simply give trouble to her!”
“Oh yeah? Why should I?”
“Leave this to me, Chaos,” Rarity stepped forward. “You’re lucky that your mother’s not here. Now you’re the one who should get lost!”
Phoenix just sniggered.
“Are you not contented? Get out now before I’m calling the principal!”
“If you wish so…” she cackled, leaving with a glee.
“I’m sorry about that, darling,” apologized Rarity to Melody. “Yes, we really hate her, but there’s no way we can teach her a good lesson.”
“It’s okay,” she forgave. “But now…”
“Here, you can have mine,” offered Fluttershy. “I still have my muesli.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m lucky Greenie Hats isn’t here with us,” sighed Chaos.
“Greenie Hats?”
“She’s the daughter of one of our gym teachers and also the best sportswoman in Canterlot High!” answered Platinum. “Tell her to do any sport and she’ll whizz them!”
“But sometimes she’s just too rough,” added Beryl.
“What does she have to do with Phoenix?” Melody inquired further.
“She doesn’t like being insulted,” Chaos explained further. “If she was here she can easily pick a fight with her!”
“Really?”
“Yes, it happened ten times already!” described Prudence. “They were even once suspended for a week, and were warned to being expelled if that happened again!”
“How horrible!”
“For this reason we all tried to avoid inviting her to events,” added Beryl. “But sometimes she would know about it and will come and gatecrash!”
“The next episode, you know it. Needless to say she’s a killjoy.”
“Horrid!” she exclaimed. “Anyway who’s that gym teacher?”
“Mrs Rainbow Dash.”
“Rainbow Dash?”
“She’s my best friend. She’s also a sporty woman,” said Fluttershy. “Would you like me to take you to meet her?”
“Uh, sure… Then what about you all?”
“I believe Fluttershy is now free at the moment. We actually have other businesses to do!” replied Rarity. “Anyway, have fun exploring the whole school!”
“Don’t forget to call us if you need any help!” said Honey Drops to them as both of them left.
“As you know, Melody, Rainbow Dash doesn’t like her trainees to slack around.”
“So, is she harsh?”
“Not really. She does have a good heart if you look at another view. She doesn’t want her trainees to lose when they’re off for competitions.”
There, running along the track was a group of sportsmen and sportswomen in training.
“Run faster! I don’t want to see any one of you slacking!” The voice of Rainbow Dash called.
“See that blue-shirted lady over there?” pointed Fluttershy. “That’s Rainbow Dash.”
“Whoa… she’s really serious in coaching…”
“She used to represent the school’s soccer team, and won many prizes.”
“Soccer? What’s that?”
“It’s a sport, with two teams, and eleven people. All you have to do is to kick the ball into another team’s goal, and the team with the most goals wins.”
“Oh, much like hoofball…”
“Hoofball? I guess that’s something back in your world, huh?”
“Oops.” Melody somehow felt like letting a cat out of a bag.
“I know part of your world well, Sunset Shimmer told me from your mother,” assured Fluttershy.
Among the trainees, one of them was a light green-skinned girl with rainbow hair.
“See that rainbow-haired girl there? That’s Greenie Hats.”
Greenie appeared to show no sign of tiredness among the others.
“She’s the most energetic among all of them.”
“Makes sense. She’s got her mother’s genes, after all!”
Soon the trainees began their soccer training. All through, Greenie Hats seemed to perform the best among the others, catching the balls and scoring them perfectly, even with her best tricks!
Melody watched in awe as Greenie shot every goal without fail.
Soon, it was break time for the trainees. Fluttershy and Melody took the chance to approach Rainbow Dash.
“That’s all for today, trainees! Get some rest right now and we’ll continue tomorrow.”
“Yes, Madam!”
“I see you got them running so well at the moment,” Fluttershy spoke to her.
“Heh, no big deal, Fluttershy. After all, it’s my own duty.” Rainbow Dash eventually spotted Melody. “Oh hey, who are you? You look like somebody I’ve seen before…”
“Oh, she’s Melody Aurora and…”
“I’m the daughter of Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Melody finished for her.
Rainbow Dash was stunned. “Twilight Sparkle? You’re her daughter? Oh, geez! I know your mother way back! I can’t believe that you’re here…!”
“Hey, Mom! Hi Madam Fluttershy!” Greenie Hats called. “And, who are you?”
“Greenie Hats, meet Melody Aurora. She’s the daughter of an old friend of mine!”
“Somebody’s daughter? From where?”
“Somewhere far away,” replied Melody. “Some place you probably won’t even know.”
“Err, she’s from another world, to be exact,” added Fluttershy.
“Another world? Cool!” She shook hands with Melody. “I’m pretty excited seeing someone who isn’t from here…”
“Heh-heh…” Melody blushed. “Anyway do you err… have a brother?”
“How did you know?”
“Well… I know a Greenie Hats back in my world, and I’ve seen another Greenie Hats here, so I guess there should be another Thunder Clash here?”
“What the…! Oh God, she even knows the name of my brother!” Greenie cried with craze.
“You should know it. I know that her mother’s got another me back in her world,” explained Rainbow Dash to her. “But I think you might take some time to learn more about that…”
“Well anyway, where’s Thunder Clash?”
“Talk about Thunder Clash, he’s busy at the race track right now.”
“Race track?”
“My brother got obsessed with auto-racing. He got his driving license early in the year, then he enrolled himself in a motorsport club, and last month he came second place in his very first race! Amazing isn’t it?”
“Auto-racing, driving license, motorsport club… Gaah, I never heard about them before!” She pulled her hair as she didn’t understand these terms.
“What’s wrong? Am I too emphasizing?”
“Don’t tell her like that,” laughed Rainbow Dash. “She’s from another world, and she couldn’t understand what you’re saying!”
“Oh, really?”
“She’s right, I don’t even know what auto-racing means! The only racing thing I know back in my world is the Wonderbolts…”
“It’s called the Wondercolts here,” said Rainbow Dash. “And that’s the name of our soccer team! I’ve been trying to keep the pride of Canterlot High all the years, and we never once left a bad view upon our rivals!”
“Whoa…”
“Anyway, interested to meet Thunder Clash? I can take you to see him now.”
“But you’re the coach of this school! Besides, does this school ever allow Thunder to take trainings?”
“Well, since I’m the staff, I can request a short leave at any time! Besides, the school knows about Thunder’s case, so he’s allowed as long as he doesn’t play truant!”
“Is that so?”
“Trust me, the whole staff knows me well.”
“I won’t be following you out for the moment, Melody,” Fluttershy told her. “I have to do my duties later. Good luck then!”
“Alright then. I still have to explore more when I come back to this school.”
“Well then, see you later!”
Rainbow Dash led Melody to her car after packing some of her belongings, which Melody couldn’t know what machine it was.
“You drive this cart?”
“Cart? Nah, you call this a car. You don’t need somebody to pull or push it. You can control and drive it! Get in that way.”
Melody entered the right side, and was amazed by the controls in the car.
“And now, buckle up,” Rainbow Dash strapped the safety belt on her. “You don’t want to get hurt if we had an accident, don’t you?”
“Um, hmm,” Melody nodded.
Rainbow Dash entered the driver’s seat and closed the door. “Now then,” she said, turning on the engine. “Off we go!”
As Rainbow Dash stepped on the gas pedal, the car started to move. Melody gave a little shriek.
“Don’t panic. I won’t be going too fast,” Rainbow assured. “Now watch how I control a car…”
All the way, Melody observed Rainbow Dash, stepping and releasing the pedals to control the speed, and turning the steering wheel to change direction.
“I think this world does have things that my world doesn’t even have! Maybe there’s magic too!”
“Hehe, magic, huh?” she asked. “But magic doesn’t work here, only at one certain moment…”
“… like singing?”
“Well, yeah. You see, me and my friends used to form a music band called the Rainbooms, and we did rock the whole of Canterlot High!”
“Amazing! Do you still perform?”
“Well, we still do, but not as often nowadays. Pretty much busy in our careers. Besides, even my kids had formed their own band with their friends under us. I feel so proud of them.”
Melody was reminded of the band Pepper Flake and her brothers started.
“Which reminds me, how often does Thunder Clash practice his ‘auto-racing’ thing?”
“Three times a week, Wednesday which is today, and twice in the weekend.”
“I see. I wonder how it’s like. The only racing I had in the world was by the Wonderbolts…”
“Oh, ho-ho, is that so? A totally different thing in this world. You’ll see the racing of this world soon…”
Soon, they arrived at the local race track. As soon as Melody got down, she was shocked by the loud boom of the engines and the sound of tires screeching.
“Well, here we are,” Rainbow Dash stepped out. “That’s where Thunder Clash practices.”
They entered into the paddock, and watched as the cars zoomed past them.
“I wonder which one’s Thunder Clash?”
“He’ll show up in a while,” Rainbow replied, checking her watch.
Among the cars on the track, two of them were leading very fast, with one of them trying to prevent the other from taking the lead.
Below them, a trainer in charge was looking on the race. As soon as the leading car approached the finish line, he waved the red flag, signaling them to stop.
One by one, the cars gathered at the grid, with the drivers coming out. The driver from the first car took off his helmet, revealing his dark blue hair with colorful streaks.
“There,” Rainbow Dash pointed to him. “That’s my son Thunder Clash.”
“Alright boys,” the trainer told them. “Nice warm up for you all. After an hour’s break I wanna see your drifting skills. Do I get that clear?”
“Yes, sir!” the racers shouted.
“Now then, off you guys go! Don’t always let downturns get carried away!”
“That was some smooth drive, Thunder!” a racer called. “I thought I could beat you!”
“Which what makes you strong coming second in your first race, huh?” another asked.
“Meh, just relying on my sixth sense,” Thunder replied. “You just have to know when will your enemy attacks you.”
“Ho, you’ve been playing too much games, don’t you?”
“Just as a training purpose. Now you guys wait here,” he said as he spotted his mother. He went towards her.
“Mom, why are you here all of a sudden?”
“No surprise, Thunder,” said Rainbow. “Anyway I got a new girl to introduce to you.”
“This girl…” Thunder looked at Melody. “I-I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”
“You do now,” Melody cheekily replied. “I’m Melody Aurora.”
“Melody Aurora?”
“She’s the daughter of an old friend I knew,” explained Rainbow. “She’s from another world.”
“Another… world?? Wait, this is getting ridiculous…”
“Too many games, huh?”
“Gaah, don’t say that again! Even Pizza Frenzy complains that all the time, too!”
“He’s your best buddy,” added Melody.
“No, wait, how did you…”
“She know the other you in her world, so she know the others of this world too!”
“NUUUAAAAHHHH!!! Somebody get a doctor for me!!!”
“Don’t mind about him. He can get lost from his mind sometimes.”
“It’s okay.” She approached him. “I heard you did well in one kind of race, did you?”
“How did y-”
“Now, now, don’t go crazy again.”
“Oh, okay, fine. I signed up for the race because I wanted to give my skills a try, and after the race, everyone was like ‘Whoa, here’s that new rookie!’ and ‘Amazing finish for him!’. I feel proud of myself…”
“You got a, um, car, at your house?”
Thunder got back to his senses. “Apparently, I wanna dream of owning one, but the dealer said I’m still too young to drive one. But luckily, my mom’s got a sports car at home, I can take it out for a spin anytime!”
“Better don’t drive without my permission. You almost got fined by the police!” reminded Rainbow Dash.
“Police? What’s that?”
Thunder was stunned. “Y-you don’t even know what’s a police??? Man, you really are from another world…”
“Now go enjoy your break,” said Rainbow Dash. “I’ll be picking you up later. I have to return with Melody now.”
“I guess, I’ll tell you more about this world later on, M-M-Melody…”
Later that afternoon, Melody Aurora was in the library, with Chaos Control and Beryl. Melody was surprised by the vast space of the library.
“S-so many books…” Melody gasped. “As big as my castle library…”
“The number of books always increase annually,” explained Beryl. “We are open to book donations.”
“This place ain’t just for reading and studying here,” added Chaos. “This place is simply anything you can do there, even using the computer!”
“What’s a… computer?”
“Here, let me show you,” he brought her to a table in the shape of a ring, where all computers are lined up.
“Now these are computers. Sit down on one and I’ll teach you how to use.” He introduced her each part of the computer.
“Now… how do I… use it?” She asked, staring at the screen.
“All you have to do is to move the mouse with your hand, and when you’ve found what you want to open, click this, twice.”
Melody clicked on the internet browser icon, then clicked it again. But nothing happened. She tried again, but still nothing happened.
“Oh, Melody,” chuckled Chaos, facepalming. “You have to do it very fast, not like that.”
“Like this?” She clicked quickly, and just then, the internet browser popped up onto the screen. “What do I do next?”
“Now then, enter the address you want. For example…” He entered the link of a search engine and it came out. “In this box type the thing you want to search.”
Melody stared at it hard. Then, clenching her hands into fists, she began to tap on the keyboard.
“No, that’s not how you type!” cried Chaos. “You don’t bang like that to type.”
“I… I just don’t know how to use this… seriously…”
Chaos looked almost fed up. “Alright then, tell me what do you want to search.”
“Umm, magic?”
Using the keyboard, Chaos typed “magic” and struck a key. On the screen, various links came out.
“And now, click any one link you want to see about it.”
Melody clicked the first link and instantly, the webpage came out. It gave a full detail on what she wanted to find.
“Omigosh… this is majestic…!” As she turned her head she noticed yet another machine, but it looked like an open book. “What’s that thing?”
“Oh, it’s a laptop, a portable computer.” He went over and closed it. “Does it look like a book to you?”
“Uh… kinda. How do I type again?”
“Here, let me teach you…” He was about to teach her on the keyboard when then…
“Chaos! Don’t teach her now!” Beryl called. “I saw Phoenix Dawn approaching!”
Without a word, Chaos found a nearby book and quickly shoved it into Melody’s hands, who was panicked upon hearing Phoenix’s name. He ushered Melody onto a nearby table, then pretended that everything was normal.
But fortunately for them, Phoenix was looking at her handphone, and passed by the corridor without turning to look at them.
“Phew!” sighed Chaos with relief. “I can’t expect what would happen if she turned and saw me teach you!”
“You… suddenly gave me a fright!” stammered Melody.
“It’s okay. She’s gone for now,” reported Beryl. “If she comes back again I’ll alert you.”
“Fine,” said Melody. “Where were we?”
“Well…” replied Chaos as he continued on teaching her on the computer.
