A mysterious woman arrives in Canterlot High, and her sights are on Flash Sentry. But something seems off about her. Must be because she's an alien.
Canterlot High is a mysterious place, with varying degrees of individual and unseen stories. When a mysterious stranger arrives and sets her sights on Flash Sentry, the girls quickly learn she has a dangerous secret. By that I mean she's an alien sent by a galactic council to see if humanity is worth bringing in, but despite this simple idea she decides to try to find the source of the magic and use it to conquer the galaxy, with Flash Sentry at her side as her reluctant king.
Originally written for 4Chan's /mlp/ board as a tongue-in-cheek approach to Equestria Girls 4, it somehow gained popularity. The original character of Princess Inapan was created by /mlp/ and her design was adopted from an artist known as patricknobles, who also provides the cover image. I claim ownership of nothing but the story.
Rated Teen due to references that may go over children's heads and mentions of Flash's love life.
Now has an editor, a good friend of mine: Moonview.
"They are becoming more impressive by the day." A booming voice echoed through a metal room, monitors showing shadowy and perplexing images surrounding him. "Humanity has made leaps and bounds in the scientific fields... yet they act as if this is nothing! If this carries on they may forget their place in the universe. A place we have worked hard to KEEP THEM."
"We need not be reminded!" came a thin, nasally voice from one of the monitors. "Earth has been sending pieces of metal wherever they feel is worth looking at. We're lucky none of them consider our planet anything worth looking at past a large ball of clouds. But with this energy they've been spouting, who knows what they will find?"
"I PROPOSE WE SEND A SCOUT," shouted a third voice, as obnoxious as the last. "TO SEARCH THE PLANET FOR THE SOURCE AND SEE IF THESE HUMANS ARE WORTH OUR TIME."
The hall filled with bitter, unhappy, and arguing voices of all kinds. More and more of them seeming to pop in as time passed until finally the first booming voice interjected.
"Enough!" it snarled unhappily. "Chancellor Almadup, you said you live in the same solar system as this Earth. How close are you?"
"Our rotation varies from Aldu-Renda to Renda-Aldu-Jeng Lingars, sir. Currently, we're at Gingo-Wekt and Rendas Renda-Gingoth Lingars."
"Excellent. Send your princess to the source, along with her top men. If the planet is a threat... destroy it. If not? Take a sample member of their species for examination."
'm pleased to meet you." The man in a brown trench coat and an oddly long, but friendly, face offered a hand which Flash reluctantly shook. He turned to look back at Mister Sombra's office but found it was gone. "Now, Mister..."
"Uh, Sentry, Flash Sentry. I came here for advice."
"Ah yes, Luna told me you'd be coming. You say you're in love, correct?"
"No, the opposite really."
"No love? No love in the heart of the city? Ho, what a laugh."
"Uh, are you sure you're the new counselor?"
"Well, I AM a doctor."
"Right, um... I just don't see the need to do... anything, really."
"A lack of drive, a lack of ambition, that's hardly the end of the world, people feel like that all the time. Well, so I'm told, I never feel like that." Time Turner lead Flash into his office, through a strange blue door. In this office was a couch and a single desk with a computer in it. He offered Flash a seat on the couch while he himself sat at the Desk. "When did you start feeling like this?" the doctor asked, digging around his desk.
"Since I was a boy," Flash began as Turner began writing in his journal. "I was befuddled."
"Since I was a boy, I've been befuddled By problems finding joy. Wherever it hide. I'd always complain Life seemed nothing but pain. That was, until she was in my sight.
Her name was Dawn, And all she wanted Was to be left alone, But she I liked. She called me a punk! But I knew I could be a hunk. She could be mine if I triiiiiiiiied!
CHORUS
When I was a boy, nothing brought me joy
I thought life was against this kid
But when I set my eyes on a cute girl prize
I would try!
I could fly!
And I did!"
"Now Flash this is odd, A case I've never saw. Your case is an oddity, I think it might be insanity, but if you keep telling, we just might see."
"But something went wrong. She didn't feel love. But another girl saw, How much she meant to me She pointed to a friend And that's how it's been For the last year or ten."
(Chorus)
"I wanted Twilight But she doesn't really want me. And now there's no more girls. And it feels like the end of the world. I can't try... I-I wanna cry... And I did."
"Sentry..." the doctor said as he pat the student on the back.
Twilight Sparkle looked through her telescope at the night sky, smiling brightly.
"I'm so glad you decided to stay over at my house, Shimmer. I've been seeing interesting spikes in the sunspots and interstellar radiation lately and I was hoping to get a second opinion."
"I'm just happy to sleep on a real bed and not in the school's wrestling room." Shimmer remarked, just as Spike ran into the room.
"You called?" he asked, still having not shaken off all the habits of his former, doggy life.
"No Spike, we're talking about space... which reminds me, you're due for another IQ test!"
Spike groaned. "I took one last night! We both know I'm getting smarter, can we skip it today? Please?"
"No no Spike." Twilight turned from the telescope as an unusual green star began coming downwards from the sky. "It's important to make sure we know HOW smart you are! I mean, you've already beaten Snips and Snail's score by abou-"
"Twilight, look!" Shimmer interrupted, getting up and approaching the telescope.
"Interesting... a falling star. But, that doesn't fit in with any of my astrology charts..."
"Oh my gosh, we discovered a new comet!" Shimmer said, amazed as Twilight looked through the scope. The purple girl remained silent as Shimmer went to look up the number for the local observatory.
"What's wrong Twilight?" the dog asked, tilting his head curiously.
"That's not a comet." was all she replied.
The next day, Canterlot High was abuzz with talk of last night. No, not because of the mysterious green light that seemed to touch down in the woods near Canterlot High, but because of a new Sci-Fi horror film that was supposedly the scariest thing since Ed Wood put Tor Johnson on film! Yes, nobody in Canterlot High could give half of a care about what Twilight and company were talking about, and all did their best to ignore it, thinking they were openly spoiling the plot of the film. Even as a panicked Twilight explained the situation to them, the only people who listened were her friends.
"Now hold on sugarcubes," Applejack said, her southern drawl providing some comfort in Sunset Shimmer's mind. "You're telling us that some mysterious green light landed in the forest, and you suspect it's not just a rock?"
"It's highly unlikely the green light came from fire, Applejack. It takes a very precise mixture of chemicals to produce a green flame. Not to mention the descent was far too slow to be something brought down by our natural gravity." Twilight explained.
"Spike saw it too, we can't ALL be seeing things, Applejack." Sunset interrupted.
"Spike's also colorblind and says he's hunted jackalopes." Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head.
"Actually, most dogs aren't colorblind, but just see an array of different shades of blues, violets, and yellows." Fluttershy corrects.
"I say we go look! After I throw Flash a cheering up party. He has been looking kind of... dead inside lately." Pinkie comments, pointing to a sighing Sentry.
"Pinkie, our friends need our help, we have to help them no matter what. I'm sure Flash is-" Rarity was interrupted by the sounds of Flash slamming his head in his locker door. "I'm sure Flash can wait a little while longer."
"Wait, I'm confused." Dash said, looking to Rarity.
"You would be." AJ mumbled.
"I thought you were generosity and I was loyalty."
As the students left for their classes the hallways would empty, leaving only Flash Sentry to roam them. Flash sighed and shook his head, hoping the family luck would do him well once more. He had known since he was a boy he had an odd talent, whenever he was late for something or just not looking where he was going he'd find someone or something important. As a boy he'd found Dawn, who inspired him to better himself. As a tween he'd found a flier for an old bass, the one he spent months and years learning and practicing, and still carried with him now. As a teen, it was how he met Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle.
Supposedly, his father had the same luck. It had introduced him to a gun range, which in turn lead him to becoming a police officer. His father before him became an important union leader because he'd bumped into an important person at the right time. And his father before him was... well, actually, he was hung for horse theft, he didn't know much about his great grand-father besides his death.
Before Flash could make a mental note to research his family history, he once again found himself running into someone. She was about a head shorter than him, with the oddest shade of blue eyes he'd ever seen to go with her pale green skin. She wore an odd, almost polyester purple short skirt with bright silver lining, save for her belt, which had a red jewel in the center. Her pointed ears that were almost hidden in her light pink hair worn up in an odd, almost pointed style. For some reason bright white gloves with the same lining accompanied the rest of her ensemble, with a few additional silver straps to boot. Speaking of boots, she wore knee-high high-heels in the same color as the rest of her clothing.
"Look where you're going you, you-!" her voice was stern, yet young. "You... you..." she stammered as she saw Flash, a blush forming.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that. Are you OK?" Flash smiled, sincerely happy his old fail-safe had once again come through for him. Even with this tactic he'd usually just end up running into doors and poles. As the green girl brushed off her clothes, she did her best to return to an un-flustered state.
"Yes, yes. I'm perfectly fine." she thanked the heavens above that her belt's universal translator worked on even this primitive race's language.
"If uh, you don't mind me saying you're dressed kinda... funny. Like you come from Mars or something."
"I come from Alferian Tesla, or as you know it: Venus." Flash laughed in response. "I come here to examine your location for anomalies for the council."
"Oh, you're an inspector? Aren't you a bit young for that miss...?"
"Inapan. Princess Inapan, I am the youngest member of my league yes, but I get my job done."
"Princess! Well, it's nice to meet you then. I'm Flash Sentry. Come on, I'm sure you'll want to register with Principal Celestia. Or maybe register her... I'm not quite sure what your job is."
"Yes, let's meet who is in charge here. Lead the way, sentry."
"I prefer to be called Flash, but alright."
Inapan's notes: I have met a foreign sentry named Flash. He is, for lack of a better term: dreamy, and has the hair of royalty. My suspicion of his higher rank is further compounded by his lack of reaction to being told I am a princess. Humanity may not be as poor off as I thought if their knights are any indication, but I must be distracted by his silky smooth skin, his toned abdominal muscles, and his calm, sensitive demeanor.
I mean, must NOT be! Focus Princess! You have a job! Imagine if your father sees you falling for a being of such a simple species. They have not even mastered intergalactic travel! If this is a false alarm, you just need to return home and tell them that Earth is mostly harmless.
Then again, spending some more time with the sentry might not hurt either; learn their culture, see the sights, things like that.
Principal Celestia was in her office, reading one of the hundreds of confiscated comic books she'd gathered over the years.
"Oh Mane-iac, if only the world in there appreciated you like I do..." with the knock on the door, she quickly hid the piece of graphic literature in her desk. "Y-yes, come in? Oh, it's just you Flash." she voiced her disappointment, taking the comic back out again and beginning to read. "Flash, I appreciate everything you do for this school, but I will not go out with you." Flash blinks, completely confused.
"Actually I was gonna tell you an inspector has shown up." The principal didn't seem to actually realize what Flash has said until Inapan entered the room.
Tossing her comic aside, Principal Celestia immediately got to her feet and adjusted her suit to look more proper. "Inspector!" she said in a far more professional tone of voice. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss?" Celestia grabbed the girl's hand and shook it vigorously.
"Princess... Princess Inapan." she took her hand back, slightly creeped out by the Principal's reaction. "I've come to inspect the culture and abilities of your kind."
"Why, yes, but of course! We weren't expecting an inspection so soon after the last one though. Could you maybe give us a little bit of time to get the students and faculty prepared?"
"No, no, just let me see the average goings on of your domain. Sentry will escort me."
"I will?"
"He will? Oh yes, you will Flash!" she looked at Flash, chuckling somewhat nervously. "Flash, show Princess around the school, and make sure she knows what it's like to be a Wondercolt!" she gave Flash the look that said "do it or else you'll be in detention for the rest of your life."
"Yes ma'am!"
As Flash left the room with Inapan, Celestia sighed and returns to her seat, opening her bottom drawer, and take out a small package of cupcakes. "I think I need some time off..." she mumbled to herself as she began comfort eating.
It was lunch time at Canterlot High as students piled out of classes to eat whatever would be put on their plates. One rather unpleasant student had described the situation as "feeding time at the zoo" before he was transferred to a boarding school. As Inapan entered the cafeteria she had a similar thought, Flash went around the room introducing her to people while she took out a strange device that clicked and whirred like a geiger counter.
Inapan followed until Flash lead her to Twilight Sparkle and company, at which point the strange device began giving a loud, shrieking siren, drawing the attention of everyone in the room, much to Inapan's horror. She ran away, Flash following as the girls just sat at their table, confused.
"...So, what just happened?" Applejack asked.
"I think she was inspecting us." Twilight said, slightly worried. "I used a similar device when I researched your school, remember?"
"That's not good." Shimmer retorted. "Do you think she's planning something?"
"She has to be." Rainbow Dash muttered, unhappily. "But there's not another competition for months, so she can't be figuring us for ringers."
"Flash told the other tables she was an inspector. She looks a bit young, doesn't she?" Rarity chimed in.
"I think it's just because she's short. Even with those heels!" Pinkie thought aloud.
"Whatever it is, we should follow them. It might be related to the green light!" Spike said from the confines of Twilight's backpack.
"Spike's right, we need to investigate... after school." Sunset reminded them, leading to unhappy mumblings and reluctant agreements.
For the rest of the school day, the girls had their heads out of their work and into the woods. The mysterious girl, her unusual machine, and the glowing green lights all spun around in their minds... well, except for Spike. Spike was too busy playing with a stuffed toy Twilight had given him. But the rest of them were all thinking, to be sure!
Pinkie wondered about the Alien worlds, what they ate, what they drank, and if they had celebrations. Applejack wondered about the stories from her family: cattle mutilation, crop-circles, and abductions. Rainbow thought of the Alien physique, how strong and fast they were. Sunset Shimmer wondered if they knew a way back into Equestria, or if they even knew there was an Equestria, et cetera.
The moment classes ended the 7 of them ran out the front door and to the forests, hoping to find out who or what laid within.
Inapan's notes: By the kings above! Those girls were filled to the BRIM with energy! I just shudder to imagine what had happened if I'd not been wearing my protective suit. The entire school was filled with this energy but they... they were radiating it. How are these creatures not falling over dead when this is clearly an unnatural source!? More data must be collected.
Everfree Forest, unlike its Equestrian counterpart was hardly magical or dangerous. Hiking trails lead throughout all but the most wooden of areas, letting those who wanted to see a bit of nature without actually risking the mauling, and see what all the fuss was about.
Finally out of School, Spike climbed out of Twilight's bag and began stretching himself out as the girls walked into the trail.
"Maybe it's just the fact i'm thinking at an eighth grade level now, but I'm starting to wonder if you might just wanna leave me at the dog park instead." He quickly caught up with them and matched their pace.
"Rainbow, you've been through these trails during track and field, would you know of anything strange on the trails?" Sunset asked, being sure to grab a few trail maps.
"Pshaw, of course! I know them like the back of my hand."
"Good, now there's a split coming up here, you, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy go to the left, Rarity, Twilight, Spike, and I will head to the right."
"Right!" All eight shouted before splitting up.
Pinkie, Rainbow, Flutter, and Applejack soon found themselves in the thickest, most dark part of the forest, as they went deeper in, the day seemed to turn into the darkest of nights. Fortunately, an occasional motion sensing lantern would light up once they got close enough. Unfortunately, it ended up scaring the tar out of Fluttershy. Every. Single. Time.
"Fluttershy, can you please stop that?" Rainbow asked, trying to deal with a headache.
"I dunno, I think it's kinda funny!" Pinkie giggled.
"It stopped being funny the third time." Applejack said as it happened again.
"I-it wasn't the light this time..." Fluttershy mumbled.
"Come again, sugarcube?" Fluttershy pointed to the ground, illuminated in the light, and what appeared to be insects swarming under them.
"Ew!"
"What in tarnation?"
"What the-?!"
While Spike sniffed around in the dirt, Rarity, Twilight, and Sunset discussed something else, in an attempt to keep themselves from growing too worried, too bored, or both.
"So I says to the dramas I says, how come we have to wear these drab, boring clothing, darling? And they say that the play is called Les Miserables! And so I tell them, well, no wonder they're so Miserables if they're dressed like this! And they tell me how it took place in one of the french revolutions! Well, I asked if there was any royalty, because I'd much rather know about them then these people and long story short they took me by my arms an-"
"BARK!" Spike interrupted, the three turning to him. "...Oh, sorry, old habit. I meant to say, look!" he pointed in the direction of a rather unusual oak tree. As the group moved forward, the humans would recognize a terrible stench.
"Eurgh, what died back here?" Sunset asked. "Because it's probably been rotting since I-" She immediately shut up as she saw what was behind the old oak tree.
"Oh my goodness..." Rarity muttered.
"What... is it?" Twilight asked.
Before them was a massive, metallic pod, filled with a mysterious green liquid. A flashing red light on a thin metal strip hugged the curves of the object and it sat upright in a mysterious, almost mirror-like basin. As they got closer, the smell just got worse.
"It seems to be producing some kind of toxin." Twilight concluded.
"Is it dangerous?" Spike said, holding his nose with his paw.
"I'm not sure, but it's for the best we don't touch it..." Shimmer warned. Rarity took out her phone and took a few pictures as they backed away towards fresh air.
Taking deep breaths, the girls looked at the photos and tried to put their heads together.
"A healing pod?" Rarity offered.
"A large drink?" Spike asked.
"A clone incubator?" Twilight suggested.
"I've NEVER seen ANYTHING like that back in Equestria." Shimmer said. "Call the others, they need to see this."
The other girls had had a similar idea: taking out their phones as impromptu flashlights, they began scanning the area. "Well, the bugs seem to be heading that way." Dash muttered, pointing into the woods.
"Should we follow?" Fluttershy asked.
"Should w- Fluttershy, the answer is yes. Yes, we will follow." Applejack shook her head as the four began following the unusual migration.
Minutes passed, but the girls finally found something. Problem was, they had no clue what they'd found! It was a large, metal object that felt hot to the touch. Bugs and small rodents seemed unusually attracted to it in thin, orderly rows, crawling into a small crack between it and the ground. Pinkie began looking underneath while the others held a discussion.
"Well, that settles it." Rainbow says. "It's a UFO."
"We don't know that for sure... we don't know if it can fly." Fluttershy said in her passive tone.
"I'm with Fluttershy. For all we know there could be a bunch of free food on the other side of that wall and the critters are thinking with their stomachs." Applejack nodded.
"Yeah, in thin, orderly lines like it's the Solarite Onion."
"Um, I think you mean Soviet Unio-"
"Guys!" Pinkie interrupted, but trying to keep her voice quiet. "There's something under here!"
As the girls joined Pinkie's side, they all gasped.
"It's impossible."
"Is that...?"
"How?"
On the other side was a large green screen, with a flashing panel. On the screen was a display of Flash Sentry, staring right at the camera as he sat in a restaurant, laughing and enjoying himself as a hand from the camera-runner held his. Although they could only see the gloves, they all knew who it was.
Flash smiled as he exited the school, Inapan following him.
"Well, that's the highs and lows of Canterlot High. What do you think?"
"That's it? That's all you have to offer me?" her tone very unhappy. "Where's the culture, the charm, the entertainment?"
"Uh... the school's holding a play in a week or so, maybe you could come by the-"
"A week? Mister Sentry, I am a busy woman, with my own agenda. You will need to show me EVERYTHING this world of yours has to offer, and I would be very appreciative if you did it now." she squeezed his arm tight, causing him to flinch.
"Ow! Okay, we can go see dinner and a movie sometime! Just, next time you hit on me try not to leave bruises." he rubbed where she'd grabbed him, amazed at her strength. She smiled and tapped her foot.
"Some time has passed, come, take me to these "moo-vees" you're so interested in." she pushed him along, hoping to get him going himself.
Some time had passed indeed, Flash had lead her to see the recent sci-fi horror film. She laughed as she watched humanity fall to pieces over the course of two hours. She cried as the humans finally drove away the alien menace, including the "charming" CGI villain. Flash realized she might be crazy and had tried to sneak away multiple times, but somehow she had remained several steps ahead of him.
As Flash got into his car with her again, he turned to look at her, about to tell her something very important.
"Flash." she interrupted. "I know what you're thinking."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"I'm about to tell you something very, very important..." the boy turned to leave but found his car doors locked themselves with a flash of the jewel on her belt. "Now, you might be thinking some things... some silly things like "self defense" or "the fight or flee" reflex, whatever those are... but." She said sternly, Flash suddenly feeling himself stiffen up as the jewel on her belt glowed even brighter.
"I need you to look at me, sentry." Flash winced as he realized he had, once again, been caught in a woman's trap, this time in the literal sense. He tried to look away, pointing his eyes out the window and trying to signal something to any passers-by. "I said LOOK AT ME." as a surge of pain ran through his body, Flash stared at her. He stared into her eyes, her deep, blue... astounding pools of eyes. He felt his body relax and her grip lesson, as well as his urge to escape lower. "Look to me, sentry. You will forget all that has happened. You will remember a wonderful time at the cinema. You will ask me for dinner and treat me like you would your lovely bride to be."
Flash felt like he'd blanked for a moment. He was in his car, and he remembered seeing a great movie with Inapan. He could have sworn there was something else he'd done though. "Ah, right! The dinner! I still have to take you to dinner!" he smiled, turning on the car and pulling out of the parking lot. As he turned on the radio, a song began playing.
Flash stared at his radio in disdain, reaching to change it. "Ugh, I hate that about classic stations. For some reason Disco is counted a-"
"Stop!" Inapan says, grabbing his hand. "I- that beat. Those voices. What is this, Flash?"
"Uh... Earth, Wind, and Fire?" he guessed.
"Astounding, you can summon the elements of nature to perform for you. Let me listen, sentry."
"A-alright, if you want it." Flash began driving off.
Breaking the human mind with the science belt He'll be with me now: no way to help With Flash by my side they will find This planet and its humans will be mine What the council wants, it won't get It won't matter once I'M the threat With that energy, I will bring A new regime, with Flash as my king
CHORUS When all the worlds fall and I will stand up tall He's always mine, always mine Feel the planets quakin' and Flash's mind for the takin' They'll all be mine, always mine Ah, ha, ha, ha, back away, he's still mine Ah, ha, ha, ha, forever miiiiiiiiiiiiine!
Well now, I worked slow and I worked hard And it took forever for this plan to start Since I was young, I've wanted this chance to take on My father, to show him what he did wrong You know it's all right, it's ok If the planet's a bust I'll just take Flash as my right hand man And wait for the next chance to work my plan
Well, right now Flash may just be means to an end But with energy we will ascend He my king and me his queen I'll show him the sights he's not yet seen And if he resists, it's okay I'll make him see another way Some may stop us, but if they try I have no qualms to make them fry
(Chorus)
He's coming with me, no one can stop me No one can stop me, yeah Flash's goin' nowhere, not without me, yeah He's always mine!
With the date ended, Inapan was content, unaware her plans were derailing.
"Alien or not, this is not a good sign." Applejack announces, reaching under the small crack with her phone, and tried to snap photos. With her arm in a precarious location, all she could do is try to manipulate her arm to various angles, and hit the photo button and pray she'd gotten something important.
Pulling her arm out, she looked over the photos. "Shoot, nothin'."
"Here, lemme try." Rainbow reached her phone through the crack and tried taking her photos when suddenly it went off. An obnoxious ringtone echoed through the mysterious location as the phone vibrated out of her hands and out of reach. All the girls gasped, looking through the crack in attempt to find out where the phone went, but the echoed metal interior making it difficult.
"This is bad, very bad..." Fluttershy said, panicking.
"Yeah it is, what if it was someone important?" Pinkie asked.
"We need to get out of here." AJ said, getting up. "If something heard that and finds us here we'll be in deep trouble."
"But my phone, my dad sai-" Rainbow was cut off by a glare from Applejack. "Right, safety first."
Across the forest Rarity grew frustrated. "Ooooh they're not picking up! I hate it when people screen my calls."
"Rarity, that might not be the biggest problem at the moment. We need to go see if something happened to them."
"Oh alright, but if Rainbow's safe she is getting a very stern talking too."
As both groups began heading back to the fork, Rainbow's phone lay on the hard metal ground, the sound of footprints coming closer and closer as a door opened nearby. A thick, green hand picked up the phone, and took it away.
With a crash, the parties found themselves together once more, albeit in a rather unbecoming pile.
"Oh, it's just you guys. Thank goodness for that." Sunset Shimmer said, helping Applejack up.
"Yeah, it's just us. Thanks for the call though, Rarity." Rainbow said, glaring at her.
"What do you mean by that?" Rarity got up, brushing off her dress.
"Well, we ran into this weird metal thingy and there was a slot in it that let us see inside and there was a monitor and the new girl's an alien." Pinkie explained as Pinkie does.
"And I lost my phone in there!" Rainbow said, unhappily. "If she finds it, she'll know we're up to something!"
"We found some pretty upsetting discoveries too." Twilight said, taking Rarity's phone and showing off the photos of the pod. As the opposite group oohed and ahhed, Applejack took out her phone.
"We tried taking photos too but... none of 'em came out. But we do know something important!" She explained.
"Yeah, Princess is dating Flash." Fluttershy announced, realizing she just said it to one of Flash's exes. "I-I mean, I'm happy for them but I thought maybe..."
"Wait, she's WHAT?" Shimmer asked, astounded.
"Yeah, we saw them eating dinner at some fancy french place, she must have been wearing a camera or something." Rainbow said, backing her up. "I mean, she works fast, but why Flash? I mean, he's never asked me out but-"
"Wait, you've never dated Flash Sentry?" Twilight asked. "He's asked me four times!"
"We went to junior prom." Pinkie said, smiling.
"Flash and I broke up when he found out he was allergic to rabbits..." Fluttershy chimed in.
"That's not the point." Sunset Shimmer interjected. "The point is that I knew Flash. He and I went steady for YEARS, but he never ONCE took me out to a fancy restaurant."
"Weren't you evil when you and Flash were a thing?" Rarity asked.
"That's ALSO not the point." She said. "Fancy restaurants just aren't Flash's forte. The one time we went out eating was at that Fried Chicken and Taco place, and he had to sleep on the couch that night for tricking me into eating a chicken salad."
"Well, maybe he's trying something new?" Applejack suggested. "He has had every relationship he's been in end with a messy break-up. I remember how Big Mac and Granny Smith gave him a good caning for trying to kiss me on the second date."
"...Wouldn't that be grounds for assault?" Pinkie pointed out.
"Regardless, something is going on with Princess, and we need to find out before she knows we know." Twilight said.
"We're disregarding a lot of kinda important things here..." Spike commented as the group began heading home. "Maybe we need to all sit down and talk about this."
"Spike, after we deal with Princess." Rarity replied, picking him up and petting him.
"Also Rarity, you owe me a new phone." Rainbow bitterly mumbled.
Inapan's notes: So his name WAS Sentry. Unusual, but befitting. He and I had a pleasant night out together. It was a bit shaky at the movies, but it all worked out well thanks to the council's standard issue belt, with cloaking, wiping, towel holster, and general need-alls for the intergalactic traveler. He treated me to a wonderful dinner and a lovely drive in his primitive chariot. I suppose I should let him keep it once we're together, it seems to make him happy. I wonder in the back of my mind if this was the right thing to do, to bend and toy with such a feeble creature's emotions? Then I remembered he's just an insect, and I am royalty. Besides, nothing can break our mind control technology anyways. As for the energy source, I am returning to "Canterlot High" and blending in with Flash as my cover, to investigate the holders of the energy and see what they are truly capable of. I will bring one of my soldiers as well, to test if this energy is lethal to our kind.
Also, worrying news has come from the men in position to repair and maintain the ship. They had found an... unusual item that had fallen in from the cracks of the ship. Perhaps the local wildlife brought it in when they were attracted to our bioplasmaic core?
Flash found himself in a sinister hallway, throbbing pain in his skull. It was far too dark for him to see, but what he felt was what worried him. The floor was unstable, in almost constant movement, and shifting uncontrollably when he attempted to move. Unfamiliar feelings haunted his senses as he tried to go forward, unsure as to how he got there or why. Noises and sounds barraged him from all around, his blindness just somehow getting worse the further he went. Finally, Flash felt a door in front of him and began grasping for it, and trying to push or pull his way through, alternating before it finally budged. As he fell to the ground, he took deep, and terrified breaths as he felt a hand grab his shoulder. Slowly turning, Flash saw in the darkness, Princess Inapan with a pair of golden wings and a sinister smile on her face, and her entire body displacing the blackness.
He woke up screaming, but he wasn't sure why. Getting up, Flash went to the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. He stared at a bottle of aspirin, carefully reading the instructions as his headache carried from his dream. Taking a few, he returned to bed. Whenever he tried to think about the dream, his mind sent a bolt of pain through his head.
The next morning was slow and average for Flash, his headache growing worse and the thought of Princess repeatedly coming up. Skipping breakfast, Flash made a quick run to the school.
"Inapan!" he shouted as he saw her, in relief. The pain in his head was subsiding quicker as he got closer to her. As he finally grabbed her for a hug, she smiled devilishly.
"Flash Sentry, it is wonderful to see you once more." she returned the embrace, letting go once he did. "Tell me, Sentry. Have you met my friend?"
By her side was a woman who looked just like her, right down to the smallest detail. She had the same hair, the same eyes, the same clothing. The only difference he could see was that their belt's gems were different colors. While Inapan's was a blood red her companion's was a lackluster blue. "Her name is Tested Worrily. Tested, this is my boyfriend, Flash Sentry."
"Boyfriend?" he asked, looking at Inapan and receiving a painful glare in return. Blinking, he tried to recall what he was doing.
"It is a pleasure, Sentry." the second girl took off her gloves and hesitantly shook his hand. "I am here to assist Princess Inapan in whatever she wishes." Inapan looked annoyed at this for some reason.
"Yes, but first, go and make some friends. Those girls look promising!" she pointed to Sunset Shimmer and company as they entered the school. "Have fun." she shoved her minion away and grabbed Flash. "Come, let's go have some fun of our own, yes?"
"Uh... sure?" he responded, confused by this turn of events
The girls soon arrived in school, wary of Princess Inapan and not confirming or denying her status as an alien. They certainly didn't leave out the possibility.
Sunset Shimmer outlined the plan: "OK, we might have to miss a few classes in order to keep an eye on her but I share first and fourth hour with Flash. She seems to be sticking to him like glue so it's more than likely they'll be-" she trailed off as what appeared to be Inapan approached, wearing a blue jewel in her belt rather than the red one.
"Hello there!" she said, smiling. "I am Inapan's... sister. And she is mine! I am Tested, and I wish to be... allies." the unusual girl offered a hand which only Pinkie shook. "I am looking forward for enjoyable activities."
"Y-yeah, it's... nice to meet you." Twilight said hesitantly. "Can you excuse us for a moment?"
The group ducked into the ladies room and locked the door behind them.
"She's onto us!" Twilight said, letting Spike out of the bag to join the conversation. "What do we do?"
"Now, we don't need to freak out." Applejack said, patting her on the shoulder. "Just because she sent her creepy twin to hang out with us DOESN'T mean either of them are evil. It just means some of us have to keep Tested busy while the others watch Inapan. Now, we just need to figure out who gets who."
"Dibs on Princess!" almost all of the girls shouted at once, it being quite clear they preferred to be stealthy than deal with it head-on.
"Okay, listen." Spike said. "It only takes two to spy. If one of you goes out there with Princess, and another two deals with Principal Celestia, two can keep... Tested? Her name is Tested? ...Whatever, keep Tested busy while the remaining two cover for them. Alright?"
"Spike's right... again." Shimmer nodded. "We don't need to freak out about this. Me and Twilight will cover for you guys while Rainbow keeps an eye on them. Rarity and Pinkie can keep her friend occupied while Fluttershy and Applejack show Principal Celestia what we found."
Principal Celestia was sitting in her office, playing solitaire on her desk as she waited patiently for the obligatory "first thing in the morning" children with fake problems and sick slips to begin coming in. Honestly, she needed to put a sign up on her door redirecting them to Luna. Maybe then she'd stop sitting around in the dark. That or she'd scare most of them off. One or the other, it would be a win-win for Principal Celestia. Although they were saving a surprising amount on electric bills.
Right on cue, the moment Celestia began thinking of adopting an energy saving policy, two students showed up: Applejack and Fluttershy.
"Oh it's you. Thank goodness, I thought it was another kid asking about poor grades or getting a pass for a made up holiday. What can I do for you two?" she asked, relief sweeping over her.
"Princess Inapan is..." Applejack stopped herself, realizing that shouting this revelation would probably end with both of them tossed out immediately. They needed to start off small and build up to this. "What I mean is we found some... disconcerting things out in the forest, by the school, and we figured, as a member of the city council you might be interested in investigating."
Principal Celestia raised her brow, but gave them the benefit of the doubt. They'd help save the school three times now, they've earned some leeway. "Well, what's wrong?" she asked. "Was there a fire? Are the wolves back again? Was someone bitten and might have rabies?"
"O-oh no, nothing like that. Something far worse though..." Fluttershy said. "We went out hiking yesterday and found some things."
"You have my attention. Tell me what they were." Principal Celestia prided herself on keeping professional in the presence of students.
"We saw a giant metal wall, and when we peaked through a crack at the bottom of it, we saw a giant green monitor! A-and we found this thing nearby too!"
Applejack took out her phone and dug around for the photo Rarity had given her. Celestia sat, unimpressed before she brought it up.
A short pause came as Applejack showed her the evidence. "What is that?"
The girls opened their mouths to answer but they realized they weren't quite sure either. "W-we dunno. There's just- it just kinda sat there and smelled funny." Applejack said, telling her what the group had told them.
"Applejack, Fluttershy, I believe what we have here is" the principal paused, "a lava lamp."
"What?" they both asked.
"A lava lamp. It's clearly stylized but I know one when I see it." Principal Celestia shook her head. "I can't believe you girls have never seen a lava lamp before! I know they haven't been that big since the seventies but they're still sold... actually, I believe Vice Principal Luna has one."
"B-but-"
"You girls had me worried for a while there." She gave the phone back. "That reminds me, if you saw a large metal door, out in the middle of the woods, and you looked through and saw a monitor, what would you think?"
"It wasn't the monitor that worried us i-"
"Some people live in the forest, Fluttershy. How do you know you just didn't stumble upon someone's house?"
"I-it was underground, and had no doors or windows!"
"I understand you two are confused, but you are clearly overreacting. A camper must have dropped his lava lamp in the woods, and you probably found one of the old war bunkers."
"But Principal Celestia, the monitor had a picture o-"
"No, no, you're just confused and panicked. You can go talk to the guidance counselor and the history teacher so they can explain these things to you."
Applejack and Fluttershy left, defeated, as Principal Celestia returned to her game. "Tut tut tut, has our education system sunk so low that children are scared of the past now?" She paused. "Although, now that I think on it, I don't remember there being ANY bunkers in the forest."
While Fluttershy and Applejack were thinking up a Plan B, Rarity and Pinkie tried their best to keep their unwanted companion busy.
"So!" Tested said. "Is this the location of which frivolity and fun is had?"
"Of course, it's the funnest part of the school!" Rarity smiled. "I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself."
"Go on now, have fun!" Pinkie nodded.
"Aren't you going to join?" she asked.
"We'll join you later, just start without us!" Rarity said, shutting the door behind her.
"Rarity?" Pinkie asked, staring at the hard, metal door with a hint of worry in her voice. "Are we bad people?"
"Well, whatever gave you that idea?" Rarity asked.
"We just locked the new girl on the roof of the building. We could have at least killed time in the library or brought her to the gym or a computer lab."
"She would have been discovered, and we'd be punished! Although... now that you mention it this does feel... wrong."
"And what if she really is Inapan's sister? I don't think I'd like it if somebody locked Maude up on the roof. Not to mention she seems a bit... slow."
"Oooh you're right, this isn't anything like us!" Rarity opened the door to find the roof empty. "Oh no, ooooh no, ooooh nononononono!"