For the next hour, Chaos spent all the time teaching Melody on using her computer. Soon, she became tired out.
“Oh, my eyes…” she groaned, sprawling on the table.
“Better don’t use it for too long. You’ll lose your eyesight and will tire easily,” advised Chaos. “That’s what’s happening to you now.”
“But you don’t get tired…”
“Get enough rest, like I always do,” he continued. “I can help you if you want to use it again. I know everything about IT.”
“IT? What’s that?”
“That stands for ‘information technology’,” explained Beryl. “Chaos’ a techie. He likes fiddling with computers and everything.”
“Is that so?”
Before Beryl could answer, Sunset Shimmer appeared before them.
“I guess you don’t have anywhere to stay, Melody?” she asked.
“Err, I think nope. Guess, I’ll stay here,” Melody replied.
“Oh, Melody,” chuckled Sunset. “You don’t want to be like your mother, don’t you?”
“Huh?”
“Your mother slept here when she first arrived in this world. Right now you will be staying at my home!”
Melody was thrilled, but then became worried. “But does Phoenix Dawn approves?”
“From her face, I can tell that she’s not happy already. But whatever the matter, don’t bother her too much.”
Melody nodded. “Alright, then.”
Melody headed to the entrance to find a gloomy-faced Phoenix Dawn.
“Err, you-”
“Don’t talk to me right now.”
“Oh… alright.”
“See you tomorrow, Melody!” bade Chaos. “We’re happy to be friends with you.”
“We’re always here whenever you need help!” added Beryl.
“Okay then!” Phoenix at the other hand didn’t look quite happy at all, seeing a newcomer getting instant recognition.
Both of them followed Sunset to the parking lot. When they reached her car, Sunset opened the boot to place her belongings, while Melody approached the front right, but was barred by Phoenix.
“That’s my seat,” she ordered. “Keep out.”
“But I haven’t even-”
“You better don’t defy me,” she advanced, grabbing her collar, and sniggered. “Do you want any drama?”
“Phoenix!” Sunset bellowed as she closed the boot. “Let her sit! She needs to learn!”
“Ugh, fine!” She grumbled and entered the rear seats.
Melody gracefully entered, with Sunset entering the driver’s seat.
“Now then,” began Sunset. “I’m sure you’ve never seen anyone drive a car, eh?”
“Actually, I did. Rainbow Dash showed me just now.”
“Oh, so you’ve met all of my friends here?”
“Yeah, and their kids, too.”
Sunset smiled. “Very good, then. That’s a good start for you in this world.” She finished as she began to drive out of the school compound.
It was a half an hour’s drive from Canterlot High School to Sunset Shimmer’s home. On their way she ordered lasagna for all of them.
“Alright, we’re home.”
Melody looked at Sunset’s house. It was quite far more modern than those houses in Equestria.
She got down and stared at it in awe.
“Surprised, huh? There’s more to explore in there!” She led her and Phoenix to the front door and unlocked it. Once she stepped inside, she was amazed by the interior.
“Cool…” gasped Melody as she went to examine the decorations and furniture.
“Aren’t you worried she spoils anything?” asked a still grumbling Phoenix Dawn.
“She won’t, Phoenix,” Sunset replied. “She knows the rules, since she’s the daughter of a princess.”
“Princess? But she’s so normal…”
“She won’t look normal if you know her more enough. Don’t judge a book by its cover! Maybe I should’ve brought you to her world to know her better…”
Phoenix just entered without a word, livid at her mother’s response.
Soon, it was time for dinner.
“Alright, that’s yours, and that’s yours.” Sunset divided the lasagna equally among them. “Now, it’s chow time!”
Melody stared at the lasagna. It looked good enough for her to eat.
“What’s wrong? Don’t know how to use a fork and a knife again?” teased Phoenix.
“Err, I’m just fascinated, by this food…”
“Oh yeah? Then why don’t you… EAT IT YOUR WAY!??” Without warning, she pushed Melody’s head into the lasagna.
“Stop it!” Sunset banged the dining table with fury. “Don’t worry, Melody. I’ll be cleaning your face.”
Sunset got a tissue and wiped her face clean.
“Did any one of your friends teach you how to eat?”
“Uh, yes…”
“Then show me how you’ll do it.”
Slowly, Melody picked up her utensils, and cut through the lasagna and tasted it. It tasted good for her.
“Do you like it?”
“It’s… nice. Almost like something I’ve eaten before in Canterlot…”
“Okay then. Enjoy your meal slowly. Take your time.”
Phoenix glared unwittingly at her stranger.
Melody was the last one to finish her dinner. She still had to adapt her human state, handling the fork and the knife.
“Well, hope you enjoyed it,” said Sunset as she collected Melody’s plate.
“I do, actually.”
Melody went upstairs to venture further. There she found several rooms, one of the doors closed. She gently opened the room only to find…
… Phoenix Dawn in front of her computer instead of studying. She was listening to music.
“Aren’t you supposed to be studying?” asked Melody. “If I were you I would be on my books already.”
“Who cares?” she replied. “I’m enjoying my life, after all!”
Melody didn’t answer and looked around her room. Then, at the bookshelf, she spotted some papers slipped among the books. “I wonder what are these…”
“No, wait, DON’T TOUCH THEM!”
Too late.
Melody took out the papers to reveal… Phoenix’s failed grades.
“Oh, dear, how could you fail them?”
“NO, DON’T TOUCH THEM!” She snatched the papers away from her. “AREN’T YOU GONNA LET MY MOTHER KNOW ABOUT THAT!!?”
“But… you really should learn harder instead of just being lazy…”
At last, Phoenix lost her patience. “Listen, let me tell you honestly. You are a nuisance, you are a burden to me and you don’t deserve to live in this world! Get lost out of my room and never, ever come in!”
With that, she chased Melody out of the room and locked it.
Melody stood outside, shocked and depressed. Phoenix’s uncontrollable behavior was quite unacceptable to her. She slowly went downstairs to the living room.
There, Sunset was sorting out her documents at the dining table.
“So you’ve been chased out, huh?” she asked upon noticing her.
“How did you know?” Melody responded, taking a seat opposite Sunset.
“Well, I heard everything. *sigh* I really don’t know how to handle her. I’ve scolded her thousands of times and yet, she still doesn’t want to change… Well anyway, if you want to sleep in the living room, go ahead. I can prepare you a blanket and a pillow.”
“Um… just to ask you, but no offence.”
“What is?”
“Does Phoenix really perform badly in her grades?”
Sunset sighed. “What’s worse is that she’s pretty smart at hiding them away from me. All the while I’m pretty upset when it’s time to collect her report cards. I’ve done whatever I could to her, but she’s just too stubborn.”
“Then what about her father?”
“Her father? Huh, irresponsible idiot.” Her face turned into a look of disgust. “He had been hiding this secret from me since our wedding day. One month after I gave birth to Phoenix, I found out that he was secretly having an affair with another girl. We had an argument and at the last resort, I filed for a divorce. Ever since then, I held the responsibility of taking care of Phoenix. I pampered her. I gave her everything she wanted. She just became too arrogant and proud, thinking she’s a hell of a great.” She paused for a moment. “By the way, I forgot to ask you about your father.”
“Well, my father died on the day I was born. He was protecting my mother and brother from an enemy…”
“Is his name Flash Sentry?”
“How did you know about that?”
“Your mother told me about her love story. In fact there’s also another Flash Sentry in this world, but sadly, he committed suicide… due to depression…”
“Really?”
“I have kept several newspaper cuttings in my room.” With that, Sunset went upstairs, then returned with a file. “Read these if you’re free. They’re all news about his death.”
“How horrible…” she responded as she took out a cutting from the file and read the headline.
“People are saying that he’s depressed because his friends left him. But I don’t believe so. Deep in my heart I knew there was a mastermind behind this.”
“Who’s that?”
“It’s Madam Myra, they say. She’s a dangerous villain aiming to take control of this whole world.”
“By how? Has anyone seen her?”
“No one really knows her true face. She’s always in disguise whenever she commits a crime. She’s got a lot of henchmen helping her. And rumor has it that she’s inventing on a new virus capable of wiping out this entire mankind!”
“She wants to take over this world, too? That’s evil!”
“So far, there are news of people disappearing mysteriously and children being kidnapped. All of these cases have never been solved, and nobody knows what happened to them. Some say they have been trafficked to somewhere else, but in my mind, I know that Myra might be behind this…”
“How are you so sure that it’s her?”
“I’ve told you that she’s inventing a new virus, right? I believe she had her men kidnap these innocent people because she wanted them to be her test subjects. But so far, nobody has been able to prove this evidence.”
“Has anyone believed what you thought?”
“Only my close friends. We all agreed not to tell this fact to our children. We didn’t want them to be their target. Needless to say, this whole city’s under threat from her. One person may disappear from this city or even this neighborhood at any time!”
“Which reminds me, I have another Myra back in my world, and she’s crazy in taking over all of Equestria, and I was her main target. Fortunately for my mom, my future self came to warn us. Now she’s defeated for good.”
“I knew a bit about your Myra from your mother. Yes, she’s indeed mad. Anyhow, come over here.”
Melody went to Sunset Shimmer’s side, and Sunset cuddled her.
“I need to tell Phoenix Dawn, that she’s luckier than you. Both you and your brother had to leave Ponyville to learn under Princess Celestia, and study hard. You indeed had suffered more than she does, but you still lived up in the name of a princess…”
“I hope she’ll indeed change,” Melody agreed. “It takes a great incident to change somebody, but I’m not sure when…”
Meanwhile, at the outskirts of the city, was a huge, mysterious building. In one of the rooms of the building sat a woman in her office.
“Madam Myra?” a man called at the door.
“What is it?”
“I need to tell you that our 95th subject has been infected by your trial virus by about 75 percent. That’s not fast enough to kill him, so we are trying to research it further to make it become a lethal weapon, madam.”
“Very good,” she praised. “Now get back to work.” As he left, she faced her back to the door. “By the time this virus is complete, this pathetic world will never stand a chance to my ultimate weapon. By that time, millions will be requesting me for the antidote, and they’ll never know how I’ll make it! Mwa-ha-ha-ha…”
Melody and her friends were gathered at the auditorium. Pepper Flake had told her previously that she had invited her to the auditorium to watch her band perform.
“So I guess you’re practicing for a specific purpose?”
“Certainly we do,” replied Peanut Butter, tuning his guitar. “We’ve sang lots on parties and celebrations, and even fall formals! And there’s something even more exciting at the end of the year!”
“What is?”
“You know, every end of the year we always have a school prom. There we do all sorts of things, dancing and performing!” explained Thunder Clash. “That’s the way to celebrate the end of our school term!”
“Which reminds me, don’t you have these events back in your world?” asked Prudence Aura.
“Well, we do,” she replied. “We get to celebrate on any joyous occasion, weddings, graduations, all sorts of parties.”
“Good thing your err… ruler’s good enough to throw these celebrations,” commented Raisin Brandy. “I thought you’re living in um… like…”
“Feudal system, Ray,” Chaos finished for him. “Well, my mother and Madam Sunset told me about her world. Her ruler’s a nice one.”
“I see about that.”
“Well then,” announced Pepper. “Are we ready?”
“Time to show Melody how we rock!” replied Pizza Frenzy.
“Go ahead,” approved Melody. “I want to see how you all do.”
“Ready? One, two, three!”
The bad started to perform. Melody watched and enjoyed, and occasionally clapped to the beat.
Several minutes later, the band finished their song. Melody applauded.
“Bravo, bravo!” she praised.
“You want an encore?” asked Chaos.
Before Melody could answer, Honey Drops and Beryl were at the door.
“Um, Pepper Flake,” Honey Drops began. “You’d better come over to your party room right now.”
“What happened?” she shrieked.
“The party room’s in a mess!” replied Beryl.
“WHAT!?” she cried and rushed out.
“Pepper! Wait for us!” Thunder called, and the others followed.
At the party room, the whole scene was a complete mess. Burst balloons and streamers were everywhere, with food stains spilled on the floor.
“No, NO! I can’t believe this!” Peanut held his head.
“Awful,” moaned Prudence.
“I don’t think I need to think long who’s the culprit. It must be Phoenix!” deduced Thunder Clash.
“Seriously? Do you really know that it’s her?” asked Melody.
“Of course it’s her again! Or else it’s somebody who likes to make trouble?”
“I don’t really think you should jump to conclusions like that. For a case like this we need to investigate everything,” explained Melody.
“If the culprit isn’t Phoenix Dawn, then who else?” asked Chaos.
“We need to ask everyone,” said Honey Drops. “Or perhaps we might check through all the cameras.”
“There are cameras… everywhere?”
“Of course! This is a security feature of the school,” replied Chaos. “If anyone’s in trouble we can get into the school’s computers and check out what’s going on.” He pointed to a black, semi-circular shaped item on the ceiling. “There, it records all the time. Whatever we do, we’ll be seen through the computers.”
“Oh, I see about it.”
“So, do we need to go and find out now?” asked Peanut.
“Well then, let’s go.”
Just as they stepped out of the room, they met an anxious Greenie Hats, with a worry-looking Malinae.
“Greenie Hats? What are you doing here?” Chaos asked. Then he looked at the stains on Greenie’s clothes. “Wait, did you just-”
“Don’t report, it was me, it was me!” Greenie admitted.
“You?” asked Pepper inquisitively. “How are you so sure it was you?”
“You see,” Malinae began to explain. “Greenie Hats said that she wanted to take me for a treat but she was broke, so then we went into the party room. She then started to tell me all sorts of stories that she forgot where she was, and then she suddenly messed up everything! Please, don’t tell Mommy, or Madam Rainbow Dash, or-”
“Calm down, calm down Malinae,” said Melody. She turned to Greenie. “Greenie Hats, are you sure you’re the one who made all of this mess?”
“It was me,” she confessed. “I was telling her the time I was performing my epic soccer moves but then… oh…”
“Alright now, that’s it,” said Chaos at last. “So Greenie, you’re the one who made this mess?”
“Yes. How could that goddamn Phoenix Dawn get in there!? I thought you guys warned her already!”
“Oh, yeah,” said Pizza with realization. “She did mess with our stuff once, and kept denying until we’ve seen the cameras. As a result the school made her the school janitor for a week.”
“Eww,” exclaimed Melody.
“Well then, now that you’ve admitted, your only punishment is to clean up this whole mess, all by yourself! Is that clear?” asked Peanut.
“Yes, yes, I get it! I’ll take this responsibility!”