The two rushed out onto the roof, looking around, mortified.
"She's not anywhere up here do you think she...?" Pinkie asked as the two rushed to the side of the roof and looked down, finding nothing. "W-where'd she go?"
"Behind you." Tested's voice came from from exactly there before the door shut.
"On some level we deserve this." Rarity confessed.
"But how, we looked all over!" Pinkie asked, at this point also wondering why the door didn't unlock from both sides.
"She's smarter than she looks, I'll give her that. I suppose with a costume that tacky she has to be. I'll text Sunset Shimmer to get us down, and warn the rest about her escape."
"Rarity, look!" Pinkie pointed to the parking lot.
Flash's car drove through the city, Inapan in the passenger seat. Despite her commanding to go faster, Flash did his best to keep within the speed limit. He was already skipping school, there was no sense drawing attention to himself. That was until he heard the police sirens behind him.
"Oh no, oh nonono no, please tell me it's not-" Flash said as he pulled over. Much to his tremendous relief, the police car drove right past.
"Flash honey, what was that?" Inapan asked.
"Just the police, sweetie. They must've gotten an important call or something... uh, listen. We REALLY should be at school right now. I mean, I'm only seventeen so if someone catches us..."
"Seventeen? Flash you never told me you were still just a whelp!" she said, shocked. "You look a lot older than that!"
"A whe-whatever, that's not the point. We need to get back to the school." he began preparing for a u-turn. "We're in trouble enough, I don't want the law involved."
"Oh honey, but what about all the fun we had planned? You were going to take me to the carnival and this "shopping" you spoke so highly of sounded so interesting."
"I... we need to go back. I used up my get out of jail free cards when I was dating Sunset Shimmer."
"They make those?" she asked, looking confused.
"It's an expression." he began heading back to Canterlot High.
"Flash, I know you're worried, but I assure you, I have diplomatic immunity. They could not touch us if they wanted." Flash paused for a moment.
"What kind of inspector did you say you were again?"
"Oh Flash if only you knew. Come whisk me away to this "carnival". I wish to see what you do for fun."
It's hard to tell if it was the mind control or her own attractive, persuasive self. As they came to Canterlot High, Flash turned away, and leaving the watching Pinkie and Rarity to ponder what was happening in that car.
"Wait, how old are you anyways?" Flash asked.
"In your years or mine?" she responded, the boy unsure how to answer.
Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, was having a difficult time with the task of stalking the two. Mostly because they had a car and she did not. While this seemed a really painfully obvious oversight, she had actually planned for this. After the team had broken up. She saw Flash leave in his car, her first instinct was to "pony up" as they'd become keen to calling it and follow from the air.
Well the plan KIND OF worked. In the same way as a fox is KIND OF like a cat. Although Dash enjoyed flying and seemed a natural in a closed environment or in a duel to the death with a lunatic supervillain, she had not yet graduated from the Hawkgirl school of flying. She had no protection from the bugs and birds that often used the airspace above the city, and groups of people pointing and shouting removed any chance she had of stealth. It was not fifteen minutes, around the time Flash and Inapan had the previously mentioned discussion, and that she gave up and returned to the ground.
"Ah man, I'll never catch up to them like this, I need anothe-"
"Look!" a delinquent kid said as he and his friends ran up to her. "She's got wings and everything!"
"Scootaloo wasn't making it up!" Another said, holding his skateboard under his a- nope, never mind, I spoke too soon. Rainbow had already taken it before any of the kids could protest or take pictures.
As the kids shouted threats to her, she was already on Flash's tail, using her wings to speed herself forwards in a way some may recognize. Once she got close enough, she grabbed the bumper and tried to listen in on what the couple had to say, although it might be a bit muddled, what with the "having to listen through the wind of a moving vehicle".
"Oh Flash, you're so nice to me." a feminine voice said. "Why don't we discuss a plan?"
"Plan? I mean... well, I take you to the carnival, we play a few games, have a few treats, and go on a couple of rides," she could make out Flash's voice, despite the inconvenient location.
"No Flash, OUR plan. The plan for us. Why don't you tell me about your friends? Those girls who you seem to like?" Inapan asked, innocently.
"Well, there's uh... where to start? There's Twilight. She was my date at the Fall Formal, and uh, she's kind weird. She acts like two different people sometimes, you know? Sometimes she treats me nice and wants to know more about me and other times jus-"
"No no, Flash. I don't care about their personalities, do they have anything" she paused, "odd about them? Do they do anything or go anywhere unusual?"
"I-uh, well, they hang around the statue in front of the school a lot and um," Flash shook his head. "I think that's about it, really."
"The statue... interesting. Are you sure that's all?"
"Yes." Flash lied. "They just like hanging out around that statue a lot."
Dash frowned as she heard mentions of the statue, cursing the fact Rarity had lost her phone just when another topic came up.
"Oh, Flash. I found this in the woods." she took out a blue phone and passed it to him.
"Rainbow's phone?" he asked, confused. "Huh, she must've dropped it while hiking." Dash's suspicions were not only confirmed, but turning into a far, and a far worse realization: Inapan knew they knew.
The car stopped at the fairground's parking lot, where Flash and Inapan began getting out of the car. Thinking quickly, Dash flew into the sky, and out of their peripheral vision. Locking the doors and setting the alarm, the two left to enjoy the carnival. As Rainbow descended she looked through the car windows at her cell phone, which lay on the passenger seat.
Meanwhile, Sunset Shimmer sat in her study hall, staring at the book that gave her a direct line to the princess Twilight Sparkle. "Dear Princess Twilight..." she began. "We seem to be in a bit of a situation. I think that yo-"
"What're you doing?" Shimmer dropped the book and swung around, looking mortified as Tested stood over her.
"Tested! Um, hey! Uh, h-how was... um, I thought Pinkie and Rarity-"
"Locked me on the roof?" Tested asked, unhappily. "I understand if you don't like me, but at least be direct about it."
"What? They did what? Tha-that's terrible! We should go talk to them! Where are they now?"
"The roof." she said, going to sit in a chair across from Sunset. "But they'll be fine. Tell me about you."
"Me? Well, what about me would you like to know? There's a lot to learn... why don't we talk on the way to the roo-"
"How about this?" Tested said, picking up Sunset's book and skimming through it just as a response arrived. "Hm, interesting."
"No!" Shimmer said, taking the book back. "N-no, it's really not. It's just a journal. A diary, It's got nothing worth looking at, nope!" she hid the book in her backpack, and it vibrating as someone continued writing back.
At this point the entire classroom were looking at the two, most of them unhappy that they couldn't do their schoolwork in peace. Clearing her throat, Shimmer began heading to the door, and her bag still vibrating obnoxiously. Tested followed as the class returned to their lives, all ignorant of what was really going on.
Shimmer ducked and weaved through the hallways to get to her roof-bound comrades, but everywhere she tried to go she found herself blocked by Inapan's creepy twin.
"Where are you going?"
"We need to talk."
"I am growing annoyed." were just some of the lines the millstone would say when she appeared to block her. Finally, Shimmer reached the roof access and of course Tested was in the way.
"Shimmer. I am trying to understand, why do you not wish to spend time with me?" Tested asked, her voice having grown creepy and almost robotic after hearing it for so long.
"It's not you!" Shimmer said, trying to push the girl out of the way. "It-I just need to help my friends!"
"Shimmer, we can be friends. You can tell me all your secrets. Your favorite food, your favorite stories, the source of your energy, and which boys you wish to-"
Sunset Shimmer stopped, backing away from the girl as the thought finally struck her. "M-my energy?"
"Yes Shimmer... you and your friends energy levels are far more powerful than any other human's. Why is that?"
"How do you know what our energ- You ARE an alien!" she said, realizing she had backed into a wall as Tested grew closer and closer. "Or a robot o-or something! Get away from me!"
"I am not going to ask again, Sunset Shimmer. Tell me why you have this energy?"
The alien grabbed Shimmer's arm and, before either of them could react, a burst of energy had formed a cylinder around the orange-haired girl. Within the light, Sunset grew into her more powerful form, and fiery wings bursting from her back as her hair flowed wildly upwards. Backing away, Tested stared mortified at this sudden reveal.
"B-be you an angel?" the alien creature asked, realizing the mistake it had made.
"Neigh." said the unhappy Sunset Shimmer. "Or I would feel guilt for what I am about to do."
Pinkie and Rarity sat on the rooftop, staring at the clouds.
"Do you think she got our text?" Rarity pondered.
"I'm sure she's just busy with class." Pinkie replied.
With the base of her palms, Sunset shot out a large column of fire, completely engulfing her opponent and leaving a large, charred stain on the ground. Taking a deep breath, she lowered herself to the ground and realized what had just happened.
"Oh no. W-what have I..." she stared at her hands, magic coursing through her veins as she realized she had committed one of the cardinal sins. As she faced the existential realization of ending another life, students in the surrounding classrooms initiated emergency procedures and began hiding under their desks as teachers covered up the windows.
While all this happened, Shimmer would remain too flabbergasted to hear her opponent emerge from the ashes, very unhappy.
"That wasn't very nice." Tested's creepy voice said from behind her. As Sunset turned she found herself sucker-punched so hard it forced her into some nearby lockers, sending papers and flecks of paint into the air. Tested cracked her knuckles and walked up to Shimmer, tearing off the belt she wore and revealing two, dazzling, almost transparent yellow butterfly wings.
"You're-?" Shimmer asked, getting up.
"Alive, yes. And very upset." Tested lunged for Shimmer, but received another, fire-based column to the chest, sending her up the stairwell, through the locked metal door, onto the rooftop. Shimmer followed, flapping her wings violently to catch up, outstretching her fist and returning a sucker punch to her opponent, who'd gotten up just in time for a strike to the eye.
"So..." Tested said, bounding away from her competitor. "Humans can also fly... a pity they don't know how to fight."
"Sunset Shimmer!" Rarity and Pinkie shouted, about to join their friend in the battle but stopping when Shimmer raised her arm.
"No, get to safety. This is my fight."
The two powerful women stared at one another, waiting for the other to flinch, or back away. Finally, as if someone had hit a bell, the two began flying towards one another, Shimmer kicking while Tested tried to punch.
Or so Shimmer thought, Tested opened her hands just enough to let her opponent's foot slip in, and swing her around and around, spinning violently, Shimmer tried kicking with her other foot. After what felt like minutes Tested let go, sending Shimmer into the sky.
On the ground level, Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, Applejack, Fluttershy, and the only school employee who'd been willing to listen to them about the alien theory; Time Turner, watched the battle rage on.
"Astounding!" Time Turner shouted, staring at the battle as Tested flew over to continue assaulting Sunset.
"What's happening?" Vice Principal Luna asked, flinching at Shimmer elbowing Tested in her mouth.
"It's Inapan! I told you she was an alien! That's why we were freaked out about the pod and metal building! She's come here to... well, OK, we don't know why she's here, but this is proof!" Applejack said.
"I'm sorry I doubted you two, how can I help?" Principal Celestia asked, turning away just in time to miss Tested be flung into a parked car.
"Not pressing charges would be a start..." Fluttershy mumbled, realizing exactly whose car had an unconscious alien in it.
After Shimmer spent upwards of a minute pummeling and brutalizing her opponent with her bare hands and fashionable boots, she crawled out of the wreckage, her wings fading away.
"Oh. H-hey there!" she said, panting as she brushed off her clothes. "I-I think there might have been a problem with the... uh..." She tried to think up an excuse but found none. "I'm just gonna lie down for a little bit."
Shimmer fell into Applejack's arms as the group watched a figure climb out of the twisted wreckage, breathing heavily, her wings bent and her hair mussed up. One of her eyes had gone from a soft blue to a pitch black. As the girls looked at the furious foe, it was clear the battle was far from over.
When the girl because walking towards them, Pinkie called from the rooftop what everyone was thinking: "RUN!"
The group ran from the obviously unhappy alien who came running after them. While Applejack ducked into a nearby locker room with the unconscious Sunset Shimmer, the others weren't so lucky. As they bobbed and weaved through the halls, trying desperately to find unlocked doors, and their tormentor followed relentlessly driven by rage.
"I-I have an idea!" Celestia shouted.
"Don't keep us in suspense!" Time Turner said, barely keeping up with the group, and barely avoiding capture as a result.
"Yes sister, it's difficult to run for your life in heels!" Luna shouted back.
"We split up! She'll chase one group, and the other can go get the rest of the school to safety! There's a split coming up! Everyone, go the other way!"
As they came closer and closer to a split, the plan went into action: Celestia and Luna bobbing left while Time Turner, Fluttershy, and Tested kept going forward. Panting and wheezing the two sisters looked behind them, relieved to see nothing about to ground-tackle them.
"The sky above, sister, how did you know it would work?"
"I didn't, it was a lucky guess she wouldn't be chasing us."
"N-now what do we do?"
"We find a way to save our school... a-after I catch my breath." The two gasped and wheezed all the way to a water fountain, the clear liquid keeping them occupied while they tried to think up a plan. As Celestia splashed some onto herself, it stuck her.
"I have it!" She said, letting her sister drink. "Remember, in the movies? What are aliens weak to?"
"Water?"
"...No, that's stupid, why wou- nevermind, now I lost it. Thank you, Luna."
"I have another idea." The darker of the two said, grabbing her by the arm and running with her. "The beast has lost her wings!"
"It would seem that way, yes, but I hardly see how that wou- oh!"
"Come with me!" The two sisters ran to the janitor's closet, gathering supplies.
"The one day they take the day off..." The elder sister mumbled as they brought out the mops.
"They'll have to work overtime regardless, considering the mess." Luna pointed out, climbing to the second story, buckets, and washing liquid in tow.
"How do things keep coming to this, Sister? First it was Sunset Shimmer, after came the sirens, then Crystal Prep, and finally this."
"Do you think this would be a good place?" Luna asked. Celestia looked around the hallway, the large window at the end leading right out to the front of the school, shaking her head.
"Unfortunately, yes."
The two sisters began mopping, making the floor as sleek and shiny as possible, the water and floor cleaner doing its magic.
"Go, go get them! I'll try too keep the floor wet as long as possible!" Celestia commanded, her sister running off and hoping that Fluttershy and Time Turner were still fine.
Panting violently, Time Turner began slowing down, barely keeping up as Fluttershy held his hand.
"M-My heart's beating so fast i-it feel like it's gong to burst!" he commented, "How are you still able to run?"
"Being chased certainly helps!" She answered, spotting Vice Principal Luna.
"Follow me!" The VP shouted, the two of them having no choice but to do exactly that. As Tested flawlessly rounded corner after corner, grasping at Turner's coat tails as she grew closer and closer, the group began up a stairwell, confirming the suspicion that Tested's frayed wings could no longer fly.
Finally, the group found themselves in the longest hallway in the school, and Principal Celestia mopping diligently.
It was a brief instant, only a second for the party to react as Celestia held out the mop handle for them to grab. As Vice Principal Luna grabbed to the wooden rod, Fluttershy grabbed Vice Principal Luna's arm, holding on to Time Turner as Tested grabbed his coat, and tearing it off of him as she was flung out the school's plate glass window. With the unmistakable sound of shattering glass, Princess' ally fell to the ground, laying on the cold, hard concrete as the sun shone down upon her.
Fluttershy finally asked the question on their minds as they looked out to their fallen foe. "Is she-" The shy girl was cut off by the moans of pain and annoyance from outdoors. The group backing away slowly as she stared back at them with the same look you'd give to a dog that had just chewed up your favorite shoes.
"No." Tested Wearily said, living up to her name. "No, I'm going back to the ship. Inapan can destroy the planet herself. This... this is TOO MUCH!" She said, her voice finally showing emotion as Pinkie and Rarity watched from the rooftop. "All of this! ALL OF THIS! Look at it!" She motioned to her destroyed surroundings as Applejack emerged from the building, keeping Sunset Shimmer around her shoulder. "You could have just told me! You could have been my friend! But NOOOOO! No, we had to keep our little secrets!"
The girl panted, taking deep, annoyed breaths before turning away, a large shard of broken glass sticking out of where the human spine would be. As the groups gasped, gagged, and generally sounded horrified, she turned around to look at them, annoyed as they tried to regain their cool.
"One more thing. When Inapan returns, tell her I'm in the ship." She limped away, leaving the groups who had tried their damnedest to defeat her staring in confused awe.
Flash and Inapan were having quite the carnival.
"Flash, this... beast. How come it does not fight me?" Inapan asked, holding a teddy bear Flash had won for her.
"Because it's a toy?" She gasped and blushed hard, burying her face in his side.
"Flash, please don't say that in public! There might be people listening."
"What? What's wrong? All I said was-"
"Flash, I do not think we know much of one-another's culture's but I do not think you know what you are saying to me!"
"Alright, I won't say To- that word anymore."
"Flash, I've been wondering... we've been dating for a long time and..."
"It's only been two days, though."
"It felt like it's been a long time." She said, leaning up real close. "I want you to kiss me."
Flash blinked, looking into her deep blue eyes. He'd wanted to say no but something in his mind, some odd, almost unnatural feeling in his mind made him say "Yes."
Bending over slightly, while Inapan stood on the tips of her toes, the two came closer, closer, closer until
"Flash Sentry!" Came an unhappy voice, interrupting the romantic (if not slightly creepy) moment. Turning away, Flash gasped as he discovered who it was. It was a tall police officer, wearing a regulation uniform and a bullet proof-vest on the outside, and dark sunglasses covering his eyes. His unhappy sneer gave them more than enough reason to worry, however
"Dad!? What're you doing here? I-I thought you were at work!"
"And YOU'RE supposed to be at school. You are coming with me, boy!" The officer grabbed his son's arm, dragging him away from his date. "You are lucky that an anonymous tipster told me about this, because if it was any other officer you would be serving time right now."
"But dad, I'm on a date wi-"
"I don't care if she's the Princess of Mars, we're going to get you back to that school and you are getting your car taken away for a month!"
In the distance, Rainbow watched as her plan came together. It had taken a bit longer than she'd hoped, what with payphones being obnoxiously unreliable, but as she saw the look on Inapan's face as her lover was taken away, and Dash could tell that she'd done well. That is, until Flash fell to the ground and screamed bloody murder, holding his head like he'd been struck with a hammer, and drawing attention to the situation as Inapan ran to be close to him once more.
"Ooooh shush shush shush my King of Space, everything's fine," She said, helping him up and taking his hand from the confused officer. She turned her attention to Flash's father and took out a blaster. The officer pulled his pistol, his training taking effect. Even if the gun looked like a toy, he was taught to treat every threat as legitimate.
"Put the gun do-" He was cut off by a lazerblast, turning him into a pile of glowing green sludge. People who had been watching, naturally began to panic.
"Well, cover's blown, but it had to be done." Inapan shook her head, approaching the pile and sucking it up into her blaster. Flash held his head, in no position to fight her as she drug him to his car and forced him to drive.
Dash, who had watched the event unfold, moved slowly, in shock. "She really was a- oh no."
At the school, the Principals did their best to evacuate the students while Twilight, Pinkie, and Rarity re-united.
"We need to tell Princess Twilight." Applejack said. "This is getting too crazy, people could get hurt! Or worse!"
"It's a bit too late for that." Fluttershy mumbled. sighed. "Magic just doesn't... they're stronger than our magic. Even with Twilight's magic. I don't know if it would be able to hurt them."
"I-I found something out though." Shimmer interrupted. "Those belts. Tested tore off her belt before she revealed her wings. Maybe... maybe it's something worth looking into? Twilight, you're good with otherworldly technology, maybe you could, I dunno..."
"I'll see what I can do." Twilight nodded, going back into the building to find what she was talking about. Rarity's phone rang, the group turning to her annoyed, as she answered.
"Rainbow Dash, darling, we're in a- yes... yes... I see... Th-that's terrible! We'll be right over!"
"What'd she say?" Pinkie asked.
"Inapan has kidnapped Flash and what's left of his father." The group moaned and looked at one-another worried.
Inapan's Notes: Stupid humans and their tiny minds! Stupid, STUPID! Could they not see how close we were? How I was mere moments away from initiating our ceremony? I could have had him, and I could have just let my sister care with the minor things.
The days that followed were ones of hectic panic. Police set up investigations at the fairgrounds and the school, the CSIs having absolutely no idea what was going on: nobody was talking, the clues, while plentiful, had made absolutely no sense.
While they did their research, Twilight did hers, and the girls kept the police off her tail while she did what she could.
Flash awoke in a glass tube, surrounded by a bright green liquid, and with only a mask pumping oxygen into his mouth. His vision blurred, he could only struggle in a fruitless attempt to escape. After the longest time he'd felt, the liquid began to drain, and letting Flash stand up and drop the mask. The glass that separated him from the outside lowered, letting him fall to the floor and gasp.
"Ugh, ooh, what happened?" He asked, looking around as his vision adjusted. He was in a hall of tubes, not dissimilar to the one he had been sitting in. The metal floors, walls, ceiling gave him the sneaking suspicion that maybe, and just maybe he was still asleep.
"Flash!" came a familiar voice, the boy turning towards the source as she stepped through an automatic door.
"Inapan?" He asked, carefully standing up and wiping the green slime off his... wait, these weren't the clothes he wore when he passed out. This was a polyester jumpsuit, with gloves and bands across them, not dissimilar to Inapan's attire. "Where am I? Why're you here? Where are my clothes?"
"Oh Flash, it's so WONDERFUL to hear your voice again! It's been an eventful circulation." She grabbed him by the hand and lead him along. "I'm sure you have many questions Flash, but right now we need to get something done and over-with." She lead him through more metal halls, the metal grey interior decorated with windows into other rooms where various computers and robots worked diligently. "Now I met your father, so I figure it is only fair you meet my crew... all two of them."
She brought him into a room with couches and monitors, with two large throne-like chairs in the middle. In the couches sat a massive blue, almost square-shaped creature with large, and aggressive eyebrows over its beady blue eyes. It had massive green hands that could have easily crushed Flash if it wished, and Inapan's Sister; Tested, who looked very unhappy and weary.
"You've met my sister Tested, but not my Head of Repairs! Flash, this is Grunt." The large creature got up from where it sat and held out one of its massive hands, expectantly. It wore a larger version of the suit flash wore, but it still appeared to be tearing parts of it. On its feet were the largest pair of boots Flash had ever seen. After checking to see if they had changed his boots too (they had), Flash turned to look at Inapan.
"I-I am d-dreaming, r-right?" He stuttered, the creature taking Flash's hand by force and nearly tearing it out of his socket, and he only giving a whimper of pain as a single tear rolled down the side of his face.
"Oh no, Flash. It is far more WONDEROUS than a dream could ever be!" Inapan said, not seeming to notice his arm had broken. "I am making you, a simple human, my co-pilot and my husband!"
Flash's response was simple to describe: there was none. He froze in place, staring at her with a look of confusion and disbelief.
"Yes, while you were in Cryosleep I had made it official. I am your wife, you are my husband. Isn't it wonderful? Yes, it took a longer while to do it than most marriages of my kind, two of your earth "days" I think they're called rather than two glibners, but I figured you were MORE than worth the wait."
"...I-I'm married?" Flash asked.
"Yes, it was WONDERFUL! Wasn't it, Grunt?" The large creature responded with a yelping noise. "Oh, which reminds me!" Inapan continued. "Let's get you fitted for your universal translator." She grabbed Flash by the arm and drug him out of the room.
"I don't get what she sees in him. His hair is not nearly as pointy as my boyfriend's." Tested said, shaking her head as Grunt made another loud yelping noise.
Twilight and friends stared at the masks built with alien technology and Equestrian magic, each of them unsure of how to progress.
"You have tested these, right?" Rarity asked.
"I... not really?" Twilight said.
"We can't just sit here staring at these things all day." Sunset argued, picking one of yellow color up. "We need to test these things... and I guess I may as well do mine first."
The group did nothing to stop her and just sat and stared as she hesitantly held it to her face, taking deep breaths. No noises were made as Shimmer mentally braced herself for this next step into th-
"Your phone is ringing." Came Fluttershy's phone, the entire room breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank you for investing in public radio, everyone has a story, and yours is that your phone i-" She answered it, excusing herself from the room.
"...I was going to do it!" Shimmer said to the others.
"Yes!"
"Well, of course!"
"We all knew that!"
Fluttershy returned, clearing her throat. "Uh, it was Principal Celestia... sh-she said we need to come to the school as quickly as we can."
"We can do these later, this sounds important!" Twilight said, shoving the masks into her bag before running to the school, all of the girls secretly relieved they wouldn't have to gamble with their lives so soon.
Princess reentered the room, sitting next to her twin sister on the large couch and relaxing.
"So, where's Flash?" Tested asked, not looking away from the absurdly life-like game taking place on the massive screen before her.
"Oh, my hubby's getting the universal translator implanted. It took a while to find where the human brain is... turns out it's where our stomachs are! Speaking of humans, how did your research go?"
Tested lifted a single finger to the screen and it paused. "It was eventful."
"Is that a GOOD eventful or an "I failed and I don't want to get punished" eventful?"
"I... DID find out why their energy levels are so high, for one, and I also found out a few other things as well."
"Excellent!" Inapan said, patting her sister on the back. "Tell me everything."
"E-everything?" Tested asked, nervously.
"Yes Sister, down to the smallest possible detail."
"Do you really want to know?"
"Tell me or I will shoot you out the airlock again."
"Fine! I got into a duel with their leader, Something Shimmer."
"Tell me you didn't."
"She used her powers first!"
"Wait, wait, wait, humans have powers?"
"Barely. The laser she fired was huge, but did pretty much nothing... which reminds me, has the doctor bot gotten all the glass out of me?" Tested turned and showed her back to her sister.
"It seems to be free of debris."
"Good, good. But anyways, I was able to pull a few hairs from her, so it wasn't a complete bust. I put them in the lab for examination."
"Excellent sister! I knew you would get this done. I'll need you to go investigate the statue in front of the building as well. Don't worry though, I'll be sure to set up a diversion..." She walked away from her sister, Tested shaking her head and returning to her game.
Inapan walked through the halls of her ship, smiling happily as she entered a large door. Inside, terrible, and horrifying looking machinations glowing vibrant colors made ungodly noises that could only be described as "brutal". She approached one particularly horrifying machine that twisted and gouged and shook with violent ferocity. Then it stopped and gave a small ding noise as it dropped a metal tube to the floor, pulling it back up with a crane-like appendage and revealing a rather shaken Flash Sentry.
"I-I think I want the dream to end now..." Flash muttered, falling onto her side, and once again too weak to fight her.
"Oh Flash I knew you might feel a bit homesick, so I did something to make you feel better!" Inapan lead Flash through the halls, he only keeping up by leaning on her. Finally they entered a room Flash's new translator told him was "the captain's chambers".
The room looked like a set in a television show, A massive, and a massive bed lay in the center while two nightstands stood on each side. It looked like the room had been formed out of two normal rooms, the one on the right heavily resembling Flash's bedroom. Posters of attractive women and rockstars littering the walls, dirty socks and pants littering the floor and wardrobe, and what appeared to be a window showing the view outside a second story home, complete with tree nearly scraping the window. The left side was more futuristic, a large screen floating directly near the bed, a robot marked "clothes" sat in the corner, and various awards (and a photo of Flash) were on the walls.
"Oh, I also added one more thing!" Mrs Sentry declared happily, clapping her hands. Once she did that, the floor and wall where a Dethwatch poster once stood flipped around, revealing Flash's father, bound to the wall by laser cufflinks.
"Dad?!" The boy shouted, surprised.
"Flash!" The officer returned the sentiment. "Son, get me out of here, I don'-" He was cut off by Inapan clapping again, hiding him once more.
"How did yo- You blasted him with a laser!" Flash shouted to his lawfully wedded wife.
"Oh well, first we were gonna clone him, but then I remembered I had my gun set to eviscerate. So really it was just a process of deviscerating him. He'll probably not live as long, but you should be glad your father cares at all." She set Flash on the bed and began walking away. "Yes, my father was nothing like that. Every time it was "I won't make your graduation from the space academy" or "I'll promise I'll make it to your next play" or "sorry I missed your bat mitzvah, and I had to conquer the Nebulons". But that stupid counsel, that stupid, pointless council!" She stomped her foot. "They took my daddy away from me, Flash! They kept bringing him to war, to diplomacy, TO IGNORE ME!" Flash came to the realization that she was probably insane by intergalactic standards too. "But... now, now with this energy source, we can both rule over the council, and make them realize how much of a mistake it truly was."
"I think I'd like t-"
"We'll both show them. And if Earth has none of the energy, it won't matter! We just tell them it's worthless and have them blast it to bits."
"We?" He gulped.
"Of course, that's assuming you have nothing to say against the love of your life." Flash opened his mouth to speak. "Then it's decided!" She interjected. "I'll find the energy source and bleed the planet dry. You stay in the ship and look pretty. If you get bored, I brought your car to the loading bay!"
She left the room and brushed her hands together. "Now, onto more pressing matters."
Twilight and company arrived at the school, where Celestia looked... well, not frantic but a lot less collected than she normally is. The place was lousy with cops, people of authority, and including a few parents
"What's wrong? Is something happening?" Sunset asked.
"Girls, I called you here to talk..." Principal Celestia said, putting a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "We... it's..." She took a deep breath to try and collect herself, the group looking at one-another.
"Is something wrong? D-do we need to fight someone?" Applejack suggested.
"Girls, I wish it were something that simple. I really, really do. Wh-when you... become more than just girls, when... when your magic and abilities come out, and you show us who you really are, it's almost always a good thing. Y-you show us that the power of friendship is a real force, a real feeling that lives in all of us. And... I have talked it over with Vice Principal Luna, and between the worried parents and the police investigations... we need to tell the truth."
"Th- Principal Celestia, we can't! They'll never believe it! You'll be locked away and we'll have to get a new principal!" Spike said, popping out of the bag.
"I just don't see any other alternative. This didn't happen over the cover of night, we couldn't get rid of evidence, and nothing we did convinced them. We have to tell all."
"J-just buy us some time, we'll think of something! We can get through this!" Rarity pleaded.
"I hope you're right... I can't hold them here forever though, they'll start demanding explanations."
The group sat in front of the school statue, thinking deeply about how to advance.
"...Oh no, I forgot about Princess Twilight!" Sunset Shimmer realized, taking out the book and skimming to the page she was cut off on. The group huddled around her to read what was written down.
"Dear Sunset Shimmer, Twilight's not here right now. But it's me Spike! I'm not quite sure how to work Twilight's portal machine but I've sent her a letter asking how! She's still off saving Equestria from the gunderstank, but I should be there in... how long is an hour and a half our time in your world again? A day? Two? ...Anyways, I'm doing all that I can, and please try to hold out until then!"
"Should we write back?" The dogged Spike asked.
"Wait, how long has it been since we got this?" Pinkie asked, leaning against the portal and nearly falling through as it opened. Rainbow saved her by quickly grabbing her legs and pulling her back.
The rest of the group stood up and out of the way, hoping whomever would come out would be someone helpful. It was about a minute before the group realized nothing was happening.
"...Pinkie, what did you see in there?" Applejack asked.
"Well, I saw... It was sorta like a... kinda like a... I don't know how to describe it, but it certainly wasn't that swirling vortex of colors and magic I saw last time!"
"Oh that's just GREAT!" Rainbow said, unhappily. "Not only is Princess Twilight not coming, but now we have a portal to who knows where, Spike's probably lost in some other dimension, and Principal Celestia's about to be publicly declared legally insane! How could this get ANY worse?"
At that moment, every cell-phone in the city rang at once. Thousands of millions of obnoxious ringtones cluttered the air and were suddenly silenced as they were answered.
"Hello girls!" A familiar voice came from the speakers.
"Inapan!" The girls all shouted, Spike blinking and trying to climb up onto Twilight's shoulder to hear more clearly.
"Now that I have ALL of your attention, I think it's time I make a few announcements!" Inapan said, smiling to herself within the captain's quarters. "First off, if you have not met me, I am Princess Inapan. CAPTAIN Princess Inapan Sentry. I've come from the planet you call Venus to research your pathetic little race. Secondly, you're probably wondering how I'm calling you right now on your primitive Earth communicators! Thank Rainbow Dash, she so kindly lent one to me and my boyfriend, and so it was just a matter of getting my crew to attach it to our comm system. Thirdly, did I say "boyfriend"? I mean husband. Yes, Flash Sentry and I are married!" The girls gasped, except for Sunset Shimmer, who looked very, very angry. "I have him with me, right now. Say hello to your species, honey~"
"U-uh... I was not awake when this happened, for the record!" The undeniable voice of one Flash Sentry said from the phone speakers.
Sunset Shimmer glared at her phone, furious. "You horrid, cruel-"
"Fourth, do not try to talk back to me. Your technology can only receive my messages." Inapan interjected. "Finally, I have good news and bad news. Bad news is that you ALL failed my study! Particularly the members of Canterlot High School, who have all but guaranteed your final destiny. Before you start rioting, kidnapping, and burning those responsible at the stake, you do have the good news: Flash being my lawfully wedded husband, has talked me into giving you ONE MORE CHANCE. I was initially going to tell him to be quiet, but I figured that if he IS one of yours, you can't ALL be terrible insects. Show me your world is worth saving, show me your puny culture is worth preserving. Fix your messes: Flash has shown me three places that means so very much to him, and I'm afraid two of them have been messed up by YOUR actions. What were they called again, sweetie?"
"Well Canterlot High, The Googolplex Cinema, and The fairgrounds?" Flash said, unsure of where she was going with this.
"YES! The school where me and my dear husband met, the cinema where I saw my first piece of Earth culture, and the very fairgrounds were we became engaged." Inapan said, delighted. "Such wonderful places, but then again any place with my dear Flash is wonderful by default." She sighed. "But you didn't understand our love, or my mission! You beat up my sister! You threatened me with Earth weapons! You... well, nothing bad happened at the cinema but it still needs cleansing! Show me how much you care for your Earth by literally caring for it! My sister and I will come around occasionally to see your progress. You have one Earth week to do this, but if ANYTHING happens to me or my sister, ALL of mankind will suffer for it! Here with more information is my sister, Tested."
"Hello humanity." She said rather drably. "They're not answering, did I not do it right?"
"I hope not, but keep talking. They can give no input regardless." Inapan said.
"Can I go home now?" Flash asked.
"Oh Flash, you are home!" Inapan giggled as Tested returned to her comments.
"I'm Tested Wearily. I'm not exactly for the whole "destroy humanity" thing, but you guys are really, really secretive and unfriendly and stuff. I got locked up on a roof and I think someone stole my belt. Anyways, I can give you another chance, I guess, but really it's my sister's choice, and not mine. But yeah, I guess I'll inspect."
"There, now get to fixing or Earth gets the Zyglon treatment!" Inapan cut in.
"I have no clue what that means guys, but you should probably do what she says!" Flash plead. "I'll see what I can do, ju-"
"Quiet honey, the girls are talking." With that the call ended and the crowds all across the city looked at one another in sheer confusion.
"Well!" Principal Celestia said on the pedestal before the crowd, clapping her hands. "Let's get to work!"
The group stared at one another, unsure what to say or to do. They were given a goal to reach, and any means to reach it, but they never anticipated the consequences to be so... dire. They turned to look at the school building, the entire place close to ruined from the brawl between The Principals, Tested, and Sunset Shimmer. The police's investigations didn't help, they had torn the place apart looking for evidence of what had happened.
"OK, well. We need a starting point." Twilight determined, her voice shaking.
"W-we'll also need a group to look at the fair and cinema." Sunset Shimmer stammered.
"And more hands and powers than we have." Spike said, gulping.
"Do you think she means it?" Rarity asked.
"Do we dare risk the chance?" Rainbow muttered.
"What if we fail?" Fluttershy asked
"What if she just says we failed?" Applejack asked, bitterly.
"The real question is when do we get started?" Pinkie Pie said, smiling as the group turned to her. Even with the world in the balance, the entire human race with a gun to their head, and she was still bouncy and happy as ever.
"Pinkie's right." Twilight said. "This is far from the most difficult task we've been given. We just need to... think about this, get some friends, and get to work."
In the shopping mall, around closing time, teens had gathered to discuss what had happened.
"I can't believe it!"
"We're all gonna be a smoldering crater!"
"Is it really worth anything anymore?" These were just some of the things overheard in the crowds of children as they mingled among one another. As the crowd grew more and more panicked, several groups approached the front of the crowd.
"People!" came a distinct voice. "People please! We need to not panic here!" The crowd grew more and more silent as they began looking ahead towards the ones who'd texted them the message to come here.
"Listen!" Diamond Tiara shouted, Silver Spoon, the Crusaders, Snips, and Snails standing besides her. "We have called you here today to discuss something very important." She wore her usual attire, but also had the face of a determined, devout leader. "We all received a call at a dire hour from someone we've never met. She claimed to be powerful, to be better than us, to hold our lives in the palm of her hand, and to have the life of a fellow wondercolt." The students looked at one-another, confused why they were listening to a child tell them something they already knew. "But she has given us an out. Clean up wherever she fancies and we will all be spared. This demand, however seems to be a fool's errand." Diamond said as the crusaders set up a computer presentation. The first slide showed the heavily damaged school, police surrounding it, she pointed to it using a small stick, not dissimilar to the one a stereotypical teacher would. "The local police have it barricaded and locked down for processing, ditto for her other two targets." The crusaders showed a slide of the fair and the theater that had been closed down due to the threat. "We are here to find out how to solve this problem."
"...Wait" came the voice from the far back, belonging to one of the nerds. "You're telling us you called us here to talk about a plan you haven't even thought about?" The crowd began bickering and muttering, rabbling about this and that before Silver Spoon handed Tiara a whistle. Blowing into the whistle, all the students flinched and turned their attention towards the little girl.
"No." She finally said. "I am here to tell you a plan to save Flash Sentry." The slides changed, showing a very basic drawing of the students splitting up into multiple groups.
"We will have seven teams, each of them with a team leader. Three of these teams will provide distractions for the police while three more will go in and clean up the locations." The slides changed once more to show a group of teens bickering with the police while another group sneaks past. "Now, I know what you're thinking: "Isn't this illegal?" Well the answer is yes, but my daddy can buy the best lawyers from wherever he wishes... So if you're caught, all of this will be swept under the rug."
"Is that how the law works?" Snips asked Snails, who shrugged.
"Any questions?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"Yeah!" Came the voice of the Great and Powerful Trixie. "Trixie demands to know who or what are the seventh group!"
"The seventh group are-" The slides changed to show Twilight Sparkle and company. This immediately caused an uproar in the crowd.
"They won't be helping?!"
"They could do all this by themselves!"
"You're cheating us Tiara!"
"I knew this plan was nothing but baloney!" Silver Spoon blew the whistle herself the time, all the crowd quieting down and looking at the group unhappily.
"Oh, I am SO sorry!" Diamond taunted. "I thought I called the Wondercolts! The teens who look upon those girls with pride and respect! But apparently, I called upon their baby brothers! Grow up!" She shouted. "Look at yourselves! These girls have given their all to protect us! They've treated us as equals, even with their powers and abilities! They have saved our lives three times now and asked NOTHING in return but our forgiveness! But the moment we are given the chance to return the favor, to show them WE are not just innocent bystanders, you all turn tail! Look at them Silver Spoon, tell me what you saw at the beginning of this meeting."
"I saw people ready to help the cause."
"And now?"
"Chickens waiting for their heads to be cut off." The crowd was silent as they realized the little girl was correct.
"Now listen, this is where it gets complicated." It changes to another slide. "You will split into teams based on the color Snips and Snails give you." The two boys began passing out slips of paper. "Red team and Blue team deal with the cinema, Gold team and White team deal with the fair, Black team and Green team deal with the school." The slides change showing how the groups pair off from there. "Each team will be given an appointed leader. Trixie, Microchips, Sandlewood, Lyra, Bon-bon, and the Crusaders will be these leaders." The groups of people chosen approached the podium as Snips, Snails, and the crusaders lead them to the front of the class.
"W-what? What is the meaning of this?" Microchips asked.
"The meaning of this is that YOU'RE important now. Ever heard of a trial by fire? This is that trial! Blue team, meet with Trixie, red with Microchips, Sandlewood gets gold, the Crusaders are white, Lyra gets Green while Bon-bon gets Black. You have your leader. We start our plan of attack tomorrow morning, at dawn!"
Before anyone could ask any questions, Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara made their exit to the outside parking lot, where Sunset Shimmer sat on a bench.
"There, we did your stupid job." Silver Spoon mumbled.
"Already? Jeeze, you girls are good at this."
"We know!" They said at once.
"But you remember OUR bargain, right?" Diamond Tiara asked. "Next fifteen elections you and your friends will back us."
"And we will retain exclusive rights to your images and characters!" Silver Spoon added.
"Er... yeah, of course... You are aware there's only 8 more school elections after this, right?" Sunset asked.
"We never limited it to schools, Miss Shimmer." Tiara said, smiling as the two walked away.
Sunset Shimmer took out the phone and dialed Twilight. "Are you sure this was the best idea? I feel like we lost more than we gained."
"Trust me, it was a necessary sacrifice." Twilight hung up and turned her attention to the masks in her workshop, staring at them as they hung on the wall. There were eight in all, each with a different color and design.
The Red mask was Sunset Shimmer's, designed to resemble a bird's head and beak. It was curved frontwards and had white fabric in place of the eyes, to let Shimmer see through them. The Blue mask was Rainbow's and had been designed to resemble a racing helm, the black glass visor staring into the distance. A Purple mask was befitting for herself, Twilight thought. It reminded her of a robot, it looked not too dissimilar to Rainbow's but had more jagged edges and a small antennae sticking out of both sides.
Following that was a Yellow mask for Fluttershy. She had tried her damnedest to think up how to make a mask as unthreatening as possible, but as she stared at what basically amounted to a yellow smiley face. She began wondering if she might just start from scratch. Pinkie's mask was the same color as... well, everything about Pinkie. A bright vibrant pink covered what was once the hood to one of Twilight's old Halloween costumes, based on one of her most favorite paintings. She was unsure why everyone kept calling her "ghostface" though. Rarity's was a white masquerade piece that covered her eyes and nose. It had a regal design that reminded twilight of royalty. Finally, Applejack's mask was a rather simple piece constructed of an old gas-mask. The only real visual change Twilight had incorporated was spray-painting it orange.
On the table lay a spare, green mask, designed when Twilight realized she had enough items left over to create one more, in case of an emergency. She had made it to resemble Spike, mostly because at this point she had run out of imagination and figured a blank green mask would just be creepy. In hindsight, she probably should have used the parts to give Rarity a proper mask, but she figured that the one she had would be more suiting to her friend.
She picked up her own mask, looking at the glowing mechanical energy that swirled inside of it. Taking a deep breath, she put it on.
Nothing happened. She blinked and stared at her hands, clenching and unclenching her fists, and looking around her room. Nothing had happened. She didn't feel different, she didn't know anything new, she couldn't even fly. All that she could tell was different was that she was wearing a robot mask.
"I... don't get it." She confessed to herself, looking over her notes and such, the mask still attached to her face. Flipping, skimming, analyzing, Twilight drew upon every single piece of knowledge she had about Inapan's tech. It just didn't make any sense! What was she missing that Inapan wasn't? Growing angrier and angrier, she finally shouted and slammed her hands on the desk, breaking it in half. Panting she looked at her hands, feeling and moving them once more. She moved on to a nearby computer, picking the machine up with ease. She began laughing, not a maniacal laughter, but one of pride, of joy! She had done it! Grabbing her cell phone she began to dial her friends, but the piece of plastic shattered in her grip.
"Oh..." She took off the mask and set it aside, nervously. "I should probably have seen that coming..." She confessed to herself.
Flash Sentry sat in the same bed as Princess Inapan, staring up at the ceiling, and thinking about what was happening to him. He needed to talk to someone, anyone. After he made sure his wife was sleeping, Flash clapped his hands and his father emerged from the wall. Trying to maintain his balance.
"Hey dad... couldn't sleep either, huh?"
"At least you get a bed, son." The man said, unhappily.
"Dad, this isn't my fault! How was I supposed to kno-"
"I know... I know." He took a deep breath. "I'm just kind of... upset about this."
"We both are, dad. Have you heard the news? I'm... married."
"So I have, I just don't believe it."
"You and me both... What do I do?" Flash asked, breaking a long, painful silence.
"Son, this is a... well, this is a situation I never imagined being in." His father confessed, Inapan mumbling in her sleep behind his son.
"Mmmm come to bed honey..."
"I-in a moment." Flash turned back to his father. "I just need some advice, it doesn't even have to be good advice, tell me what to do."
The officer shook his head and scratched his head. "Tell her the truth."
"I've tried! She keeps cutting me off and telling me that I-"
"Son I'm sorry, but that's all I have! Let her know that this is a two way street, and she's not letting you ride in your lane! I mean even if you can't get a divorce at least try to make some ground rules!"
"Honey..." Inapan's voice was a lot less mumbly and a lot more awake this time. "What're you doing?" Flash clapped his hands and his father returned behind the wall, the boy turning back to his wife. "Were you talking about me behind my back?" She asked, frowning.
"No! Well, yes but nothing bad? Just asking my father what you'd like for our one week anniversary?" He pulled a false smile.
"Oh, you're so cute when you're lying." She grabbed him by the cheek. "Come on, let's get to bed. I'm gonna show you more of the ship in the morning, and you don't want to be sleepy then."
"Yes, dear." Flash sighed as he laid down, her hand rubbing his chest as he pondered how he was going to get out of this crazy relationship.
Tested meanwhile, entered the lab and approaching Grunt as they both stood outside a large green tube.
"How's the research coming?" Grunt responded with a yelp. "Excellent. Soon Sunset Shimmer, soon we will know your secret..."
Trixie stared at the group she had been left with; the jocks. She was unsure how exactly this had happened. She knew none of these people, yet here they were laid out like an army! She turned her attention to the cinema and the police before her, an idea building in her mind.
"You two!" She shouted pointing to the two of the strongest looking men "Trixie needs a stage! Get her a crate!" The two ran off to do as she ordered. "You!" She shouted to a rather spry young athlete. "Go to Trixie's home and bring her her suitcase!" The girl ran off while Trixie directed her attention to the rest. "You! Do something obnoxious, and keep the police busy until Trixie is ready to begin her POLICE DISTRACTACULAR!"
The two officers watching the cinema stared as Trixie began leading a crowd to her whim, absolutely confused.
"What is she doing?" The older of the two officers asked.
"I think they're protesting something." The younger suggested.
"There'd be a larger group." Microchips and his crew sneaked behind the two officers. Trixie's distraction working before it even began.
"You don't know that. They might just be protesting something people like."
"That never stopped anyone before. You remember those kids protesting the fried chicken and taco place?"
"I remember that! It must've been... what, about two years ago?"
"Yeah... when does regulation say a protest turns into a mob?"
"About... two hours or 600 people, whichever comes first."
Inside the cinema, Microchips stared at everything. The floors were sticky and covered with everything from spilled soda to popcorn to a few substances he couldn't recognize. The counters & machines were covered in fingerprints and smudges, the artificial butter coated the popcorn machine in LAYERS. The candy boxes were strewn about wildly inside the case and the air conditioning made an obnoxious rattling sound, not to mention the bathrooms. Microchips sighed and he and his crew got to work.
Sandlewood had drawn attention excellently, he and his group having started the protest the officers positioned in the cinema would have wanted. His crew had done their best to create picket signs and tried to flag down passing drivers. What were they protesting, you ask? Why, a cause everyone could agree on: The carnival being shut down.
"This funfair is unfair!" He shouted over his megaphone, into the streets. "We get school off, and the places we want to go get shut down? That's not funny!" He shouted. Sandlewood had gathered quite a mob doing this. The carnival workers, local families, and even students who weren't called to the meeting. They all came from miles around to voice their annoyance over the situation. It certainly helped that the crime the police claimed to be investigating made absolutely no sense.
While the police tried their best to contain the increasingly aggravated crowd, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom lead the rest of the group into the fair. It wasn't easy though, CSIs worked hard and fast doing their damnedest to contain every single piece of evidence, including items clearly completely unrelated!
"They're still going?" Scootaloo asked.
"I wish that Horsatio Kane fella were here, he'd be finished halfway through the week." Apple Bloom mumbled. "He'd show these CSI's what real policin's like."
"Mom and dad won't let me watch that show..." Sweetie confessed as they crew began dispersing. Scootaloo took her group to the fun-house, Apple Bloom the food stalls, and Sweetie Belle the rides.
Lyra and Bon-bon stared at the school laid out before them. The process of entering was actually really simple, considering all they had to do was wait in the bushes and climb in through one of the school's dozens of windows in order to enter. The real problem was where to begin?
"The pane glass window might be a good place." Lyra suggested.
"What about starting from the basement up?"
"I heard the basement's haunted."
"All the more reason to clean it first, get it out of the way."
"We have, like, ninety kids with us, Bon-Bon, how are we supposed to keep track of all of them in a haunted basement?"
"It's not really haunted, Lyra. The school janitor didn't REALLY get locked in the furnace. People would have heard him screaming."
"They can still hear him screaming late at night, Bon-bon."
"But it's not late at night." The groups of students began dispersing to get to work by themselves, realizing these two would be at this for quite a while.
"Then you shouldn't be afraid of the screams!"
"I'm not afraid, you are!"
"I am not!"
Tested stared at the police officers who kept trying to turn her away from the school. "No, I'm supposed to be here."
"Please, stop that, it's annoying."
"I am getting slightly upset."
"Do you know who I am?"
"Yeah!" One officer finally said, fed up with all her talking. "You're some kid who just won't leave! What do you want in there anyways?"
"I want to go in."
"Yes, we have established this, but for what purpose?"
"I am part of Princess Inapan's plot to conquer your puny world and any mistreatment you perform unto me will likely result in the termination of the human race." The police officer stared at her, unhappily. Tested sighed and tried this again. "I want to look at the horse statue, whatever is in the building is completely irrelevant to my interests."
"The statue?" The officer said. "Sure, you can look at that. But you aren't going past this police line, got it kid?"
"I've been past that line multiple times before sir."
Tested approached the Wondercolts statue, scratching her chin. She took out a device and began scanning various areas of the statue, quickly hitting a spike. Reaching towards it, she felt her hand sink in. It felt like a warm liquid had flowed onto her hand. She moved and flexed, trying to feel if there was anything of danger. Nodding softly, she tried pushing her way through the portal.
Inside was something she had not anticipated. Before her was a large, spanning blue desert. Nothing but sand and several, unidentifiable celestial bodies in the sky that shone harsh, brutal rays onto it.
She tried to go forward, but felt something holding her back by her hand and belt. She identified, quickly, that it was her blaster and scanner, and seemingly trapped outside of the dimension she had entered. Shaking her head and returning to Canterlot High, she shuddered as her body tried to adjust to the sudden shift of temperature.
"Interesting..." was all she had to say on the matter before going back to the mothership, writing notes about the discovery.
Inapan stared at the results from the lab, her brow furling as she tried to interpret it.
"Sunset Shimmer is not human." She said, hoping that repeating it once more would make it suddenly understandable. "Sunset Shimmer is a cross-breed, she has the appearance of a human being but has the base genome of an entirely different species, and the two genetic make-ups result in an anomaly of intergalactic medicine." She took out the notes on Flash's DNA and compared it side-by-side with Shimmer's, growing more and more confused. "How is this possible? How could she even... she's literally impossible!" Princess took a deep breath, setting the notes down and thinking. "...Are there others like her?" She smiled devilishly as she asked herself. "And if there aren't, is there any way to replicate this?" She looked at Shimmer's hair samples.
Flash wandered the storage bay, looking for his car past the endless supply of crates.
"Jeeze, they were prepared to be here forever." he mumbled, passing yet another box marked "food". He recalled dinner last night, with the crew.
The meal was hazderfes from Gob D'fekir 8. Flash had wondered how a planet was so well liked that it had gotten that many sequels, but that was a bit less important than eating. On his plate was some kind of purple steak that wriggled when he touched it. A bottle of some strange, glowing white liquid served as his drink, and an array of warped and bent utensils (that he assumed were used like forks) sat on both sides of the plate.
"Are you enjoying dinner, honey?" Inapan had asked, noticing his reluctance.
"Well, do you have anything else?" He had the mistake of answering.
"What's wrong, is the hazderf not fresh enough?"
"I think the problem is it's still alive."
"It tastes better that way." Tested butt in.
"Yes Flash, at least try some before asking for something else." The boy turned his attention back to the living steak and picked up a utensil, attempting to stab it.
"Flash!" Inapan interjected, moments before the metal pierced the unusual piece of food. "You're not using the right silverware!" She shook her head and got up, going to his side. "I suppose it's fair, you had to use "forks" and "spoons" like savages."
Flash shook his head, trying to skip his memory of the hour-long lesson on which dorn to use on meat, which dorn for vegetables, which dorn to use on living meat, which dorn to use to cut the meat, which dorn to use to defend yourself, which dorn to use when eating custard, which dorn to use when assassinating whomever sits to your right, which one to use when assassinating the one to your left, on and on and on the lesson went, and the steak having crawled off his plate multiple times before she finally just gave him the right one and let him eat. He felt like "dorn" wasn't even a real word anymore.
He returned to his search, hoping that his wife hadn't sent him on a wild goose chase. Just as he was about to give up, he heard the revving of an engine. He ran to the source, bobbing and weaving through crates until the black coupe came into his vision.
Flash Sentry's car was one of his two prides and joys, his other being the bass he'd kept in the trunk. The sleek, black, two door was a gift from his wealthy grandfather, who claimed it had come into his possession following a deal with a wealthy man named Filthy Rich.
Flash loved that car like it was his own child, he'd custom painted it, he'd worked on the internals during Shop class, he'd even gone so far as to actually perform oil changes the recommended 3000 miles! As he rushed to his car, he pushed the robots working and testing it to the ground, trying to hug the vehicle one would a horse or a large dog.
Backing away to get a better look, Flash noticed a few adjustments had been made. The undercarriage glowed like the local DJ's car did, two metal fins had been welded onto the trunk, and all the windows had been tinted black.
"Woah..." He muttered, looking it over. "But wh-"
"Do you like it, my little nerfherder?" Inapan's voice came from inside the vehicle, the window rolling down. "I figured you'd like to see what we could do to your primitive chariot."
"I-it's impressive!" He confessed as she stepped out of the car.
"I had Grunt fix everything, and add a few touches. It's a wonder it ran at all considering it used a "gasoline"-based engine!" She shook her head, opening the hood of the car and showing Flash the internals. Glowing tubes connected pieces of the machine to one-another, all the parts had been replaced with small clear boxes that let Flash see the motion and interaction between them. In the center was the largest clear box, where it appeared to be two magnets connected by wires holding a round piece of metal in place. "I'm just surprised you humans hadn't discovered phlogiston yet."
Flash stared at the car, then at Inapan blinking, and trying to realize these emotions.
"Wow, thanks. A-are you sure you don't want anything in return?" He asked, unsure.
"Nope, I've already got the best prize in the galaxy." She kissed Flash on the cheek, the boy blushing in response. "Now if you excuse me, there's something in the lab I need to investigate." She ran off, Flash gently rubbing his cheek and looking at his new ride.
Twilight entered Rarity's bedroom, wearing her mask.
"Good news girls, they work!" she shouted delightfully. "And there's no apparent side-effects!" The group stared at Twilight Sparkle's robot mask, unsure how to react. She had shown them the masks before but they expected a bit more... change, given what they were dealing with.
"That's... good?" Rarity asked, Spike climbing out of Twilight's bag and passing out the masks.
"It's better than good! Watch!" Twilight picked up the bed while Pinkie sat on it, with one hand. The group gasped as they saw this happen.
"But... how?" Applejack asked.
"Well, it's actually really simple, I-"
"That was probably rhetorical." Sunset interrupted, chuckling.
"But we still have a problem." Rainbow said, putting hers on. "Won't we look like a bunch of idiots running around with nothing but colored masks? And what if someone attacks our body, a mask probably won't help if someone stomps on our feet."
"You're right, we'd need some kind of armor..." Pinkie said, thinking deeply.
"Yes, who can make us defensive but formfitting costumes in less than a week?" Applejack remarked sarcastically.
"Gee, what a difficult problem." Fluttershy giggled to herself.
"Duh! Obviously we're gonna ask Rarity!" Spike said, blind to the tone they'd adopted. The group looked to Rarity, who laughed heartily, putting the mask on.
"Well, when you ask me like that I can't say no, darling!"
Inside the cinema, the group of students took a break, sitting in the theater as they watched some old horror movies the theater had lying out, likely in preparation for the town's Nightmare Night ceremony. They all watched in stunned silence, all the films running as they greedily devoured popcorn and soda. Perhaps it was the end of the world, perhaps it was the fact they'd worked for hours and hours, or perhaps they just wanted to reward themselves for actually cleaning up the filthy theater in one day.
Whatever the case, teens and children watched the graphic violence and left the concession stands and projection rooms untended.
Outside, Trixie was running out of distractions. "Is this your card?" She asked the officer, who'd sat through the entire deck of cards. The officer tossed the card on the stage and left, leaving the magician to read the card.
"How to play Texas Hold 'Em..." She groaned and crumpled the card, tossing it to the ground.
"Is that smoke?" One of the officers asked the other.
"I... think it is?"
Before either officer could say anything, the sprinkler system went off inside the building, sending dozens and dozens of teens out in front of them, and holding onto tubs of moist popcorn and soggy 3D glasses.
At the fair ground, Scootaloo had her group had their hands full. The funhouse was an absolute dump. Everything from tossed away cigars to rotted corn dogs had ended up underneath and between the twisting hallways and warped walkways. Doors and doors distracting and taking away workers who grew more and more lost and frightened.
Sweetie Belle had a terrible time. Imagine the problems of the funhouse, add unsavory bodily fluids, multiplied by dangerous equipment and faulty security measures, and divided by the looming threat of death. Really as the students worked, more problems just became apparent. By noon, the CSIs had moved in to investigate, so the students had to alternate between cleaning, hiding, and covering their tracks. With the long arm of the law dangling menacingly overhead, the only group to have gotten any work done were Apple Bloom's. Shockingly, those who worked with the carnival food had kept their workplaces and restaurants neat and tidy and, apart from a few discarded containers, and the food court was actually a breeze. It was then the group had made the mistake of going to the funhouse and falling victim of the same issues Scootaloo had encountered, in addition to trying to find even more people and having a difficult time finding the fire exits.
Finally, Lyra and Bon-bon had settled their debate.
"Alright, so it's settled. We clean from the roof, down to the basement, and then double check the parking lot." Lyra said, smiling.
"Then from there we go through the library, the hallways, the offices, and finish in the classrooms." Bon-bon agreed.
They both looked up to find that the students had long since finished the jobs the two were arguing about, barring the stain-glass window, and moved onto cleaning the scorch marks in the second story hallways and fixing the door to the roof. The two girls smiled and looked at one-another, deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth as they joined in the work, and to the annoyance of the others.
"And done!" Rarity cheerily announced, entering the room with bundles of clothing. "I tried to keep them color coordinated, and tried to keep with the style of the piece!"
"It's only been three hours. How on earth do you do these things so fast?" Applejack asked.
"It's really easy when we all have the same measurements." as the fashionista handed out the clothing, the group went their separate ways to try them on.
Sunset Shimmer's costume was a formfitting latex suit, covered with leather padding. The red suit had a large, flowing cape that attached to her arms, and orange boots that reached her upper thighs. She put on a yellow belt that broke up the red, and noticed she wore a yellow S on her chest. Yes, she looked like a superhero alright.
Rainbow's light blue suit had a white diamond pattern across her chest and a blue diamond pattern on her white leather gloves and boots. She too had a belt, with all the colors of the rainbow adorning themselves into some kind of insignia.
Twilight's gear was a lot heavier and bulkier than most of the others'. It was a purple metallic suit of armor built of plastic and brought to a vibrant sheen, with silver highlights accentuating her joints. She could have sworn there was a holster on it as well, but she couldn't seem to find anything in it.
Pinkie wore the polar opposite of that, one large, pink cloak drooped over her body and combat boots thumped upon the floor. Applejack emerged from behind her curtain with orange and yellow camo, black gloves, and boots similar to the ones Pinkie wore. Before the groups could comment on their unusual uniforms, Rarity emerged wearing a white leather uniform, accentuated with purple studs, gloves, and boots.
As they looked at one another it became painfully clear why the entire process of making these costumes was so easy.
"Rarity, I'm worried about you sometimes..." Twilight confessed.
"I'm over here." She said softly and stepped out from behind the room's folding screen.
She had steel-toed rubber boots that stuck out from underneath her dark tan jeans that lead up to a hot pink tee-shirt depicting the egg-shaped head of a stereotypical grey alien. We wore a long, deep-yellow trenchcoat, and whose coat-tails ran almost to the ground. A butterfly pin was attached to the collar.
"Y-you probably think it's not a nice costume..." She said, pulling up the sleeves so her hands could come out.
The girls looked at one another, up and down. Spike had stayed his tongue, not wishing to be the unfortunate messenger in this fashion disaster.
"Well, we certainly..." Twilight began.
"I'm sure it's big thing in... Japan." Sunset Shimmer cut her off.
"I like it!" Pinkie said, smiling. "Well, I like mine." She put on the mask and giggled. "Oooh, it tickled this time!" The mask seemed to glow very slightly on her face. The group stared at her, not saying anything as the glow of the mask drew them in. Their sense dulled and they approached Pinkie, staring deeply into it.
"What're you guys doing?" She asked, taking off the glowing mask. The girls immediately snapped back to attention, realizing what was happening.
"Huh? What were we... I... don't remember." Applejack asked, looking at her own mask.
"It was kinda weird." Spike butt in. "Yer eyes went all wonky and you started looking at her like you were-"
"Oooh, hypnotized!" Pinkie gasped, looking at the mask. "Do me next, do me next!" She said, hoping the mask would do so, to no avail.
"Lemme try mine." Applejack said, putting on her gas-mask. Nothing seemed to happen, she didn't feel different, nor did she seem to make the others do anything differently, although they did seem to stare at her, worriedly. "Shoot, of course mine's the lemon." She sighed crossed her arms, tapping her foot as the group stared. "What're you lookin' at?" She asked.
"Uh, Applejack..." Rainbow began as the cowgirl swat at a fly. "Your arms are still crossed."
"Of course they are." Applejack said, rapping her fingers on the nearby dresser. "I don't see what the deal is."
"Well... maybe you should look in the mirror, see how your new mask looks, yes?" Rarity suggested, offering a hand-mirror. The orange girl took it and realized what was happening. One arm swatting at a fly, one arm rapping on a desk, two arms crossed, and one arm holding the mirror. She had five arms sticking out of her body now.
Excited by the potential of powers, Rainbow didn't even have the courtesy to wait for the others before putting her mask on. There was a pause as she waited for her powers to become apparent.
"Uh... Rainbow." Applejack said, testing her dexterity by juggling a few of Rarity's beauty products. "It ain't doing nothing." She said, cracking a pair of her knuckles.
"Maybe it just takes a while." Rainbow answered, unhappily as Rarity was about to put on her mask. Before they could see her powers, Sunset's's phone rang.
"You know, I'm noticing a pattern..." Spike said, the girl picking up her phone.
"Trixie? How'd you get this number? From jail!? How di- massive fire?" She took a deep breath. "We'll be right over." Twilight hung up and looked at the group. "Bad news, the movie theater burned down."
"What?!" The group asked, mortified.
"Well, apparently only one person was running twelve projectors, and none of them knew that film was flammable." She shook her head. "I really hope Flash can talk us out of that, and that Diamond Tiara holds good on her father's promise, because Trixie and Microchips are facing jail-time."
"Oh, that's terrible!" Rarity said. "I feel so guilty! If we were there we'd have probably done something!"
"We would'a burned too." Applejack pointed out. "I doubt we'd have been much help."
"But we're down a location, Inapan will destroy us if we don't find a way to bring back that theater!" Sunset countered. "And most repairs like this would take months, years tops!"
The group breathed a hefty sigh.
"We could fake it, like in the movies." Pinkie suggested.
"Come again?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, I saw this movie once. Where these cowboys built a model of a town so that the villain would destroy it instead of the real one." Fluttershy chimed in.
"Wasn't that a comedy that went on to end in a pie fight?" Applejack countered.
"What I'm saying" Flash began "Is that stripping me naked and taking my stuff is not cool, even if we are supposedly, married. Like, imagine if I knocked you out, undressed and redressed you, and stole all your stuff."
"Oh Flash, that sounds kind of attractive." She blushed and leaned into him.
"Wha- no! That's not what I'm saying! I'm saying tha-"
"Hello." Tested said, entering the room and cutting him off. "I trust I'm not interrupting something?"
"Yes, yes yo-"
"Of course not!" Inapan said, shaking her head. "Flash was just telling me about "brass tacks", whatever those are. Is there something the matter?"
"Kinda." Tested gave the two sheets of papers that were covered in numbers and words and phrases that even the translator couldn't help Flash decipher. Inapan gasped dramatically.
"Flash, do you know what these mean?" She sounded astounded.
"I think that's a pi symbol?" Flash said, tilting the paper in an attempt to see if he wasn't holding it upside down.
"It means there's an interdimensional rift open right outside your high-school, where the source of the mysterious energy that gives Sunset Shimmer and her companions their powers comes from. It also means humanity has discovered inter-dimensional travel before the rest of the galaxy, yet still haven't managed to learn how to make it outside of their own solar system." Tested answered.
"Wait, strange energy? You mean you guys knew about the girls' powers and stuff?" Flash asked. "How did you find out if I didn't tell you?"
"Oh Flash, I can control your mind. Do you really think you can keep secrets from me in that itty-bitty baby brain you humans have?" She pinched his cheek and shook gently. "You couldn't escape my grasp even if you wanted to."
"Wait, wait. You can read my mind?!"
"No I can't." Inapan said, sending a bolt of pain through his head. He blanked and shook his head.
"Sorry, where were we? Right. You mean you guys knew about the girls' powers and stuff?"
"Of course we do, Flash. Sunset Shimmer fought with my sister. Do you really think she'd have beaten her without them?"
"Uh..."
"Actually" Tested interjected. "It was more of a draw. I quit after they threw me out of a window. Anyways, judging by the fact Sunset Shimmer's DNA has more than four times the genomes as Flash's does that she, and is in fact from this other dimension."
"...I'm sorry, run that past me again?" Flash said, worried.
"She has a more complex series of DNA than your human's and has powers far beyond what we've observed in Flash. She is an entirely different species who are more closely related to the species you humans call "horses". She also seems to conta- Flash, are you OK?" Tested gave her halfhearted explanation before Flash began holding his head and staring at the floor, eyes wide open as the information entered his mind.
"Now Flash, honey, it's not your fault." Princess said, adopting a comforting tone. "We wouldn't have known either if we hadn't taken some of her hairs to the lab. Besides, it's not like you were lovers."
There was a short pause as Flash failed to react.
"I-I think I'm going to go take a long, long shower." He got up and left the two alone.
"Well well, I thought you said you could read his mind, sister." Tested mocked.
"He never thought about her! At least, not when he was with me... Do we still have that phone?" She smirked.
"It's still connected to the comms."
"Well, looks like we'll be calling up a few friends."
Meanwhile, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo finally escaped the funhouse, gasping and panting.
"That wasn't fun at all..." Applebloom confessed.
"Maybe that's why my parents never let me go." Scoots muttered and took out her phone. "Let's find out if anyone else is still stuck in there, if your job was anything like mine you probably missed lunch."
"There you are!" Sweetie Belle approached, exasperated. "I looked all over! The CSIs left three hours ago, and they reopened the carnival."
"Oh thank goodness, now we can just let the carnies do that work and we can leave it be, right?" Apple Bloom asked.
"What about the carnival goers? They'll still litter the fairgrounds if we leave." Scootaloo said, waiting for the person on the other end to answer.
"It's only a carnival, how bad could it get?"
"Actually..." Sweetie began as The Crusaders stepped out from the funhouse exit, into a large, and swarming crowd of people who were having the time of their lives. "You know how Sandlewood distracted the police?"
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"Aw, come on now!"
People from all over had come to the carnival, crowds and swaths of them filling up the rides, eating the food, and dirtying the place. The carnies had it good, even those at the freak show had customers coming to see the faked deformities.
"So everything we did was...?" Apple Bloom began.
"Absolutely pointless." Sweetie said, sighing gently as Scootaloo hung up.
"I almost forgot Rainbow's phone doesn't work..." She sighed as Apple Bloom realized something.
"Wait, what about Flash's?"
The girls all stared at one-another as a moment of realization struck. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle began dialing their sisters and Scootaloo frowning as she tried to recall any of the other's numbers.
At the School, everything had actually gone well. The students had managed to clean most of the school from the supply rooms, to the class-rooms, to the scorch marks, and to the kitchen. They still, however had one massive problem. As they all stared at the hole where a fanciful plate glass window once stood, the dirtied, and worried class just came up empty on answers.
"We could buy some at the hardware store." One student suggested.
"But the problem is how do we get it up there and in a good design." Another said. As the crowd of students stared at the setting sun, their options limited, and even without the police attention.
"I really wish the art budget hadn't been cut." One student lamented.
Flash sat in the storage bay, in his car, unsure what to think about his predicament. He was actually falling in love with Inapan! The girl who'd threatened his species, nearly killed his father, and kidnapped him! But she also did things for him. She brought his father back to life, she fixed up his car, and she let him have a room far nicer than his own and did her best to try to make it feel like home. Popping open the trunk, Flash dug around through various school books and car repair equipment to find his guitar case. Taking it out and opening it up, the boy removed his bass.
Flash's bass was his other most prized possession. It helped him de-stress many times, brought him money from the competitions he and his band had won, and had brought him and Sunset Shimmer together. He began to tune it, gently strumming and picking at the strings to get the perfect tone. He shut the car's trunk and went up to the hood, sitting on it and playing a low, and dulcet tune he'd written for his band.
The sound of his bass echoed through the saucer, reflecting off the metal walls and letting every member on the ship hear every note. Flash didn't know any songs that he could sing without a lead guitarist, admittedly. Usually he'd just play and one of his rocker friends would pick up on where he was going. But not here.
Before the boy could start singing, he heard a muffled jingle. Setting his bass aside, Flash opened his car, finding the jingle grow loud. Popping open the glove compartment, to no avail. Snapping his fingers, Flash dug around in the front seat cushions and found the source: his cell phone.
"Hello?" He asked, confused.
"Flash! Oh sweet Celestia, the crusaders were- Flash, listen closely."
"Oh, it's you, Shimmer." A series a bittersweet emotion brushed over him. They had needed to talk, but he'd have preferred face-to-face. "I-"
"The Googolplex burned down."
"What?!"
"Relax, nobody wa-"
"Relax!? That was the one thing you were told to protect!"
"I know! I know... it was an accident. But I need you to help. What we need i-"
"No, listen. We need to talk. Inapan told me your secret." There was a pause from Sunset's side.
"I'm sorry...?"
"You come from some weird other dimension! And you never told me! Not even jokingly, you just straight up lied to me!"
"Flash, listen, I-"
"You aren't even human!" This brought Shimmer to silence. "I let you into my house, into my life! I did everything, I treated you like a goddess, and I didn't even hold a fuss when we broke up! And this is how I find out? This is how I found out your big secret!"