“What about me?” asked Malinae innocently, with glittering eyes seeking sympathy.
“You? You don’t have to,” Peanut replied. “You’ll just go back and do whatever you like.”
“Um, okay.”
“You’re just too innocent, aren’t you, Malinae?” asked Melody. She just let out a smile.
“Okay then, let’s go to the cafeteria!” announced Pepper, and they all left, leaving Melody and Chaos behind.
“You guys really are all sorts of stuff,” said Melody.
“Well, we’ve got lots,” replied Chaos. “Come with me to the cafeteria and we’ll talk more.”
“Okay,” she said and they went together.
Meanwhile, back in Equestria…
“So that’s the mirror she went through?” asked pony Pepper Flake.
“It does look normal,” said Twilight Sparkle. “But only it’s something totally different when there’s magic on it.”
“Magic? Like how?” asked Chaos.
“I got a book about it. Interested? I’ll leave it right here. Take your time to read it. Orion Galaxy will guide you all through everything,” Twilight said and left the book on the crystal mirror on the table.
“Can’t really believe that this mirror’s got special powers! I really wanna get through this!” said Greenie Hats.
“Hold it,” said Orion. “Nopony else can enter this mirror, except Mom and Melody.”
“Why, Big Brother Orion?” asked Thunder Clash.
“Princess Celestia said that it would upset the balance between worlds!” he explained. “Which has once happened when she was meeting King Sombra in an alternate universe!”
“Scary…” moaned Pizza Frenzy.
“But if Mom and Melody can get through this mirror,” Orion looked at it again. “Maybe I can get through as well. I wondered how was her world like. Just looking at that magical book wasn’t enough to know everything.” He let out a sigh. “Man, I miss Melody now. I just hope that she’s alright over there…”
Chaos went over and patted him. “I know how you feel, dude. Even we’re feeling that something’s missing when she’s away. Hope she can come back soon.”
“I agree,” said Bloodthirst. “But it’s difficult to tell when she’ll return. Princess Twilight said that she needs to learn friendship there.”
“Well anyway,” said Pepper Flake. “Why don’t we’ll all go over to Sugarcube corner now? Pound and Pumpkin Cake promised us that they’ve got some special treats today!”
“Is that so? Then I’m coming!” said Raisin, and they all left, leaving Orion and Chaos behind.
“We’ll just hope that she stays alright there,” said Chaos.
Madam Myra was invigilating her personal laboratory, examining the chemicals, cultures and the specimens. In all of them she was pleased with her results.
Then one of her henchmen came in, with a weary face.
“Failed again, I suppose?”
“Almost, or more like almost succeeded. Our 97th victim died 5 hours after the virus is injected into his body. Maybe if we can later the virus more, we can let the victim die in a matter of minutes. For this we need to disguise it to look like a vaccine.”
“Very well, keep it going.” She returned to her desk, looked at her map and stared at where Canterlot High School was. “I think it’s time that I find someone from this site. After all, I haven’t explored that site. Time to find a way to get somebody there…”
For the next few days, Melody Aurora was having fun socializing with her friends. She went to Pinkie Pie’s bakery and tried out her delicacies. She helped out Applejack and Niku at their farm. Platinum Royale and Rarity helped to design her an elusive dress and she tried out at a hair salon Prudence Aura was training. Greenie Hats gladly taught her on playing sports. She even had a slumber party with her friends at Pinkie’s house!
Even Phoenix Dawn was glad when Melody was away for the slumber party!
“How quiet it was,” she spoke. “Without her by my side almost every day!”
“Not as quiet as you who doesn’t have a true friend,” snapped Sunset Shimmer back. “Who would invite a bully like you?”
“Hmph!” she huffed, annoyed at her mother’s response.
In all, two weeks have passed since her stay in the human world. She was enjoying herself, but sometimes, she felt homesick.
“Missing home already?” Sunset asked her one night.
“Yeah, I am. I kinda miss my friends back in Equestria.”
Sunset assured her. “I miss them more than you do actually, especially your mother and Princess Celestia. I always wanted to say that I’m sorry to Princess Celestia whenever I meet her.”
“She’s always waiting for you,” Melody replied. “She has already forgiven you the time you met her isn’t it?”
“I know, yet there are still a few more apologies I have to make up. Perhaps I need to find another time…”
One afternoon, at the library, Chaos and Melody were looking for their books.
“So, you’ve been frequenting this library almost every day, huh?” he asked.
“I err… guess so,” she replied. “I need to know about all the books in this place. You know, I got myself a big library back in my castle, so I want to see the differences…”
“Oh, your mom’s a princess and a librarian?”
“Well, she learned under her ruler, and she read lots of books. So she had a library at my hometown, but it was destroyed, and she’s got a new one in my castle. We also arrange the books there every day.”
“Aha, it seems that your world has some common with our world.”
“Exactly many similar- ahh!” She cried as the book she picked fell onto the floor.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get it for you.” Chaos descended from the ladder. Melody quickly followed.
Just as they reached the ground, both of them reached to touch the book at the same time, and at that moment, their hands came in contact with each other.
Both of them looked at each other, blushed. Melody quickly retreated her hand.
“I-I got this… strange feeling…” stammered Melody, shocked from the sudden reaction.
“What is it?”
“It… it feels like I-I…” Melody tried to confess, but was too afraid to speak.
“You like me?” Chaos finished for her.
Melody was taken aback. Chaos somehow had read her mind. She liked him! But then, she remembered the Chaos back in her world. That Chaos loved her deeply. She couldn’t just dump him and love the other him in his world…
“Um, actually,” she admitted. “I… already have my own lover… in my world…”
She hung her head, thinking Chaos would be angry for that.
But Chaos wasn’t at all mad. He held her face. “Go and love him,” he told her. “Love the one in your world. Don’t care about me. I can find someone else. Marry him, and have a nice family…”
“Marry? But I’m still too young…”
“You won’t be any more in a few years’ time. Does that make sense?”
Melody nodded, seemingly accepted what he said.
Then, she remembered the famous villain haunting the entire city.
“Um, Chaos, just to ask you…”
“What is it?”
“Do you happen to know some villain, by the name of Myra?”
Chaos pondered hard. “Well, I sort of heard about her, from Mom. She’s a dangerous villain isn’t it?”
“Did she tell you everything about her?”
“Not that much. All I know is that she’s dangerous and mad, that’s all. Where did you learn about her?”
“Sunset Shimmer told me about her. Say uh, how about searching about her?”
“Good thing. I’m interested to know more about her, too.”
So the two of them headed to the computer desks, and immediately searched up for the supervillain.
“I wanted to know what’s the background behind her.”
“According to Sunset, it’s rumored that she’s responsible for those kidnapping cases lately!”
“Seriously? I didn’t know that.”
They soon found a website detailing about Madam Myra.
“Alright then, let’s enter it and see what it says,” directed Chaos.
Melody clicked on it and the first thing she saw was an artist’s impression of the true face of Madam Myra, which greatly gave her horrors.
“Calm down, let’s read on,” he assured her.
So the both of them read on:
Born Miranda Jenners, Madam Myra is well-known as the greatest criminal in all of Canterlot City. She was born into a well-known rich family in the city. As an only girl, she was spoiled and pampered, and was infamous in primary and junior high school as a rude girl, and also a bully, and even played truant. She was eventually expelled in junior high due to cheating in a test, and eventually became a dropout.
As her parents were extremely busy businesspeople, they could not get to see Myra often, so they never know anything that happened to their daughter. They eventually died in a plane crash during a business trip, which Myra did not know because she had already joined a gang in committing crimes around the city.
“So Myra was also a bully?” asked Chaos.
“Man, Phoenix Dawn’s fate would likely be like her!” cried Melody as they continued to read on:
For many years, she committed crimes alongside her gang members, robbing banks, pickpocketing and committing burglaries. She even learnt to handle guns and rifles, and therefore was always armed at a crime scene.
It was believed that she spent all of the loot accumulated all through the years to start a very dangerous business which she claims to “take over the city and all over the world”. Even until now, she continues to commit many criminal cases, but was never arrested so far because she would change her appearance after every committed crime, thus earning her nickname, “The Morphing Woman”.
Rumor has it that she began to experiment on a deadly virus that has the potential to wipe out the entire mankind. It was speculated that the previous kidnapping cases and people gone missing which until now was never solved so far was linked to her mad project, because the victims might have been used as her test subjects. However, no one has been able to prove this evidence, as most of these cases happened too quickly or without leaving traces, and eyewitnesses who were at the crime scenes claimed that Myra’s henchmen deployed used various techniques to prevent other eyewitnesses nearby from exposing the plot, such as knocking out or killing the subject as well. As such, little or no evidence is provided for these cases. Her exact location is also unknown either, as she was claimed to use vehicles hijacked from elsewhere before using them in kidnapping or disappearing cases before it was being presumably scrapped, out of anyone’s guesses.
The authorities have offered a reward up to ten million dollars to anyone who was able to successfully expose and foil Myra’s plot, but no one has succeeded so far due to these circumstances. Only time will tell when will Myra’s evil acts come to an end…
“10 million dollars, huh?” asked Chaos once he finished reading the article.
“Looks like Sunset Shimmer’s not the only one who’s thinking so!” said Melody.
“Come to think of it,” continued Chaos. “We did really make a buzz on her when a disappearance or kidnapping incident happens! Even my mom told us stories about her, dozens of times already!”
“Has anyone in this school been kidnapped?”
“So far, so good, no one in this school has been abducted. But our principal has reminded us to be alert for suspicious people here!”
“Whoa…”
Later that night, Melody was trying to sleep in the living room, but still, the feeling of homesickness got over her again.
“Oh, dear…” she moaned. “I miss you all so much, everypony. I’m just wondering whether you all are doing fine…”
A few more thoughts on her family, her friends and Princess Celestia soon made her doze off.
“Melody? Melody!” Suddenly, she heard Spike’s voice.
“… Spike?” Melody opened her eyes, only to find herself…
“Is this my room?” she looked around with surprise. “I’m back in Equestria?”
She checked her body, but instead of expecting a hoof…
… all she saw was her hands!
“Huh? But I’m in Equestria! How could I…”
“Melody, are you-” Before Spike could finish, both of them were staring face to face at each other, speechless.
“Y-you…”
“Spike, listen…”
“TWILIGHT!” Spike screamed as he went out of the room, looking panicked.
“Spike, what’s going on?” Twilight called from downstairs.
“Wait up!” Melody jumped down from her bed, trying to chase him to the hallway.
“Spike, what happened?” Twilight asked from the main hall.
“I-I’ve got no idea how Melody looks like now!”
“Mom, Mom!” Melody reached the hallway.
“Melody!” Twilight saw her. “You’re… you’re…”
“Mom, you’ve got to listen to me!”
“Listen, Melody. I’m taking you to Princess Celestia right now. She’ll find a way to turn you back into pony.”
Melody shuddered at the thought of meeting Princess Celestia. She imagined walking past everypony, and them screaming at the sight of an unknown creature in Equestria. What’s worse, she even feared that Princess Celestia will reject such being in Equestria.
“No, NOOOOOO!!!” Melody jumped with horror, then, looking around, she found herself in Sunset Shimmer’s living room.
“Thank goodness, it’s just a dream,” Melody sighed with relief. She looked at the clock on the wall. 2.00 am. She lay down on the couch, but she couldn’t sleep again. She feared her nightmare would come back.
“Oh, dear, what am I supposed to think of?” Then she remembered the newspaper cuttings about the death of Flash Sentry of this world, and what she discovered about Madam Myra at school earlier.
“I think I should read about them. Dunno if they’re linked to his death.”
Melody turned on the light of the dining room, then began to read the articles. The first one she picked was the news alert of his death. The headline read “FLASH DRIVE LEAD SINGER AND GUITARIST FOUND DEAD. SINGER DISCOVERED HANGING IN BEDROOM BY NEIGHBOR.”
“Gosh, that was disastrous!” Melody cried and read on.
For the next few cuttings read, there was nothing special. All were detailing about the death of Flash Sentry, and a few articles about his personal life.
“So he really was Sunset’s former boyfriend!” Melody thought to herself. “And how Mom started her relationship with dad?”
Then, at an article, she noticed something that caught her attention.
“What’s that?”
She examined it. It was an article, written by Sunset Shimmer to the paper’s editorial, telling them on her reaction to the death of Flash.
A few days before he died, he came to me at my door. I was surprised because he never even looked for me ever since I broke up with him. He looked tired and weary, saying he wanted to have a chat with me, so I invited him in.
In our conversation, he told me that he was feeling stressed. He told me about a month ago that a person showed him a terrible plan she was working, so horrible that he claims that she could even destroy the whole world with her weapon, and told him to keep this a secret.
At first, it seemed well to him, but he couldn’t take it anymore and he even broke down to tears. He told me that he told his band members about what he had seen, but they didn’t believe him, and they regarded his story as a joke.
I asked him, “Did you tell this to the Rainbooms?” He replied that he did tell them as well because they too noticed his strange change. The Rainbooms told me later that they all believed what he said, although Rainbow Dash was rather skeptical at first.
I proceeded to ask him, “Why did you come and look for me, though we broke up a long time ago?” He replied, “I just wanted to forgive you for spoiling our relationship in the past. Now that you’re good, I believe that you may trust me.” I promised to him that his secret will be kept confidential. He even told me that he wanted to give up on his life now, which shocked me and I responded that he can’t just do that, and he promised me that he’ll try.
A few days later, I came across the news on his death. I didn’t think that he felt himself bursting at the limit and he couldn’t take it anymore so he ended his life. It’s tragic, really. But still, I kept promising that his secret is still safe within me and the rest of the Rainbooms…
“Looks like Sunset Shimmer’s partially true!” Melody said after reading the article. “Though not all of his friends left him tho. He’s still got Sunset Shimmer and her friends, at least. But what’s that secret?”
Then she remembered Sunset’s words about his death.
“Deep in my heart I knew there was a mastermind behind this.”
“Maybe that could be Madam Myra,” she deduced to herself. “She must have shown him what she’s planning to do to this world, and this has made him sick all the while! I think I better tell this more to Chaos in the morning…”
“You look tired, Melody,” said Greenie Hats upon meeting her.
“Oh, I can’t sleep well last night,” she replied, yawning. “I think I’m thinking too much.”
“Too much? About what?”
“I’ll tell you later. Give me a break. *yawn*”
As Melody walked away, Raisin Brandy approached her.