"Flash you don't understand, I can't just, and you'd never have believed me!"
"You never tried me." He took a deep breath, both sides silent. "There, that's-that's off my chest. What do you need?"
"Are you sure you're past this? Even after we-"
"No, no. I'm FAR from over this. After this me, you, and the rest of the girls are going to have a long talk about... everything. About the talking dog, about Twilight, about you, about everything. But for now, just keep talking. Tell me what you called me about."
"I- how did you find out?"
"Tested found the statue portal thingy and had grabbed a few of your hairs. They have this big lab, with machines and monsters and holding tubes and stuff. They ran your hairs through something and told me about the results. There, I told you what I know, just tell me what you need and I'll see what I can do."
"We need you to either give us more time, or have her think of a new location. We'll completely fail if she finds out what happened, and we don't need this kind of pressure!"
"Do NOT pull the pressure card on me. I am on an alien space-ship, possibly billions of miles away, eating living foods with dorns, going through painful, weird surgeries, I can't find half of my stuff, and my dad's being held prisoner in who-knows-where!" He paused and took a breath. "I'll see if I can change her mind, or at least make her forget the theater, OK?"
Sunset smiled and looked at her friends, a look of bittersweetness covering her face.
"Well, good news and bad news, I suppose." She sighed as Applejack tried to figure out how to remove the arms gained by her newly acquired power. "Good news is that Flash has his phone, and considering how most phone plans don't cover past the Milky Way, he's probably still on Earth. Bad News is that he and Inapan know about the portal, our powers, and my dirty little secret..."
"He knows you sleep in the school wrestling room?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Wha- no! That I'm not human! And from the portal! He said he'll do what he can with Inapan but he's obviously not very... well, chipper." Sunset put her mask aside. "Come on, we need to spring Trixie out of prison. Do any of you guys know what the bail is for Obstruction of Justice?"
The next morning the members of the city board met with Principal Celestia. Filthy Rich and his wife were first to arrive, their stretch limousine having a difficult time parking in the front of the principals' home. Next came Miss Zecora, she had preferred walking, as it kept her fit and active. Pity it was raining cats and dogs today, so her nice black and white hair now flowed down her sides and dripped all over the carpet. Mayor Mare was next to come. Nobody really knew if Mayor was her real name or just her title, but nobody really cared enough to ask. Finally came Treehugger in her eco-friendly hippie van. The stench it gave out was terrible, and it always proved to make her late, but it "protected the environment".
Principal Celestia had lived with Principal Luna, some say it was because they had a difficult time living without one-another, some say it's because they just wanted to save money, and others just say that Vice Principal Luna was too lazy to move out. Whatever the reason, their home decor matched it. The floors were all dark shades of blue, black, grey, et cetera, and while the walls were the generic cheery yellow or cream colors you saw in family sitcoms.
"Well." Celestia said, greeting her companions. "I suppose we should call this meeting of the city council to order." The principals' home was filled with odd memorabilia, all of them either moon or sun-related; for example: The couch Filthy Rich, His Wife, and Treehugger sat upon had a sun pattern on it while the doilies on the end were shaped like crescent moons.
Filthy Rich was a tall, slim man with a cleft chin and a suit worth more money than the house he was currently in. Everything about him screamed important. His wife was clearly a trophy wife past her time. She looked like a pig and had the skintone to match. While Filth-I mean Rich payed no mind to rubbing elbows with the likes of Zecora and Treehugger, it was abundantly clear his wife did. She did her best to stay as far away from the two of them as possible.
Speaking of which, Zecora was a rather interesting woman. She wore a long, unusual black dress that covered everything beyond her chest down, and white gloves that made her hands look longer and more menacing than they really were. Her skin was a medium grey tone, and she wore white lipstick. Nobody had seen her without her dress, which lead to rumors that she had no legs.
Treehugger had no such problems. She wore daisy dukes and a T-shirt with a peace symbol on it. Her hair was long and curled and had bags under her eyes. Despite the weather, her sandals clung fast to her feet, and the only non-natural item she carried was a tie-dyed strap wrapped around her forehead.
Mayor Mare was unremarkable. A brown suit, brown pants, matching brown business loafers, and her small glasses.
"Actually," the mayor began "that would be my job, but since this is an emergency meeting that's not important. What is important is our topic." Vice Principal Luna entered the room, the group looking unhappily at her as she was late. Except for Treehugger, who looked like even she didn't know where she was. "As I was saying, the topic of today's emergency council meeting is the lunatic who has kidnapped our children, assaulted our police officers, and threatens us with destruction! I am talking about the threat of the woman who calls herself "Captain Princess Inapan Sentry." We all know what she claims and what she wants. Our problem is a rather simple one: Do we give in to her threats, or do we show her we are not willing to negotiate?"
"I believe that we need to make contact with her again." Mister Rich said. "Everyone has their price, and while my darling daughter has set her heart on saving the town by following her demands to the letter, I still stand by that principal."
"I disagree!" his wife shouts. "NOBODY should push us around! We should call in the government to force her out of this city and into prison! And if they won't do it, I know a general population who'd probably accept a one hundred million dollar bounty..."
"Dear, I thought I told you that we're not THAT rich." He said, sparking an argument between the two.
"I say she wants the right thing man." Treehugger interjects. "If we all start caring less about ourselves and give all our auras to the places we live, the world would be a healthier place, man."
"I am going to disagree." Zecora began. "Her motives are mad, and it's plain to see, and she just wants to keep us all busy. While we work like dogs, she takes Flash Sentry."
"Zecora raises an excellent point." Vice Principal Luna adds. "She's kidnapped Flash Sentry and possibly his father. Even if we comply with her demands she said nothing about releasing them."
"Then we need to find out where she's hiding and flush her out." The mayor nodded. "Principal Celestia, you mentioned your students telling you about unusual activity in the forest?" Principal Celestia cussed under her breath, knowing she should have looked up war bunkers in the forest herself and not asked Treehugger.
"I... yes, two of our most prized students; Fluttershy and Applejack mentioned they had seen unusual lights in the forests and mentioned seeing someone in there." Principal Celestia admitted, Vice Principal Luna giving her an unhappy glare.
"Then we go to the forest." The mayor nods. "We'll send out top officers to investigate a-"
"No!" Vice Principal Luna interjects. The entire room turns to look at her. "We can't just rush into somewhere like that." She begins stalling, hoping her sister would help. "You heard what she did to that poor officer. For all we know she could have even more powerful weapons in there."
"So we call the government then." Filthy Rich nodded. "They'll send their best men and that will be that."
"They did WHAT?!" Inapan shouted, Flash actually shocked at her emotional response.
"It was an accident! Places burn down all the time, I-I mean you said it yourself, we don't know Phlogistin or Phlostigin or whatever, right?"
"They burned down the first location we dated at, Flash! They DESTROYED a symbol of our love! They RUINED the moment we realized we were meant for one another! ALL OF EARTH IS GONE, FLASH!" As she ranted her skin turned from the neutral green to a deep, vibrant red that matched the gem in her belt. She began storming her way to the control panel, Flash desperately trying to calm her down.
"Please, it's only a building!"
"Nobody was hurt, you don't need to do this!"
"Give them another chance!"
"You can just give them a harder challenge as a punishment!"
All these and more were sent her way to no avail, as she entered the ship's control room and began charging her cannon, Flash made a quick decision.
Grabbing her by the arm and pulling her away from the control panel, he gave her a deep, passionate, loving kiss. Time seemed to slow down as Inapan's heartbeat(s?) began slowing. She closed her eyes and put her arms around him, the anger melting away. In no time at all, Inapan was just as much under his power as he was under hers. Breaking the tender embrace, the two stared deeply into one-another's eyes.
"Maybe... maybe I can give them another chance." She paused briefly and shook her head. "On ONE condition!" She returned to her firm, strong voice. She approached the panel and deactivated the laser cannons, and switched on the intercom. Causing every phone in the city to ring once more.
"This is your captain speaking." she smiled brightly as she said this.
All across the city people answered their phones, worried about what the next command from this crazy woman would be.
"I have learned unfortunate news. Somebody burned down the ONE PLACE I WANTED CLEANED!" She screeched, almost everyone recoiling from the shout. "You may think that this would have warranted immediate and irredeemable failure, and the crushing of your planet like an egg. Normally, you would be correct. Fortunately, I have a far, far better idea." Inapan approached the ship's control panel and began fiddling with the many, many switches. After a short while, Flash approached the comm.
"Uh, don't hang up, this might actua-" Before he could finish, a large green ray shot up into the sky and began forming a force field around the city. Many could only watch in awe as this happened, many tried to make a mad dash out of the city, and even more took this opportunity to crawl up into the fetal position. With one final thump, the green shield turned clear, and all the city was trapped.
"Now you know how serious this really is. This is a cloaking and deflecting shield. While it was redundant on my ship due to its design it proves far more useful on land, where many, many forces have tried to force their way in... and out."
"You now have two options to save your beloved planet: Clean ALL of the city by next week or Bring me a certain set of girls. You should know them by the names of Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack. Bring them to me alive and I will leave your planet in peace."
"That wasn't part of the deal!" Flash gasped.
"You wanted me to alter the deal, pray I do not alter it further." Inapan laughed. "My sister and I shall still come to investigate your progress. Clean the city or give those girls who dared to be your saviors. You only have a week to decide! Make it count." The sound of her rudely hanging up echoed through the city.
The girls stared at their phones (well, the girls who still had their phones did at least), mortified. After the longest time there came a knock on each of their doors and they froze.
"Sweetie?" came the voice of all their mothers (or, in the case of Applejack, Granny Smith). All the crew were silent, not sure what to do. "We've been thinking about going... out tonight." They began. "You have our permission to go out as well, as long as your friends know and you don't get into trouble." It was clear she was trying to talk in double-speak, the announcement troublesome to her.
"She's right. You should go out tonight with your friends, have some fun. Maybe just go camping for the rest of the week?" Their fathers (or Big Mac in Applejack's case) chimed in. "Actually..." The male guardian's voice sounded shaky. "That's a command. You and your friends NEED to go out and have a fun time camping!" The girls were unsure how to respond. "RIGHT NOW!"
"...Yes." Each of them finally responded. "Give me some time to pack."
"If anyone asks, you already left." Their guardians replied.
"That was really nice of your parents, Twilight." Spike said. "And convenient too!" The girl didn't comment as she began grabbing what they needed, packing them into their bags, and fled. Each of the girls had packed quickly, knowing exactly why their guardians had told them that.
Twilight dialed Sunset Shimmer on her landline. "Shimmer w-"
"I know, I know, the others told me five times over. I'll meet you by the forest."
While the girls fled to the wilderness, their homes were being swarmed with people, all of them not wishing to suffer a horrible fate. They would find nothing, not even any valuables or heirlooms. The families were gone, having feared for their lives just as much as their family's. Despite the swarm of hundreds of angry, terrified people, and none of them were the teens from Canterlot High.
The City Council members stared out the window, astounded by what had just happened. Filthy set down his cell-phone and turned to the group.
"Well, it seems we have a far larger problem than anticipated."
Zecora was the next to come to. "Yes, this is quite a problem. I feel bad for those girls, to have this thrust upon them."
"What do we do? We can't just hand over a group of children to this loony!" Mayor Mare asked.
"We should!" Rich's wife said. "This is the needs of the many versus the needs of a few. Sacrifices have to be made!"
"You backpedaled really fast there man." Treehugger laughed. "Like, you wanted her head on a pike, and now you just want her to leave. This isn't even a choice, man. Just clean the environment, make the world a better place. She's just saying what we should've been hearing long ago, man."
"Wait, she just sealed us into a dome. And said nothing could get in or out of it, right?" Celestia asked.
"She more implied it." Mister Rich answered. "But we'll be fine. I've had my men calculate the likelihood of a riot ever taking place in the event of a tragedy and it's only a 45 percent. As long as nobody starts breaking the law, it will be fine. It's called the Broken Window effect."
"Why would you need to know that about the general population?" Treehugger asked. "And didn't you say you weren't that rich?"
"Everyone knows that during a sociological upheaval the first to go are politicians and the upper class. As a member of both of those parties, I figure it's best I stay ahead of the curve. Besides, we still have police, and all we have to do is make sure they do their duty for the remaining week."
"Right. In the face of the potential apocalypse we will have to start organizing and leading so that we can all get through this difficult time." Celestia nodded. "If those girls were smart they'd have gone into hiding by now, so finding them is a fool's errand. We just need to clean the city."
"It's decided then. I'll go to the station and give the boys a pep talk." Mayor Mare nodded.
"I'll get the students to start working on the city." Celestia chimed in.
"I'll provide rewards for those who prove most useful." Mister Rich said, standing up.
"I'll write up punishments for those who don't." His wife nodded.
"We will all need supplies to clean, I'll get to work like a machine." Zecora smiled.
"I'll rally the people, and try to keep them in control." Luna added.
"And I'll start a peaceful protest against... that lady. You know... the evil one." Treehugger began snickering as the group looked at her.
"Was she even elected?" Filthy's wife whispered, the business man shrugging in response.
While the citizens had begun doing their best to either clean their city or find those girls, other groups had begun their own agendas.
"Mister Armor, Missus Cadence. I trust you know why I called you both here." Principal Cinch's voice echoed through her ominous office.
"Unfortunately..." Shining began. "I-I mean, Totally! You want us to-"
"Find a way to talk with this... Princess." Principal Cinch got up from her seat. After the defeat of the Shadowbolts, Cinch had grown more bitter, more unpleasant, and just plain unhappier. While the students had nothing to fear, rebellion proving to be a far more "cool" alternative to winning, and the staff had no such luck. Without the students, Cinch had turned her weapons to those who were required to remain under her thumb.
"I still don't see why." Dean Cadence said, Cinch turning around to glare at her with her cold, steely eyes. "I-I meant, it would be nice if you told us why we should do this."
The employees did not fear being fired, Cinch had learned that the hard way after the events of the Friendship Games. What they had feared was discipline; forcing long, sleepless nights of paperwork and filing, and all of it often undone by the next poor soul who was given the job was but one punishment the staff would face.
"I want to know more about her. About what she does, what she has come from, and why she wants THOSE girls."
"That's crazy! You saw what she did to the city, who knows what she could do with you!" Cadence butt in.
"Why do you think I wanted to send you?" She retorted. "I will remind you, Cadence, that you and your boyfriend are on shaky enough ground as is." Shining coughed, realizing where this was going. "Go into those woods, find Inapan, and tell her I wish to speak. But if you refuse, I'm sure both of your families would not mind knowing a few things."
"You wouldn't dare..."
"I wouldn't need to. If a certain test result ended up on a certain newspaper editor's desk, it would just be an unfortunate coincidence."
"The school paper wouldn't print that. They hate you!"
"Who was talking about the school, Miss Cadence?" The two pseudo-faculty gulped and looked at one-another. "Good, we have an understanding. You go into the forest and find her, and I forget all about that test."
"How do you know she'll be in the forest?" Shining asked.
"The beam came from there. It isn't rocket science. And if isn't from the forest, then you had better find out WHERE it had come from."
A green tent had been set out in the forest, where the girls sat inside, and sighing looking at one another. Chased out of town with a bounty on their heads, taken from their homes with hardly a goodbye to their families, not more than ten minutes to pack and bring what they needed, and the group were in a deep depression.
"I can't believe this." Rainbow said, having been the first one to say anything since they'd met up. "After everything. After saving their hides, after defeating demons, lunatics, and THIS is how they treat us!"
"To be fair," Fluttershy countered. "We only assumed they'd hunt us down. F-for all we know they could be cleaning the town as we speak."
"Do you want to turn back and risk it?" The entire group were silent. "I thought so."
Sunset Shimmer dug around in her bag, pulling out her mask. "We still have the masks. We can use the powers to-"
"Oh, to do what? What could we POSSIBLY do? Applejack could arm her to death! Pinkie could stare at her until it all stops. Twilight could throw her! I could just sit there and do nothing. These are GREAT powers. Really glad we put our faith into these pieces of plastic!" Rainbow's rant continued on past this, but the girls didn't really want to listen. "Princess Twilight would be a REAL help right about now but UNFORTUNATELY she's off on her own magical friendship adventure, while we are going to die!"
"Rainbow, that's enough!" Twilight got up and grabbed Dash by the shoulders, giving her a good shake. "You're getting hysterical!" With a quick slap, Twilight took the helm. "The last thing we need is more fear and anger. These powers CAN be useful, and we CAN do this."
"I-I know what you're saying Twilight," Rarity admitted, "but Rainbow raises a lot of good points. We don't know anything about our powers, and those we do know don't seem to hurt them."
"Then we just have to practice. We need to learn these powers and everything about them. Masks on girls, it's going to be a long week."
The Mayor had, thankfully for all involved, declared it best to leave the crime scenes open to the general public, and school was in session once more. Trixie & Microchips received a pardon, true to Diamond Tiara's word, and had arrived just in time for the latest school assembly.
As they entered the school gymnasium, it had seemed every teen in the school had come this time. Every clique, from the nerds to the rockers to the jocks, had come to see Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. Even most of the faculty had arrived as well, sadly resigned to the fact that they would spend their last few days on Earth in the same dead-end high school.
"Welcome, welcome everyone! I am so glad to see all of you here!" Vice Principal Luna shouted.
The crowd did not respond back. "Yes, well. We have called you hear to discuss the distressing the situation." Most of the teens went on to ignore her. They didn't need a repeat of Diamond Tiara's speech. They all knew why they were called here and what she was going to tell them. Really, they'd found this entire exercise pointless. The only reason they didn't just skip it was because they'd rather not get the Principals upset with them. "Without further ado here is your Principal Celestia!" Luna handed off the mic and ran off to her own assembly, the students giving halfhearted applause and cheers.
At the Police Station, a similar speech was started by Mayor Mare. "You may be wondering why I called you here on the eve of the end, to talk about your careers... because, my dear companions this is NOT the end. This is far, far from it!"
"We have heard what that woman has said to us." Filthy Rich said, safely in the confines of his televised nuclear bunker, sitting with his wife on nice, fancy chairs, holding glasses of sparkling apple cider, and in their nicest clothing. "She has called us many, terrible things, she has committed terrible, monstrous crimes, and worst of all she almost made us perform acts just as heinous as hers!"
"But we didn't man." Tree Hugger gladly pronounced to a crowd of hippies and homeless people. "We took the high road. We refused to hand over seven little girls to some... loony from space, man! But I'll tell you what we are gonna do."
"We are going to FIGHT!" Celestia said, rousing the crowd once more. "We are going to show her that Earthlings are more than just insects! We are going to show her that humanity cares for its planet just as much as we care for ourselves."
"How do we do this?" A police officer asked, the Mayor turning to him.
"How? By keeping peace and order! By doing what we should have done before, but better!"
"We, dear citizens" Filthy Rich said adjusting his tie, "are going to fix this city. An uphill climb it may be. A challenging prospect, a worrying ideal, however you phrase it, it looks intimidating."
"But that's not a bad thing, man! Challenge just shows how strong we are when we overcome it!" Treehugger announced. "Did we stop when they opened that chicken and taco place without promising cruelty-free products?"
"No!" Shouted one student from the school's crowd.
"Did we falter when the Shadowbolts tried to take us down?" Celestia asked.
"No!" Announced the chief of police.
"Are we going to let our town go to ruins over some megalomaniac?" The Mayor repeated.
"Of course not!" Filthy Rich said, standing up and tossing his drinking glass aside. "What we ARE going to do is-"
"Work together, man!"
"Make the city clean!"
"Make it safe!"
"And when she comes to inspect, makes snide remarks, and mocks us for doing exactly what she wants, what are we going to say?"
"Like, I dunno man. Maybe you're just upset we're doing this better than you could."
The school cheered, leading Celestia to continue. "When she comes to us on the final day, she stares at what we've done, and we WILL see the look of shock and amazement!"
The police cheered. "Our city will not fall to such a threat, not so long as I am alive!"
People watching the broadcast at home cheered as Filthy Rich took off his suit and tie to reveal a nice clean undershirt, and shockingly impressive abs! "Let's go out there! Let's get our job done!" He was tossed a shovel from off-camera and left, leaving his wife alone. Before she could say anything, the transmission ended.
"Let's get to work." Twilight announced, the girls taking out their suits and masks.
The girls began their training, working as diligently as one could in such a location. The exceptions were Rainbow and Pinkie. Rainbow's powers hadn't seemed to manifest, while Pinkie's mind control powers were unlikely to be improved. As such, the two were left to spy on the mysterious glowing object in the middle of the woods, and to report back by Pinkie's cell if anything happened.
"Right, Rarity, Fluttershy, Sunset, put your masks on, and we can see who gets paired up with who." Twilight said, tossing them their respective masks, setting the green one aside.
"Wait, shouldn't we get into costume first?" Twilight rolled her eyes, letting her run off and get dressed. She drug the other two along as Twilight turned to Applejack.
"Alright, Applejack, put on the mask and tell me how you feel." She sat down and pulled out a notepad and pencil, Applejack putting on her mask and beginning.
"I feel... the same, I guess."
"Alright, this first test is going be about what else you can produce from your body."
"I really hope it's just arms." Applejack mumbled.
"Here, hold this book." She tossed a book to Applejack, who caught it with ease.
"Excellent! Now catch this!" She tossed an apple, which was also caught.
"One more, catch this." She tossed a branch from the ground. In a split second, Applejack had captured it with a third arm, one that had seemed to come from nowhere, even with Twilight's full attention she was unable to determine when the arm had sprouted.
"Amazing!" She wrote down in her book approached Applejack, gently poking the third arm with her pencil. Applejack pulled it away slightly, reacting as if it had always been there. "Now, take off the mask." Nodding, the country girl removed the gas-mask, the third arm vanishing the moment the last inch of rubber lost contact with her skin. "And on again, I have a few other tests."
The others returned in their garb, Applejack facing Twilight on her left.
"Oh, Applejack!" Rarity greets as she approached, "still testing the mask I se-eee-eee-EEEE" She shouted as Applejack turned to reveal her power had given her the ability to grow a second head. Applejack took off the mask before Rarity could faint, the second head vanishing instantly.
"...Now, didn't I tell you that a second head wouldn't be all that useful?" Applejack asked, Twilight shaking her head.
"Why don't you take a break? We can continue training a bit later." The scientist chuckling. "Fluttershy, we're going alphabetically, so you're next."
"Uh, OK... are you sure I won't have something-?"
"You'll be fine, Fluttershy. We're here for you. If anything goes wrong we can just take off the mask."
"Alright..." She takes a deep breath and puts on the mask, blinking as she realized she didn't feel different.
"Well?" Twilight asked, taking out her pen and pad. Fluttershy shrugged in response.
"Hm... another dud. Well, I suppose this is to be expected, it's not an exact science. Oh, I just remembered, do we have anything for lunch?"
"WELL, I BROUGHT- IS SOMETHING WRONG?" Fluttershy's obnoxiously loud voice caused all the group to clutch their ears, curling up into balls and trying to motion for her to stop. The world seemed to shake, birds flew from the trees, and Spike began howling before Sunset Shimmer could motion for her to remove the mask.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I do something wrong?"
"Are my ears bleeding?!" Applejack asked, the others shaking their heads.
"It's just tinnitus! It should wear off in a few minutes!" Twilight explained.
"What!?" Shouted the others.
Across the forest, in the depths of the ship, Flash blinked and looked around as Inapan approached. "Something the matter, honey?"
"I thought I heard something." He answered, shaking his head.
"Well, I hope it was nothing serious. I'm going out to investigate how your fellow earthlings are doing."
"Uh, actually, I've been thinking..." Princess turned to look at him, curious.
"Yes, about what?"
"Well, maybe I could come with you this time, you know, see the world one last time before we... blast off? Maybe meet with some of my friends, visit the rest of my family?"
"Oh Flash..." She said in a calm, almost motherly voice, hugging him. "Of course you can't. We're your family now. Don't you like us? We're so, so much better than your human friends, aren't we?" Flash opened his mouth to answer but she covered it. "Ssh... If you really are feeling lonely, I know just the thing." She clapped her hands and a robot showed up. "You, robot. You work for Flash now." The robot gave a positive beep.
"This wasn't exactly what I meant."
"Give him a try honey, if you don't like it we can just destroy it."
"Thank you?"
"If you still feel lonely when I come home, we can play some games. Just me and you, and whomever else you want!" She grabbed him and gave him a deep, passionate kiss before leaving, happier than ever.
Inapan approached a small panel, leaning over and letting it scan her eye. The door opened, revealing a large, oval-shaped vat with a large, blinking blue button, similar to the one Twilight and friends had discovered in the woods. Pressing the button three times, the foul-smelling slime sunk into the bottom of the device. Turning the button and slamming it violently, the door to the tube opened, allowing her to enter it. With a zap, Princess vanished into the ether... temporarily.
Across the forest she flashed into existence in the green goop of the second tube, letting it slowly drain as she waited patiently. The polyester let the slime glide off her body as the door finally opened.
"This process seems to take longer every time..." She muttered, stepping out from behind a bizarre oak tree, unaware Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were watching from the shadows. Inapan left while the two girls approached the machine, trying to think.
Rainbow stared at the button, holding her nose to try and ignore the obnoxious smelling green slime as it filled the tube up once more. It was some kind of teleporter, that was clear, but how to work it was another issue altogether, but then again, it was only one button. How hard could it possibly be?
"Pinkie you man the controls, I'm going in." Rainbow approached the tube, pinkie approaching the button. She pressed it and the tube began to empty, the door opening to let Rainbow in. But after that? Nothing. "Hm... uh, try hitting it again?" Rainbow suggested. Doing so, the door closed behind her, but still nothing happened.
"Maybe we should wait until she comes back and watch how she does it?"
"It's only one button, Pinkie. It's not like there needs to be a manual. Hit it again, maybe it's just getting ready." Pinkie gently hits the button and Rainbow is sprayed in the face with the green slime. "Pinkie!"
"What?"
"Nevermind!" Rainbow puts on her mask, in case she gets sprayed again. "Just see if there's any other switches or buttons on it."
Pinkie does so, her hand brushing the button to the left slightly, the machine starting to whir. "Oh, it's doing something!" She returned to the panel and hit the button again.
With a flash of orange light Rainbow was gone... or so it seemed. "Pinkie!" came a tiny, tiny voice from the bottom of the machine. "Press the button again!" Blinking, Pinkie approached the glass tube and looked down.
"Oh my GOSH Dashie, you're so teeny tiny! It's like I have my own little doll!"
"I don't WANT to be a doll! Hit the button again, turn me back to normal!" Rainbow shouted, Pinkie heading to the control panel and pressing the button, slightly harder this time. In a grey flash, Rainbow had returned to normal size but had now gained a few things. The centaur Dash glared at Pinkie she coughed.
"Well, uh, let's try this again." This repeated for quite a while. Rainbow the giant, Rainbow the Griffon, Rainbow the Elder, Rainbow the pegasus...
Thankfully, the main group's ringing in their ears had worn off, leaving Twilight to return to her studies.
"Rarity, you're up." Twilight said, handing the fashionista her mask. "Now, hopefully," she turned to grab her notebook and pencil "this one goes without AUGH!" Twilight returned facing forward to see herself standing in Rarity's place. "Well, I guess that answers that."
"Whatever are you talking about?" She asked, oblivious. "Oh dear, my suit's changed!" She said, noticing it. Taking off the gloves and seeing the purple skin underneath it all began becoming clear. "Oh. I suppose that makes more sense." She admitted, taking off the mask and returning to normal. "A pity, I was hoping more people would see my costume."
"Now, going alphabetically, we have Sunset Shimmer."
"Wait," Rarity interjected. "Wouldn't Spike be next? I mean, you did make the green mask for him, didn't you?" Spike looked up from the tennis ball he'd been gnawing on, looking at Twilight.
"Uh, well, thing is that the mask uh..." Twilight stuttered, leaning down to pet Spike.
"Yeah, it looks just like me! Come on, lemme do it!" The purple dog sat down and closed his eyes, waiting for the mask.
"I-It's just a bit dangerous, Spike. We've had powers, we know how to at least kind of control ourselves but you..." The dog gave her a saddened, doggy look that only small cute things knew how to pull off. "D-don't give me that look Spike. I'm not doing this to be mean, we know how it reacts on the human body but we can't just, and I don't think I could forgive myself if something bad happened!" Spike looked at the ground, moping. "Come on Spike. I'm just doing this because I don't want you to get hurt." He humphed and looked away, unhappily. A pregnant pause followed as the group thought of a way to move on. "Sunset Shimmer, could you?"
"Oh, right sorry." She put on the mask. "It's just, you never said that stuff to me when I wanted to put on the mask."
Inapan approached the city, smiling smugly as she entered the shopping district. People worked diligently, stopping only temporarily to give her unhappy glares. She shook her head and approached a small burger stand, where Tested looked at her notes on a pad. Looking up and seeing her sister, she shrunk it to the size of a pellet and pocketed it.
"Oh, hello sister." she greeted.
"Sister!" Inapan said, worried. "Is something the matter? You usually don't cease multitasking unless something is the matter."
"It's the earthlings. They've found neither hide nor hair of the humans we want."
"...Pfft, no matter. We just have Grunt take the statue and experiment on that."
"It's not that easy. While the portal is the source, the flow has been altered. By my math those humans would have needed to be exposed to the energy for Undu-Lopto-Aquan of their human years in order to build up that amount flowing through them. They're filtering the energy."
"So right now our most useful source for study is-"
"The half-breeds, yes. Unfortunately, the rest of the earthlings have lost them."
"Don't send an insect for a robot's job then. I'll send them out into the city, to scavenge them... or their remains."
"And the other humans? Should we let them free?" Tested asked, the food stand owner sheepishly giving them some free burgers, hoping to sway their views.
"...No, but we needn't necessarily destroy them either." Inapan confessed. "It's not in my hands, sister. It's in theirs."
"That's very honorable of you sister." Tested said, looking over the burgers and dissecting one of them with plastic cutlery.
"And if they do, on some small, significantly impossible succeed, then the planet can stay. I'm not sure I'd keep on the rest of their kind though." She said, picking up the food and hesitantly taking a bite. "Ah!" She tossed the burger on the ground and began firing her blaster at it.
"These creatures aren't even alive." Tested announced.
Shining approached his home, strangers working on cleaning and fixing it while his family seemed to have vanished. As Cadence followed, it became clear to both of them something had happened. Important items had vanished, from family photos to his mother's awards, and even Spike's dog bowl!
"Hey, buddy!" He shouted to one of them, a short tubby kid in a black shirt who was sweeping broken glass from the rug. "Where is my family?" The boy turned to him and shrugged.
"I dunno, I guess they ran off after the whole "bring me Twilight Sparkle" thing happened." He explained. "I mean, we tried texting 'em but uh, since the whole "swarming to destroy their home" they and the others just ain't answering."
"Others? I assume you mean the other families."
"Well duh!" Cadence glared at him. "Er, I mean, yes sir. They uh... I dunno where they went. Maybe a motel or somethin'? Uh... We're workin' hard though! Cleaning up! D-don't worry about it!"
"Oh you better be, because if I find out something happened to my family, I'll personally make sure t-" Cadence cleared her throat, cutting him off.
"We should probably start looking for Twilight. She and her friends are probably in danger." She lead him away from Snips, shaking her head.
Back in the forest, Rainbow emerged from the pod, shaken, dazed, having been changed into hundreds of creatures and back again, and really just plain unhappy.
"Pinkie" She began. "Maybe we should stop playing with alien technology." Rainbow took off her mask and shuddered. "How about we just go back to camp and get some lunch? I don't even remember what time it is anymore." Rainbow began limping back to camp while Pinkie helped her, leaving the teleportation pod empty.
They soon arrived at camp, where Twilight was having a conversation with two Sunset Shimmers (one who was slightly hovering above the ground), an Applejack with four legs, and Fluttershy, who was trying to keep Spike away from a mask of himself.
"Hey guys!" Pinkie greeted as if nothing was wrong, Rainbow just staring at the group. The two Sunset Shimmers were visibly different, apart from the hovering. The one on the ground wore her previously seen, leather-based ensemble that made her out to be a "bad girl", while the one who was floating wore the supersuit and helmet. Her arms were sticking out in a t-pose, with her cape drawn out in full. The group turned their attention to the two of them, and looking concerned.
"Rainbow!" Said the leather-clad Sunset Shimmer in Rarity's voice. "What's happened to you?" She approached and began brushing Rainbow's hair, grabbing a brush from a pocket that didn't seem to be there.
"Rarity, how come you're-?"
"Oh, it's the mask, but this is a lot more important! We can't let your hair stay like this." Sunset Shimmer dropped her pose and fell to the ground, grabbing Twilight to keep her balance.
"We're here for Lunch," Pinkie announced. "After all it's- what time is it?" She thought, trying to look for her phone in her costume. One of Applejack's arms sprouted from Pinkie's side and dug through a pocket, pulling out the phone. "Oh, thanks!" Sunset Shimmer waved her hand, the picnic basket floated out in front of the group, and set it down gently on Twilight's lap.
"So, I'm not the only one weirded out by this, am I?" Rainbow asked, both her and Rarity sitting down by the group.
"Oh no," Fluttershy said, hiding Spike's mask in her backpack. "I certainly think all of this is a bit odd. N-no offence."
"Finally someone says it." Applejack chuckled. "I was starting to worry I was the only one." She began using her hands to make sandwiches, Twilight doing the same at a slower rate.
"You guys really got used to this quickly." Pinkie observed, taking hers and happily eating.
"Well, I used to be a unicorn so telekinetic are second nature to me, but we haven't worked out all the kinks quite yet." Sunset explained as one of Applejack's hands dropped a sandwich to the ground.
"So, what did you guys find out?" Twilight asked, offering Fluttershy one.
"Well, for one we found out that it's a teleporter out in the woods. For another, I found out that it hurts. A lot." Pinkie sheepishly turned away.
"Oh, so you got it working?" Applejack asked.
"I never said that. We know Inapan knows how to work it though." Rarity took off her mask and returned to normal while Rainbow continued. "All I know is that you press the button hard to open it. Any other instructions and it just does whatever it wants... which reminds me, do I still have feathers on me?"
"Uh, not that I saw." Rarity answered, confused.
"Well, Spike and I can look over it after lunch. I made these masks from scratch, how hard can teleportation be?" Twilight began as Shimmer rolled her eyes.
"Because it totally didn't take me three years of studying to figure it out." She chuckled. "Anyways, you do that. I'll keep researching the others. Rainbow you look pretty beat up, why don't you go take a nap?"
"Yeah, I'd like that." Rainbow took her sandwich, entered the tent, and put on her mask and dozed off in full uniform.
Sunset Shimmer took Twilight's notes to look over while the rest of the group enjoyed their lunch.
"Maybe they sent me some texts," Shining realized as he took out his phone, waiting through the slow, awkward start-up.
"Or maybe they texted me." Cadence took out her phone and it started up instantly, revealing the seventeen new messages prompt. "You need to get a new phone." She reminded him.
"Not until this one's dead." He huffed as Cadence read through the messages.
"Pick up some milk, hit send too soon, here's the rest of the grocery list, and you've been acting funny is there something you want to tell us..." She paused on that one and looked at Shining before returning to the phone. "Cadence where are you, honey please come home, and something bad is happening, honey, I can't find your father... I-I better go, these sound really important."
As Shining's phone finally powered up, the message telling him about a number of texts came up. Reading through the most recent ones, he found the most important of them at the very bottom: "hidin frm riot, com to library".
The library was actually one of the least popular locations in town, regularly. On the eve of the apocalypse, however groups had come to clean and return books and just generally gain a clean conscious as Shining spotted a familiar figure in a trenchcoat.
"Hey, dad!" he shouted, ruining his father's point of wearing a trench coat. Sighing and taking it off, his father shook his head. "What's with the get-up?"
"I was trying to be subtle. I don't want people badgering me about Twilight's whereabouts. I mean, most of them have moved onto doing better things, but still do you want to risk it?"
"Actually, where is Twilight? I need to talk to the whole family and I'd prefer she were there too."
"We told her to run to the forest, to hide with her friends until this all blows over." He whispered, looking to see if people were overhearing. "Son, I say we leave them be. If you need any advice you can just ask me."
"Well, will you get angry? Because Principal Cinch knows some things and... she wants to Blackmail me and Cadence." His father gave him a stern stare. "N-nothing illegal, I just... stuff I don't want to let out."
"Son, just tell me it will be our secret." Shining leaned over to his ear and whispered it, his father's eyes widening the longer the explanation got. "You and Cadence ar-?!" Shining covered his mouth, everyone in the Library definitely noticing them now.
"...I'd better go now." Shining said, stepping away from his upset father.
Flash was in his car. He wanted to drive, he just wanted to peel out of this situation and move to another town, far, far away. A town with new girls, a town that didn't know about the women who'd been willing to kill for him. He also wanted to sleep. Sleep, yes. If he had to choose anything he missed about not meeting Inapan it was sleep. He'd alternate between nights without it and horrible nightmares that never seemed to end ever since that first date. Yawning, Flash leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes in hopes t- wait, he had an idea!
Duh, there's tons of alien stuff on this ship, why didn't he just ask Tested if she had anything? Opening his car door and knocking the robotic buddy to the ground, he walked off to the lab, and looking for the other crew members. The hallways of the ship were dark and echoed, but only slightly more-so than before. With each step Flash grew more and more uncomfortable, turning around to see if anyone was following him, to find nobody. Truth be told, as he continued to the lab, and he wasn't quite sure if the options of being followed or not were the best ones. As the automatic doors opened, Flash breathed a sigh of relief, stepping in to the nice, pure, white room.
"Hello?" he called. "Isn't there supposed to be a doctor here?" He asked, actually hoping one of those creepy robots would respond. They didn't. Continuing into the lab, Flash passed vials and flasks of mysterious substances, massive containment tubes filled with unusual and bizarre creatures he could only describe as monsters, and mysterious cabinets too large for files, but too small for bodies. Finally, he approached an automatic door that slowly slid open as he approached, two familiar figures standing in the distance. He heard Inapan talking, giggling, enjoying herself as the other figure remained in silence, as Flash grew closer, he found the figure was... him!
Gasping and trying to back away, he felt the door slam behind him, removing any options he had.
"Oh, Flash!" Came Inapan's happy voice, skipping over to him. "I'm so glad you're here, I need to show you something." She grabbed him by the hand and drug him forward, the second version of him getting clearer and clearer.
It stood before him, unblinking with every step he took, his bride's giggles became less playful and more maniacal, as he felt her hands grip deeper and deeper into his flesh. "Do you like it, Flash? It looks just like you, it thinks just like you, it works just like you... Well, it will, once we put in the brain."
"B-brain?"
"But of COURSE Flash. I looked into it, you only have 80 years left to live, while I have another 962, assuming nothing happens. I can't have my lawfully wedded husband nothing but mush on our Uranium Anniversary. So I built this." She smiled menacingly as she grasped his skull in her gloves. "Don't worry honey, we'll put your body in a jar, so when both of us finally die, we can just be cloned, and continue our never-ending love, forever and ever, and ever..."
Before Flash could say anything he could feel her grasp tightening on his skull, squeezing it to the breaking point as he screamed, screamed, and screamed for mercy.
"This isn't happening!"
"This can't be happening!"
"This! Isn't! Really! Happening!" He screeched as he woke up in his car, gasping and holding his head as Inapan shook him awake.
"Flash, Flash, what's wrong?" Inapan asked, reading his mind.
"Don't touch me! Get off of me! I need to get out of here! I need t-" She cut him off with a kiss, he calming down slowly as their tender embrace was shared. He was still shaken as she gently pet his hair, shushing him.
"You need to relax Flash... I'm here. Now, why don't you tell me what scared you so much?"
He turned and looked her dead in the eyes, flinching. "You w-wanted to put my brain in a robot..."
"Oh Flash, don't be silly. Robots don't work that way." She pat him on the head and walked off, grinning to herself as she collected Flash's thoughts. "Although they might have a few other uses..."
Dash exited the tent, smiling brightly as she approached the group. Applejack was focusing on a branch on the ground, shaking her head.
"I just can't get it." Applejack admitted, shaking her head and getting up, picking it up herself. "I think as hard as I can, but I can't pick it up."
"Interesting" Sunset said, writing down the notes, skimming over to the page on Rainbow.
"How's it going?" Rainbow asked.
"Not too good." The fire-headed girl confessed. "Turns out all these powers have some kinda limit to them, not to mention Twilight's notes read like stereo instructions... look at this: "Geographical and temporal perimeters: Functional perimeters vary from manifestation to manifestation". What on Earth does that mean?"
"What's that got to do with our powers?"
"Oh, nothing, this is the stuff from before she met us, but I figured it might be a good idea to read through the whole thing in case she refers back to something."
"Well, what about what the notes didn't say?"
"As I said before, every power has some kind of limit; Pinkie can't hypnotize animals, Rarity can only change into people she knows personally, Applejack can only sprout arms from living creatures, I can only lift up to... twice my bodyweight, I think? And since I'm as thin as a rod..."
"Better than not having powers at all." Dash said, stretching out her legs.
"...Wait, didn't have a limp before?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Interesting... did you have any scars or gashes you've had for a long time?" Sunset flipped to an empty page and began writing some things down.
"Well I have this really bad scar from this biking accident as a kid..." She moved her arm to show a clear part of skin. "Wait, wha-"
"Amazing! Rainbow, I think we found your power!"
"And that would be...?"
"You can heal yourself!"
"How do we know for sure?" Dash asked, skepticism dripping from her words.
"Well, there's a knife right there." Sunset motioned to the picnic basket.
"WOAH WOAH, let's not get crazy here!"
"Relax, I'm just joking... but still, if you get hurt in any other way, keep us informed, that might prove useful."
"What about Fluttershy?" Rainbow asks. "I don't think you guys told me her power."
"She kinda... well, her power is a blessing and a curse. Mostly a curse. Do you know what a sonic boom is?"
"Yeah...?"
"You ever been to a death metal concert?" Sunset continued, remembering the time she dragged Flash to one.
"I saw one on TV once, yeah."
"Now, put those sounds together and that's Fluttershy's superpower."
"You're kidding me! Fluttershy's superpower is to blow people's eardrums? Sweet!" While the two discussed the fine details of having their heads blown apart by Fluttershy of all people, Rarity and Applejack worked on their powers.
"Nope, that's just Big Mac again." She shook her head and tossed aside a photo of cousin Fiddlesticks as Rarity removed her mask. "I can't believe it. All 457 members of the Apple family and the only ones you can change into are me, Apple Bloom, Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Hayseed Turnip Truck... how did ya meet him, again?"
"Oh, that's a long story." Rarity stopped herself from going into detail. "How about you, anything happening?" The two looked to a rock Applejack had been focusing on and found nothing.
"Of course. Do you have any other ideas?" Applejack asked.
"Oh, I have one!" Rarity held out her hand. "Put it there." Applejack shook it. "I should have been more specific. Put a head in my hand."
"What on Earth will that accomplish?"
"We're experimenting, darling! Just do that thing you do with your hands with your head, like earlier!"
"Fine, but it'll be for research... don't be going all Shakespearean on me." In an instant, another head, identical to Applejack's sprouted in Rarity's hands.
"Oh, OK! That's an odd feeling..." Rarity closed her eyes and put on her mask once more. When she opened them, she looked at the head on her arm and "Voila!" The head on her arm was now Sunset Shimmer's.
Back in town Tested finished dissecting her burger and had determined that it was "edible". As were the other twenty burgers she had experimented upon. As she wrote notes on it, Shining Armor walked past blinking, and backed up. He couldn't believe his lucky break! Not only could he fulfill Principal Cinch's demands, he'd also be able to reveal his embarrassing secret on his own terms!
"Hey... you?" He was off to a clumsy start as he sat in the seat across from her. "You're that alien lady, right?"
"One of them." Tested said, beginning to experiment on some french fries. "Why, what do you need?"
"I have a certain someone who wants to talk to you about Twilight Sparkle." He said, really hoping that she'd just abduct Principal Cinch instead of his sister.
"...Go on."
"Her name is Cinch, she's at the Crystal Prep High School." Shining felt a pang of consciousness in the back of his mind, he was about to send a deranged cop-killer towards his boss. Said cop-killer was in deep trouble.
"When I said go on, I meant go on about what she knows about Twilight Sparkle."
"Well, she was Cinch's prized pupil for three years before their... falling out. She can tell you more about her than I could." He was, of course lying through his teeth, and the likelihood of Cinch eating humble pie was far larger than her realizing he knew where Twilight Sparkle was.
"And how do I know you're not lying?" Tested asked, Shining freezing up instantly. "You humans seem to take me for the gullible and easily fooled type who would be willing to do something stupid or humiliating in order to gain a cheap laugh." She leaned in to Shining and stared him dead in the eyes. "Because if you are, you would be mistaken, surprised, and then dead. In that order." Shining flinched away from her, nearly falling over backwards in his chair. She placed a cartoonesque ray pistol on the table. "Knowing that, tell me everything you just said again."
Twilight Sparkle looked at the teleportation pod, scratching her chin. From what Rainbow and Pinkie had told her brute forcing it was not an option, lest she end up in some unusual form. Spike was nearby, keeping lookout in case one of the alien sisters would return. Taking a rock and a pen, she managed a make-shift crowbar, using the tip of the pen to slip in between the cracks of the panel and the rock to force it open. Once inside, she found herself face-to-face with the kind of technology that she had used to build the masks.
Before she could do anything, she cursed to herself. "Spike! I need you to go back to camp and get my tools."
"Will it get me my mask if I do it?"
"Come on, Spike..."
"I'm not hearing a no."
"I'm not saying a yes..."
"Fine, alright." Spike ran off into the forest while Twilight did what she could with her bare hands. In hindsight, it was unlike her to forget something like that, but it didn't matter.
Twilight began studying the wires and electronics. While the fine details are fairly complex, what you should know is that she was able to determine that turning the button allowed it to decipher a specific location while the action of pressing the button just worked as a trigger mechanism, and how hard you pushed would determine which trigger it would use. Before she could use the new-found knowledge to the test, she heard rustling coming from behind her. Turning quickly, she came face to face with a horrible, monstrous creature with massive green fists and pale blue skin, and a snarl of someone who was not very happy with her meddling.
Twilight put on her mask as the beast wound up to strike her. Once he let loose he would find he had hit something akin to a brick wall. Twilight held the beast's fists in her hands, looking away and digging her feet into the ground. When she opened her eyes, she was just as shocked she'd done it as he was!
Before Twilight could say anything, she felt her hands get gripped by the massive beast and thrown behind him, slamming her against a tree. Moaning, she slowly stood up rubbing the back of her head.
"Well, I guess we won't get to talk about this." Twilight moaned. Grunt glared at her and slowly walked over, reacting in shock when Twilight began charging, slamming her fist into whatever equivalent of a jaw this beast owned. With an intense cracking noise, Grunt backed away holding his face, making a noise a combination of a moan and a growl. Twilight took the opportunity to pose in her armor, smiling brightly to herself. Before she could say anything, Grunt returned the favor by slamming one of its massive fists into her kidneys, sending her reeling and leaning on a nearby tree. Before she could react any more, Spike came back, dropping the toolbox on the ground.
"Twilight!" He shouted, worried.
"Spike, don't worry about me I-" she was cut off by the hulking beast throwing a log at her, she barely ducking in time to avoid being crushed beneath it. This was all Spike needed to send him running for Grunt, the tiny puppy running and leaping to try and damage him. With one motion Spike was swatted away into the brush, out of sight.
This was horrible mistake number one.
Twilight let out a furious yell, running towards Grunt, grabbing him by the arm and continuing, picking up speed as Grunt could only struggle against her grasp. stopping and letting go, she let physics do the work as Grunt flew forward and slid across the cold, hard ground. Having been skinned by rocked and mud, he only barely got up before Twilight cracked him in the location where the human shin was located, sending him to his knee, where Twilight climbed onto his head and began bashing him with her bare hands. As Grunt got up, struggling to pry the crazy woman off, Spike re-emerged from the bushes, lunging at him and biting to hold on.
Grunt, now at her mercy, struggled to escape while Twilight yanked at his arms. Finally, after another surge of adrenaline (or, rather, his species' equivalent), he pulled back forward, clapping them together and bringing Twilight to the forefront, and into his sights. Using one hand to grab and throw Spike into the distance, Grunt slammed the girl into the ground, and began pummeling her into a crater. On and on he punched and kicked, deeper and deeper into the ground before, in his fury, he missed.
This was all Twilight needed, rolling away and grabbing his free arm, she twisted the skin in opposite directions in what many people would know as an "Indian burn". As Grunt moaned in agony it came to Twilight's attention that she did not, in fact, know much about hand-to-hand combat. Grunt turned and grabbed her skull, lifting her up and winding up for his next big punch when he heard a familiar voice.
"You!" Came an all-too-familiar voice. "What ARE YOU DOING?" Inapan stood at the top of the crater, furious. "Drop her immediately!" Grunt, following superior's orders, did as he was told, even though her voice sounded a bit different.
This was horrible mistake number two.
Before Grunt could begin to explain himself, Applejack's arms burst out of his chest, beginning to slap him. Confused, he began swatting at them, the mysterious limbs vanishing before he could catch them. As the limbs began hitting harder and harder, so did he. Growing more and more furious with this obnoxious feeling, he failed to notice Rarity had dropped her disguise and helped Twilight to her feet. Panting and wheezing, he saw another figure standing at the top of the crater, smugly enjoying an apple.
"Aw, why're you hitting yourself? If you wanted a beating I'd have gladly obliged you." Applejack taunted. Before grunt could say anything, he felt her arms constrict his limbs to his side, as a result he fell, and was completely immobilized.
"Twilight, are you feeling OK? That ruffian looks like he beat you within an inch of your life!" Rarity began assisting Twilight out of the trench, noticing the dents and wear and tear in her suit. "We should get back to camp before anyone sees."
"What about the big guy?" Applejack asked, the moaning grunt struggling in his restraints. "We can't just leave 'em here. And I sure as hey can't keep him all latched up like this forever."
"Oh dear, you're right... he's still fighting too... See if you can knock him out, that will make things easier." With a kick not too dissimilar to her pony self's strength, Grunt was out like a light. "Goodness Applejack! I was hoping you'd just suffocate him until he passed out! Do you know what you just did too that poor creature?"
"Yes." She said, sternly. "I kicked him as hard as I could in the face. You act like that you'd have not done that given what Twilight looks like."
"Fair point... just get rid of him."
"Wait!" Twilight said before they went their separate ways. She grabbed the cover the teleporter's panel and put it back on, hoping whomever would come back wouldn't notice the dents. "Alright, now let's go."
Cinch sat in her office, content. She had complete faith in Shining Armor and Cadence, after all the consequences of failure lay right in her hands. As if on cue, her door opened revealing the visage of Tested stepping in.
"Excellent. I assume you have come to hear about my ideas?" Cinch smirked devilishly.
"No, I've come because you claim to know where Twilight Sparkle is." She lifted the ray gun to Cinch's face. Chuckling softly, Cinch stood up and pushed the gun downwards, pointing it towards her desk.
"Put that toy away, we are here to speak like professionals. I want to rid myself of Twilight Sparkle, you wish to take her. I believe an agreement can be reached."
"I don't see how negotiations are to continue if you don't have the same grounding as I do."
"You underestimate the power of a silver tongue."
Twilight arrived in camp, leaning on Rarity as they walked in on Sunset Shimmer holding a knife over a masked Rainbow's arm. A short pause followed.
"I can explain." Sunset finally said before Spike ran out of the tent, bandaged slightly.
"Twilight, thank goodness you're OK! I was so worried that you wouldn't come back! I wanted to follow Applejack and Rarity but Fluttershy..." On cue, the quiet girl exited the tent, carrying a first aid kit.
"S-sorry we couldn't come Twilight but Spike was really hurt and-"
"It's fine, it's fine... but can someone explain why Sunset Shimmer's trying to become blood brothers with Rainbow?"
"Long story short, I'm awesome." Rainbow explained. "I can do WHATEVER to my body and it'll heal INSTANTLY! Watch!" Dash stood up and began running headfirst into a nearby tree. Thankfully, before any harm could be made to her or the petrified wood, Pinkie took this chance to hang upside-down from a tree-branch, resulting in a massive, painful headbutt. As both girls fell to the ground, the group stayed silent. Except for Shimmer who giggled softly at the entire course of events, putting the knife away.
"Ooooowww..." Pinkie stood up, holding her nose. "I think I'm bleeding." she said, all stuffed up while Dash stood up by herself.
"There! I'm not bleeding. That's proof I'm invincible."
"I never suggested that you were-"
"Invincible. Now the only thing stopping us from stopping her plan now is that teleporter."
"Well, that's where the good news and bad news comes in..." Rarity began.
In the outskirts of the Forest, Applejack looked at the hogtied grunt, then at the river that lead out of town, and then a massive log she had procured. Shifting his massive body onto the makeshift raft, she used her power to push him out into the water. She waved him off as he drifted away. Yes, by the time he'd come to he'd be in the middle of the lake, and she highly doubted he could swim.
Inapan sat in her lab, looking over the cloning vats she'd placed the DNA inside. Sunset Shimmer's clone was coming slower than almost any known being had, most likely due to the computer having to handle her complex, warped DNA, resulting in a nigh-microscopic piece of flesh growing as slowly as physically possible. Despite this disappointing development, Inapan was less than concerned. In the next tube over was an exact replica of Flash Sentry, floating lazily in the clear gel. She had taken the nightmare from Flash's mind to reality, waiting for the computer to confirm that he was a proper age. She'd locked the door to the cloning lab off from her husband, knowing full well that if he'd found out no amount of brainwashing would be able to make him accept her. If she gave them their Sentry, they'd be less likely to snoop around in her plans until it was too late.
"Oh dear Sentry." She mused, rubbing the tube. "A perfect replicate would not be nearly enough for me. While it will have your same puny brain, your same soft skin, your same warm grasp, it would never replace you. It could never replace your guitar's sweet rhythms, even with all the musical talent from the galaxy. It could never replace your tender, loving embrace as we share the same beautiful moments. It would never, ever replace the day I found you, my dearest Flash Sentry..." Sighing softly, she left the cloning lab to be with the real man of her dreams.
Sunset Shimmer (the real one, that is) practiced her telekinesis, flipping and spinning items in the air while she held herself up upside-down. She took deep, relaxed breaths, keeping concentration even as Pinkie tried her darnedest to distract her. Party cannons, whistles, bells, almost literally anything she could think up wouldn't distract Shimmer.
That is, until she waved a nice chocolate cupcake in front of her. Sunset's stomach rumbled gently, breaking the trance. Thankfully, Shimmer remained enough control to right herself.
"Alright," Twilight said, finishing her notes "let's get back to camp, we need to regroup and brainstorm how to fix these problems." Leading the girls back to camp, Twilight began thinking aloud. "Let's recap: I can't fight, so super strength is not much use to me. Sunset, you need food to keep your powers working. Pinkie, your power only works on humans. Rarity can't disguise her voice or pretend to be someone she hasn't met, Rainbow's power only seems to kick in when she's asleep or unconscious, Applejack can't summon her body parts anywhere that aren't living, but if she uses them on our bodies while we wear the mask she can use our powers, and Fluttershy- "
"Fluttershy completely deafens anyone within a mile radius, friend or foe!" Pinkie cheerily finishes.
"And we have no clue what Spike's mask does." Sunset Shimmer pointed out. "For all we know it could do nothing, or it could be the greatest power of them all."
"But we can't let him use it!" Twilight cut off. "He's not... we could barely control our own powers. He's still a puppy, we need to wait."
"Aren't we still kids?" Pinkie asked.
"Yeah, that's a good point... well, except for Applejack, she's eighteen."
"What happened to that pink pickup she used to have?" Shimmer asked.
"She still has it, but she isn't allowed to drive anymore, not since she entered that demolition derby." Pinkie reminisced. "That guy in the ice cream truck REALLY wanted to win."
"Regardless, we need to think. Pinkie, your ideas are usually ludicrous enough to work, what do you think?" Twilight interjected.
"We could get Sunset fat so she doesn't have to eat as much."
"Whoa whoa whoa Pinkie, I am NOT getting fat."
"Why not? You'll be tons of fun!"
"I was really hoping for a solution that could be done in under a week Pinkie. With Sunset's diet it could take months for that to work out."
"How about a machine that Rainbow controls in her sleep? Oooh, what about a machine that controls Rainbow in her sleep?"
"What's this about a machine?" Rainbow asked as the group approached them. Applejack had started a roaring fire, and Fluttershy had begun cooking some food.
"Nothing, we're tossing ideas around about how to work all of this... Rainbow, we're gonna need you to teach Twilight how to fight." Sunset said, sitting by Sparkle's side. "She really got roughed up by that guy, and if he's any indication, Inapan's probably tougher than both him and her sister."
"We've also been trying to think of how the rest of you can improve your powers." Twilight chimed in. "Sorry we have to cut into your training for mine, Rainbow."
"Pshaw, it's no problem. I like a challenge! And if you're anything like your pony self, it WILL be a challenge."
"Gee, thanks. Anyways, we also need to determine a food source for Shimmer's powers."
"I wanted her to get fat, but apparently she doesn't want that." Pinkie humphed. "Oooh, I rhymed!"
"Speaking of food, how's dinner coming?" Applejack turned to Fluttershy.
"Oh, it's great. I'm making a vegetable stew from all the food we brought."
"Wait, vegetable? Ah man Fluttershy, I know you and Sunset are vegans but we gotta eat too you know!" Dash sighed and shook her head, getting up. "I've got some beef jerky in my bag, just chop it up and put it in there too."
"Come on Dash, some leafy greens won't kill you." Applejack said, pulling her back down.
"It might do you good to have some more in your diet." Rarity added.
"Why do you say that?"
"Regardless, I think we've been doing really well out here on our own." Spike said, smiling as he crawled out of the tent. As if on cue, it began to rain, putting out the fire, ruining the stew, forcing a change of clothes, soaking all of them, and forcing them to turn in early for the night.
"I probably should have looked at the weather instead of going to MyStable." Rarity coughed.
"Wait, how can we get internet access or have rain if Inapan put up a dome?" Sunset thought aloud.
"That's... a good question." Twilight admitted. "Perhaps it's a biosphere, where it simulates its own weather."
"Why'd they need that in space? And how would that give us internet access?" Rarity asked, taking out the phone and toying with it again.
"Maybe it's a simulation?" Pinkie suggested.
"Impossible, I've gotten fifty likes on my last post." Rarity countered.
"Maybe it's not a complete shield?" Sunset responded, chowing down on some granola bars.
"Wait, where did you get those?" Applejack asked.
"I, uh, found them."
"Actually, I think those were mine." Fluttershy mumbled.
"I'm sorry, guys but I was just soooo hungry! Like, you don't understand."
"Well, you know your powers the best, so I suppose we should hold off on your training. Anyways, what about the shield?" Twilight tried to rerail the conversation.
"Maybe it's Flash trying to help? Trying to control it from the ship?" Applejack added.
"What if" Sunset said between two chocolate flavored granola bars, "she was bluffing earlier?"
"I doubt it. You saw the beam too, right?" Spike added.
"Well whatever the cause, we shouldn't let this rain keep us down. We'll just have to keep going, no matter what nature throws at us."
Meanwhile, Flash slept in bed, shaking, moaning, rolling back and forth. Inapan watched, silently in her nice, long, soft shirt. He had given her so many grand ideas, her helpful husband! She sat over his chest, grinning in anticipation for her husband's next wondrous pla-
"Sister!" Tested said, entering. "Grunt's missing!" There was a brief pause. "Am I interrupting something?"
"No, not at all, just keep it down... what's this about Grunt?"
"He is not here; he is not at his station, in his bed, or anywhere on the ship."
"Pfft, so? He's probably off cataloging new species of flora like he usually does. Get me in the morning, after Flash and I enjoy our company more thoroughly."
"Shouldn't he be awake for that?"
"Trust me sister, he'll not mind." As Tested left, a look of horrified realization came over her sister's face. "Wait, wait, th-this is all wrong! Sister, come back!" Tested returned to the room, to find Inapan furious as she held the sleeping Flash by his chest. "He loves another."
"What?!" Tested recoiled in shock.
"I have dipped into his mind for more ideas, to know more about the world he comes from... and what I saw is a very unfortunate sight. He has performed his kind's mating ritual with others."
"H-how many others, dear sister?"
"Plenty, but the one he'd gone the furthest and the longest with is the very woman we've been trying to capture for days now."
"Sunset Shimmer."
"He has made LOVE to her, in ways he has yet to love me!" She climbed off the bed and began pacing, trying to think. "Why has he not loved me as he has her, dear sister? What made him wish not to perform his mating cycle with I? Am I not pretty enough? Am I not tall enough? Is it because I gave him so much while she treated him with cold rejection?" Tested went over to read Flash's mind to catch up on what her sister had found.
"Astounding. You were right sister, his mind is small and mysterious. It has so little to see, yet somehow there is more buried within... wait, I see it. Yes, they appear to be..."
"Don't remind me, dear sister!" Inapan said, starting to cry. "He does not love me as much as I love him! What shall we do? I cannot be trapped in a loveless marriage if I am to rule the galaxy!"
"...Sister, you are cloning her, yes?" Inapan nodded while sniffling. "Then the solution is obvious. Make him think the clone is the real one that he loves, then make her do something he perceives as irredeemable. While he is in shock, perform an act of goodness towards him, and he will love you instead."
"And if he finds out?"
"By then we will have the real Sunset Shimmer in our grasp, and have her act just as cruel as the clone."
"Sister, you are brilliant! I take back everything about you going to the College of Intergalactic Treachery."
Shining Armor searched through the forest, the morning sun beaming down on him as he sat atop tree limbs. He was looking for any signs of a camp, but finding nothing right now. He makes the mental note that, after this whole thing blows over, he should join the army. This tracking stuff was easy! "A-ha!" He shouted, spotting the smoke from the girl's campfire. Leaping off the tree, Shining began heading to the source... well, after he would once he felt the feeling in his legs once more.
At the mentioned camp, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow began training while Sunset, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Spike went to investigate the dome. After the events of last night bringing in more questions than answers.
"Perhaps it's semi-permeable?" Sunset thought aloud.
"Semi-what?" Pinkie asked.
"Semi-permeable, it means it's only letting certain objects in or out. It usually refers to a membrane-like object." Spike explained.
"Wow, you really are getting smart." Sunset admitted. "Now I REALLY want to see that IQ test Twilight mentioned."
"Is that just because of the magic or has she been giving you other things too?" Fluttershy asked. "Because your coat's got a lot more sheen to it."
"So wait, what about the dome? Why aren't we asking people to come help?" Pinkie interjected. Sunset took out her phone and shook her head.
"I posted a message for help an hour ago but it got deleted. I'm guessing Inapan's filtering them?"
"How? She hardly knows anything about our ways." Pinkie countered.
"What about that big guy? He sounded really upset with Twilight for messing with that panel..." Fluttershy chimed in.
"Maybe they've had this problem before, and bui-OOF" Spike suggested as the group ran into an invisible wall, Pinkie having stopped mere inches from it.
"Found it!" Pinkie shouted happily as the rest of them adjusted themselves.
"Yeah, thanks Pinkie..." Sunset mumbled and backed away.
"How'd you know it was there, though?" Fluttershy asked, the group backing up.
"Nevermind." Sunset dismissed, backing up and staring at the almost-glass-like object separating them from the outside world.
"Well, we know that there is a dome, and that we're stuck. I guess we head back now?" Spike asked.
"Now we have to see if it's penetrable." Sunset begins. "Pinkie, you brought Twilight's power tools, right?"
"Yep!" Pinkie took off her bag and unzipped it, revealing a power drill, Shimmer's Sledgehammer, a buzz-saw, and a welding torch and mask. "Thinking back, a lot of this stuff is pretty dangerous. But why does Twilight carry it with her?"
"Magic can be pretty dangerous too, Pinkie." Sunset grabbed the hammer, to start off small. "The only difference is that most people can't buy it in stores." She hefted up the hammer to her side, smiling brightly as she rubbed it against her face, lovingly. "Ah, the memories."
"You mean the time you threatened to destroy the portal?" Fluttershy asked, unnerved.
"Of course not! I had a life outside of Equestria too you know." Sunset set the sledge on the ground and spat on her hands, rubbing them together and picking the weapon back up once more.
"Now I'm just plain worried about you." Spike confessed, backing up to let her swing.
"Here goes nothing!" She said, swinging the hammer into the dome. In a split second the girls could see cracks on the dome's surface, which then quickly reformed backwards, the cracks returning to the source and sending Shimmer's Sledge flying into a nearby tree, embedding it. The group took a moment to stare at the dangerous weapon that had been tossed aside like a plush toy, and how deep it was stuck within that tree. "I- well, I think it's safe to say nobody would have predicted that." Whilst Sunset went to collect her dangerous keepsake, Fluttershy was up next, holding the cordless drill.
"Are we sure this is safe? Shouldn't we have some kinda protection or something?" Spike asked.
"Maybe you're right... give me a second." Pinkie dashed off, Sunset returning to the group with her sledgehammer in tow. Before she could say anything, Pinkie returned with a suit that consisted of pillows and one of Dash's old bike helmets. "Here, this should work!"
"It's better than nothing..." Spike confessed, Fluttershy breathing a sigh of relief and putting on the suit of pillows. She turned on the drill and tried to force it through the shield. While it seemed to be drilling a hole, the group cheered! ...That is until Fluttershy pulled back and revealed the drill bit had been ground down to a fledgling nub.
Pinkie and the power-saw was next, she wearing the same gear that Fluttershy had worn. She dug the saw into the dome's surface and sparks flew too and fro. When she pulled the saw away, its teeth had been ground off, leaving nothing but a flat metal disk.
Finally, Sunset had the welding torch and mask. The predictable result would have been that torch didn't work, or that it shot flames back at them, but neither of those things happened. Instead, the dome was pierced.
"A-ha!" She said, continuing to burn through the dome in the shape of a rectangle. While she worked the rest of the group would notice the dome resealing itself as she moved along. "There!" She said, getting up and turning off the torch. "To freedom!" She stepped towards where she'd cut through and... ended up with a face full of dome for her efforts.
Back at camp, Applejack continued to better her skills, trying to find out what constituted as a "living thing" and which didn't. As one of her fingers sprouted from an ant, a hand from a mossy rock, a leg from a large tree, and an ear from a passing bird, Applejack was growing tired of this exercise.
"This is pointless." She announced, Rarity rolling her eyes. "We should be out there saving Flash, or helping the city, or both!"
"Applejack, we can't help them if we don't know what we can do. Besides they will be fine, Inapan is interested in the portal, not them. Sunset Shimmer can call Flash at any time and ask him for an update, we have gotten rid of that lumbering brute they had working for them. All we have to do is wait until we have a chance to enter the ship, take Flash, and destroy it from the inside-out."
"Yeah, but then we'll have two furious super-villains trapped on Earth with no other goal in life than revenge."
"Fair point." Rarity thinks. "But there's the chance we could make them good, like with Sunset Shimmer and Twilight."
"But we didn't get the sirens. I wonder what happened to them." Before they could continue to speculate, a rustling in the bushes interjected and the girls entered fight mode.
"Wait!" came the voice of Shining Armor. "It's me, Twilight's brother!" He didn't seem to notice the extra limbs everywhere, at least, not before Applejack could remove her mask.
"Shining Armor? What on Earth are you doing here?" Rarity asked.
"I came here to warn you that something's happening with the aliens and Principal Cinch." The two girls looked at one another, then at him incredulously. "No, it's true! We need to talk to Twilight!"
"Let's humor this ludicrous idea of Principal Cinch betraying mankind to further a minor, petty revenge against us, and Tested going with it rather than just shooting her... how would you know?"
"I was there! It was in her office, after she'd blackmailed me into helping her. I thought Tested would kill her too, but they began talking!"
"Tell me..." Principal Cinch started. "What do you know of Twilight Sparkle? And why is she so important to you?"
"You tell me why I should care what you think." Tested growing upset her threats of violence weren't getting through to her.
"Because what you know about her pales in comparison to what I know. She used to work under my thumb, as my most diligent and intelligent student. She has studied under me for only three years, yet she is smarter than any member of my staff, or any student in the country. She has outplayed the state champion at chess, has solved formulas thought impossible, and discovered and harnessed the power of magic with her own home-made devices. You may think of yourself as a higher mind than her but she is equal, if not superior in every single facet."
"So you've called me here to gloat? To talk about how, as the teacher, human minds are the best of all the galaxy's?"
"No, I called you here because she's forgotten a few key pieces of her equipment that may serve some purpose to you." She opened a filing cabinet and removed a group of blueprints. "These were items proposed for various members of the college she wished to apply to. I kept copies for myself, for record-keeping reasons of course. Before she could get the chance to send them out, the... Friendship Games happened." She frowned unhappily, crushing a print in her hands. "I never understood her obsession with the paranormal, but now I know of course, she knew better than I. Take these plans and perfect them."
"Why are you helping us?" Tested asked, skeptically.
"Because she is no longer my student." Principal Cinch sat back down and watched as Tested looked over the plans, both of them not knowing Shining was peering through a crack in the door.
In the ship Inapan stared at the blueprints and plans set before her, the universal translator working fervently. "Sister, how are the clones coming along?"
"Flash is completed and waiting for programming. Sunset Shimmer has formed some anomalies. The genetics prevalent to her equine genomes are causing unusual mutations. Should we keep working on the project or abort it?"
"We keep going sister. These girls are anomalies in and of themselves."
Canterlot High was now not only completely clean, but on the way to being rebuilt with local construction crews working to carefully replace the plate glass window with a temporary, normal one. While Celestia's initial plan was to give the students a speech about helping their community, the news that traveled the pipeline was that the students were already doing that.
All across town the names of the Canterlot High students were on everyone's lips, for helping everyone from the war veterans at the old folks home to the moderately attractive school teachers at the Elementary School. While most people were overjoyed with these acts to help save the Earth others were decidedly less so. A school assembly had been called at Crystal Prep, but as was the case since Principal Cinch had lost control of her domain, only the kids already in the gym and too lazy to leave attended.
"Students of Crystal Prep High," she began. Since the incident, students who'd ignored her assemblies in favor of the computer lab, the library, or illegal gambling in the parking lot had found that she found away around this. By hooking her mic to the intercoms across campus they may be able to escape her sight, but they could never truly ignore her. "I have called this assembly for one reason: Mandatory Community Service." Students all gave one unanimous groan that echoed through the large school. "Now, you might be asking me "But Principal Cinch, why should we listen to you now?" To that I say "because that would make your parents sad". For the first time in a long, long time I have called ALL of your parents, and ALL of them have agreed to chaperon your services. They arrive in five minutes. So I suggest you go to your homerooms, sit down, and wait for them to arrive, or I will spill every single one of your permanent records before them. And to show I'm being serious, I'm going to read the first file in my stack." She cleared her throat and pulled out a file. "Zest, Lemon..."
By the time the five minutes were up, Every single student were in their homerooms, unhappy that they had been blackmailed. Although, as many of the nerds pointed out, it's less blackmail and more Cinch actually doing her job. Of those in their homerooms were the five girls Principal Cinch had read the files of (which was probably not a coincidence); Lemon Zest, Sugarcoat, Sour Sweet, Sunny Flare, and Indigo Zap.