“Is there really anything wrong with her?”
“Uh, she was tired only…”
“What time does she sleep often?”
“How should I know? She’s from another world…”
“But really, I think she would sleep really late, since she reads books often…”
“Really? I didn’t know that.”
“Chaos told me everything about her. He’s closer with her!”
“*gasp* Does that mean that he’s… in love with her!??”
“Maybe, it’s hard to tell, but we better don’t get into their matter.”
Later that afternoon, Melody went to find Sunset Shimmer. She had told her to meet her at the office room.
She arrived to find a blue-haired, light blue-skinned lady talking to her.
“Are you sure, huh?” Sunset Shimmer asked her.
“Pretty, really sure, ain’t no joke!” she laughed. “Besides, Adagio couldn’t help but just dig deeper into her work, literally.”
“So you don’t think they aren’t stressed, huh?”
“Well, I don’t think so. Anyway, I have to get over to Taco Bell right now. Looks like it’s time already. Goodbye!” And the lady hurried away.
“Who’s that woman?” asked Melody as the lady walked away.
“That woman? She’s Sonata Dusk,” explained Sunset. “She used to be one of my enemies. She has two other friends which they name themselves the Dazzlings.”
“The Dazzlings?”
“Yup, our rival band. They looked so normal until I found something suspicious about them. That’s when I called your mother and she revealed to us that they were sirens…”
“Sirens? As in the sirens who use music to bring havoc?”
“Correct, and they threaten to ruin our school show so they started an event called ‘Battle of the Bands’, but we eventually defeated them, and now they’re back to good. You can probably ask your mother more about her.”
“I see about that. What’s that Taco Bell thing she’s saying just now?”
“Oh, she loves tacos. She’s always excited every Tuesday because it’s Taco Tuesday. It’s when tacos are sold really cheap.”
“Gosh, you make me wanna learn more about her.” Then she remembered, “Which reminds me where’s Phoenix Dawn?”
“Phoenix? Well I assigned her to go and help Platinum Royale and her mother to get clothing material from the clothes’ shop. She was reluctant because she didn’t like going out, but still she had to do it.”
“Is she always rebellious when asked to do things with others?”
“Sadly, most of the time. It always takes me to order angrily and she’ll do it, and everyone has to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t cause trouble. Yeah, she’s a headache to everyone.”
“I feel bad for that.”
“Madam Sunset! Madam Sunset! This is terrible!” From the corner running towards them was Platinum Royale, looking terrified.
“Platinum Royale! What’s going on?”
“This is bad,” she cried, panting. “Phoenix Dawn has been kidnapped!”
“What did you say!?” asked Sunset Shimmer, shocked at what she heard.
“Kidnapped? How did it happen?”
“You see, we told Phoenix to wait outside while we entered the textile shop to get our ordered cloths. Mom was busily bargaining with the textile owner so I went outside to check out on Phoenix and I found her talking to some stranger.”
“A stranger?”
“He was asking her, something like ‘Do you want to help us in something?’ I called to her, ‘Phoenix! Don’t talk to strangers!’ That’s when that man started to strangle Phoenix who screamed really loud and spoke something to someone in the car beside him. Then the other guy came out and tried to catch me, but I was able to fend him off using some of my defense skills. He then returned back to the car, and drove straight away, taking Phoenix with them!”
Sunset tried to remain calm. “Tell me, can you recognize them?”
“I dunno, but Mom was smart. She came out when she heard the screams, and when the car drove off, she managed to snap the license plate!”
“Were they armed?” asked Melody.
“I don’t know, I can’t tell. It happened so fast!”
“Where’s your mother now?”
“She’s gone to report the matter to the police, so she dropped me here to inform you first!”
“What’s the matter?” The principal and the vice principal arrived.
“Oh, good God!” Sunset broke out to them in tears. “My daughter has been kidnapped!”
“Kidnapped? Is that so?” asked the vice principal.
“Platinum Royale can explain everything,” Melody told her.
“I have all the proof,” said Platinum.
“Then come with me, Platinum. I’ll leave you to be in charge with Sunset,” she spoke to the principal before she went with Platinum.
“Please, tell me, what can I do?” A hysterical Sunset hugged the principal. “I don’t want my daughter to be in danger!”
“Calm down, Sunset. We’ll try to seek assistance quickly.”
Sunset’s cried drew the attention of several others passing by.
“Sunset Shimmer! What happened?” asked Pinkie Pie.
“Yeah, what’s going on?” inquired Rainbow Dash.
“Phoenix Dawn has been kidnapped!” explained Melody.
“Kidnapped?” Asked a female student.
“Ha! She deserves it!” A male student bellowed. “Playing pranks with us all day? I guess that’s her payback!”
“No one shall save her! Hahaha!”
“QUIET!” bellowed Rainbow Dash. “Don’t hurt Madam Sunset Shimmer’s feelings right now! Get back to your own businesses!”
The crowd eventually dispersed, still chattering about her.
Melody on the other hand didn’t know what to do.
“Told ya! Something will really get on her!” said Greenie Hats when they gathered together.
“I knew this would happen,” said Fiji. “I was waiting for something bad to happen on her.”
“Well who asked her to make fun of the kids here every day?” asked Peanut Butter.
“Okay, listen up!” said Thunder Clash. “You think anyone here would go and rescue her? I don’t think so.”
“I agree with you, buddy!” Pizza Frenzy said first, siding Thunder.
“Err, maybe… not?” shrugged Pepper Flake.
“Yeah, no one would probably care about her,” added Raisin Brandy.
“Same here! I’m not gonna bother about her!” said Greenie.
As everyone argued, Melody, Honey Drops, Chaos, Beryl and Malinae were all silent.
“I personally don’t want to get involved in that business,” Honey told Melody. “Mom and Dad always told me not to be a busybody.”
“I’m feeling neutral on this,” said Chaos. “Though I knew that she deserved it.”
“I somehow feel sorry for her,” whispered Malinae. “I wish I could help, but Fiji and Ray won’t let me.”
“But you better still listen to your siblings,” replied Beryl. “You can’t disappoint them.”
Melody still remained quiet. “If you excuse me,” she told Chaos. “I need to go home now.”
“Hey Melody!” called Greenie. “Do you want to save Phoenix Dawn?”
“Um, I’ll think about it,” she said hurriedly and left to find Sunset Shimmer.
Late at night, Melody sat alone on the couch, reflecting the events that happened earlier. Phoenix Dawn was a bad girl, okay, she thought to herself. So she deserved to be kidnapped.
Then, she remembered the words of Princess Celestia and her mother. Yes, any bad one should deserve a second chance if they’re willing to repent and change. She remembered her incident with Pixie Dust. Well, she did change, with a little bit of advice and friendship. Friendship is magic, after all. But is Phoenix willing to change once rescued? She thought hard. It was a hard decision and she might meet objections by the others.
Sunset Shimmer was upstairs, weeping and talking on the phone. The police had called to ask her everything about her daughter. Melody went upstairs, and found that Sunset was still talking.
“Yes, I know that. What? Oh, you see, Phoenix Dawn was a bad student in my school, bullying everybody else almost every day and all of us have to keep an eye on her. I know, listen to me. Even if she’s a bully, and even if everyone hates her, whatever she does, she’s still my daughter, and I love her. Please, do something…”
After a long pause, Sunset said, “OK then, thanks. Please be quick.”
As Sunset ended the call, Melody entered.
“Melody,” began Sunset. “You need to help me.”
“Help you? How?”
“Help me find a way to save Phoenix,” she replied. “I know, all she does impresses me nothing every day, but no matter what, she’s still my daughter, and I still love her, even though she never gave me a gift every Mother’s Day.”
“Did you tell Mom about this?” Melody proceeded to ask further.
“I did, and I’m now waiting for her reply.”
“But will she change if rescued?”
Sunset paused, then she spoke. “I don’t know how to say for this. She has to answer it if we can get her back…”
“I’ll try. Give me a night for me to think,” she said and left Sunset in her room to calm herself.
At Madam Myra’s headquarters…
“Let me go, let me go! I want to be with my mom!” A panicked Phoenix Dawn tried to struggle free as the men escorted her to a room. It was when a woman, with dark olive green hair, dark scarlet eyes, her mouth coated with dark purple lipstick, dressed in an evil way approached her.
“At last, you have arrived. I’ve been expecting you,” began the woman.
“Who are you? Why are you looking for me?”
“I’m Madam Myra,” the woman introduced. “I’ve found out myself that I’m short of staff, and you seem to be the perfect choice for me. Would you like to take a tour around my workplace?”
Before Phoenix could answer, her henchmen, still holding onto her, escorted her, following Madam Myra.
Myra led her to a floor, to which Phoenix was shocked at the sight of the scene. Right in front of her, was a person, tied to a medical recliner was struggling to free himself while her other henchmen were surrounding him!
“I’m in a quest to conquer this world,” she explained to her. “By infecting them with a virus which they’ll suffocate and die within minutes! But, I need to make it look like a vaccine, so that I can safely smuggle it into clinics and hospitals. At that time, chaos will happen upon the patients, and once the authorities have discovered what’s wrong with that fake vaccine, they’ll definitely look for me and wanted me to refund, but at that time, I’ll be using the money I’ve got to escape to somewhere and keep on infecting elsewhere, and my quest to dominate the world is complete!”
Phoenix listened to Myra’s story, with her heart filled with horror. She watched as the victim writhed with agony just after the virus was injected, then lay motionless. At the other side, she could see another victim being injected with a fluid, who went in agony at first, then he felt himself like an idiot.
“Are you in for my project, darling?” she asked him.
“Yes, Madam. I’m always ready!” the victim responded, rather crazily and retarded.
“So, would you like to help me in my evil project?” she turned to Phoenix.
Feeling nauseated and horrified by everything before her eyes, Phoenix struggled to break herself free.
“No, I’m not going to work for you!” she cried. “I want my mother and I will call the police!”
“Too bad. The police will never ever know what I’m doing,” Myra replied as Phoenix successfully broke free and ran away. “Boys, go get her.”
As Phoenix ran down the corridor, trying to find the exit, she had to face several more of her henchmen, blocking her way to escape. She suffered heavy blows to various parts of her body, some to the point of bruising or even bleeding. Soon she became exhausted, but she was still relentless.
Then, without warning, a henchman, with his own stick whacked Phoenix with a great force that she fell down.
“Ah! My leg!” Phoenix held her left leg. She thought she had heard a crack on her shin.
But before she could ponder anything further, she felt a needle piercing into the back of her neck, then slowly went unconscious.
Then, Madam Myra arrived, looking at her latest victim.
“If she doesn’t want to be my slave,” she sniggered. “Then I might as well make her my final test subject. Now that I’ve succeeded one, time to use her as a confirmation test! Mwahahahaha…”
Melody was still awake on her couch again. She was thinking many possibilities on the fate of Phoenix Dawn. What if she was kidnapped by some ordinary kidnapper? How much would be the ransom? Will she be sent out of this city? Worse still…
Could she have ended up in the hands of Madam Myra?
Once more, all these thoughts put her to sleep.
She suddenly woke up to find herself in a strange room, dimly lit.
“Where am I?”
Then the whole room suddenly lit up. From the door across, in came a group of men dressed in an evil way.
“Welcome to my fun land…” an evil voice boomed. “I hope you’ll enjoy the fun here…”
She recognized the voice. Madam Myra! As she turned around to search for an escape route, she found an old rusty ladder nearby, and quickly rushed to clamber on it just before the men could get her.
She managed to reach the top and began crawling quickly through the small tunnel. But then, halfway through without warning…
The tunnel floor gave way and she found herself in an empty room.
To make matters worse, a strange fluid began flowing towards her and dissolved a tin can lying on the floor. Acid!
Melody looked around. There was a door at the distance. She darted towards it. Fortunately for her, it wasn’t locked. She swooped out and closed it straight, just before the flowing acid could engulf her.
But things just got worse.
Out of nowhere, several men grabbed her.
“Prepare to die, lady!” Without warning, one of the men aimed his needle at her shoulder, and pierced it.
“AAAAAHHHHH!!!!” Melody screamed as the virus in the fluid began to infect and kill her.
It was when Melody woke up, with her whole body covered in sweat and panting. She looked around to find herself in Sunset Shimmer’s living room again.
“Oh dear,” she moaned to herself. “I’ve been having nightmares for two days in a row! How am I supposed to cope this over!?? Someone must help me!”
“You’ve been stressing too much, aren’t you?” Suddenly, a familiar voice called. At the same time Melody could feel something touching her shoulder. She was frightened, but when she turned back…
She saw a light orange stallion pony, with blue hair and a pair of wings, and light glowing around him. He was no other than the spirit of Flash Sentry. The Flash Sentry of Equestria.
Flash gave her a smile.
“… Dad? Aren’t you supposed to be… a human here?”
“Well, magic makes me come here,” Flash explained. “I happen to learn that you’re in the world your mother’s been before, so I managed to get here in my pony form with the help of Princess Celestia!”
“But, will Sunset Shimmer hear us talking down there?”
Flash signaled his muzzle upwards. Melody could see a barrier made up of magic surrounding them.
“I was able to explore everywhere when I came here. When I found you in distress, I was able to cast a barrier which Princess Celestia told me to do so that no one can hear us talking!”
Melody listened, amazed at Princess Celestia’s ability.
“So, what’s been troubling you now?”
“*sigh* You see…” Melody proceeded to tell him about what happened earlier.
“Oh…” Flash responded after listening with interest. “Saving someone who’s bullying you all the while?”
Melody nodded. “But I just don’t know whether she would change after that or not. That’s the problem. I’m so confused, Dad. What can I do?”
“Well,” continued Flash. “Remember the time you were kidnapped when you’re a filly?”
Melody recalled. She remembered the day a disguised Queen Myra went up to the door at Fluttershy’s house, then wrapped her up in a sack, and then remembered Chaos Control risking himself to save her, and swore that he would protect her for eternal. Yes, she realized that she and Phoenix are to be in common. A sense of déjà vu conquered her thoughts. Well, she couldn’t let anything happen to her rival.
“Err, yeah.”
“And you did taught somepony a valuable lesson?”
Melody recalled her incident with Pixie Dust again. She gave her advice on friendship and not to be arrogant. Maybe if she could do the same to Phoenix Dawn, the reaction could be the same.
“Take my advice, Melody. Just do your best to save her, whether she’s your friend or enemy. A good advice would definitely motivate her,” said Flash. “Even just a teen-weeny bit of word will probably move her.”