"She's doing this on purpose you know." Sugar said to her companions. "Ever since we lost the games she's wanted our heads on pikes."
"I wanted to move to another school, but I'd miss you guys too much," Sour began. "Because you still owe me about twenty bucks, each."
"I paid you back, you just lost it to that kid in the parking lot." Indigo rolled her eyes as Zest continued rocking out, unaware of her surroundings.
"We should probably do it anyways, the school's been falling to pieces since the games. Can you imagine what it'd be like if we're the reason Earth's gone?" Sunny reasoned.
"Don't Fear the Reaper," Zest chuckled. "We'll be fine. You can't seriously believe this chick has the touch, right?"
"...I'm sorry, were you asleep when the giant dome came from the sky? Or when she called us twice?" Indigo asked. Before Zest could answer, the door to the classroom opened and a group of adults entered.
"Ah, so she wasn't bluffing." Sugarcoat concluded as the students got up and got divided into groups of five. "Do you think she planned this, for us to be together constantly? Because I don't even like you guys."
"Oh, you don't? Because the feeling's mutual." Sour shook her head as they began leaving.
"I don't even remember your guys' names." Lemon confessed.
"Can we please stop arguing in front of the parents?" Sunny was clearly annoyed.
"She's right. We just gotta think of this as another contest! We just gotta beat everyone else!" Indigo smiled.
As the girls cleared out of the school, their parents oddly silent, actual locations that needed to be cleaned and fixed up were shockingly low. First they tried the local arcade (that had somehow managed to stay in business, just to spite the 30+ years since it was opened), which usually had stacks of gum and torn tickets littering the floor that the janitor had neither equipment nor time to deal with. They found that the geeks of Canterlot High had already come in and undone about 30 years of filth in two days. They then tried the mall, with so many shops, fountains, displays, and vending machines, surely there would be one place untouched by the members of the community? Well, the was one, but it was the creepy shop that sold novelty products and looked like it was a slasher villain's den. The only people who dared enter there were goths, a group who attended neither Canterlot nor Crystal Prep, but just seemed to appear whenever they felt like. Finally, they tried the Motel Bates, a creepy old hotel on the outskirts of town run by one really wormy guy who kept the place in top shape.
As the group broke for lunch it became clear that the entire town had been doing this job now, and the only place the students were allowed to tread was Crystal Prep! All while this was happening the parents made small-talk, discussing things like "my little girl did the cutest thing" or "did'ja see the game last night". While the groups were separated at the local burger joint, the students came up with a plan.
"We need to get out of here." Indigo mumbled, groaning.
"But I haven't finished my burger." Zest said, upset.
"She means away from our parents. They've just been suggesting the same locations over and over again while talking about things literally nobody cares about." Sunny began.
"If I hear one more argument about Liberals and Conservatives I think I'll snap." Sour stabbed a fork into her chicken nuggets to punctuate her unhappiness.
"Where too though?" Sunny asked. "It'd have to be somewhere secure, well silenced, without access to the outside world."
"The forests, maybe?" Zest asked. The group stared at one another and then at their parents.
"Nah!" They unanimously shouted.
"Who lives closest to here?" Indigo pondered.
"Zest does, but I'm fairly sure that her house is just a pile of Dedwach memorabilia with a door on it." Sugarcoat shook her head.
"I resent that, my favorite band's been A Flock of Griffons since I was a kid." Zest countered.
"Wouldn't it be A Herd Of Griffons, since they're part lion?" Sunny mused. "But whatever, we can brainstorm new ideas once we're there... grab your stuff, girls."
As the group sneaked away from their annoying parents, who were discussing something about the mayoral candidacy, the girls in the forest discussed what Shining had told them.
"Gosh Shining, that's a bit hard to swallow." Sunset explained.
"I probably wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it either." His phone rang and he pulled it out, a text from Cadence telling him to return to town. "I gotta go, sorry I couldn't help you guys out any more... Oh, before I go, can one of you guys give me one of your numbers? Twilight's phone doesn't seem to be working."
"We'll call you if something happens, darling!" Rarity called to him as he left, the group alone once more.
"Looks like it's a change of plan then." Twilight shook her head. "We can't wait, we have to sneak in and get all that stuff. Sunset, you call up Flash, Rarity and Applejack, we're going to the pods, Fluttershy can come as our contingency plan."
"Oh, and me?" Pinkie asked, nervicited.
"Keep Spike away from the mask."
"That doesn't sound very fun..." Pinkie sighed and sat down beside Sunset.
"It's not, but it's important. Sunset, tell Flash that Rarity will sneak in as one of the sisters, and if he wants to know for sure, have him ask the code phrase "What's for dinner?" and Rarity will reply "bacon and spam"."
On the ship, Flash sat in his car, listening and nodding as Shimmer explained the situation. "Alright, bacon and spam, got it."
"Wait!" Sunset said before he could hang up. "...Flash, we probably should talk."
"No, I already told you, we can ta-"
"Do you love her?" silence followed, he wasn't expecting that question. "Flash, do you love her? Do you still love me? I-I don't understand you Flash, you're staying with her and not calling and don't want to talk to me but this is important, Flash! Lives are in the balance! Even if you don't love me, at least tell me! Tell me so we can get this stupid sexual tension off our chest and get on with our lives!"
"I d-" Flash felt a bolt of pain and dropped his phone to clutch his skull, moaning in agony while Shimmer's voice echoed. Pushing himself out of his car, as if it would help, he left his phone behind, trying to make the pain stop. As the pain reached a climax, his shouts of agony had attracted the attention of many of the robots, who called for their superiors. With Flash laying on the floor, Inapan approached him, leaning down to see him eye to eye.
"Flash, Flash are you okay?" Sunset repeated as Flash's shrieks grew more and more muffled. "Flash, I'm sorry, is something happening, please tell me!"
Flash lay on the cold metal floor as Tested entered the room, leaning down at his side to look him over, reading his thoughts in hopes to find a source.
"An unfortunate event, it seems his human mind could not take your control for so long..." She turned to a robot. "Bring him to a healing chamber, before his brain suffers embolisms." The robots did as they were told with Inapan following as Tested approached the car, taking a look inside. Frowning, she picked up the cell and hung up, pocketing it. "Well well, I suppose my sister was right about your cheating heart... it would break many of hers to find this out." She got up and headed for the laboratory, readying herself to program a new Sentry.
Rarity shifted into Inapan's form, smiling brightly as she entered the teleportation pod that Twilight handled with ease. Fluttershy and Applejack waited patiently for it to cool down, striking up conversation.
"So, Twilight, what do you think'll happen if Princess discovers we all had relationships with Flash?" Applejack pondered curiously. Twilight paused briefly and shook her head.
"Well, Applejack given that my fields of expertise are paranormal and engineering. I haven't the slightest professional opinion." Twilight began. "But if I were to hazard a guess, she'd no longer see us as collectible power sources and, change her views to "moving targets" judging by her psychotic tenancies and Napoleon complex."
"So you mean she'd-"
"She'd kill us until we are dead, then channel her rage to destroy everyone we loved or cared about, living or otherwise."
"Maybe we should rethink this plan..." Fluttershy suggested just as she was teleported away.
"Relax, how likely would it be for her to realize we were Flash's former lovers. If she did find out, she'd probably target the ones who got the furthest with him rather than someone like me or you." Twilight reasoned.
"So, where would that put Sunset Shimmer?"
"Somewhere between a firing squad and the blast radius of an atomic bomb." Twilight zapped Applejack in and began working on the panel to get herself in.
In the lab, Tested released the clone Sentry. He was slightly taller than Flash, and his hair was for more pointed. He had a set of six-pack abs and a smile as pure as the winter snow. He moved unusually, like he hadn't quite gotten the point of knees and elbows. His eyes were the most jarring difference however, their soulless piercing glare of black and white gloss.
"Hey there!" came the soulless, heartless voice of the simulated man. "We've got to stop bumping into each other like this!" Tested paused, mortified and shoved it back in the tube.
"Yeah, let's change a few things."
The girls wandered the ship, shuddering as the cold, dull metal interior provided the feeling of not being in an actual location, but in some kind of mechanical beast.
"This place gives me the creeps" Applejack mumbled. "Let's get to Flash, find that stuff, and get out."
"It's just not natural. It needs a carpet or some paneling at the very least." Rarity muttered as she began into the ship, leaving the others behind.
Finally, Tested pushed out the new and improved Flash clone out into the ship. It looked like Flash, but slightly shorter, and a moderately more punchable face. With every piece of code and programming hastily jammed in the specimen's body, it made its first few clumsy steps into the brave new world.
"Ah, Flash, darling!" Rarity's voice came from behind Flash before she cleared her throat and attempted to impersonate Inapan. "I mean, Flash, honey, there you are!"
"Uh... right uh, I had a question, j-just gimme uh," the boy stalled in an unusual manner, rubbing his head. "What's for dinner? Yeah, that's it!"
"Spam and Bacon. Lead the way." Rarity began pushing Flash forwards, leaving the confused clone to do what she tells him. "Come now Flash, you can't leave Sunset Shimmer waiting!"
"Sunset Shimmer..." The Flash stand-in repeated, in a daze. "Yes! Sunset Shimmer!" He said in glee, turning the tables and dragging Rarity along instead. "I cannot wait for the Sunshine Shammer to come and give me her worn embrace once more! It is a joy-joy-joyful experience!"
"Flash are you feeling alright darling, you seem a bit off." She pointed out the obvious, taking out her phone in an attempt to dial the others for backup.
"Here we are! Library and archives!" The sentry shouted, shoving Rarity through the metal door. "Can I come back with you?" He asked, giddily. "I w-w-want to be with Moonshine Stiller again."
"That's Sunset Shimmer, darling. Maybe I should bring you with, so Twilight can take a good look at you." Gathering the blueprints laid out a bit too obviously, Rarity grabs Flash by the arm and brings him to the group by the teleporter. Sure they were probably fakes, but she felt Flash might be the more important factor here. "Girls, I think something is wrong with Flash." Rarity said, the boy unblinkingly staring at Twilight.
"...Are you sure he's not dead?" Applejack asked, snapping her fingers in front of his face, with no reaction.
"That is odd. Flash, tell me what you're thinking." Twilight began.
"Twilight! You're purple!" The group looked at one-another worried.
"Did Inapan do this to you, darling?" Rarity asked, passing the blueprints to Twilight to analyze.
"Pri-pri-Princess had nothing to do with this, Rareware." He said calmly. "I haven't even met her yet!" Tested, who had a mic planted on the clone just let her face sink into her gloves, making a mental note to not rush programming clones from this point on.
"Furthermore, you look like a wonderful humen bean." He directed this comment at Fluttershy while Twilight wisely sent Applejack to the teleporter.
"Applejack, I'll need you and Rarity to escort Flash to camp, I think they've brainwashed him or something. Sunset Shimmer's dealt with these kinds of spells, hasn't she? Rarity, these aren't the blueprints. I'll go back to where Flash lead you and try to find my blueprints. Fluttershy can come help."
"Well," as the group began splitting up, Tested removed her head from her gloves, relaxing slightly. "At least I can hear their plans once they bring him to camp." Getting up and setting the equipment to record, Tested moved back to the medical bay, to view the real Flash's progress.
"That is not Flash." Sunset said after one glance at the clone.
"Yes I am, Sandwich Stairmaster." The clone pleaded. "I have l-l-loved you since the day I was born! All ten minutes ago!"
"Yeah, no. You guys play your stupid games all you want I'm going to sleep." She ducked into the tent, zipping it up behind her.
As Flash tried to enter the tent, failing to understand the concept of a zipper, Pinkie, Applejack, Spike, Rarity, and Rainbow watched.
"Was Flash always like this?" Rainbow asked. "Because we didn't hang out much and..."
"Of course not, silly!" Pinkie began. "Flash would only bump into walls and doors when he was thinking about stuff. He's clearly not thinking at all right now."
"I can hear you from here, you know!" Flash said, continuing to try and figure out how zippers work.
"No you can't!" Pinkie retorted.
"If you say so!"
"Yeah, that's definitely not him." Rarity shook her head. "A pity, I'm sure Sunset would have been overjoyed."
"Her name is Samwell!" Flash corrected.
"Sure it is, darling." Rarity shook her head. "But he clearly can't be left alone."
"And we're doing too much important things to keep an eye on him." Spike nodded.
"Didn't you guys talk about being bored of training all the time?" Rainbow asked.
"Would YOU like to watch Fl- Flash, don't touch that!" She calls over to the boy, who went on to touch the fire anyways, with no reaction.
"Fair point. We need someone to keep him out of our hair." Pinkie said as the fire spread all over Flash, who didn't seem bothered by it.
"What about those Crystal Prep girls?" Rainbow suggested. "They owe us for pressuring Twilight into a demon."
"Are you sure? They might be a bad influence on him." Applejack asked as Spike noticed the event unfolding in the back.
"What are you, his mom?" Rainbow rolled her eyes. "He just needs to have someone looking over him, as long as they have some kind of common sense he'll be fine." Spike returned with a bucket of water and tried giving it to Flash, who stared at the dog, confused.
"Alright, I guess we'll ask Twilight for their numbers when she gets back, since we don't have much other ideas, what with Shining and Cadence spying on Cinch and the principals working on the school." Applejack sighed as Flash examined the bucket of water.
"Flash!" Rainbow called, starling the clone into fumbling the water onto himself. He approached, the girls looking him over.
"What happen- nevermind." Applejack cut herself off, not sure she wanted to know.
"Flash, we know how much you like Sunset."
"Sing-sing," he corrected.
"But she's busy and so are we, so we'll be having someone watching you while we work." Rainbow explained in a patronizing tone.
"But I don't wanna leave! I wanna stay h-h-here! You're the best friends I ever had, Randal." As the group explained to the unusual being why they wanted to ditch him with a group of people they didn't even like, Tested returned the balance to normal by bringing the normal Flash Sentry outside of his healing tube.
The real Flash moaned, holding his head and coughing up the healing liquid. "I keep blacking out and having these terrible nightmares." He explained as his vision unblurred. He was in the medical bay, and before him stood one of the sisters. He wasn't sure which one it was, they'd not been wearing their belt. "How come this keeps happening?"
"You see," Tested began. "I think you have a brain problem. Either your universal translator's not hooked up quite right or our meddling with your mind is doing this."
"What?!"
"Ah, right, I keep forgetting that you're not aware you're being mind controlled. Anyways, long story short, your brain is broken and since you're the only human we know, we'll be opening your father's to see why his is working and yours is not."
"What?!"
"Relax, it won't kill him, most likely. Besides, you don't want to die, do you?"
"But I-"
"I don't think you have a choice in the matter anyways. Even if you tell Inapan I know a few things she'd be interested in." She took his phone from her pocket. "Sunset Shimmer was called a short while ago. I'm sure she'd like to hear why you were talking to another woman."
"Didn't you say you could mind control me?"
"An obedient mind is easier to work... and what mind control?" She snapped her fingers.
"Huh?"
"Exactly."
Just a few rooms over Fluttershy and Twilight dug around the library and archives, looking over items in panels & displays that seemed to follow a backwards and confusing sorting method, and unlike the Dewey Decimal System. Twilight didn't know this one! Had the girls known how to read this mysterious language, they would have found many titles of worth: "Harnessing Phlogistin", "Household Cures to Terrible Intergalactic Diseases", and "How to Cook For Forty Men". But alas, as they dug through video screen after video screen, they found nothing.
"Wait." Twilight said, worried. "What if they're already building them...?"
"What were on your blueprints, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Do you know that device I used to gather your guys' magic back at the games?"
"Yes?"
"That was just a prototype of a more powerful device. The device in the blueprints was going to sense any kind of energy. Knowing what I do now, that the locket can gather the energy as well, that makes the blueprints a far more dangerous item than I ever thought it would be."
"What are the chances the aliens already have that kind of device?" Fluttershy asked, worried.
Inapan stared at the portal in the Canterlot statue, unaware she was being spied on.
"Is she doing anything?" Sweetie Belle asked, Applebloom shaking her head.
"Nothing, she's just poking at that statue!"
"Not so loud, do you want her to hear?" Scootaloo asked, unhappy. "Haven't you guys spied before?"
"Well, once, but I don't like to think about it..." Apple Bloom shuttered, remembering why she didn't talk to Big Mac much anymore.
"Wait, something's happening!" Sweetie Belle pointed out, the other two joining her. Inapan got up and took out a strange device, sticking it through the portal. It looked like a plumber's snake with a view-screen, mostly because that's what it was... you know, except more alien and futuristic, with those weird floating rings on it. As Inapan poked and prodded, the three children had passing ideas.
"We could push her in right now, she'll never know it was us." Scootaloo suggested.
"You really are accepting of this whole "portal" thing, ain'cha?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Says the girl whose sister is half-horse." Scootaloo shook her head. "I say we try it. It'll save them a lot of grief."
"What about whatever's on the other side?" Sweetie Belle asked. "It might be dangerous."
"Who cares, she probably has a gun or something." Scootaloo said.
"I don't think she's worried about Inapan." Apple Bloom mumbled as she watched the alien work her device.
"What if we just... talk to her? Like, annoy her so she leaves?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Isn't that just delaying the inevitable?" Scootaloo asked.
"I'm shocked you even know what that word means." Sweetie Belle commented. "Besides, everything we do is delaying the inevitable regardless."
"That's weirdly philosophical." Apple Bloom pointed out.
"I saw it in a movie." Sweetie Belle said as Scootaloo took the lead, moving out of the hiding spot and approaching Inapan.
"Be careful..." Apple Bloom warned.
"Oxygen levels normal, gravity slightly lighter than Earth's, but nothing too harmful... No signs of life." Inapan mumbled, taking notes as Scootaloo came from behind and tapped on her shoulder, reaching only because she was kneeling down. As the destroyer of worlds turned around to look at Scootaloo she saw no real threat or presence from the child. "What, what do you want?" Scootaloo blanked, realizing she hadn't thought up anything to discuss.
"Uh, I was uh... Your belt!" She pointed to Princess's belt, the item of unimaginable (to the human mind) power that was also really tacky. "I was wondering uh..."
"I like your belt!" Sweetie Belle said, coming from her hiding spot to assist. "Where'd you get it?"
"...This?" Inapan asked, taking it off and revealing her large, glowing, translucent wings to the girl's amazement. "I suppose I shouldn't expect you creatures to know what these are, given your bare-bones technology. It's a power inhibitor. It keeps my powers in a normal, balanced position as to not meddle with the rules of society... but given what's transpired, I suppose it's only purpose now is to make me look pretty for my darling Flash." Her tone was condescending, yet playful. She didn't notice Apple Bloom sneak behind her and investigate the portal herself, as well as take the pad Inapan typed her notes upon.
"Well, it looks really nice. Does it come in pink?" Sweetie asked.
"Or orange?" Scootaloo chimed in.
"Pah, the gems come in 97 Trillion colors perceivable perceivable by my kind. Celendrial, Stenian, and Abnorma are but some of which you will never see."
"It looks red to me." Sweetie Belle points out.
"Maybe I just happen to like the color you call red."
"So, wait, we're kinda skipping the whole wings thing." Scootaloo pointed out as Apple Bloom motioned for the two to keep her busy. "You can fly, right?"
"Pfft, flying. Such a childish name for it, but yes." She flapped her butterfly-like wings and levitated about a foot in the air, looking down upon the two. "I don't see why you're so excited, my sister tells me members of your kind know of flight as well."
"I suppose, in a manner of speaking." Sweetie Belle said as Apple Bloom returned, carrying a tablet from the library and setting it in place of Inapan's.
"Well, it was nice talking and all but we have cleaning to do." Scootaloo took Sweetie by the arm and pulled her away as Apple Bloom made haste.
"Pfft, humans." She shook her head. "Hard to believe they have almost all the same genomes as my husband." She picked up the tablet and blinked as the tale of The Divine Comedy was set out in front of her. She backed up and choose another section, stumbling upon Night of the Living Dummy. The process repeated once more, and as she found herself face to face with The Pokey Little Puppy she realized what had just happened.
The crusaders wisely hid themselves in one of the school's bathrooms, looking over the thing they'd stolen.
"So we have this thing now... and she doesn't." Scootaloo said, trying to figure out the confusing language displayed on it. "What do you think it is?"
"Well it's obviously a phone." Sweetie Belle said, taking it from her and skimming through what she hoped was a bunch of programs. Before she got much further, a message in the alien language popped on screen.
"Uh..." Apple Bloom tried to make heads or tails of the strange language. "Hit ignore."
"How do I do that?"
From inside the saucer, the source of the text was unhappily waiting for a response. Tested paced the halls, waiting for her sister to answer so the two could ambush Twilight and Fluttershy, who were currently holed up in the archives. "The one time I message you and you aren't answering! Why in the heavens a-" She received a response that was complete gibberish in any language (except on Surveillance Asteroid 3359, where it would be code for "excecute the prissoner"(sic)). Not knowing that code, she sent her sister a worried "is everything OK?"
"Another one!" Sweetie Belle said, annoyed.
"You're not doing it right, give it here." Scootaloo took the machine and picked a few choice letters at random, resulting in more gibberish.
Getting the idea that Inapan had either sat on her pad or was in trouble, Tested weighed the options between capturing two of the eight thorns in her side or going to make sure her sister was safe. Her decision was... actually, her decision took her several minutes to contemplate; the allure of capturing two unusual specimens meant more clones and more energy to be researched and investigated. On the other hand, her sister, the one friend she had as a child was possibly in grave danger, and if she died it was heavily unlikely humans would have the equipment to revive her. Stomping her foot, Tested left Fluttershy and Twilight behind to go do the right thing.
As the furious Inapan stomped her way through the school, the Crusaders exit their closet.
"OK, the coast is clear." Apple Bloom tells the other two as they come out of hiding. "We should probably tell our sisters about this..."
"About what?" came the voice of Time Turner.
"Oh, hi Doctor Turner!" Sweetie Belle greets cheerily. Before the others could give an excuse, she continued. "We took this thing from the aliens and we dunno what it is."
"Sweetie Belle!" he gasped. "That's not like you three at all! Stealing from people, I- wait, the alien?"
"Good job blabbermouth, now I get to hear the "don't be a thief" speech for the third time this semester." Scootaloo shook her head, trying to give Turner the pad. The key word is "trying" as he pushed it back to her.
"Ooooh no no no no!" He said, backing away as the girls stepped forwards. "I already fought my fair share of aliens for this week, you girls are in GREAT danger! She didn't see you take it, did she?"
"Well, she didn't see Apple Bloom, does that count?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"You girls are going to be in a LOT of trouble if she finds you, potentially lethal trouble, do you understand?"
"Should we give it back?" Apple Bloom asked.
"No! Oh no no no! You are in enough danger as is. Just... go hide away, try to find somewhere safe. I'll tell the other staff about this."
"Wow, thanks Mister Turner!" Sweetie Belle smiles.
"Yeah, we should steal things more often." Scootaloo announced as the girls began leaving, single file, carrying their prize as Doctor Turner realizes he might have sent some mixed messages.
"We should probably tell our sisters," Sweetie said, beginning to text Rarity. "They might be interested in this." As they continued away from the scene of the crime, Tested rushed passed, missing them by mere seconds as she went to investigate her Sister's lack of response.
In camp, Rarity received Sweetie's text, trying to ignore the maligned Flash's attempts to make small talk.
"So I says-I say-I says" he says, "that she looked purple!"
"Flash, darling, I was there." Rarity reminds him as her ringtone rang. "Oh thank goodness!" She says aloud, taking it out and texting Sweetie Belle back.
"Who's goodness?" Flash asked himself before turning his attention to Applejack, who was busy with her powers, making lunch for the rest of them. She was chopping up vegetables with her second pair of hands while trying to open some ramen noodle packets with a pair of scissors using her others. "Hey Alvin!" He greets, Applejack wincing at his voice.
"It's Applejack, Flash. I'd appreciate you not talking to me while I do this." She said, trying to pay attention to the dangerous jobs.
"What a-a-ARE you doing anyways?" She flinched as he seemed to get louder.
"I'm trying to make dinner so we don't go to bed hungry again." She said, grabbing another carrot and sweeping the chopped up one into a bowl.
"I've never been. What's Hungary like?" She carefully began chopping into the carrot, trying not to mess up.
"You've been hungry before, Flash, you probably just don't remember it because of what the aliens did to you."
"Then tell me-tell me-tell me-tell me!" Flash stammered, Applejack growing annoyed as the knife grew closer and closer to her hand.
"It's when you get a great pai-AH!" She looked at her hand, the knife having stopped inches from it. She looked at her other hands and found that the scissors had nipped her finger. Taking off the mask, the hand vanished, although the pain didn't.
"Look what you made me do, go bother Pinkie or something!" She shook her head and tried to figure out why she still hurt.
"Pi-pi-Pinhead!" He greeted Pinkie, who was doing whatever it was she did up in a tree. "You're flying!"
"Hey Flash!" she greeted, climbing down and smiling. "What's up?"
"The sky." Flash answered. Pinkie groaned, having walked right into that one.
"No, I meant how are you doing?"
"Well, it seems to be fairly easy given you're doing it too."
"I'm starting to miss the depressed Flash." Pinkie confessed, "Maybe few pictures will jog your memory! I mean, I know Sunset says you're not Flash, but I can tell by that twinkle in your eye that you're the same boy you always were." Flash blinked as Pinkie began digging through her phone, the boy trying to get rid of the twinkle. "Oh here! Here's a picture of us back at junior prom!" She showed him a photo of her trying to eat a cake whole wearing a fancy pink dress. Flash was barely in the shot, and partially obscured by some kid who leaned in to give Pinkie the thumbs up.
"Or this one!" She took out a photo of one of her Halloween parties. She was dressed as a professional cheerleader and was working on downing an entire bowl of punch, Flash was in the crowd, hidden, wearing fake glasses, a red and white beanie and a large sweater of the same colors.
"Neither of those see-see-seem familiar, maybe because I don't remember looking that good in a dress."
Pinkie snickers. "I have one more, you'll love it!" She took out a photo of him dancing with Twilight Sparkle at the Fall Formal, with the both of them in an awkward dance position, he having the smile of a man who's humiliating himself for a chance at the purple girl while Twilight wore the face of obliviousness. Also, pony ears and long hair that made it look like she had a tail. "Doesn't that bring back so many good memories?"
"Th-th-thankfully no." He pushed Pinkie's phone away and began heading back to the rest of the group, Pinkie popping up in front of him and giving him a big hug. "How did... wait, you... you don't make sense." He shoved her away, Pinkie backing up, confused.
"I don't get it!" she said to herself. "Usually that hug fixes everything! Well, maybe not everything, it didn't help Dash with her broken ribs."
Twilight and Fluttershy exited the archives, empty-handed. "I don't get it." Twilight confessed while they looked through the ship, searching for those elusive blueprints. "We've been here for all of an hour and nobody's noticed that we've broken in."
Fluttershy shrugged. "Maybe we're lucky? O-oh no, now that I've said it our luck's gonna be gone. I'm sorry..."
"Fluttershy, don't be ridiculous, even if we're so lucky that we've been ignored, it would have run out by now." Twilight explained. "Obviously something else is happening..." As the two discussed the Gambler's Fallacy, little did Twilight know she was correct. Flash was with one of the bots and explaining the situation.
"Now, listen. Inapan made me her first mate, right?" The robot stared at him. "That means I outrank Tested, right? So when she says attack the girls I say that we should stay AWAY from the girls! Don't hurt them, alright?" The robot didn't respond, much to his annoyance. "Stupid robots..." He mumbled, unaware his commands were being followed. His command was sent through the robot's systems, the idea plain and clear to leave the intruders be, to avoid them at all cost. The ship's many bots' routes and subroutines worked violently to make sure that this command was followed, using the security cameras and footage to make absolutely sure they would not interfere with the girls.
The seemingly empty ship disturbed Twilight and Fluttershy, their footsteps the only noises they heard as they continued looking for the lab. Finally, after what felt like hours of looking (it was really only half-an-hour), the girls approached a mysterious section of the ship, where machines and computers worked on their own.
"Look!" Twilight shouted, pointing to a machine building a replication of her locket.
"Oh dear..." Fluttershy mumbled, approaching the machine as it finished. The machine was massive and resembled an industrial oil drill, a large piston on the top of it went up and down as a computer at the base displayed lines of text and showed images of her blueprint. As the machine finished, coming to a screeching halt, a large drawer pushed itself out at a height that would be considered waist high to the alien sisters (or whatever they called their waists). In the drawer was a freshly built version of Twilight's locket. When Twilight took it, the machine's drawer closed instantly and returned to work making another.
"Stand back Fluttershy." Twilight warned, putting on her mask and destroying the glowing device with her bare hand. "This will not be pretty."
Twilight dropped what remained of the locket, approaching the mighty ton of metal. This wasn't like her, admittedly, but she'd rather lose her temper than be the reason her new friends suffered again. She approached the monitor, staring at the alien language being given to her. The response to the nonsensical (to her) symbols was short and sweet; she rammed her fist through it, into the circuits behind the screen and began tearing whatever looked important out, onto the floor. As a seemingly endless stream of metals and plastics generally unknown fell to the floor in heaps, Twilight eventually just tore of the monitor itself and smashed it upon the metal floor. Despite this, the machine still seemed to work, much to her unhappiness. Climbing atop the mighty counterweight that flowed and pumped the materials the materials to the rest of the machine, she stomped down, pulling the other side of the weight upwards, causing the pulling mechanism to snap and fall apart. The rest of the machine strained as Twilight proceeded to pull out the drawer, as well as the mechanisms that would have pulled it back in. The machine sparked and wirred as it fruitlessly tried to continue its work, Twilight taking off her mask and taking a deep breath.
"There." She said to an astounded Fluttershy. "No more lockets. Come on, let's get out of here." She began leading Fluttershy back to the teleportation pods, smiling brightly.
"But... what if they build another locket by hand?"
"Pah!" Twilight laughed. "It took me months to build that thing, imagine how hard it'll be for them to do with no knowledge of our metals and plastics. The blueprints may as well be cocktail napkins to them!"
"Twilight, I think you're having a power trip..." She said, worried.
"I... yeah, you're right. Sorry Fluttershy, still not quite to the um... sorry." She passed Fluttershy the mask and began working on the teleporter.
That night, the Crusaders waited outside the forest, having received Rarity's text to meet them there.
"So... you told her the part how she wants us dead, right? And how we need somewhere to hide?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Well, I figured we ask her face to face!" Sweetie Belle said, smiling.
"So you forgot." Scootaloo concluded.
"Well you didn't call anyone." Sweetie Bell countered as a few familiar figures approached.
"Are you...?" Apple Bloom began.
"Shush!" Rarity stopped her, "We don't know who may be watching... let's just say we're friends."
"Friends tend not to meet one another in the middle of the night somewhere where nobody will see them." Scootaloo observed as the figures of Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow, and Flash came closer. "Wait is that-"
"What did she just tell you?" Rainbow asked, slightly annoyed. "...Yeah, it's him, but he's not... himself."
"That's n-n-not confusing at all." Flash observed sarcastically. "Rarity, you never told me you had a clone too!" The entire group shushed him.
"Girls, do you have that thing you talked about?" Scootaloo nodded and handed it to Twilight, Applejack gently pushing Flash to them.
"Wait huh?" Apple Bloom asked, trying to keep Flash from falling on top of her.
"Girls, we need you to take Flash to this address. The aliens will be looking for him, and we can't have him distracting us." Applejack explained.
"I thought you said you loved having me around, Almond Bar!" Flash said, slightly hurt. "I suppose you're just sour."
"Of course we like you Flash." Rarity said, calmly. "We just want you to go meet some new friends. Speaking of relationships, how did you girls say you got this device again?"
"Stole it." Apple Bloom confessed, the two others looking at her unhappily. "Phew, that's good to get off my chest."
"Nobody saw you, did they?" Rainbow asked.
"Well, just Inapan and Time Turner, who told the rest of the staff, then I posted a picture online that MIGHT have had one of us holding it..." Sweetie began.
The teens shook their heads, except for Flash, who seemed confused. "Why don't they just pull it off the wire?" Flash asked, the group ignoring him.
"That was not smart..." Applejack sighed.
"We didn't see it in the picture until it was already up!" Scootaloo said.
"Listen, what's done is done." Twilight said. "You girls are in deep trouble and I suggest you hide with Flash. You'll be with some old friends of mine, so the aliens won't know them. Just please, PLEASE don't do anything to give yourselves away."
"Right!" The crusaders said, Sweetie Belle grabbing Flash by the arm and dragging him away, the teens looking at the new piece of tech they'd been given.
"So, where too?" Apple Bloom asked, Sweetie Belle taking out the paper and the four reading it... well, Flash tried to at least.
"Wh-wh-what language is this?" He asked, confused.
"English, silly." Sweetie Belle said, Scootaloo leading the group.
"So I've been thinking, which is a first for me, I'll admit." Flash began. "Wh-wh-why is it that you girls are just smaller versions of those others? Like, what's the point of just having three more of already established people?" The girls looked at him, confused. "And look at those two! Th-th-they're not even the right colors as the other two!" He pointed to Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. "Re-re-really trying to hide that fact, aren't you. "Oh no, they're different people, they're different colors!" But look at you!"
"How do you know my sister again?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I know A-a-Apricot because she took me from a dark room and took me outside." He began. "But enough about me (I never thought I'd say that), tell me about you."
"Well, I'm Scootaloo, this is Apple Bloom, that's Sweetie Belle. We're the Crusaders! We wanna find out how to become big shots!"
"Somebodies!"
"Worthless!"
"I think you meant Priceless, Sweetie Belle."
"No, I'm fairly sure she's set her goal appropriately." Flash mumbled.
"...Were you always such a jerk?" Sweetie asked.
"Look!" Scootaloo pointed to a rather large, fancy-looking house. It had a large, metal fence surrounding it to keep out undesirables and an intercom out front. The house itself was an eggshell white and had four stories, with windows that were covered by curtains from the inside. "Is this the safe house?" she asked, amazed.
"This is the address." Apple Bloom said and approached the intercom. "Hello?"
"Yeah, hello, who is it?" came a tomboyish voice from the other side. "Because if it's the pizza guy again I still won't date you, man."
"No, it's Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Flash. Twilight sent us?" Scootaloo explained. "She said this would be a safe house?"
"Oh cool, excellent timing! Come in man!" The gate was buzzed open and the four approached the house, it being larger than most places they'd been.
"Wow... she must be loaded." Scootaloo mumbled.
"With what, I wonder." Flash chimed in. The girls were let in by a butler, and in the entrance hall met with The Shadowbolts, who looked unhappy.
"Right, so you brought Flash, great, now leave." Sour Sweet said, annoyed.
"Well, actually we kinda need to, um, we need a safehouse too." Sweetie explained the situation to them, the shadowbolts growing more and more unhappy as the story went on.
"Fine, whatever, stay here. This is Lemon Zest's house anyways." Indigo said, slightly annoyed.
"How come her parents named her after a flavor of s-s-soda?" Flash asked, the crusaders snickering slightly.
"Don't mind Flash." Sweetie Belle explained. "He's just been mind-wiped by the aliens."
"Oh, so he's not usually this stupid?" Sugarcoat asked.
"I wouldn't know, Twilight's his friend, we just met the guy." Apple Bloom explained
"I knew the Twilight was screwing with us, but at least he's cute." Sunny smirked, grabbing him by the hand.
"I do seem to have an appeal with sociopaths." Flash admitted. The whole while Lemon Zest continued rocking out, ignoring what was happening in front of her.
Inapan and Tested returned to the ship, both fairly bitter about what had happened, arguing as their bodies' colors had turned a blood red from anger.
"This close, sister, THIS CLOSE to capturing two of them, but you had to intervene. Your pettiness and ignorance cost us another piece of technology and our prizes!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I seem to remember YOU losing YOUR power inhibiter first. I recall you blowing your cover to do battle with Sunset Shimmer when your mission was to spy on her, I recall you forcing my hand into this aimless distraction! I am still captain, sister! I am still in charge! How is it MY FAULT you assumed the worst was happening?" The two continued bickering, things getting more and more tense until they entered the lab and saw something they never anticipated.
"The duplicator..." Tested said, stunned as she approached the smashed machine. "How did..."
"That's impossible, Grunt would be the only being who could do this sort of damage, and he's been missing for days!" Inapan said, mortified as she spotted the cloning tube containing Flash's double empty. "And you ACTUALLY gave them the clone of my husband?!"
"Relax, it was part of the plan. I'll go look at the security footage, you make sure that nothing else was ruined."
"No, sister. We know who did this." Inapan said, sternly. "We know who did this, and why they did this, and I TOLD YOU trusting that... HUMAN was a mistake!" Inapan was fairly furious. "We have done everything short of destroying them to show how deathly serious we were, sister. And they did not listen. Now they are breaking into our ship and trying to stop us directly!" She grabbed a piece of scrap metal, crushing it in her gloved hands and tossing it at the wall. "We are going out to the city and showing them just with whom they are dealing."
"You don't mean..."
"We are destroying this city, and killing ANYONE who has DARED get in our way, starting with that WORM who gave us those useless blueprints!"
Twilight worked on the device, as well as the masks, hoping to solve the problems the group had to no avail. As she dug through the tablet's contents, she found herself relieved by the fact it didn't contain anything she could identify as a tracking device. Rarity passed Twilight her dinner (a kebab), "How are you doing?"
"Well, it's slow, but considering it has an actual user interface I should be able to figure it out a lot faster than that belt. Unfortunately, I don't think the tech here matches the tech in our masks."
"So you mean the Crusaders did all that for nothing?" Applejack asked, annoyed.
"I never said that! It's an astounding item, more powerful than our phones, in a completely different era of technology. But more importantly, if I can find out the language we might find out some things about Princess we could use against her."
"Yeah, because she's sure to have written down her own weakness that's conveniently all over Earth." Sunset pointed out, realizing where this was going.
"Actually I was hoping more "fears and medical secrets." Twilight confessed, "but I suppose that would work too."
"Shouldn't we keep an eye on her though, and on the city?" Rarity asked. "Considering what we've done we've probably broken the deal she wanted."
"Technically, she said we'd only break it if we attacked her or her sister. We only broke and enter, kidnapped, vandalized, and stole from her." Pinkie pointed out. "But given everything, she's probably still gonna try to kill us."
"Whatever happened to that big guy, Applejack?" Fluttershy asked on a whim.
"He's with the fishes." The entire group gasped.
"You didn't!"
"Woah!"
"Dear Heavens!"
"What? I put him on a raft and shoved him out onto the lake." Applejack explained, eating her kabob. "What did you think I meant?"
"That you killed him?" Rainbow said, worried. "Are you telling me you've never seen a gangster film in your life. You know "sleeping with the fishes"?"
"Nah, I prefer westerns."
"I'm not sure why I'm even surprised." Rainbow confessed. "Personally, I like those Spy films. Fast fights, cool gadgets, hot people. It's a whole lot cooler than real world spying which is just "hack this" and "decifer that" and boring junk like that... no offense, Twilight."
"None taken? I used to like Science Fiction. All those strange exotic places and unusual powers, they helped me get interested in the paranormal, and well... helped me meet you guys." Twilight smiled sheepishly. "It's not quite the same to live through it, though..."
"I like documentaries." Fluttershy admitted. "They're just so calming and natural, it doesn't feel fake like everything else..."
"Oh that's fine darling, but I prefer Mysteries. Terrible crimes, intrigue, fashion, you learn so much about the world and the people in it, and anyone is a suspect." Rarity said, smiling.
"That's why I enjoy Horror movies." Sunset interjected. "I remember seeing "President's Day" with Flash and oh I loved it! My favorite part was when that couple in the car are stalked on Lover's Leap and the Killer pushes the car off the cliff!"
"I never liked Horror movies, I always liked comedies!" Pinkie smiled, her choice predictable. "Like the Brel Mooks guy's movies. Especially Young Dracula, that part where the sheriff lights his fake hand on fire was great!"
"Twilight only ever let me watch kids movies." Spike mumbled. "I dunno why, I mean, back when I was a normal dog I didn't understand any of it, but now I think my favorite was about that movie with the talking pig. Household Bound was pretty good too. But how come all dogs act like that in movies?"
"You mean like how you're acting now?" Pinkie giggled.
"You know, after all that's happened, I'm glad we can still sit around and talk like nothing's happened." Sunset smiled, laying down and staring at the stars.
"I suppose it just keeps our minds off the terrible things..." Twilight speculated.
Before the group could get a good night's rest, their phones rang and who was on the other side of the call but Inapan?
"Citizens of Earth." She began, the bitterness practically dripping from her voice. "I have bad news; you are ALL going to die. By me and my sister's hands. Before you can say anything, I suppose I should explain what caused this: Twilight Sparkle!" Inapan's voice blew out some weaker phone's speakers. "At the end of the week you will all die, starting with the woman who calls herself Principal Cinch, assuming YOU don't get to her before I do. Miss Cinch thought it was a good idea to stab you insects in the back and give me and my sister secrets about Twilight Sparkle. What she didn't tell us was that TWILIGHT SPARKLE WOULD KNOW." She took some deep breaths. "I have given you puny Earthlings too many chances, too much breathing room, and too much faith. I will give you the remaining four days to say goodbye to your loved ones and finish whatever stupid goals you had. Resistance will only be met with an army of robots. Goodbye~" She cheerily said before hanging up and turning to her sister.
"Where is Grunt?" She asked.
"I-I'm not sure, sister but-"
"FIND HIM. If this planet wants its destruction I will give it to them in EVERY WAY POSSIBLE!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.
"What about the plan, the plan to make Flash hate Sunset Shimmer? The plan to take the girls and the statue? The plan t-"
"No more plans sister! We can scrape what remains of them and the statue from the ruins. Flash will remain by my side and our father will never know what truly happened until it's far too late for him."
"Sister, you need to calm down. We could have uses for these creatures. They could be slaves, or livestalk, or-"
"THEY WILL BE DEAD." Inapan turned and punched Tested in the face, knocking her to the floor. "I am the captain, Sister! I own this ship, I run this crew, and I am the only one of us who is married! You will listen to ME!"
Twilight and company stared at one-another, the message loud and clear: the time for running and hiding was over. The time for fighting was now. In the city, a similar thought had formed among the populace, albeit for different reasons; Days of work, undone by two women. Humanity would have been safe had those two stayed out of it.
"At the end of the week all of humanity will die, starting with the woman named Principal Cinch," Cinch brought her car to a screeching halt, skidmarks on the road as she began making an illegal u-turn away from her home. As Inapan described what she'd done to the city in a far more aggressive detail than she'd have preferred. She tried to think of how to explain herself, to justify her actions. As she ran a stop-sign she began speaking to herself.
"This is not a problem. It was just a matter of..." She tried to think of what to explain it as. School pride? No, of course not. She hated that school and every stuck-up, inbred, rich idiot who had bribed their way in. Revenge, perhaps? Revenge against purple woman who'd turned her school from the best to an academy of problem children sounded sweet to her, but people would never believe her story, how Twilight and Celestia conspired against her perfect record. She'd long put the pieces of the puzzle together, those two had planned her downfall since they met. Transferring to another school just confirmed this theory in her mind. Perhaps she could bluff, tell them that the aliens had used mind control, and she remembered none of this. The only two people who could argue otherwise were still under her thumb, it was a flawless plan to buy her more time to think up a way to destroy those aliens and become the hero.
Whilst she built her survival plan, Filthy Rich had long come up with his. "Now girls, I know that you are worried..." He told his daughter and wife, who looked at him, worried. "But I assure you, Safe-Tec's top priority was to keep us safe and sound."
"But daddy, didn't she say she was going to destroy Earth?" Diamond Tiara pointed out, her father ignoring her.
"And won't it take more than just two families to keep the gene pool stable enough to keep running?" Silver Spoon asked, her own family present during this meeting.
"Besides, we're both women, we can-"
"Ah! But I have thought about this, girls. We go into the safe with our prized possessions, and so do our humble servants. The butlers, the chefs, the groomers..."
"Wait, just how big is this fallout shelter?" Filthy's wife asked.
"It's large enough and has enough supplies to feed and shelter 1000 people for 100 years." Filthy reassured.
"Wait." Silver Spoon's father interjected. "We have a work-force with families totaling 438."
"And we have a work-force with families totaling 661. So we just emerge from the safe a few years earlier and we share some beds, I don't see the problem." Filthy nodded.
"I am not sharing the last bed I live on with someone other than Silver Spoon!" Diamond Tiara moaned.
"And I'm not sharing our bed with some smelly servant!" Filthy's wife huffed.
"...Honey, you're going to be sleeping with me, most likely."
"I don't take back what I said."
"...Wait, where are the servants?" Silver Spoon asked as the families came to realize what had happened.
Outside, the servants began closing the door to the shelter as they saw their former masters running to catch the proverbial boat, screaming and yelling. Filthy caught the door and tried to keep it pulled open, against the force of three other men.
"You can't do this to us!" Filthy shouted. "What happened to our fair shake? Our contracts that you'd protect us until the end of our days?" He grunted as the other five watched this unfold.
"This IS the end of days, SIR!" The elderly butler said, the door slamming shut and leaving the Silvers and the Riches to face the end alone.
As the shelter sealed itself for 100 years, other families dealt with more personal issues.
Cadence cried mournfully as Shining Armor held her; warm, bitter tears flowing down her face. The world was ending, there was no way around it. Night Light sighed as he took a deep breath, shaking his head and pouring out a glass of wine for he and his wife. Granny Smith said her prayers while Big Mac sat under the biggest apple tree in the orchard, staring at the sky. Rarity's parents looked through family albums, while Rainbow's Father just stared at one photo of his fallen wife and his missing daughter. Fluttershy's mother sat in her bed, staring at the ceiling, worried for her daughter. Pinkie's Family sat in the dining room, solemnly looking at the stone soup that had seemed so enjoyable before.
"This is all her fault!" Microchips shouted to Sandlewood over the phone. "Cinch is a heartless, cruel woman who put Twilight in a place with no good choices!"
"No, this is Twilight's fault for jumping to violence!" Sandlewood countered. "Peace is a universal language, and she broke the contract she wanted!"
"Whose side are you even ON?" shouted a fashionable man in a beanie and red jacket. "Those aliens were bad news, and we needed to get them before they got us!"
"Ex-CUSE me?" Asked one of the dramas, acting, well, dramatic. "I could have sworn YOU were one of those people who went blindly along with little miss rich girl's plan!"
"Oh you're one to talk about following instructions blindly!" A boy with a red mohawk shouted.
"At least we don't have to PRETEND to be cool!" A boy with a black football jersey countered. "I think it's all clear we need a game plan!"
"Oh, so who's gonna think it up, polyniglion? Because last time I checked, you were being tutored every class but gym." A boy with a bowl haircut and pocket protector huffed.
"You made that word up!" shouted a boy with orange bangs that covered his eyes. "I've never head of "tutoring" before!"
"No wonder the world's ending with brain surgeons like you on the case!" A boy in a fedora laughed.
"Fighting is getting us nowhere!" Lyra shouted, unhappily. Bon-bon nodded.
"I agree, we all need to calm down an-"
"Oh, yes, let's ALL listen to the girls who got into an argument about the basement being haunted or not! By the time they'll agree, it'll be an hour past doomsday!" The Great and Powerful Trixie decided.
"Oh, and what's YOUR big plan. Throw a magic show? Make your competence appear out of a hat? Lose to the Rainbooms?" A girl holding a fake (at least, many students hoped it was fake) skull asked.
"Fine, if none of you punks are willing to listen to The Great and Powerful Trixie's plan, then The Great and Powerful Trixie will have to save the world on her own!" She hung up.
"Fine, I have a plan too, a plan that'll blow Trixie's out of the water! You'll see!" Microchips hung up. This followed with almost all the clique leaders following suit, their respective followers going to join them.
Inapan's message ended, and Lemon Zest's phone rang once more.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh." Sour Sweet's voice repeated. "Zest, you HAVE to get those two out of your house!"
"Sour, how di- hold on, I have another call... Hello?"
"I think we're going to die." Sugarcoat said bluntly. "We're going to die and my only friends are people I don't even like."
"We can hear you, you know." Sunny Flare said, joining in the call. "But I agree with Sour, you need to get those people out of your house if you want to live."
"Wait isn't there supposed to be fiv-" Lemon began.
"Ugh, I can't believe you guys started without me!" Indigo Zap butt in. "What're we talking about?"
"Lemon Zest needs to get rid of Flash and those kids." Sour said, having found her way into this conversation. "I mean, he could always stay with me..."
"What about the kids?" Indigo asked.
"Who cares about them? They aren't gonna make me happy."
"You just want Flash because he's brainless and moderately attractive. That's too bad because if he's going to have anyone it will be me." Sugar said.
"Oh no, we are NOT going to ignore the end of the world for some cute boy." Sunny said, trying to rerail the conversation. "He's not even that cute. We need to focus. How are WE going to survive this?"
"We could bring them Principal Cinch." Lemon suggested, the other girls going silent. "Since, like, she's the one the aliens are pissed off about maybe if we gave her to them they'd be willing to spare us."
"Lemon, that's the best idea you've ever had." Sour admitted. "We should go storm the school and bring the alien Cinch on a silver platter."
"Yeah, but she can't be that stupid to hide in the first place everyone would look." Indigo pointed out.
"It's a good place to look for clues though, it's not like anyone will care if we break into her office. I bet there's an angry mob on their way there as we speak." Sugar nodded, smirking gently.
"But the only person who knows where the aliens are is Twilight." Lemon chimed in.
"Even better, we hand the both of them over an- oh god..." Indigo held her head.
"What's wrong?"
"I think my conscience started working."
"Consciences are just things adults make up so kids won't do things they're not supposed to while they're gone." Lemon laughed. "It's just a placebo put in our throat to make us fee-" she cut off. "Oh man, oh man I feel it too... oh man, oh god..."
"OK, then how about this plan?" Sour asked. "We take Cinch, give her to Twilight, and move on. That way it's not blood on our hands, it's on hers."
"That's still kidnapping." Sugarcoat announced as the girls began reacting in horror at what they were saying.
"No, we can't do ANY of that... l-let's just sleep on it." Sunny concluded. "We'll probably feel better in the morning."
"Bu-"
"Goodbye!" Sunny hung up, leaving the other girls no choice but to do the same. While Lemon Zest grappled with her conscience, a similar struggle continued in her home.
"How a-How about this iced cream?" Flash's clone asked, offering some sherbet to Sweetie Belle, who just kept crying. "Or this Bindento?" He offered Scootaloo a Game Sphere controller, she responding by pouting and turning away from him. Apple Bloom stared thoughtfully out the window, wondering if her parents were watching her from somewhere, doing all they can to help her. "O-or how about these toys, huh? There's this little po-po-po-horsey who looks just like you!" He said, holding up a plush toy to Apple Bloom. "C-c-come on girls, it's not that bad is it?"
"Not that bad?" Scootaloo finally said. "Not that bad? Do you just not know what the End of the World means, Flash? It means WE ALL DIE. Everyone; sinners, saints, lovers, loners, women and children, men and gods, all of us are going to die because of YOU!"
"Scootaloo..." Apple Bloom said, trying to silence her.
"No Apple Bloom, this is all HIS FAULT! He had to fall in love with some loony from space! He had to blindly follow his heart right off the cliff, and let that red string strangle whoever got in his way! And then he asks US to protect him when HIS stupid, smug face gets us all into trouble!"
"Sc-sc-sco-"
"NO, shut UP! I don't care what happened in that ship, to you, to the aliens, to our sisters, YOU don't get to talk because YOU did this! You stupid, brainless, RAAAH!" Scootaloo was now crying and ran up to him, throwing weak punches at his stomach. "You idiot! You moron! You- Get out of here! Get out! Get out! Get out!" She fell to the floor as Flash backed away, looking to the other two girls as they came to her side. Scootaloo continued babbling as Flash did as she said, leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.
"Was what she said true?" The clone asked, staring at his hands, at his clothes, at himself. "I d-d-don't remember, so maybe it is." The boy looked out the window as a pair of shooting stars flew across the sky. Clenching his fists, he left the mansion.
Principal Celestia was in her living room, approaching a painting that had hung up for innumerable years. Taking down the painting revealed a safe, sighing gently she turned the nob. 19 Left, 8 Right, 1 Left and the safe opened. As she pulled the door aside, she gathered several stacks of books, setting them aside to pull out more. Closing the door to the safe, she brushed the dust off the yearbooks, sighing solemnly.
The sisters' family had been in the educating field since as long as the family tree went back. Sure, some went on to follow their dreams as bakers and artists and others were stuck as janitors or hung as thieves, but since her ancestors arrived to this country there had always been a member of her family in education. She smiled as she looked at the yearbooks her parents, grandparents, and great grandparents had compiled, gently wiping her tears as she took out the yearbook from her first year, when she was just a humble freshman.
"Class of Canterlot High, 1973" she read aloud, a tear rolling down her cheek.
Across town, Vice Principal Luna walked the halls of Canterlot High, approaching her office. She stared at the halls of trophies, remembering the fond days when competition was nothing dangerous. When injuries and harm were complete accidents, when fun and education came first. Now, now it seemed every competition wasn't for trophies or plaques, but for their lives. She approached a display comparing the graduating teens to their baby pictures, noting the lack of one for Sunset Shimmer.
She wasn't sad she was dying. She and her sister had touched hundreds of lives, and a student body that felt more like a family. She was sad that the children would never experience the ups and downs of life; the joy of marriage, the pain of loss. They'd never become the adults the sisters had promised they would be under their care.
It was at that point Vice Principal Luna noticed the door to the wrestling room was left ajar.
Nobody slept that night, save for the real Flash, who had been kept out of the loop as he lay in the medical bay, his head being examined. Tested glared at him as the procedure went on, a bruise forming on her cheek. He was the Apple of Discord, he had driven her sister to violence, to ignore her, to make those girls attack the ship. She wanted to do nothing more than to kill him then and there, to show to her sister how foolish she had been for falling for him.
"Flash Sentry..." She muttered under her breath, bitterly, grabbing him by the chin. "Dearest Flash Sentry... A flawless clone wouldn't be one one millionth as repugnant as you. It would have your same puny brain, your same weak skin, your same hold on my sister's mind, but it would be FAR preferable to you. It wouldn't play your noisy instrument, even if I'd given it to him with the best teachers in the galaxy. It wouldn't WREST my sister from my hands and make her violently love struck, even with your same 'good looks'. I will never forget the day we met, Flash Sentry. The day EVERYTHING went wrong." She slammed his head back on the metal slab, half-hoping his brain would have rolled out of his opened skull and onto the floor. She approached the finished clone of Sunset Shimmer, taking deep breaths to relax herself.
The clone had been doing well, apart from one anomaly. Due to the unusual genes and tampering with sequencing, the girl had aged incredibly. She was with the appearance of a thirty-year old woman, and had unusual senses and abilities.
"Awaken..." Tested said, smiling as the woman's eyelids opened. Unlike the Flash clone (who had a robotic brain implanted), she had left this one's brain intact, for scientific purposes, of course. The clone stared at her, pulling the wires from herself as the tube began draining.
In the camp, Sunset Shimmer bolted up from her sleeping bag in cold sweat, holding her head and staring at the bag that held her mask.
Only four days remained, Microchips thought to himself as he backed up, looking over his masterpiece.
Before him was a powerful machine that was once a station wagon. Building upon its faux-wooden frame, he and his geek companions had added spikes and impenetrable metal armor, covered with reflective paint to deflect energy based weaponry. Atop was a powerful turret, built out of a tennis-ball launcher. It would fling anything poured into it at 80 miles per hour, causing damage to even the most armored of enemy. Finally, it had a nitro-based ignition system, that when activated would give it a powerful boost.
"We did it. And in one night too!" Microchips laughed. "We'll show those aliens who are the mightiest of them all! Now the only question is who will drive it..."
"I will." Said one of the girls with coke-bottle glasses. As she let the group part for her, she approached the side of the car and came to a realization.
"Well, why aren't you getting in?" Microchips asked, impatiently.
"I think you welded over the door..." She said, trying to find an opening.
Across town, the rockers had their own plans. As Flash Drive rocked the night away with far more members than they started with, the sounds of guitars and drums overpowering the neighborhood, an angry mob approached the garage the fifteen or so teens attended. As the sounds of guitars and drums finally subsided, the group opened the door to about thirty to forty people, all VERY unhappy.
"It's four in the morning." A short man pointed out, approaching from the mob. "It's the end of the freaking world, and I just want some sleep. So why on Earth are you boys playing as loud as you possibly can?"
"There's some girls with us too you know..." A boy with a red mohawk pointed out.
"Like, we saw this in a movie man. Aliens are terrified of music. If we play loud and angry enough, their heads will explode." A boy with peach fuzz on his upper lip explained.
"...Which hand do you fret with?" The short man asked.
"Uh, left, why?"
The sound of bone shattering echoed through the neighborhood while the dramas began work for Trixie.
"It's not going to work." One of Trixie's assistants finally said, staring at her travelling wagon, the one built not unlike the one her pony self had. On the stage were her and her two assistants, who looked bored or annoyed out of their mind. The dramas formed a small crowd around the stage, most of them looking the same way.
"The Great And Powerful Trixie has no clue what you're talking about." She said, smugly.
"The aliens aren't going to stop destroying the world to watch you perform street magic." One of the dramas said.
"It's not even real magikz!" Photo Finish chimed in. Trixie gasped and recoiled in shock.
"What do you MEAN? How dare you insult Trixie like that! She does not perform street magic, she performs REAL MAGIC. The magic Houdini and Merlin dreamed of!"
"Merlin wasn't real, was he?" One of the kids asked another, who shrugged.
"Can't we use the fireworks as weapons?" one kid asked.
"Or use your smoke bombs as cover if we attack?"
Trixie gasped. "Never! Trixie would be NOTHING without her props and effects. They come for the pyrotechnics, but they stay for Trixie!" The crowd disbanded as Trixie rambled on and on about how great she was, the only ones who remained after a tangent and display of her magical prowess were her two assistants.
On the football field, the jocks were training for battle.
"Swing faster! You call that a hit, I call it a strike!" Shouted Spitfire as she overlooked the baseball team aiming and hitting baseballs at targets. "Ground tackle!" She shouted to the football team as they worked on practice dummy, in full uniform. She watched as the kids of Archery Club began working and perfecting their arches, as the soccer team worked on running and kicking, as the track team threw shot puts, javelins, and discus at mannequins, destroying them.
"If Inapan had wanted a fight," Spitfire muttered, putting on a football helmet "she is going to get one hell of a fight."
"Status report." Inapan said to one of the robots in the medical bay.
"Patient status unknown" it replied, as it had for the past four hours.
"Status update."
"Patient status unknown"
"Status update."
"Patient Stable. Diagnosis: Inflammation of the cerebellum caused by exposure to extraterrestrial radiation. Prognosis: Positive, but flawed."
"Flawed? Explain."
"Patient Sentry can not be reintroduced to Alcha-major radiation again."
"No more mind control..." She mumbled under her breath.
"If exposed, Sentry's life-span will drop by approximately 54.98% per minute."
Flash moaned as he came to, holding his head. He was back in his usual clothing, Inapan looked up and smiled brightly as he came too, knocking aside the robot to be with her husband.
"Oh Flash!" She said, hugging him close as the boy scratched his head. "I was so worried, you were in such a dangerous spot and I thought I'd lose you! Thankfully your father let our robots examine his brain so we could fix yours..." Flash scratched his head, knocking his hair off in one massive pile. "Obviously we had to do some surgery but you're alive sweetie, and that's ALL that matters!" She explained, putting his wig back on. "It'll grow back."
"My head feels a lot... better, what did you do?"
"It was a simple process" the robot began, "all that needed to be done was the removal of th-" before he could tell Flash about his brainwashing, Inapan kissed him. She held him close, the kiss long and deep as the robot continued explaining the procedure, hoping he'd be too distracted to listen. Finally she let go of the kiss, the doctor finishing.
"Whoa... what was that for?" Flash asked, getting up.
"Because I missed you so much my wonderful love... Let's celebrate your good health, alone." The robot took the hint and left.
In the testing bay, Tested observed her creation. The Shimmer clone smiled brightly as she landed on the floor, wearing the space-suit in front of burning training dummies.
The training dummies were moved out, and a new set replaced them. Before Tested could say anything, the clone got to work. Rushing forward, the clone bounded towards one unfortunate dummy, striking it in the head and sending into the wall. Before it could fall down, she leaped on and began tearing it to pieces. Before she could spend too long on one of them, she quickly turned and shot a column of flames from her palm, incinerating the second training doll from the waist up, leaving a flaming lower half.
The third training dummy found itself facing the most gruesome end. The clone stood up and spread out her hands, burning wings tearing through her suit as she leaped into the air. With a single, swift motion, she was standing in front of the now burning dummy, which split down the middle. The clone stared back at Tested, a burning in her eyes. It licked its lips, craving more of a challenge. Tested tossed out a device with a photo of Principal Cinch on it, the clone staring at her. Stomping it into a fine dust under her space boot, the clone followed Tested out, both of them not saying a word.
Twilight and company trained hard while Sunset Shimmer wore her mask, taking deep breaths.
"Girls... girls, there's something coming." She said, worried.
"What? What's coming?" Twilight asked, distracted just long enough for Rainbow to accidentally sucker punch her.
"Oh, sorry, sorry!" Rainbow helped Twilight as Shimmer got up, nodding for Pinkie, Applejack, and Fluttershy to follow.
"We're going into the city." She explained the group looking at one another, worried. "I think something bad's about to happen. Wait, scratch that... I KNOW something bad's about to happen there." She took off her mask and lead the group along, they putting on their masks.
Cinch's plan to deal with the obligitory angry mob was... less than successful. As the horde surrounded Crystal Prep High School, she tried to explain that the aliens had brainwashed her into doing this.
"Everyone!" Cinch shouted over the loudspeakers. The mob had been there since the call had come out and, to be totally honest, they were probably going to be there a lot, lot longer than that. "I assure you that I understand why you're upset... BUT, this is a fairly big moment for us all!" Cinch said as people began piling wooden objects in front of her office. "I am telling you, members of this dear community, that all of what I have done was not out of "backstabbing" or a "poorly thought out revenge scheme" or "being an alien spy". It was not done of my own volition! I am being unfairly prosecuted, and they have used me as a scapegoat!"
There was a monotone "ahem" from the back of the crowd, people turning and facing, poking and prodding the rows in front of them to look back. There, above the rows and rows of people, was Tested, her glowing green wings shimmering in the sunlight. Cinch continued explaining, but nobody listened as they stared in awe at their harbinger of death.
People backed away, terrified of what might be done. One lone man dared and ran through the crowd, holding a plank with a nail in it, leaping at her and swinging it as hard as he could. She caught it. Lifting the board and the man holding it, she brought it down upon her knee, snapping it in half. The speech continued as Tested tossed aside the brave man, hovering forward while the Clone of Sunset Shimmer emerged, shoving aside the confused populace as they approached the office door. The two powerful women went through the six rooms that lead to her office, the crowd parting until they finally reached the pile of wood that sat in front of Cinch's office, a man nearby holding a torch and another a can of gasoline. They both fled to the safety of the crowd as Tested stepped aside, leaving the clone to start her job. As Cinch paused to let the grandfather clock chime in her dark room, the Clone burst through the locked door, kicking it to the ground.
Before her stood the tall, adult form of Sunset Shimmer. Her long, usually curled hair was straight and flowing, looking more like a piece of fabric had been placed on her rather than a natural haircut. Her normally aqua eyes were a deep, menacing crimson, and she wore a white polyester space-suit, with boots and straps matching those of Inapan and Tested. She stood taller than the normal Shimmer, and could stare eye-to-eye with Cinch had she chosen to. The principal chose to hide under her desk instead. Flipping the desk with one hand, Shimmer grabbed Cinch and held her by the throat, bringing her to Tested and the crowd. As the elderly woman choked and gasped, struggling for air, Tested motioned the clone to drop her.
"Drop her." Tested said, the clone once again ignoring the command. "I said, DROP HER." The clone finally complied, glaring at Tested as Cinch finally breathed again, falling on her hands and knees. "I told you before Cinch, that we were not on even ground. I told your student that I hated creatures who thought they could use me without me knowing." Tested set her foot on Cinch's back, pushing her to the floor. "Yet here we are, you attempting to betray me like you did your own species."
"I didn't-" Tested's heel ground into her back, cutting her off.
"Then, then I come here expecting you to plead for mercy, to tell me that this was not your plan, that we could still use you, that you were willing to help us in exchange for your life... but no. Instead, you're lying again. A pity, because I had the perfect student for you. Meet the Second Sunset. She's stronger than any human, she has the powers of your Sunset Shimmer, the intellect of my kind, abilities I have yet to see released, and she is under my control." Cinch whimpered, her face down on the floor. "What was that?" Tested asked.
"I- she- you..." Cinch stammered.
"Once more, louder."
"If she's so smart... why is she listening to you?" Cinch asked defiantly. Tested glared at the woman underneath her heel. Even now, with a gun to her head and before a crowd of hundreds who wanted nothing more than to see her die, she had the gall to talk back.
"You are either very brave or very stupid." Tested moved aside as Second Sunset picked her up once more. Looking over its surroundings, it returned to the office and smiled as it saw one of the windows. Breaking the glass with her bare hands, she dangled the old woman out the third story. The worst part was, as she shook Cinch a few times to frighten her, it never broke eye contact. She had wanted to see what made killing the principal different than the training dummies she'd been given before.
Cinch's life flashed before her eyes. The students she'd cruelly mocked and humiliated, the unneeded threats, the backstabbing, backbiting, and backbreaking she'd done over her seventy years to gain her spot. Worst of all, she saw a funeral with only a priest and a gravedigger standing over a cheap, pauper's casket.
"Any last words?" Tested asked, Cinch shaking like a leaf.
"T-tell my students" Cinch swallowed, not even believing what she was about to say "that I'm sorry..." She gasped out before Sunset dropped her, the woman's shout echoing through the city.
"I didn't quite catch that." Tested said, returning to the horde of people, all of them growing pale and even more terrified as the two looked at them. "Goodbye, Miss Cinch. Whatever afterlife your kind goes to better be as cruel and bitter as you were."
People rushed to the window to see it, to see if it had been truly finished. To see the wicked witch underneath Dorothy's home. The crowd stared and rubbed their eyes, looking outwards to a sight they didn't believe. The horde gasped, astounded. Through the broken glass of Cinch's office they not the face of death they had anticipated, but rather, something more unusual, and more hopeful.
Sunset Shimmer held Cinch with Applejack's arms, hovering outside the shattered window in full uniform, only her red and yellow hair giving possible identity to her.
Floating into the room, Sunset Shimmer set Cinch down on the floor, people backing away from the strangely-dressed woman. "You!" She shouted, pointing to a man in a trucker cap and wife-beater. "Get her to the hospital. I'll keep them busy." The man paused, unsure if she was talking to him or not. "GO!" She shouted, the man (and several others) scrambling to follow her orders. Applejack's arms vanished from her uniform and Shimmer began following her clone.
A pair of doors slammed shut in front of Tested and The Second Sunset, cutting them off from the rest of the school. "Wh- you!" Tested said, turning around, annoyed. She recognized Shimmer's hair from the duel they'd had over the school.
"I'm here to stop you Tested, and that monster you call a clo-" Before she could say another thing, the Shimmer clone had punched her in the stomach and thrown her to the floor.
"I take it you heard my explanation of Second Sunset. Good. Now we will see who really is superior." Tested left to let the clone continue her dirty work.
Picking up Shimmer by her helmet, the clone tossed her into a series of lockers, breaking them. Levitating to her feet, Sunset noticed that this scenario seemed familiar. The clone threw another punch towards Sunset's head, the girl grabbing it with her powers and twisting it behind the clone's back before shoving her into another set of lockers. Panting, the clone wiped the spittle from her lower jaw and smiled, letting loose her burning wings.
"Celestia above." Shimmer gasped as the other three girls arrived to back her up.
"I didn't see that coming!" Pinkie admitted.
"That's probably not good..." Fluttershy mumbled.
"We should probably leave." Applejack said as the two charged at one another, Shimmer once again being flung away. This time through a brick wall.
"Now? When she needs us?" Pinkie asked, horrified.
"No, to get the MONSTER away from all these people! You help get them to safety, I'm gonna back Sunset up!"
"Which one?" Pinkie asked as Applejack followed the brawl.
Sunset landed in the art room, splattering paint and charcoal everywhere. Second Sunset followed, climbing through the newly formed hole and grinning malevolently. That was, until Shimmer grabbed a wooden art stand and smashed it over her clone's head. As the clone held the top of its skull, Sunset grabbed a nearby painting and smashed it over her clone's head, the frame binding her and allowing the proper one to use several pieces of pottery, a large stained glass collage, and the art teacher's computer monitor as impromptu weaponry.
The clone tore the wooden frame apart and grabbed Shimmer, throwing her through the floor, into the shop room. Shimmer awkwardly stumbled away to hide while her clone leaped down the hole after her, unaware she was now at a massive disadvantage. The entire room began flaring up as the various blades and bands began running, a loud buzzing noise covering up any other sound. Looking for her prey, the clone noticed a swinging door, leading to a hallway. Thinking her victim had fled, the beastie never considered that the real Shimmer was standing behind her with a sledge hammer.
Well, up until Shimmer swung, cracking her clone's ribcage like a raw egg. Second Sunset went down, clutching her side as the real Sunset wiped her forehead, dropping the sledge to the ground.
"Yeah, who's superior now!" She laughed, turning from her downed opponent. "I win! I ALWAYS win!" Her victory was short lived, as the clone quickly swept her burning wing under Shimmer's foot, knocking her to the floor and setting her leg ablaze. As the real Shimmer fell, trying to contain the fire, the clone stood up, stained and beaten, but far from finished.
Once more it grabbed the real Shimmer, this time by her burning leg, dangling her up-side down as it stared at the many, whirring devices. Moving its eyes across the room as Shimmer fruitlessly struggled in her grasp, the clone noticed the belt-sander and smiled.
Stepping to the belt-sander, the beast jammed Sunset Shimmer's foot into it, slowly grinding her boot away. Pushing harder and harder, the rubber and plastic on Shimmer's sole turned into fine dust, it becoming clear the clone wasn't going to destroy JUST her boot. The belt-sander ground and ground, the pieces of Shimmer's shoe all gone, the only thing stopping the creature from grinding her foot to a bloody stump was her sock.
"Hey!" Applejack shouted from the hole above. "Get your hands off her!" The clone dropped Shimmer, much to the original's relief, and began approaching Applejack, unimpressed.
"I don't like people who hurt m-" The clone cut her off with a heel-drop, slamming the country girl to the ground as it breathed deeply, unhappy that it had failed to kill two different people today. She intended to end this losing streak right here, and was about to stomp Applejack's head into a fine mush. Something stopped her high-heel though, as a hand held the foot back, covered by the cowgirl's hat. Pulling her foot away, Applejack slowly got up, smiling as she brushed her palms.