“I guess, you’re right, Dad,” replied Melody. “Seeing you now makes me miss everypony in Equestria.”
She hugged Flash Sentry and wept, with him cuddling her.
“Don’t be so sad, my daughter,” comforted Flash, kissing her on the forehead. “Trust me, you’ll be home soon. If everything goes well your mother might come into this world.”
“… really?”
“I’m serious. Also, don’t forget this.” He held her charm, which glittered in the darkness. “As always, it will come in handy when you’re in deep trouble!”
Melody held her charm. It really was her father and family’s treasure, and she couldn’t lose it.
“I will treasure it,” she promised to him. “I’ll try and save Phoenix Dawn no matter what!”
“The rest is up to you. I believe in the power in you so you can do it…!” said Flash before his spirit began to fade away into the darkness.
Melody stared at her charm, with determination.
“If Phoenix Dawn thinks that this is just an ordinary jewel, I’ll show her and everybody what this thing can do!” she said to herself.
Soon, morning broke over the neighborhood.
Melody got up, feeling herself full of spirits after a night’s talk with her father. She looked at the clock.
“I think I’d better wake Sunset Shimmer up. Or else I’ll be late for school and tell them my ultimate decision!”
Melody went into Sunset’s room. Sunset was still asleep, tired after crying all night for her daughter.
“Um, Sunset?” Melody woke her.
“Oh…” Sunset stretched. “What time is it now, Melody?”
“Err, 8 a.m.?”
Sunset jolted with a start. “Oh no! I’ll be late for school! Melody, you’ll pack this for me, and this, and this…”
At the outskirts of the city, at a building close to Myra’s headquarters…
Phoenix Dawn, who had fallen asleep upon injection slowly opened her eyes. She glanced everywhere.
“Where… am I?” She tried to feel her hands and legs but alas, both have been tied. She couldn’t move at all. A sting of pain came from her left leg.
It was when the door opened to reveal three men.
“Aha, you’re awake,” one of them, dressed in red spoke to her. “We’ve decided to keep you in this warehouse for the moment. When night comes we’ll take you for Madam Myra’s final test subject.”
“Heck no!” objected Phoenix strongly. “I am not going to be your rat!”
“Still defiant, huh?” The other two went up and sealed her mouth with a tape, preventing her from shouting and screaming.
“I think I’ll keep you quiet for a while. It’s about time you’re about to say farewell to this pathetic world! Not my words, but I’m merely following Madam’s orders…” he cackled as he closed the door, leaving her in the semi-darkness.
Desperate, Phoenix tried to turn around, in a vain attempt to move herself. Suddenly, she felt something hard within her clothes. She tried to drop it. It was her phone! For some reason, Myra’s henchmen failed to search through her clothes and remove her phone!
Bearing the extreme pain, she turned around and tried to work on the phone. It was a lot of hard work for her, as she had to use her nose to operate it. She had to send an SOS message for help… somehow!
Meanwhile, back in Canterlot High School…
The children of the Main Five, as usual, gathered at the band room.
“I was wondering,” began Fiji. “How you all guys discussed with everyone at home.”
“Discuss what?” asked Chaos Control.
“About Phoenix Dawn, of course!” said Greenie Hats sharply. “As I said, nobody would definitely care about her!”
“Of course you don’t care! But what about us?” snapped Beryl back.
Before anyone could answer, the band room door slammed open and there stood Melody, with a stern face and a gush of wind blowing from behind.
“Melody… Aurora…” said Thunder Clash softly and weakly.
“I’ve made up my mind,” declared Melody. “I’m going to save Phoenix Dawn.”
Everyone in the room gasped.
“You… seriously!??” blurted Greenie. “You wanna go and save our bully? Hah-hah-hah! Trust me, she’ll be the same if you rescue her!”
“I’m not kidding,” Melody went on calmly. “Don’t you want to give her another chance?”
“Another chance? Oh-ho-ho, don’t bluff me, Melody!” guffawed Thunder. “Why would you want to save someone useless to you?”
“Thunder Clash, this isn’t funny!” snapped Chaos. “Melody’s got a point, you know.”
“Seriously?”
“I’m serious,” Melody continued. “Even if she’s a bully to this school, she deserves a second chance! Apart from that, she does have some common with me.”
“What’s so common?” asked Pizza Frenzy, still in disbelief.
“She and I don’t have a father,” explained Melody. “Her father left a month after she was born. Mine died on the day I was born.”
“WHAT!?” cried Pepper Flake.
“And also, I was kidnapped before. Kidnapped by someone who’s greedy for power to control the world, just like Madam Myra.”
“Seriously!?” asked Raisin Brandy, his jaw dropping.
“That’s why I need to save her,” Melody resumed. “What if she’s in the hands of Madam Myra? If no one comes to save her then this is going to be a disaster! Imagine how horrible everything would turn out!”
Everyone gasped. As everyone stood in silence, Chaos went up to her.
“Melody,” said Chaos. “I think I have to agree with you on this.”
“You’re gonna help me?”
“You can’t go and face her alone,” he replied. “With me by my side, we can do this together.”
“I’m with you, too, Chaos,” said Beryl as she followed him.
“Ditto,” added Honey Drops.
“And me, too!” said Malinae quickly.
“Hold it, hold it!” called Greenie Hats when she saw four people siding Melody. “Are you gonna sure this will work? I mean, she can’t be trusted!”
“We might as well give her a chance,” said Melody. “Perhaps this kidnapping incident might serve as a lesson to her. Besides, I have came across several ones who were arrogant, but after some word of mine, they were able to appreciate what is meant by friendship.”
“You really think so?” asked a doubtful Platinum Royale.
“She is right.” Out of nowhere, Sunset Shimmer appeared, along with her friends.
“Madam Sunset!”
“Are you seriously gonna let her save your daughter!?” asked Peanut Butter.
“We’ve made a deal,” replied Sunset. “Melody just spoke to me that she had made her decision. Whatever Phoenix Dawn does to me and all of you, she is still my daughter, and I forever love her. I think her inner heart would express her love for me.”
“You really think so, Madam Sunset?” inquired Thunder.
“A mother’s love for her child is always endless,” said Rarity. “She can even die to protect her child. Don’t you know all of this basic concept?”
All of them felt speechless.
“Please, I beg you all,” Sunset pleaded. “You all are my only hope…” She went into tears and hugged Fluttershy.
The rest all hung their heads in shame. They felt that these words were right. Plus, with someone, not only from another world but also part of a royal family, she might have a point.
“I’m sorry, Melody,” apologized Greenie Hats. “I didn’t realize that you can be a person with wise words.”
“I am more experienced,” replied Melody modestly. “It’s not that I’m like the best motivator around here or something.”
“We’d know we could trust you,” said Beryl. “You’re a princess after all!”
“Alright then. We’ll help you,” Fiji gave in at last.
“I can’t deny. Looks like I’m in, too,” shrugged Peanut.
“Guess I’m joining in,” said Pepper, stepping forward.
“Okay, I’m giving in,” said Thunder.
“So am I,” replied Platinum.
“Guess I ain’t gonna deny,” said Raisin.
In no time, all of them agreed to help Melody in rescuing Phoenix Dawn.
“I’m amazed,” responded Sunset. “I feel that you all are ready to give Phoenix Dawn a second chance.”
“It is important that we see students care for each other, no matter he or she is good or bad,” the principal and the vice principal appeared. “We are trying to prove the society a loving community.”
“Well said, Principal,” agreed Rainbow Dash.
Just then a beep came from Sunset Shimmer.
“Oh, I got a new message! Let me see who it is… *gasp*”
“What’s wrong?” asked Pinkie Pie.
“It’s… my daughter! But, how could she…”
“Forget about how she was able to contact us! Let’s see what she says!” urged Rarity.
Slowly, Sunset opened her message, trembling to expect a message demanding a ransom. Then she gasped even more.
“What is it?” asked Applejack.
“Oh my… I don’t even know how to read it…” replied Fluttershy.
Instead, what was displayed in front of them was a series of letters, all jumbled up together!
“What… was she… doing?” said Sunset.
“I… don’t know?” replied Rainbow Dash doubtfully. “Might be someone taking her phone and trying to play a prank on you.”
“My daughter would never let anyone use her phone!”
“What is it?” Chaos went forward. Fluttershy showed him the message. He took it and examined it.
“I don’t think it’s some sort of gibberish,” declared Chaos.
“What? How can you tell?” asked Sunset, surprised.
“You wait.” Taking out his phone, Chaos began to dial a number from his contacts. “Hello, Drake, you there with your friends? Alright, we’ve got some important work to do right now. Meet me at the tech room now!”
“Who’s that?” asked Melody as he ended the call.
“Calling my IT team. We’re gotta work on this message. I believe it might reveal us a hidden meaning.”
Chaos walked out, and soon everyone followed him.
“They’re Chaos’ mates and are part of the electronic club,” Beryl explained to Melody on the way. “They intend on starting themselves a software company!”
“Is that so?” asked Melody, surprised.
Outside, the others waited. It had been almost an hour Chaos and his team were analyzing the message sent by Phoenix.
Sunset was with her face down onto Fluttershy’s shoulders, with a look of despair and anxiety. Melody and the others kept waiting uneasily.
A while later, Chaos and his team came out.
“Chaos, what does it say!?” Sunset asked nervously.
“Well, after an hour’s examination,” announced Chaos. “Phoenix Dawn is calling for help.”
All gasped at the revelation.
“How did you figure that out?” asked Melody.
“Well, first things first, you know what do kidnappers do the first thing they got you?”
“Um, tie up the hands and legs?” asked Thunder.
“And where will they place you?”
“Well, at a dark corner, either sitting or lying down,” answered Pepper.
“Correct. At this point I assume that Phoenix might have used one part of her body to operate on the phone. Since it’s less accurate to tap at a point properly on the screen, she would’ve tapped the other keys while typing to send the message. We tried to work out the nearest keys possible to decipher the message.”
“So, what does the message say?” asked Melody.
“Please help me, I have been kidnapped by Madam Myra and she’s going to kill me tonight,” he read the decoded message aloud.
All could not believe their ears.
“Whoa, nelly,” croaked Applejack.
“No…” said Sunset, her eyes beginning to mist.
“My worst fears… have been confirmed…” said an extremely shocked Melody.
“What’s more,” reported another boy from the team. “We were able to use some special coding to determine where the message came from. We were able to verify the coordinates and managed to find out this location.” He showed them a map printed with a mark. Everyone came over to see it.
“So that’s where Myra’s secret place is?” asked Platinum.
“It looks so… remote,” added Honey. “Like I never knew and been to this place before.”
“We’re not sure about that place,” another boy spoke. “We assume that the building might not have any location receptors that makes it invisible from satellite view. There are many other possibilities, but it’s hard for us to tell.”
“Guys!” Rarity was rushing excitedly towards them. “I got a call from the police! Looks like we’ve got some breakthrough!”
“What did they say?” asked Prudence.
“They told me that there were others who witnessed the kidnapping and managed to trace the car secretly to a location,” Rarity replied. “And that leads them to a mysterious building!” She showed them pictures the police sent her. The building was small as the person who shot them was far away so that he would not get spotted.
All of them gasped at amazement.
“Alright then,” said Melody. “It’s time to think of our actions!”
“Huh?” asked Peanut. “But you know that Myra’s place is dangerous!”
“I know, but let’s discuss this together. We can come up with a perfect strategy.”
“Melody’s right,” said Chaos. “If this plan’s carried out well then we can probably uncover Myra’s evil plans!”
“Oh whoa, that’s what I call a princess!” beamed Rainbow Dash. “She would definitely show true leadership to everyone else!”
“Come on, everybody!” called Melody as she headed to the discussion room. “Let’s try to put an end to Myra’s evils!”
“I guess that’s it,” whispered Greenie Hats, peeking from a bush.
“It matches the description of the picture earlier!” added Melody Aurora.
“But the thing is, how are we to get into that?” asked Platinum Royale. “There might be cameras around and we don’t want to get trapped!”
“Dang. How are supposed to rescue her?” asked Greenie.
“I got this,” said Chaos as he came down from Honey Drops’ multi-purpose vehicle. “Just wait…”
Meanwhile, in the dark warehouse, Phoenix Dawn, still tied to her hands and legs with her mouth sealed laid weak and famished on the dirty floor. Her body was covered in soot and she hadn’t been eating for the whole day.
Phoenix now had a feeling of sadness and regret. She remembered all the days she was rude to her mother, the staff and all the others at school. Worse still, she remembered all the days she treated Melody Aurora badly. Her mother told her that she was a princess but she wouldn’t believe. Now she felt remorseful.
“Oh, dear,” she thought to herself. “I am really a meanie. I guess I really deserved this. No one will save me so I’m going to die, but I can’t die just like that!”
Looking out of a small window, with the faint moonlight coming in from the night sky, Phoenix closed her eyes and desperately made a prayer. “God, you know I’m a bully and a meanie in my school, and I deserve to end up in this situation. I know, I am so rude to my mother, my teachers and everyone else around me. But please, give me a second chance! I promise to change my ways if someone can rescue me! Please answer me!”
As she slowly opened her eyes, suddenly she saw something shattering the window. Giving out a weak yelp, she thought someone’s entering from the window to get her away, so she pretended that she was unconscious. But she heard some voices. Familiar voices.
“Whoa! I didn’t know it was so fragile!”
“But don’t you think others will hear it?”
“Forget it! We’ve got to find Phoenix Dawn inside!”
Those three voices sound familiar! They sounded like Greenie Hats, Platinum Royale and Melody Aurora! Yet she still couldn’t open her eyes. She could feel three continuous thumps, followed by footsteps, coming towards her. One of them lifted her hand.
“Well, she’s still alive.”
“Hey! Who sealed her mouth like that?” As Phoenix could feel the tape being removed, she slowly opened her eyes to see Melody Aurora doing the work.
“She’s awake!” exclaimed Melody just as she pulled off the tape.
“H-how did you know… I’m here?” she asked weakly.
“Save that for later! We need to get you outta here!” replied Greenie Hats.
“Don’t touch my leg!”
“What happened to your leg?” asked Platinum.
“My-Myra’s henchmen did it,” she replied and told them what she saw.
“Oh my…” gasped Melody with horror, finally confirming yet another of her worst fears.
“This sounds terrible! Looks like she’s really mad now!” said Platinum.
“Shh, quiet! I think I can hear footsteps!” hushed Greenie.
“Oh no!” cried Melody. “How are we supposed to get out here?”
“I’ve got a plan,” said Greenie. “Come with me to the side of the door. Platinum, stay at the other side.”
Melody carried Phoenix on her back and followed Greenie Hats to the left side of the door. Platinum stationed at the right.
“When these guys open the door, I’ll tell you what to do,” Greenie whispered to Platinum.
“Right!”
Sure enough, the footsteps were closer and louder. Then they heard a man’s voice.
“Alright, young girl. Time to meet your end!”
The girls saw the door beginning to open. Once both sides reached forty-five degrees, Greenie and Platinum slammed it back simultaneously.
Outside, cries of surprises can be heard. Greenie and Platinum stood right in front of the door and opened it, revealing a dozen of Myra’s henchmen.
“H-how did you…” one of them asked.
“You’re facing us… now!” declared Greenie, and they did a hand-to-hand combat with them. All henchmen were so shocked that they couldn’t use their weapons. In about five minutes they knocked them all out cold.
“Whoa…” Melody gasped as she peeped out of the door.
“Now for the escape route.” Greenie took out her walkie-talkie from her pocket and called.
“Hullo, Chaos? I got her. Sorry for being so late. We had a bit of commotion just now.”
“Alright, excellent. Follow my instructions and you’ll be at the entrance!” Chaos’ voice replied from the walkie-talkie.
*~*~*~*
“What’s that?” asked Melody as Chaos produced a handphone-like gadget.
“It’s a walkie-talkie,” he explained. “It works like a phone but you use it only for duty jobs, and it isn’t wide-ranged like phones do.”
“So what are you gonna do to them?”
“I’ll be giving one to Greenie Hats and keep one for myself. I’ll be telling her what to do and where to go.”
*~*~*~*
“Okay girls, follow me,” instructed Greenie. “There might be other henchmen lurking around so we need to follow Chaos’ orders!”
“How?” asked Melody.
“He hacked into the security system of this place! He’ll see everywhere and he’ll direct us to the exit!” Greenie answered as they started to escape.
Along the way, the group hid within corners and rooms and evaded cameras, with Chaos Control guiding them. All through, they saw several other henchmen, but under Chaos’ clever guidance, they managed to evade them.
They managed to reach the entrance of the warehouse, and headed to where the others were waiting. Thunder Clash was there waiting in his sports car with Pizza Frenzy.
“Take her to the hospital quick!” instructed Greenie to her brother, at the same time Melody passed the ailing Phoenix Dawn to Pizza Frenzy on the other side. “She’s got a broken leg! Be careful with her!” She ordered Pizza as well.
“Alrighty!” responded Thunder. As he winded up the window, he turned to Phoenix. “Hang in there! We’ll get you there in no time!”
With a vroom and a screech, Thunder immediately took off, with the others watching them leave.
“I just hope he doesn’t get into trouble on the way,” remarked Prudence Aura. “I’m pretty scared if Pizza Frenzy’s with him.”
“Oh, you love him already, don’t you?” asked Melody.
“I-it’s not like that!” denied Prudence, blushing. “I’m not in love with… Wait, how did you know about that? We’re only about a month into our relationship though…”
“Well, you and him in my world are in love too!”
“Okay guys,” called Chaos, calling Melody, Pepper Flake, Fiji, Raisin Brandy, Platinum, Beryl and Greenie. “Time for our next move.”
“What are we gonna… do?” asked Pepper.
“Time to confront her,” he replied.
“Are you serious?” asked Fiji, worried.
“He’s not facing her alone,” asserted Melody. “With all of us together it’s going to be an end for her.”
“She’s right. With the eight of us here there’s nothing to fear of,” agreed Beryl.
“I’ll leave the others with you, Honey Drops,” Chaos spoke to her. “If they wanna come it’s best that you guard them along.”
“Right,” said Honey.
“Melody, please be careful,” pleaded Malinae.
“I will, don’t worry.”
“Alright, let’s go!”
The eight went slowly ahead, carefully walking in the darkness to avoid being seen. They eventually sneaked up at the building entrance, where they saw Madam Myra loading crates of her virus onto her van to be distributed to the hospitals.
She was checking on the load when a henchman approached her.
“Madam, it seems we have bad news.”
“What is it?”
“The subject which we’re supposed to test tonight… has been taken away!”
“What!?”
“Yeah, it ain’t easy getting her away,” said Chaos as he and the others stepped out from the darkness. “It would’ve caused a noise instead.”
“What!? Wait, y-you all…”
“Yup, we helped her away,” said Melody. “Who would want to cause commotion in Canterlot High?”
“It’s about time your evil comes to an end, Myra!” declared Greenie, pointing at her.
“Oh, really?” smirked Myra. “But guess I’ll finish you first. Boys, get them!”
“Uh-oh…” croaked Pepper.
“But we don’t have any weapons!” exclaimed Raisin.
“Hang on, guys. I got this,” said Chaos as he took out a small gadget.
As the henchmen aimed their guns towards them, Chaos pressed a button on the gadget and hey presto! Just before they could fire, the weapons exploded in their hands!
All stood wide-mouthed.
“What’s… that thing?” stammered Melody.
“Meh, something that emits electromagnetic pulses,” he explained. “I was told that I can destroy any handheld weapon!”
“What are you waiting? Get them!” ordered Myra, enraged.
Having no choice, the henchmen had to capture them using physical means, but the high martial skills shown by Greenie Hats, Platinum Royale and Raisin Brandy’s huge physical force meant that all were no match to the eight. Soon all henchmen laid down groaning.
“How’d you like that, meanie?” asked Platinum.
“Huh! You may have defeated my minions easily, but you’ll have to face one more person – me!” With that she took a test tube containing a specimen out of her jacket, and gulped it down.
“What’s that?” asked Fiji.
“Is she going to infect us!?” added Beryl.
“I don’t think so. Look!” cried Melody as she pointed towards her.
Right before their eyes, Myra started to transform and evolve, at the same time writhing with pain.
“Good gracious…” cried Raisin.
In less than a minute, Myra transformed into a hulk-sized creature, nearly twice her original size.
“I see you handling all of my minions easily. Now, time to feel my wrath!” She said, and grabbing a nearby lamp post, she pulled it out and hurtled towards them. All dodged in time.
“What the heck is this!?” moaned Raisin.
“I not only have created the virus to destroy the world, but I have made a lot of chemicals as well, including one that makes me transform in the event of a great emergency! Now, you won’t survive under me!”
“We will survive, and we’ll bring you under the law!” argued Melody.
“Try and stop me,” she challenged as she uprooted a nearby tree and flung its twigs and branches to them.
“Duck!” ordered Chaos, and everyone closed their eyes.
“I’m mad now!” cried Greenie as she got up. “This is my last resort!”
Immediately, the eight battled the hulk-sized Myra. Despite efforts by the team, almost all seemed ineffective against her.
The battle soon led them to the entrance of the warehouse.
“Isn’t she relentless?” complained Platinum. “Like she doesn’t seem to feel tired?”
“That’s it, children!” announced Myra.
“What?” asked Chaos, then he was shocked.
Myra had cornered them to a section full of oil barrels and explosives!
“No…” cried Melody.
“WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!” screamed Pepper.
“I’ve intended to lure you to the most dangerous part of this place. Now then, it’s goodbye to you all… now!” With that, she picked up an oil barrel, and hurtled it towards the eight…
Just as the barrel collided with the explosives, Melody and all of them cuddled together…
… followed by a huge explosion. Soon the entire warehouse collapsed in flames.
“Mwahahaha…” laughed Myra evilly, watching them burning to death.
Outside, the rest, who were watching the entire battle managed to get close to the entrance, and all were dumbfounded as the explosion occurred.
“Holy smokes…” said Peanut Butter.
“No… Platinum!” screamed Prudence.
“Melody…” wailed Malinae seeing her mentor in the flames while Honey Drops began to shed tears.
As Myra continued to laugh, suddenly, Greenie Hats’ voice could be heard from the inferno.
“Wait, I’m… still alive!!?”
“What!?” exclaimed Myra as the others suddenly gasped with surprise.
“Wait a minute, what’s this thing… glowing around us?” Chaos asked.
“And I don’t feel any burns!” Beryl’s voice called out.
Myra fanned the flames away, and much to her shock…
All eight survived!
What’s more, all eight had an aura of magenta-colored force field surrounding them!
“Is everyone… alright?” Melody asked.
“We’re alive! We’re alive!” Pepper jumped with joy.
“But what’s this energy surrounding us?” inquired Raisin.
“Melody!” Platinum called. “Look at your charm!”
Melody looked. Indeed, it was her charm which produced the magic!
The magic which saved them from the explosion!
Her father was right! The charm saved her and her friends!
“I… I thought I killed you all!” exclaimed Myra.
“Not that easy!” said Melody. “With the spirit of my father to protect me, nothing can stand against me!”
“I don’t believe it!” She grabbed a piece of huge debris and tossed towards them.
The rest ducked, but Melody stood straight and bold and with just a fist, had the oncoming debris shattered into smithereens!
“No, impossible!”
“And it isn’t just magic from my charm,” Melody added. “The friendship between me and my friends has further amplified this magical power!”
As she mentioned the qualities her friends possess, another miraculous thing happened. All eight of them sprouted pony ears, wings and hair extensions which resembled tails! (Except for the boys, Raisin gained only ears while Chaos gained both ears and wings)
“What… is this?” gasped Fiji at their sudden changes.
“Cool!” exclaimed Greenie as she was able to fly.
“Let’s see how you stand within us now!” declared Raisin as he grabbed a burning oil barrel and threw it towards Madam Myra, who deflected it.
Using their gained pony-like features, the eight now find it better to deal against Madam Myra. She tried to retaliate, but the eight were relentless.
The other four watched the battle with amazement.
“Go, Melody! You can beat her!” cheered Malinae.
“Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho!” chanted Peanut.
As they were at a distance from the warehouse, Myra began to show some tiredness.
“How… were you… so strong?”
“There is one magic that is the strongest and will never be broken,” said Melody as she held hands with her friends, and rose into the air. “The Magic of Friendship!”
Then, a beam of rainbow, in the shape of a helix emerged from them and enclosed Myra.
“Wait, what’s this!? No, NOOOOOOO…!!!”
In a flash of bright light, the hulk-sized Myra was no longer there.
Instead, lying on the ground was Madam Myra, back to her original size with her clothes torn, lying sprawled and bruised. She was totally defeated.
The eight lay on the ground after their attack, but they were eventually helped out by Honey Drops, Peanut Butter, Prudence Aura and Malinae. Malinae went over to help up Melody.
“Melody!” Malinae hugged her. “Glad you’re okay!”
“I am,” she replied. Then, standing up, along with the rest, all walked towards Myra, confronting her.
“Tell me,” began Melody as Myra struggled from her injuries. “What do you want to say now?”
“Th-this… can’t… be!” she choked. “How… can I lose… to a bunch of… nothing but just ordinary teenagers!?”
As sirens blazed from the distance, Chaos replied. “Admit it, Myra! You were so naïve back to your days that you didn’t even learn a single thing about friendship like Melody Aurora!”
“What? What friendship?” Before she could respond further, a policeman appeared behind her and handcuffed her.
“Got you at last, Myra,” the policeman said. “You’re wanted for many crimes committed all over the years!” He forced Myra up and led her away.
Before they knew it, the police came and led all of her henchmen away onto their buses and trucks. Several fire trucks came and the fire department eventually began to put out the fire.
“I called them while you guys were dealing with her,” explained Honey Drops to the puzzled audience.
“Yes, and it’s her who helped to inform us about the location. Thanks to you, lady,” a police inspector appeared before them and thanked her.
“How will you all deal with her?” Melody asked him.
“She will face a death sentence for many crimes: intentional murder, armed robberies and the intention of creating and distributing a virus, which is under the drug law.”
“Ooh, I see about that,” replied Pepper.
“I am totally surprised on how you guys managed to find and defeat her,” another officer said. “Would you mind coming with us to explain everything?”
“We’d like to, but first, we wanna visit our rescued friend at the hospital,” said Chaos.
“Oh, we’ll be conducting our questioning there. We heard that your relatives are there waiting for her, am I right?”
“Uh, yeah,” replied Platinum.
“You got any transportation?”
“Yes, Raisin and I drove everyone else here,” answered Honey.
“Then shall we follow you?”
“If you don’t mind,” said Raisin.
“What about the rest of you all?” asked Melody.
“We will be investigating around this site,” a female officer replied. “We need to uncover all the plans and evidence Madam Myra has been doing all through the years. This will provide enough evidence to charge her in court.”
“Come on, guys, let’s go!” Raisin called, leading them back to Honey’s multi-purpose vehicle and his own pickup truck, and drove to the hospital, with some other policemen following behind.
Upon arrival at the hospital lobby, Pizza Frenzy and Thunder Clash were waiting for them.
“Boys! How’s Phoenix Dawn doing right now?” Chaos asked, rushing in.
“She’s still under surgery. It has been going on for nearly an hour since we arrived here!” explained Pizza.
“Then take us to where she is now,” ordered Melody, and they followed them.
They reached the floor where Phoenix’s operation was still undergoing. Sunset Shimmer was sleeping on Fluttershy’s shoulders, while the others waited anxiously.
“Sunset!” Melody called.
“You defeated her?” asked Sunset as she got up.
“We did, thanks to some uh… magic we don’t even know what it is!” replied Greenie.
“What kind of magic?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“That’s what we wanted to know as well,” the inspector answered.
Just then, the operation light went out and the chief operator came out.
“Doctor! How’s my daughter!?” Sunset asked hastily.
“You daughter has suffered serious fracture to her left leg. We have applied a plaster cast to it. Apart from numerous bruises received on her body, she is free from any virus infection, though we found traces from a sleeping pill in her bloodstream. In all, your daughter is in a stable condition.”
All of them sighed with relief. Phoenix Dawn was totally safe.
Sunset knelt before the doctor. “Thank you, thank you, doctor! I can’t tell if she’s infected by the virus by the time these kids rescued her.”
“She wouldn’t have survived now if we have found the virus in the bloodstream. For now, she needs a good night’s rest to regain her strength lost from her ordeal.”
“That was wonderful, sir,” the inspector spoke. “If that’s the case, I’ll be questioning all of you tomorrow.”
“I’m eager to cooperate. When can we meet, Inspector?” asked Thunder.
“Around nine to ten next morning. We’ll have to be here early to take statements from our victim. Go home and have a good rest. Thank you once again for helping to solve a crime that has been going on for many years.”
“My pleasure, sir,” said Chaos.
“I’ll be calling you on the moment she is awake,” the chief operator spoke to the inspector, then to Sunset. “And bring your kids and everyone else here on the time as stated by the inspector.”
“Alright then. Thank you once again, doctor.”
At the car park, just before entering the car, Sunset spoke to Melody.
“I can’t thank you ever enough, Melody,” said Sunset. “I should say, you’re a real hero tonight.”
“I know that,” Melody replied. “How about the secret you’ve been keeping for Dad of this world all the years?”
“What secret? Oh wait…” Sunset suddenly remembered that she had given Melody on the cuttings of the death of this world’s Flash Sentry to her. “Well, I can safely reveal the secret now. I think it’s the beginning of Myra’s end.”
“I agree, Sunset,” finished Melody as they began to leave the hospital.
Morning arrived at Canterlot City. It was only around twelve hours since the defeat of Madam Myra.
Sunset Shimmer and Melody Aurora arrived at the hospital to visit Phoenix Dawn and keep the appointment made by the police officers. Phoenix was finally awake at six, and was notified that police officers and news reporters will come and take down statements from her.
They reached outside the ward just to find their friends, with both the principal and vice principal, the chief surgeon and the city mayor waiting outside.
“Glad that you’re here, Madam,” greeted the surgeon. “Your daughter’s still being interviewed now.”
“Can I find her?”
“Sure, wait for a minute.” He went indoors, then returned. “You can come in now, and all of you, too.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” said Rarity and they entered.
Phoenix lay on her bed, slightly dazed. She had a few bandages on her body and her left leg was casted with plaster. Several cameramen from television stations were filming the interview.
“Mom…” began Phoenix weakly. “Everybody…”
“I’m glad that you’re alright, Phoenix,” replied Sunset softly.
“How… did you guys… find me in Myra’s place?”
“First of all, you sent us this message.” Sunset showed her the message she received on the morning of her rescue.
“… this message!” Phoenix recognized it. “I… I had to use my nose to type it! I tried to call you for help, and just as I sent it, my battery ran out…”
“Thanks to Chaos Control and his team, we eventually get what you were trying to say,” said Beryl. “Also we were able to find out where Myra’s true location is!”
“But how did you managed to get inside to find me? Her place’s security system is too… creepy.”
“Well, to begin with, Chaos managed to hack into the security system of that place,” explained Platinum Royale. “He was able to observe the whole place from the cameras, and managed to guide us to where you are.”
“Chaos does a lot of hacking!” Beryl whispered to Melody. “He even hacked into the school’s system to help Pizza and Thunder to modify their bad grades!”
Melody asked Chaos. “Did you ever, Chaos?”
“Err, don’t mention that!” said Chaos, rather hastily and embarrassed. “I warned them that they’ll be charged if they ever want me to do it again!”
“And that’s how you’re saved!” finished Platinum.
“Whoa, man,” a reporter remarked. “I can’t believe you kids are pretty smart!”
“Now here’s the question I need to ask,” the inspector from yesterday spoke. “How did you all managed to defeat Madam Myra, and what was that rainbow thing coming from that place?”
“Yeah, I want to know what’s that magic, too,” added Greenie Hats. “The magic which gave me strange ears and wings as well.”
“I can explain everything,” said Sunset. “It’s something me and my colleagues know.”
“What is it?”
“To begin with, this girl and I are from another world,” Sunset referred to Melody.
“Another… world?” asked the reporters, bewildered.
“A world where I live as a different kind and magic exists,” explained Melody. “My mother came to this world a long time ago and helped to spread a special magic that is everywhere to her friends of this world.” She signaled towards the rest of the main five.
“A world full of magic…” a police inspector spoke. “That must be a wonderful thing to live!”
“So magic does exist!” said another reporter.
“From what she spoke, I remember a similar incident many years back,” recalled Fluttershy. “Madam Sunset Shimmer used to be a meanie. Then her mother came to take back something she stole from her world, and from that magic, we’ve turned her back into a good person. I remember gaining these ears and wings like you said, Greenie. And we still have them at certain occasions today!”
“Oh, that was an interesting story,” a reporter responded.
“Err, please, I have one question,” Phoenix interrupted. “You guys… came to save me at your will, right?”
“Err, not me,” denied Pepper Flake.
“Not me, either,” agreed Raisin Brandy.
“It’s all Melody Aurora’s idea,” said Beryl, as Melody went ahead to Phoenix’s side.
“I… I was a meanie to you and everyone, and I thought that nobody would come and save me,” Phoenix asked. “But… why would you still want to help me?”
“It’s because,” declared Melody. “You are part of my friends.”
All were shocked to hear such revelation.
“You and I have some in common. We were fatherless. I was born without a father but yours left a month you were born!”
Phoenix was stunned at Melody’s revelation of her family.
“I strongly believe in one concept that would make me get recognized by everyone. Well, not in a too obvious way but maybe something that can give you a little merit in life. With this concept, and also a magic, I can gain slow, but steady recognition. That, is nothing, but the Magic of Friendship.”
Upon finishing, Phoenix suddenly had a sense of regret. Touched by her words, Phoenix eventually broke down into tears and hugged Melody and wept.
“I’m… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Melody Aurora. I didn’t really know everything about friendship. All I could do every day is to get what I wanted, but I didn’t consider for the sake of others! I’m sorry, I’m sorry…!” She repeated over and over.
“It’s okay now,” she spoke with tender. “You are forgiven. You could’ve been like Myra if you don’t want to change. She was a meanie and a bully, just like you. I think everyone would feel the same as I do, right?”
The others looked at both of them with eager expressions.
“Well said,” replied Rainbow Dash.
“I’d give a yes,” said Prudence Aura.
“I honestly don’t mind,” said Fiji.
“I hope you’ll keep your promise and make a change to us starting today,” said Chaos.
As Phoenix looked at how everyone responded on her will to change, she was moved further. “I will, I will!”
“I hope you’ll be more sensible now, Phoenix,” said Sunset, hugging her. “This incident shall be a reminder on your life’s turning point.”
“I know. I’m sorry, Mom.”
“It’s alright.”
“Excuse me, Madam,” a nurse appeared at the ward door. “You’re wanted by someone.”
“Who… was that?” Sunset arrived outside with the others to find a grayish-orange, maroon-haired man, with a policeman accompanying her.
“Sunset Shimmer, is that you?” the man spoke.
“Rockstar Light…” Sunset replied. “You’re here… What do you want to look for me? After our divorce for eighteen years…”
The other five gasped. He was Sunset’s ex-husband! Why did he want to find her? Take Phoenix Dawn away from her?
“Sunset, my honey,” he continued. “After all these years, I’m feeling regretful. That girl wasn’t I really expected. I’ve followed her all the years but in the end, she deliberately dumped me and went for another person. I was lost and I didn’t know what to do. I had to find jobs everywhere to survive, but all of these jobs… were too short, and I was eventually broke. Just these days I only started to remember you and all of our good times… and our newborn daughter. I tried to search you everywhere but I had no luck so far.
“When I heard that our daughter was in trouble I immediately went to the police to identify myself. They then told me that she has been admitted to hospital so I came here. I wanted to come here and look for you, and say I was sorry for all these years. Will you… accept me back?” He knelt down before her with regret.
As the other five watched with tension, Sunset bent down to him.
“I can see you’ve really suffered all the years, Rockstar. While you just had your affair, I kept thinking that you’re a person without responsibility, neglecting the position of a new father. Now that you’re here, you’re really in a bad state.”
“Sunset, will you let me back home with you?”
“I will,” she said and hugged her long lost lover.
The others sighed with relief.
“I want to see our daughter.”
“She’s in there,” said Sunset and led him back into the ward. “Phoenix, here’s your father.”
“Hello, my daughter,” Rockstar introduced himself. “I was away from home when you’re a baby, now I’m back to mend my relationship with you and your mother. Do you think… I’m a bad father?”
“I guess… not,” Phoenix replied. “Though I was strange because I was like, when have I seen you before?”
“We’re now together again,” said Sunset as they all engaged in a family hug, which caused a round of applause.
“Good thing to see him back again,” said Applejack.
“Listen up, kids,” the mayor spoke. “After listening to your story I am amazed on your bravery. All of you dared to risk your lives to save someone in distress and also managed to help us arrest a long-wanted villain who’s wanted for a series of crimes that hasn’t been solved for many years. With that we can finally bring her under the law. All of you will be greatly rewarded, as I promised a long time ago.”
“Well, when can we receive it?” asked Greenie Hats.
“They’ll call us. Don’t be so impatient, Greenie,” chuckled the principal.
“Despite her being arrested, but there will be some more new villains surfacing and haunting this city. We mustn’t let our guard down should they come and target us,” the mayor continued.
“So that’s the Magic of Friendship plus the spirit of your father that’s protecting us and giving us magic which came from your charm!” said Platinum brightly. “I finally get it now!”
“Then what about Myra’s headquarters building?” Honey Drops asked the Mayor. “What are you going to do with it?”
“Myra’s headquarters? Ho, it will take some time for us to confiscate all of the property of the building, including secret documents which we need enough evidence to link with all of those disappearance cases that happened all these years. When we’re done, we’re going to demolish it and leave it barren, since everyone believed that the spirits of the dead will haunt the place if we turn it into other purposes.”
“Which reminds me,” Sunset turned to the reporters. “Do you all remember that I wrote this?”
Taking out from her file, Sunset revealed them the article she wrote about the death of this world’s Flash Sentry.
“Ohh, yes, it’s in our archives!” one reporter remarked. “What would you like to say about it?”
“From the article, I promised him not to reveal the secret of what he saw before he died. Now that Myra has been arrested, I can safely tell you now…”
For the next few days, the paper’s headlines were all full of the news of Madam Myra’s arrest, and the brave feat of Melody Aurora and her friends. The entire city instantly buzzed on the final fate of Madam Myra. Her end has arrived, and everyone agreed with that.
It was only a few days later when Phoenix Dawn was finally discharged from the hospital. Sunset Shimmer drove her home.
Rockstar Light was at home, chatting with Melody.
“There’s a lot of magic, you say?”
“Indeed! Lots! You can use it to do whatever you want, but you have your own limit.”
“Oh, whoa, I heard a bit about your world from Sunset Shimmer. Looks like I have you as my new information supplier now!”
“Speak of the devil, she’s back!” Melody cried as she heard the engine sound of Sunset’s car entering the yard.
The door opened to reveal Sunset and Phoenix, still with her plastered left leg and was walking on crutches.
“We’re home!” called Sunset. “Anything I missed?”
“Oh, nothing, honey,” chuckled Rockstar. “I was asking more about your world from this girl!”
“Err, Melody,” called Phoenix as she walked to the stairs. “Could you please… help me up to my room?”
“Your room?” Melody asked. “But I’m not supposed to enter…”
“The one who didn’t allow you to enter was the old me. What you’re seeing now is the new me, and the new me now grants you permission to enter,” joked Phoenix, and they both laughed.
“Alright, anyway,” continued Melody as she went over. “I’m helping you up.”
As Melody helped Phoenix to upstairs, a smile beamed on Sunset Shimmer’s face.
“Our daughter’s all grown up,” she whispered to Rockstar.
Later, during dinner…
“Err, Melody, what’s wrong?” Phoenix asked. They were enjoying spaghetti.
“This is so nice…” sighed Melody. “I just wish I can eat more, or order the same thing back in Canterlot…”
Before she knew it, two meatballs appeared on her plate.
“Have some of mine. I know these meatballs are delicious, aren’t they? Oh, let me wipe off that sauce on your mouth.” She held a tissue and wiped her mouth clean.
Sunset watched with a heart of gladness.
A while later, Rockstar was looking for Phoenix.
“Shh, don’t disturb her!” hushed Sunset. “I think she may be chatting with Melody…”
She quietly opened Phoenix’s room door. Much to her delight, she saw her on her books instead of in front of her computer, with Melody tutoring her as well!
“What’s she doing?” Rockstar asked as Sunset gently closed the door.
“She’s studying,” whispered Sunset. “I think let’s talk about all those old times, huh?” She ushered Rockstar downstairs.
It was almost eleven when they finished revising.
“Oh, dear,” sighed Phoenix as she packed her schoolbag. “I can’t really do all those questions without your help. Thanks a lot.”
“Heh-heh, you’re welcome.”
“But there’s something I’m worried now. I’m afraid that… I’ll still be rejected. Everyone will still know how horrid I am…”
Melody assured her. “It’s alright. I think some have seen that you’re willing to change. Others, I just don’t know.”
“You really think so?”
“I… guess. Now I’m going downstairs.”
“To what?”
“Sleep. I’ve been doing this since the first day I came to this world.”
“Oh, come on. You don’t have to now,” Phoenix said apologetically, approaching her in her crutches. “You can sleep with me from now on. I’m not gonna let you suffer from the heat downstairs.”
“Then, it’s okay,” finished Melody and she went out to request Sunset Shimmer for a mattress.
The next morning, at the corridor at Canterlot High…
As the students were chatting their own business, something suddenly caught their attention.
Phoenix Dawn was walking down to her class, assisted by Melody Aurora.
“Phoenix is back…”
“But I got a feeling that I still can’t trust her…”
Melody patted Phoenix to assure her from the rumors spoken by them.
Just then, a girl came up to her.
“Hey there Phoenix. I heard about your condition. Very sorry for you. Well, hope you get well soon! And keep your promise to change by the way!”
“See?” said Melody as the girl walked away. “There are still people who care for you!”
“Then I’m glad.”
“Remember to show your good heart. Slowly but surely they will recognize you back. Now let’s get to find our friends!”
Later, all the students and the staff gathered at the auditorium. The principal had a special announcement to make. The mayor, with several policemen and reporters were there, too.
“As you all know,” began the principal. “About a week ago one of our students, Phoenix Dawn, known as a bully who is the daughter of Madam Sunset Shimmer has been kidnapped by the legendary villain Madam Myra about a week ago. It was definitely shocking to know that one of our students has been kidnapped by a well-known criminal.
“However, in the midst of panic and confusion, we have eight people who were willing to risk their lives to save our student. May the eight of you come out, please?”
Melody Aurora, Pepper Flake, Fiji, Raisin Brandy, Platinum Royale, Chaos Control, Beryl and Greenie Hats all went up on stage.
“These eight have shown their bravery in rescuing their school mate. Plus, with a bit of kind words from the one who led the efforts in the rescue, we hope that Phoenix Dawn will show us a change in her ways. Right now, we will now let the city mayor present the reward offered from capturing and exposing Madam Myra!”
The mayor then presented Melody and her friends a large cardboard check, printed “TEN MILLION DOLLARS”. As everyone posed with the check with photographs taken, those below the stage cheered.
“Now then, Melody Aurora,” the principal continued. “Would you like to say some words of appreciation?”
Melody took over the microphone. “First of all, I would like to thank all of my friends in helping me in my plan to save Phoenix Dawn and help to capture Madam Myra. I believe that with a little act of kindness, help and some friendship, she will definitely show us a change in her heart and acts. After all, this is what I can say. Friendship is Magic.”
The crowd applauded at Melody’s speech. Phoenix, who was moved by her friend’s speech shed tears.
After the ceremony, the reward was well distributed among them. They decided to use half of the reward as the school’s donation funds and kept the other half to themselves.
Using the other half, Pepper, Peanut and Pizza were able to help add more decors to their family’s bakery. Applejack was able to upgrade her farming equipment, along with Rarity who upgraded her boutique’s equipment. Fluttershy was able to donate to an animal organization, and Rainbow Dash was able to upgrade and restore all sports utilities. Sunset even used it to fund her remarriage ceremony with Rockstar Light. Also, Chaos even bought a handphone and a laptop for Melody.
“You should need these whenever you need us,” Chaos told her.
“But what if I go back to my own world?”
“Well, I’ll tell Phoenix to take care of them. Gadgets can’t be kept for too long, they can be damaged even if you don’t use them!”
And all the balance goes into their separate bank accounts.
One morning, a few days after the day the reward was given…
“There’s no news that you’re going back yet?” asked Chaos along the corridor.
“I dunno,” replied Melody. “Mom hasn’t called me to come back either.”
They reached the staff room entrance, where Sunset Shimmer just came out, along with Phoenix Dawn.
“There’s a bit of news for you,” Sunset told her. “Your mother wrote to me this morning. She’s coming along right now!”
“*gasp* Really?”
At that moment, Platinum Royale came running towards them.
“Madam Sunset!” she called. “S-something strange happened just now!”
“What is it?” asked Phoenix.
“I was passing by the horse statue just now, then I saw a flash of light. The next thing I know, I saw a purple-haired lady, and a boy with a black jacket, with a dog… at the statue! She asked me if you’re here, and told me to get you there!”
“That must be your mother! Let’s go!”
“Wait up!” Phoenix called. Melody assisted her along.
There, they managed to find the rest of their friends, all surrounding the “mysterious” lady.
Melody pushed through the crowd, and instantly recognized that hair.
“Mom!” Melody came and hugged her. “I didn’t know that you came! There’s so many things that happened that I wanted to tell you!”
“I wanted to surprise you,” replied Twilight Sparkle. “Anyway I missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too, Mom.”
“Wait, Melody, she’s your mother?” asked Raisin Brandy.
“I am, and we are princesses back in our world.”
“Oh, God! How can I…” With his mind blown, and upon realizing that he’s facing a princess from another world, Thunder Clash bowed down to the ground. “Princess, have mercy!”
The rest followed, fearing that the princess will punish them.
“It’s okay, guys. Rise up,” laughed Twilight. “You all are Melody’s friends, huh? I bet she knows many of you.”
“Amazing! Kind of a pleasure to meet you!” replied Prudence.
“Err, hello, Auntie. I mean, Melody’s mother…” Phoenix Dawn approached her.
“Oh, you must be Phoenix Dawn? I’ve heard about you from your mother.”
“Twilight!” Six familiar voices called. Sunset had apparently told her other friends about Twilight’s arrival.
“We missed you so much, Twilight!” said Sunset as the seven of them hugged.
“Me, too!”
“Aww, cheap. Why doesn’t anyone recognize me?” said Spike the dog. He was no longer the puppy he used to be when he first arrived. He was now a fully grown dog.
“Wait, that dog just… talked!!?” exclaimed Pizza, pointing to him.
“Oh, come on! Is that something ridiculous?”
“It’s not ridiculous, Spike,” Melody bent down to him, hugging him. “You’re so adorable as a dog!”
“Ah, well.”
“Meet Spike, everybody.” Melody held him in front of everyone else. “He’s a dragon back in my world. He’s our personal assistant at our home!”
“Dragon, you said?” asked Fiji.
“But I don’t think he’s a scary dragon everyone thinks,” said Malinae.
“Aww, you look sooo cool,” said Pepper.
“You’re so cute,” remarked Beryl, offering him dog food. He immediately ate it up.
“Like it’s the first dog food I’ve ever had in years…” said Spike, making everyone laugh.
“Uh, what time is it now?” The yellow-skinned, blue-haired boy, who was unconscious on the moment he was found asked.
“Oh, Orion Galaxy. You might be surprised at your change now.”
“Wait, what…?!” Orion put his hands in front of his eyes and he couldn’t believe what he saw.
“Calm down, calm down,” she spoke gently just as he was about to go insane. “I was like that, too when I first arrived.”
“I-is that so?” He asked, wiggling his legs.
“I can teach you how to walk, though I’m hurt.” To everyone’s delight, Phoenix Dawn appeared and helped Orion up, despite her injury. “Now then, you move your leg like this, and then your other like this, and do this again and again.”
“Oh, kay…” he replied, trying to stabilize himself. He was about to trip over when then, Honey Drops stopped his fall.
“Th- thanks…” He replied, then he looked at her, blushing. “Like, when have I seen you before? You remind me of my marefriend…”
“Marefriend?”
“His girlfriend, to be exact,” clarified Melody. “Even Chaos reminds me of my own boyfriend, too…”
“I guess, you guys can take me around to show me this place?” asked Twilight to her friends.
“We’re glad to! After all many things have changed since you last came!” replied Rainbow Dash.
“Oh, and by the way,” Twilight called Melody, handing her over a picture album. “Why don’t you show this to your friends on how you look like in Equestria?”
Melody opened the album. The first photos showed her birthday party at her castle. Interestingly, all photos showed her and her friends in pony forms. The others came and surrounded her.
“So that’s you?” Pepper pointed at her pony form. “And that’s me?”
“Yep, and this is Peanut, this is Pepper, this is…” She showed them all of their pony counterparts, which made them amazed.
“So that’s my mom?” asked Greenie when she came upon a picture of her and her pony counterpart in their Wonderbolts outfit at Wonderbolts Academy. “Man, her outfit looks like my sports outfit.”
“Whoa, they throw parties like we do!” exclaimed Pizza Frenzy.
“Amazing!” cried Platinum, looking at the photo of her pony counterpart in Carousel Boutique.
“Whoa, so the pony me looks cute after all!” remarked Malinae.
“Is that Spike?” asked Prudence, pointing to the purple dragon in another picture. “He doesn’t look scary as I thought.”
“Yep, that’s me, her Number One assistant!” Spike appeared on Prudence’s shoulder, nearly giving her a fright.
“Whoa, that orchard looks… majestic,” gasped Raisin Brandy when he looked at the photo of Sweet Apple Acres.
“Is that… me?” asked Chaos as he came across a picture of Melody and the Equestrian Chaos with their cups of cider.
“Yup, he’s my boyfriend,” introduced Melody.
“No offence, but he doesn’t look pony.”
“He’s a cross breed, and none taken, by the way,” she replied, blushing. She showed him another picture. “And this is his father. Now that’s what I call weird.”
“Is that your ruler?” asked Beryl when she came upon a picture of a royal summit, with Princess Celestia inside.
“Yes, and that’s her sister, that’s my uncle and my aunt, and my grandparents!”
“She’s bigger than the most of you,” said Honey Drops.
“So you guys live in Equestria live in all sorts after all! Yet you all are happy with each other,” said Fiji.
“Because we live in harmony, and with friendship,” Melody replied. “Now why don’t we take my mom and brother to show them everything?”
“Ooh! Good idea!” said Pepper brightly. “Afterwards I’m gonna tell Mom to throw a party to welcome both your mother and your brother!”
“At least, I’d better suit myself…” said Orion, rather embarrassed.
For the rest of the day, Sunset and her friends showed Twilight how everywhere has changed, and how everyone treated Melody. Orion meanwhile, had to learn human actions. Soon he was able to get the hang of it.
That evening, they all had a party at Pepper Flake’s house, as she promised. Pinkie and her family served all sorts of desserts and beverages, and everybody enjoyed it to the fullest. Even Phoenix Dawn appreciated a party atmosphere truly for the first time!
Then it was time for everybody for a group photo.
“This is amazing!” beamed Melody when the photo was printed. “I can’t wait to show how I look like in this world to my friends!” She told her mother.
“As you wish, dear,” approved Twilight.
Late that night, Twilight, Orion and Spike stayed at Sunset Shimmer’s house.
“Looks quite decent,” remarked Twilight. “To finally find a home and settle down.”
“Well, I know,” replied Sunset. “It’s Rockstar Light’s idea to choose this, and it fits us perfectly well.”
In Phoenix’s room…
“Your mother’s really nice,” she commented to her. “Like she can give anybody good advice.”
“Well, she always does,” replied Melody. “The Princess of Friendship, after all!”
“This place certainly looks nice,” said Orion, who was looking at her room all over. “Except that, there are some things I don’t know what they are… like this, and this.” He pointed to Phoenix’s computer and her handphone.
“It’s these things people of this world only know,” said Melody. “It’ll probably take some time for you to master them.”
Orion only stared, and smiled meekly.
Morning came. It was time for Twilight and her family to return home to Equestria. Everyone gathered in front of the statue.
“I’d wish you can stay with us longer, Melody,” said Platinum. “It’s bad to know you’re leaving!”
“I know, but I have princess duties to perform,” Melody replied. “But I promise that I will come back anytime if you need me.”
“She’s right,” agreed Twilight. “We do have duties, but we will take our times to return if possible.”
“I even have my guard duties to do,” added Orion.
“Wait, you’re a guard?” asked Thunder, surprised. “Cool! I need you to help me against these bullies against me and Pizza!”
“Not that true meaning, silly,” chided Greenie Hats.
“We won’t forget the days you’ll be with us, Melody,” Chaos told her. “Send my regards to the me of your world. I wish your relationship a success!”
“Same to me, too,” said Beryl.
“We’ll be missing you, too, Melody,” Applejack told her. “We’ll never forget the days you’re here with us.”
“And thanks for giving Phoenix a good lesson. You truly have the genes from your mother!” complimented Sunset Shimmer.
“I, for one thing feel Spike’s the most adorable dog ever,” said Prudence Aura.
“Meh.”
“I guess it’s time to get going,” said Twilight.
“Wait!” called Phoenix Dawn. “I almost forgot!”
“What is it, Phoenix?” chuckled Melody.
“We… we have a school prom at the end of the year. The invitation ticket’s being given out to almost everybody in school, but there’s some extra ones!” She handed her over three or four prom entry tickets. “If that’s possible, would you, your brother, your mother, and even Spike come?”
“We will try, thanks for the invitation,” she answered, keeping the tickets.
Touched, Phoenix went over and hugged her former rival, to everyone’s delight.
“I knew you will come!” she said. “I’m putting my biggest expectations to you!”
“We’ll hope you’ll live nicely back in your world, Melody,” wished Fluttershy. “Do write to us if you can!”
“Oh, for this reason, I almost forgot something.” Twilight presented Phoenix a magical book from Equestria.
“A book?” She opened it only to find empty pages. “But how do I use it?”
“It’s not any ordinary book,” explained Twilight. “You can write it down and it will appear as a message in another book. That’s how I communicated with Princess Celestia and also your mother living in this world.”
“So it means that I can communicate with Melody using this book?”
“Exactly. We’ll get to know what’s happening with each other,” replied Sunset.
“It’s time to get going now. We’ll see you all again soon!” bade Twilight.
“Come back soon, Melody! I’ll miss you after this!” cried Malinae, hugging her.
“I’ll miss you, too. I’ll be back. I promise.”
With that, everyone watched as Twilight stepped into the portal first, then Orion, then Spike, and finally, Melody entered.
After passing the dimension, Melody finally landed back in the library, sprawling on the floor. As she felt herself all over, she felt glad to be a pony back again.
“Whew. Guess I’ll have to get back on fours,” she said as she attempted to stand, then realized that she was a pony again.
“Well you’d better get used to it!” chuckled Twilight. “I had the same experience when I returned from that world! Anyway, I’ll give you this as well.”
She then handed over another magical book.
“Phoenix will write her messages and they’ll all appear in this book. To reply, simply do the same and your message will appear back to her!”
“Okay then. I’ll give it a try now!”
“But first,” interrupted Orion. “Chaos said that he wanted to see you as soon as you’re back.”
“Oh, well! Hang on. I’ll be there with them once I’m done writing!”
After a whole day’s work, Melody finally went to bed peacefully, and that night, she dreamed that she met her own human self, and they both interacted with each other and also her human world friends!
Phoenix Dawn was at her study, writing a message to Melody Aurora using the magical book given by Twilight. She was halfway in preparing her mother’s remarriage ceremony, with her friends assisting them.
Dear Melody Aurora,
How are you settling at Equestria? I hope you are fine. I’m missing you already. So does my friends. There are so many things I need to tell you.
I tried to be nice to everybody at Canterlot High. At first, many of them regarded me in doubt. My primary people who trusted me are my close friends. Then, after some time, a few of them began to feel surprised upon my change. It’s like they’ve never seen that attitude of me before. I guess you’re right. A bit of kindness and friendship does make a difference from being a bully and a meanie.
Chaos has reminded me to take care of your gadgets. He told me to switch them on a few times a week to check if they’re alright. Well, he said that you still need to learn more about technology. After all, your world’s totally different from theirs. I just wanted to visit Equestria someday. Mom has promised to take me there after her remarriage.
Speaking of which, I’m preparing her remarriage ceremony with dad right now. Her wedding day’s tomorrow. Would you like to come? You can probably ask your mother, your brother and even Spike to come along. Mom said that she had been expecting you to turn up to her celebration. I wonder if she told her about that already.
Perhaps, that’s all for the moment. If I need any help, I’ll try to write you back.
Your friend, Phoenix Dawn
Just as she set down her pen, Pepper Flake called.
“Hey Phoenix! Wanna take a break at my bakery? You can see the wedding cake Mom’s preparing!”