"Hoo-wee..." She said, laughing. "I am DEFINITELY going to enjoy this." Four additional arms came from her sides, giving her eight limbs in total. The clone backed away, slightly confused, but soon stood her ground, grabbing one of the jigsaw rigs and throwing it at her. Applejack ducked and turned to look at the device, but soon found Second Sunset's fist in her spine, tossing her towards the hole the rig had left, into the chemistry room.
Moaning as she stood up, Applejack wiped some blood from her upper lip. "There we go." She laughed, turning to the clone. "Now it's a rodeo." The two charged towards one-another, Second Sunset throwing a punch, only to be caught by Applejack. She tried another, that was also caught. Before the clone could go for the headbutt, one of Applejack's arms burst from her lower back and began pulling on its hair. The clone frantically flapped its burning wings, singing Applejack's hand and forcing her to let go. The cowgirl pushed away from Second Sunset, grasping her gloved hand in pain. "What in tarnation?"
The clone paused briefly and put the pieces together, smiling as she summoned fireballs in her now-free hands. Looking up, Applejack gasped and backed away from the flames. She threw one at her, Applejack grabbing a leftover textbook and using it as an inpromptu shield. The book turned to ashes on contact with the flame. Applejack looked around the room for items that she could use before her eyes settled on a chemical shower and eye-wash station. The only problem was that it was behind the burning mare, who was looking to kill. The clone threw the second fireball, Applejack ducking as it passed over her hat, burning a hole through it and slamming into a chemistry set. As the chemicals and beakers hit the floor, Applejack snapped her fingers, an idea forming. Using her hands, she tossed a chair at the clone and ran to the chemistry lab's side-room, Second Sunset hot on her trail. Slamming the door behind her, Applejack looked around the side-room, smiling as she saw the stockpile of dangerous chemicals. She then frowned as she realized they were behind a metal gate, to keep ne'er-do-wells and criminals from using them for their own nefarious purposes.
The clone easily tore through the wooden door, slamming it to the ground as Applejack began reaching through the metal bars, a large bottle of bleach just barely out of her grasp. She used her powers to snatch it as the clone approached her, unhappy, but soon found another problem: the bleach wouldn't fit through the bars. The clone laughed as she watched Applejack struggle with the bottle, each step making her more and more frantic.
"Come on, come on!" She shouted, trying to think as the clone grabbed her by the leg and began burning it with her flames. Holding onto the bottle and the bars for dear life, Applejack sprouted a third arm and began unscrewing the concentrated bleach's cap, the liquid pouring to the floor. Growing fed up, the clone let go, knocking Applejack into the bars, letting her drop into the growing puddle. Getting up, Applejack swung her arm at the clone, who was out of reach. Despite this, something amazing happened: the Clone grabbed its skin and began screaming. Looking over herself, Applejack realized that with the leather padded suit and gloves, the gasmask, and the rubber boots, she was pretty much immune to the Bleach's effects.
Grinning devilishly, Applejack unsummoned her arms and stepped closer to Second Sunset, who backed away. She'd never been burned before, she'd never had the feeling of her skin in pain, singing itself on the liquid that ran down her body. She looked up in time to see AJ's bleach-coated fist. The clone grabbed it, but recoiled in pain, unsure what was causing this horrific sensation.
"Aw, ya don't like that, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked, her voice muffled by the black mask. "That's a pity, because I'm a REAL touchy-feely kinda gal." Throwing a fireball at Applejack and fleeing back into the main chemistry room, she missed and hit the gate, finally knocking it open.
The clone panted and wheezed as it hid from the chemical mare, trying desperately to remove the liquid on its body. That was, until Applejack entered the room, carrying even more bottles of dangerous chemicals. Unscrewing the caps and whistling, Applejack tossed the bottles of fuming chemicals down the rows of desks. She wasn't going to hurt her, she was just gonna smoke her out.
"And I thought Twilight said this gasmask didn't work no more." She laughed, Second Sunset coughing and panting as the chemical fumes filled the room. Finally, the clone couldn't take it anymore and dashed out into the halls, trying to get some fresh air.
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie watched as the three leaped through the hole in the wall to continue their battle, turning to see Tested attempting to escape.
"After her!" Pinkie shouted, leaving Fluttershy in the dust to deal with the whole "evacuation" thing. As the crowd of people formed around the hole in the wall, the fallen Cinch, and the exits, Fluttershy was in a bit of a bind.
"You!" Pinkie shouted as she chased Tested through the winding halls of Crystal Prep. "Get back here, I promise I just want to talk!"
"I'm through talking!" the alien responded, "Last time we talked I ended up locked on the roof! Give up your chase or I WILL have to end it myself!" Tested rounded a series of corners, Pinkie getting worn out and pausing.
"I don't want to hurt you!" Pinkie responded, panting and looking around, confused as to where Tested vanished to.
"I do!" Tested responded, Pinkie looking up and seeing her on the ceiling.
"Oh, I see, because you can fly." Tested landed in front of Pinkie and entered a battle-stance.
"No mere human can fight me." She warned, Pinkie putting on her mask.
"Yes I can." She smiled, Tested staring at the mask, slightly confused.
"You can? I-I mean, no, no you can't!" Tested shook her head.
"Lemme prove you wrong!" Pinkie said, charging full force at Tested as she held her head, reacting too late as Pinkie gave her a bearhug.
"Let me go!" She said, trying to break free of Pinkie's shockingly vice-like grip.
"Only if you look me in the eyes!"
"What? No! That's stupid!" Pinkie moved one of her gloved hands and began noogieing the smaller alien.
"Look me in the eyes and tell me we won't fight!" Tested turned and looked Pinkie in the eyes, her mask active. Tested immediately froze, realizing what was happening, a bit too late. "Aw, look at you! Now that I see you head-on, you're kinda cute for an evil alien threat!" Tested blushed.
"Now repeat after me." Pinkie began, Tested staring dead into her face. "You will not fight with your good friend Pinkie Pie!"
"You will not fight with your good friend Pinki-" Tested shoved her away, holding her head and forcing the control out of her head. "No! You can't do that to me, human! I am NOT going to be mind-wiped by you!" Tested glared at Pinkie, staring into her eyes again. This time, Pinkie stared back, and the two were locked in a psychic duel. Pinkie held out her hand while Tested preferred to hold her temples, the women glaring intently on one-another as their minds melded. Their brains surged, transferring thoughts and messages into one-another's subconsciousness. While Pinkie's mask gave her a good foothold, Tested's species had been bred and trained for psychic warfare. The mind was the Venusian's favored battlefield, even with their strength and flight, but Pinkie's mind was more like No Man's Land than an arena. Similarly, Pinkie had never delved into another being's mind before. It was as befuddling and awkward as those dreams where you wandered school in your underpants, but instead of people pointing and laughing, they attacked you!
It's not sure how long this was taking before Second Sunset came bursting from a nearby door, disrupting both of their concentration for long enough to make a pivotal strike. Both backed away, clutching their skulls as Second Sunset and Applejack ran past. Looking up at one another, Pinkie noticed Tested's nose was bleeding a mysterious orange liquid. She blinked and realized some blood was running down the side of her head, out her ear.
"You were good, earthling. A far more powerful opponent than I ever anticipated." Tested confessed. "But I had underestimated you. That will not be a mistake to be made again. Goodbye!" Tested ran away as Pinkie fell to her knees, panting. Taking off her mask, she confirmed that she was, in fact, bleeding.
"Wow! That was a rush!" The pink one concluded.
Sunset Shimmer stepped out of another doorway, seeing the bleeding Pinkie on the floor. Hobbling over, the two girls looked at one-another and let out a weak laugh. "Well, at least the civilians are safe."
"I guess, but it's still kinda annoying that we get all beat up and Dash's the only one who can get back up." Pinkie said, getting up and leaning on Shimmer, the two girls heading back to the camp.
Simultaneously, Applejack and Second Sunset stared one-another down, Sunset on the edge of a window and Applejack still coated in bleach. The clone knew it wasn't going to fight Applejack, and Applejack knew as well. Unfurling its wings, the clone fell backwards out the window, soaring away. Applejack dropped her stance and took off her bleach-covered uniform, keeping the mask on to avoid the fumes.
In the ship, Inapan emerged from the master bedroom, Flash passed out on the bed behind her. She took a satisfied sigh and went to the lab. Tested had explained the basics of the clone Flash's purpose to her, and how to access him remotely. Settling down at a master computer, Inapan ran the string and began watching the footage, starting over from when the recording began.
Princess learned numerous things from her unwilling spy, all of them good for her. She found out the location of the girl's camp, and that some of them had gained powers from their tech. She learned the Crusaders had indeed stolen from her and Twilight was studying the device. She learned where the crusaders were hiding and how to access it. Fast forwarding, she found one more curious piece of information: the clone Flash was returning to base, and she highly doubted it was for a reunion. The sly girl skimmed her finger on the control panel, humming.
"He's done a good job, but he's not any use anymore. Plus he scares my darling king, and we can't have that." Her finger hovered over a switch labeled self destruct. "I suppose we do need someone to find Grunt though." Inapan stared as the Flash clone grew closer and closer to the ship, smirking gently before hitting another small switch. It brought up a mic leading directly into the clone's robotic brain.
"Hello, this is your Captain speaking." She smirked as the Flash clone looked around, confused. "No, you're not hearing things, Flash. It's me, Inapan. Captain Princess Inapan Sentry, the woman you're hard-wired to listen to."
"I d-d-d-don't have to listen to you! You're hurting my friends!" Flash shouted at seemingly no one.
"Friends?" Inapan asked, making sure the mic didn't catch her. What was this idiot babbling on about? ...The girls he was sent to spy on, perhaps? Inapan took the mic again, but began laughing the moment she opened her mouth. The clone looked around, confused. Inapan's laughter echoed through him.
"Oh my goodness, Flash. Enough humor, I have a job for you." She said, calming down and wiping a tear from her eye. "Find Grunt. He's big, he's blue, and he's shaped like a square. You cannot miss him if you tried."
"A-a-and why would I do that?" Flash asked. "You seem absolutely intent on blowing up this marble, and considering I'm on it at the moment, I don't see what I get out of the deal. Especially considering I have f-f-friends here." Inapan paused to laugh again, the clone now annoyed and laughing back, mockingly.
"O-Okay, Flash listen to me. You're not the real Flash. You never were the real Flash. You aren't even half the man my husband is. The real Flash is in my bed, resting after giving me three wonderful hours."
"W-w-wonderful for you or him?"
"You are a clone. You have a brain with robotic implants. In front of me is an entire remote control that's designed so I can use you like the toy you are. So, unless you want to lose that "free will" you seem to have gotten attached too, I suggest you find Grunt and bring him to my ship."
"You're bluffing!" Flash responded, Inapan hovering her finger over the self-destruct button once more.
"Alright, let me show you how serious I am." Princess hit a switch at random, the result quickly apparent to the clone. With little warning, the left side of his body completely shut off. His arm went limp and he fell over, his leg giving way to the rest of his weight. He became cross-eyed, the left eye turning lazy and the left side of his mouth going numb.
"Fwa-fwa-fwat dish you do?" Now laying in the dirt, Flash's clone struggled to get any response from his body, to no avail.
"I gave you what humans call a stroke." She said as bluntly as possible. "I can do it to the other side of your body if you want, so you're nothing but a living pile of meat."
"No, p-p-pweash! I dea wachu wa!" He plead.
"Good boy." Inapan hit the switch and the clone felt his senses slowly return.
"I-I-I heard of being turned off but that was just silly." The clone mumbled, standing up.
"What was that?"
"I w-w-was asking about that Grunt guy!" He bluffed.
"Right. Grunt is our head engineer, and he's been missing for three days. I shouldn't need to tell you how much repair and maintenance an interociter needs to keep it running, so we kind of need to find him now."
"W-w-where do I start looking for the guy?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't be sending a braindead clone out to find him, would I?" Inapan asked. "One more thing: if you want to live to die with your "friends", watch your mouth and remember your loyalty to us, because we're watching you."
"Before we stop this thr-thr-chilling conversation, can I ask one thing?" The clone Flash asked. "Am I anything like the real Flash?"
"No and no." Inapan turned off the mic, setting the monitor to record and heading off to wake Flash up for Lunch.
"G-g-good. I have enough trouble on my hands without a bipolar suc-suc-succubus literally sucking me dry..." He headed deeper into the woods, looking for Grunt with only a vague description and a metaphorical gun to his head.
As the clone of Flash fled the scene, Tested approached the teleporter into the ship, wiping her orange blood from her nose. Pinkie's mind was no place for a warrior, and she hoped never to return to it again. She had left Second Sunset behind, upset with her perfect warrior's failure. All that blood, sweat, and tears poured into turning her into an unstoppable killing machine, and she ran from a mare in a silly mask.
But it was not a total loss, she reminded herself as the teleportation process began. She had made her impression on the rest of the human race, and how they would never be able to thwart them. Wiping away the make-up and revealing the bruise her sister had given her, Tested took a deep breath, frowning as she stared at a photo of the wedding sitting on one of the ship's tables.
"Sister!" Inapan said, coming from the mess hall. "I have good news. I know where those..." the elder twin paused to consider a name for their nemeses, "Equestrian Girls are hiding." Tested said nothing, glaring at her sister. "They're in these very woods! Sending the clone of Flash was a stroke of brilliance, sister!" Tested grabbed a piece of napkin-like material and wiped the rest of her make-up away. "He also found those little girls who stole our pad. I am going to find those three human larvae who thought it wise to cross me, and take something of theirs... which brings me to my next point." She turned to Tested. "It has come to my attention you and my husband do not seem to get along."
"I do not know what you're talking about. He and I have rarely interacted. It is hardly my business with whom you marry and spawn with."
"But it is my business if two members of my crew are engaged in quibbling. Especially when it's caught on camera." The two stared one-another down.
"It's not right, sister. It's not right for you to marry a creature so primitive, so backwards. We don't even know if he can let you have children. Not to mention he was NOT part of the plan."
"Our plan has changed perhaps, but it is still on track! We have located the energy sources, we have done the research to show they are powerful enough for us to weaponize, now we just need to capture them and use them against the council."
"The plan was for US to rule! We would be the new queens of the galaxy! But you have given him MY POSITION! He is now Co-Captain! What does that make me, sister? What has he done to you that meant more to you than what I have done?"
"You are forgetting your place, sister. I have ALWAYS been in charge. Flash is as much a part of me as he is an individual."
"That gives you the right to harm me? To talk down to me when speaking of him? He has no skills, no plans, no place in the galaxy but his own! He only loves you because you FORCED him to!"
"He does not! He loves me, he and I are meant to be!"
"The wedding you held wasn't even sanctioned properly! You just brought him into the captain's chambers and let us attend as you read from the Galaxy Guide! There was no ceremony, no bands of endearment, no paperwork, no photos! The only thing you have is the words of Grunt and I."
"Enough!" Inapan pauses and thinks it over, Tested glaring at her the whole time. "Flash is the love of my life, but that does not mean I do not care about you, Sister." Inapan hugs her twin. "He has things to learn, and abilities to develop, but you're already perfect. There is nothing I can help you better yourself with unless you ask. Perhaps you are right, I have been coddling Flash a bit much, but you're still my sister, and nothing will change that." Tested paused and looked away, sighing. "Can you forgive me?"
"Give me my position back, Sister. I wish to be Co-Captain once more. I am fine with him being first mate, but he will NOT be my superior." Inapan let go, smiling.
"It will be done." Flash entered the room, blinking as he saw the beaten up Tested hugging his wife.
"Uh, am I missing something?"
"What do you mean he's gone?" Indigo Zap asked while pushing aside Lemon Zest, ignoring the sound of Sweetie Belle crying in the living room. "You have the biggest mansion in town, are you sure he's not just lost?"
"I doubt it. Only Lemon's that stupid." Sour Sweet said, coming in after her.
"That was once, after my wisdom tooth surgery." Lemon followed, unhappy in her allies' lack of faith.
"You called me at 3 AM about being lost in a hamster cage." Sugarcoat said, annoyed.
"Wait, you guys actually went? I hung up and went back to bed." Sunny asked in disbelief.
"I was pulling an all-nighter, I'd already run out of cola and needed to go pick up some more anyways." Lightning dismissed. "The point is that Lemon lost our new boy-toy, and none of us are going to get very far with him if he's not there."
"What if she hid him away?" Sunny asked, turning to Lemon.
"Why would I call you if I hid him?" Lemon retorted.
"I'm siding with Zest on this one." Indigo shook her head. "Flash!" she shouted into the house, suddenly. "Flash, where are you?"
"I already tried that! The girls told me he ran away after the short one chewed her out."
"They're all short." Sugarcoat said, confused.
"Do you expect me to remember them by name?"
"Maybe we should focus on something else, considering this one of the last days on Earth? And I'd rather spend it doing anything anywhere with anyone but with you guys," Sour Sweet asked, bitterly.
"I'm not going to die a virgin, Sour." Sugarcoat said rather abruptly. "Normally, I wouldn't give half a second's attention to Flash, but in the end of days the only thing keeping me from going on a rampage is the thought of beating you four to the one thing you all want."
"No wonder we're your only friends." Lemon mumbled.
"I never said that we were, and I probably never will."
"So just so we're all on the same page. If it weren't the end of days Flash wouldn't be the one thing on our minds, right?" Sunny asked.
"Yes."
"Oh yeah."
"Like I'd ever!"
"I already have a boyfriend." Sour Sweet huffed. "Flash is cute and all, and tempting, but he'll never match Faux Ami."
"Your pen pal from French class doesn't count. He's not even French, he's Belgian." Lemon pointed out.
"You're just jealous you got stuck with that creepy war vet who sends you old watches and butterfly knives and calls you his "petite chou-fleur"."
Sunny pushed them both aside. "Girls, we need to focus. If we ever want those wings and horns we have to "harness the magic of friendship" or some stupid stuff like that. The only way we'll get the leeway to do that is if we do these favors for Twilight."
"We're dying in four days, I don't think Twilight's going to give us that. And what about Cinch?" Indigo asked.
"Didn't you hear? The aliens got to her first. She's in the hospital with a broken back." Lemon explained.
"I'm surprised that the hospital's still running instead of being overwhelmed by attempted suicides." Sugarcoat commented. "I may not sound like it, but I am."
"Back on topic, we need to find Flash." Indigo reminded.
"But she also said we need to watch these kids." Lemon muttered.
"We're only taking their words on it. How do we know these kids aren't using us to spend their last days in the laps of luxury?"
"Can you blame them if they are?"
"Eh, true." Indigo admitted. "Lemon, stay here and watch the kids. Sugar, go check Canterlot High. Sunny, check the hospitals and police stations. Sour, you try the mall. I'll look here."
"Right!" They all shouted and split off.
At camp, Twilight and Rainbow rested after a long day of fighting. Twilight sat in the tent wearing Rainbow's mask as an experiment. Mostly because she'd chipped a tooth fighting and dislocated a shoulder in training. Rainbow was outside, also sleeping as Pinkie and Sunset hobbled into camp, leaning on one-another. Behind them was Applejack in an oversized t-shirt and shorts whilst carrying a black garbage bag, and Fluttershy, who looked exhausted.
"Dash, Dash, you up?" Sunset asked.
"I am now."
"It turns out I was right, something bad was going on. The aliens are definitely serious this time."
"I'm kinda surprised it took her this long to try and kill us." Rainbow confessed. "You know, considering how we pretty much stepped on her toes every opportunity we could."
"Do you think that this could have gone differently?" Sunset asked. "If we just told them the secret?"
"Have we been fighting the same girls? Because last I saw those two were criminally insane. I saw her shoot a police officer dead in front of her son. Violence was inevitable... speaking of which, what happened to you?"
Before she could explain, Twilight's yawn came from the tent, cutting her off. Rolling her neck, she took off her clothes and began looking herself over.
"So, uh..." Pinkie said, watching the silhouette, confused. "Why is she-?"
"Oh, she put on my mask to see if it would heal her. I guess she's just double-checking."
"Oooh! Sunset, Sunset, put on my mask! No, wait, lemme wear yours! I wanna see what happens!"
"Nothing." Twilight cut in, sticking her head out of the tent. "It did nothing. I'll have to make a mental note to go to the dentist after this all blows over." She went back in to get dressed, Pinkie sighing in disappointment.
"Anyways, you guys look pretty beat up, except for Fluttershy. What's with her?" Fluttershy mumbled something under her breath, barely audible.
"She had to evacuate the school while we kept the other two busy." Applejack explained.
"So both sisters were there? Hm, a pity we couldn't have taken them out."
"Oh no, that's the weird part!" Sunset Shimmer cut in. "She brought in someone she said was me!"
"And she sure looked the part. Same hair, same skin, same penchant for destroying private property..." Applejack realized she just messed up. "Er, no offence."
"Please, she never picked up a sledgehammer." Sunset laughed it off. "But she was certainly tough; pyrokinesis, burning wings, the strength to destroy floors and walls."
"Man, that's just crazy. How the heck are we supposed to compete with ourselves?" Rainbow asked.
"They're not exactly like us, she looked like she was thirty or something. I wouldn't put it past them to clone all of us though, so we should keep on our toes."
"They're really taking out the big guns. How come they don't just blow us up now?" Applejack asked.
"I assume they want to humiliate us before going for the killing blow. I mean, it's not terribly smart but I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth."
"Wait, what if Flash is a clone?" Pinkie asked. "I mean, he doesn't remember us going out. And he doesn't act like Flash at all!"
"That's wha-" Sunset Shimmer sighed. "It is very likely that is a clone of Flash Sentry. I didn't trust him because he kept calling me by the wrong names, but you assumed brainwashing. Brainwashing doesn't work like that, I would know."
"And we just left him alone with-" Applejack realizes in horror. She got up and ran towards town, taking out her phone to call Rarity. Rainbow followed, equally worried about Scootaloo.
Twilight emerges from the tent, dressed in her normal clothing and sitting next to Sunset Shimmer as Rarity dashed past, Spike barely able to follow her before stopping in the camp.
"Man. what's her problem?" Spike asked as Twilight picked him up.
"She thinks Sweetie Belle's in danger. I better call the Shadowbolts to make sure though." Sunset Shimmer passed her phone to Twilight.
Lemon picked up the phone as it began ringing, Indigo coming over.
"Girls, I need to ask something really important." Twilight's voice began.
"Who is it?" Indigo whispered.
"It's Twilight."
"Don't let her know we lost Flash, no matter what!"
"Hey, Twilight!" Lemon said. "I was just spending some time with Flash! You know, that pretty boy we all like and would never do anything to ever, ever bring him harm! He sure is a nice guy, bringing me lemonade and striking up conversations! He's getting along really well with the kids!"
"I-"
"Yes, we sure do enjoy spending time with our good friend Flash. We have had all sorts of conversations about all the great things we've done and actually did do them. If anything ever happened to him you'd be the first to know, yep." Indigo gave Lemon a thumbs up from a distance.
"H-how much did you... what did you talk about?" Twilight asked, worried.
"Uh," Lemon looked around her house, trying to spot something to bluff. She caught sight of her father's polo trophy. "Horses. We talked about horses and ponies and stuff."
"Do you think they told him about-?" Sunset asked, worried.
"Inapan already knows that stuff and I don't think these girls know that much about it to worry."
"Yep, he's in the other room, with the little crusader kids, talking about horses and stuff. " Sweetie Belle began crying again, the two girls panicking as Indigo ran in to try and comfort them.
"What was that?" Twilight asked, worried.
"It was uh, Sweetie Belle was watching that Old Yellow movie, y-you know, with the dog? I told her not to, but you know kids!"
"Is Flash still there?"
"O-of course, why wouldn't he be?"
"Put him on the phone, we need to talk."
"Well, he's kinda-"
"NOW!" Twilight shouted, Lemon fumbling the phone at the sudden boost in volume. Indigo looked up to see her and returned.
"What's wrong?"
"She wants to talk to Flash! And she won't take no for an answer!"
"Well what am I supposed to do?"
"Impersonate him! I'm not good at voices, and you're the most mannish of us anyways!"
"I- give me that." Indigo took the phone, coughing and clearing her throat to get in pitch.
"...Flash?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
"You're not Flash."
"Wha-"
"We know your secret, "Flash"."
"Let's just hold on here, I don't think you rea-"
"We realize plenty, we know that you have made a MASSIVE mistake, and we have sent our friends over to handle it!"
"Whoa, whoa, Tw-tw-twinkle. I think we ju-ju-just need to calm down here!" She adopted the stutter, thinking quickly.
"We know you're not Flash." Twilight continued. "We know you have something hidden from us, and we know that we are not happy about being used like this!"
"I know what you're saying, b-but it is me! I-I'm your friend, come on! Y-y-you can trust me!" Indigo's Flash impression just seemed to improve the more she used it.
"What did you do with the real Flash?! Where is he?! What are you doing to the Crusaders?!"
"I AM Flash! I'm right here, nothing's wrong, kids just cry all the time!" Indigo said as Lemon looked out the window, gasping.
"It's Twilight's friends!" The rocker said, panicking. "They'll know Flash went missing!" What do we do?!"
"I don't know! I-"
"Where is Flash!?" Sunset shouted over the phone.
"WE DON'T KNOW!" Indigo shouted, hanging up and turning her attention to the girls who were there.
Twilight and Sunset Shimmer, meanwhile, looked at one-another, confused.
"Did Flash turn into-?" Sunset asked.
"I think we're missing something." Twilight redialed, slightly worried.
Indigo ignored the phone as they watched Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow approach.
"Oh no, what do we do, what do we do?" Lemon asked.
"Stall them, I have an idea!" Indigo shoved Lemon outside.
"Indigo no-" She looked to the girls standing in front of her, impatiently. "-body told me you girls were coming!"
"Well here we are. We need to talk to the crusaders." Applejack tried stepping past, but Lemon backed up to block the door.
"NO! No, let's all stay out here. I mean, I've wanted to know more about you guys since we've met?"
"Didn't you literally ignore us until we began asking your friends for help?" Rarity asked, trying to maneuver behind her.
"No! No, I've been trying to get your guys numbers all the time!" Lemon blocked her.
"Listen, we need to talk to Flash and the crusaders, they're in danger!" This made Lemon's hair stand on end. She needed to do something!
Before she could blurt anything out, a voice came from behind her: "Hey g-g-girls!"
Lemon turned and frowned, seeing Indigo in a poorly made Flash disguise. "No, no, you know what? I'm stopping this right there." She said, taking off Indigo's wig and using it to wipe off her spray-tan.
"B-b-but it's-"
"Scrap Plan A, this is stupid." Lemon cut in. "We'll just tell them." The other girls watched as Indigo was revealed, confused. Lemon turned to them. "I'm taking a page from Sugarcoat's book here but we lost Flash."
"So he's not here?" Rarity asked.
"Not that we can tell." Indigo admitted.
"And the Crusaders?" Rainbow pried, "where are they?"
"Inside, in the living room, spending their last few days crying." Lemon stepped aside to let them in.
"And how long has Flash been missing?" Applejack asked.
"I think he ran off sometime last night."
The three girls looked at one-another, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank goodness!" Rarity declared. "I was worried that we'd be too late. We need to get the girls to safety, it's a long story but they're not safe here anymore."
"But then neither are we?" Indigo asked, annoyed. "Where are Lemon and her parents supposed to go?"
"I can bunk with you, can't I?" Lemon asked. "It'll be great, we can throw a huge block party and put on a huge mosh pit and scream as loud as we want!"
"Why didn't you do that at your own house?" Indigo asked.
"There's too much stuff to steal, and I already own it all, so I can't steal from myself." As Indigo and Lemon discussed kleptomania, the other girls entered the mansion to look for their sisters.
"Girls!" Rarity shouted, entering the room. The three little girls looked to the source, and all began smiling brightly, even as they continued crying.
"Oh thank goodness! I thought we weren't gonna see you or our families again!" Apple Bloom said, holding her sister tight.
"Is it over, did you beat her? Can we go home now?" Sweetie asked. The elder girls released the hug, backing up and looking at one-another, worriedly.
"Well, about that." Rainbow began, "we need to get you somewhere safe. There's a bit of a-"
"Problem?" Inapan's voice came from behind the three.
Swinging around, the girls gasped in horror, coming face-to-face with Inapan's laser pistol. "I invited myself in, I needed to make get even, and get a few things back. Those two girls at front tried to stop me... or maybe they were going to run past me. But it doesn't matter, they're just some green sludge now." The group put their hands up, shaking. "Now, I suppose you're wondering why I'm here... I assume it's the same reason those three are." She points to Dash, Rarity, and Applejack. "But that doesn't matter. What does matter is that I can kill all of you right now, then bring you back, then kill you again, and repeat the process until I feel content."
She smiled and motioned the group out of the room, out into the front lawn. They walked past the two puddles of green slime Inapan had talked about, the only thing left of Lemon and Indigo being the headphones she'd worn. Sweetie Belle was crying again, this time joined by Apple Bloom.
"On your knees." Inapan coldly demanded, the girls following orders. "It's amazing how easy this is now that I have a handgun. It's like you earthlings never considered the fact I might use this again! You built no counters, you had no plans, you just pretended it never happened!"
She took a deep breath and laughed, heartily. "I am going to enjoy this, Equestria Girls. But I suppose, if anything, I should do this in order of how much it will break you." She looked at the girls, lined up, and smiled. "Now, first is-" she fired at Rainbow, turning her into a puddle of slime. The girls shouted in horror at how sudden she chose, mortified. Inapan went to the puddle and let her laser pistol suck up the remains, Scootaloo finally crying as she shouted "no" over and over again.
"J-just relax, she said she could bring us back!" Sweetie Belle said, trying to reassure Scootaloo. Another blast, the crusaders turned to see Rarity a pile of ooze.
"What do we do?" Apple Bloom asked AJ, who said nothing and kept her head down. Inapan hummed, moving to Applejack.
"Any last words?" She took off the cowgirl's hat to look her in the eyes. In Applejack's face was a look of defiance, a look of anger and bitterness, and a look of no surrender.
"Just one request." She announced. "Look behind you." Inapan's iris' shrunk to pin-pricks and she turned around, expecting to see something coming behind her. Someone with a weapon, or a dangerous vehicle coming careening towards her. Instead Applejack lunged, forcing the alien to drop her laser pistol and fight mano-a-mano. Well, cowgirl-a-princess, but that's just semantics.
"Run!" Applejack shouted, holding onto Inapan as the alien tried to remove her. The crusaders did not need to be told twice, dashing into the mansion for safety.
Inapan tossed Applejack to the ground, the cowgirl wishing she'd grabbed her mask back at camp. The alien girl ran towards her ray pistol, Applejack coming from behind and shoulder-bashing her to the ground. Grabbing the pistol, Inapan turned and Applejack lept onto her, holding the pistol into the air, both of the girls struggling to push it to one-another. Laserblasts fired wildly into the air, the girls groaning and shouting as the pistol stood straight up.
Inside, the crusaders panicked and began barricading the front door. Being that they were three 12 year old girls, the barricade was constructed of a single couch, a few chairs, a moderately-sized table, and a vase with a flower in it.
"We need to call the police!" Sweetie shouted to her friends, taking out her phone.
"What the hay will the police do? We need the fire department!" Apple Bloom asked, grabbing her phone.
"We need those ghost hunting guys, they'll do something!" Scootaloo shouted and pulled out her phone. Before the girls could call their saviors, they heard one last laserblast from outside, then silence.
An obnoxious ringtone came, the girls looking at their phones, then at one-another before spotting Lemon's phone on the floor. Scootaloo picked it up while the other girls cautiously looked to the window to see what had happened outside.
"Hello?"
"Scootaloo?" Sunset asked, confused. "What's going on there?"
"Oh thank god!" Scoots shouted. "Get over here, that alien lady showed up, she has a gun, and she's shot a bunch of people!"
"What?! Oh dear Celestia, we'll be right over!"
"Hurry! We don't know what happened to Applejack!"
Sunset turned to look at Twilight, both of them trying to get up, but their injuries stopping them. They moaned in agony, but between Sunset's third degree burns and Twilight's cracked ribs, they both knew they'd not not get very far.
"Fluttershy!" Twilight called out to the quiet girl, who'd begun making lunch a short while ago.
"Twilight? Is something wrong?" She asked, turning around. "I'm sorry, but I was making this veggie stew and I got distracted by that rare woodpecker in the trees..."
"Nevermind the woodpecker!" Sunset shouted. "The girls are in trouble, Inapan's found them and she has a gun!"
"Oh dear, I-I'll get the police and-"
"There's no time, we can hardly walk and they're panicked. Take your mask and go to Lemon's mansion!"
"But the soup?"
"We can handle the soup, just go!" Fluttershy grabbed her mask and ran to the city, trying her best not to hurt any unwary animals on her path.
Meanwhile, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked around the front yard, trying to see what happened. The puddles of slime that were once Indigo and Lemon had began to slowly flow down the pavement, but nothing else. "I don't see anyone... did they just leave o-"
"Look out!" Sweetie shouted, pushing Apple Bloom out of the way as Applejack crashed through the window, landing in a heap.
"Oh no..." Apple Bloom said, approaching her sister. "Applejack, are you OK? Please, please answer me! Say something! Anything! Come on!" Before she could check for a pulse, Inapan's cruel laugh came from the window as she climbed in, the crusaders scattering.
Minutes passed as Fluttershy approached the manor, Inapan's laser pistol lay behind the gate, with two large puddles of slime nearby. Cautiously entering, Fluttershy picked up the laser pistol, unaware her two friends were inside. Scratching her head, she looked at the dials on the gun.
"HELP!" Scootaloo shouted, spotting Fluttershy from a bedroom window.
"Scootaloo!" She gasped, tossing the pistol aside, it firing the laser at the puddles as she ran inside through the garage.
Passing between Lemon's family limo, Fluttershy opened the garage door, into the mess that was once Lemon's nice home. The floor were broken picture frames, tables, sofas. The walls were dented and some even had holes punched clean through them. Fluttershy put on her mask, breathing deeply to try and stay calm, and to be ready to attack in case any-"Fluttershy!"
Fluttershy screamed and turned around, the mask accentuating her voice to that of a death metal concert. Fluttershy opened her eyes to see that her attacker was gone, and on the ground was Apple Bloom, clutching her ears.
"Oh my lord, I think I'm deaf!" She shouted, Fluttershy realizing the mistake and going to comfort her. Taking off her mask, Fluttershy helped the little girl to her feet, where she lost her balance anyways.
"Oh, no, relax, it's just Tinnitus. D-don't worry, it'll go away in a little while, but you need to get out of here."
"WHAT?"
"Get out, go find somewhere safe."
"Why do we need to open Lemon's safe!?"
"No, that's not-" She snapped her fingers and began telling Applebloom to leave using sign language.
"What are you doing!?"
"Sign langua- oh." She sighed, grabbed a pen and paper and wrote out the instructions.
"Oh! Why didn't you just say so?!" Apple Bloom did as ordered, Fluttershy getting back to searching.
Upstairs, Inapan had Sweetie Belle cornered, up until Fluttershy's screech came from downstairs. Inapan stopped cold and began clutching her ears. Sweetie took this chance, plugging hers as well. Shaking her head, the alien took a deep breath and turned towards the staircase. She couldn't hear anything, but she knew by process of elimination the only source could have come from a third party. The alien carefully descended the staircase, seeing Fluttershy looking for he girls. She shouted for them, but Princess's blown out ears couldn't hear her. Fortunately, as Fluttershy turned to look in the kitchen, it would appear they both were on even ground. Taking off her power limiter, Inapan's wings sprung forth, letting her take to the air and silently stalk her opponent from above.
"Girls?" Fluttershy asked, looking under the kitchen sink. "Girls, I-it's just me... I'm not here to hurt you! But I'm sorry if I did! I didn't mean too!" She continued to the basement door, opening it and making a soft squeak noise at the darkness. She tried the lightswitch, finding it had no effect when she heard a loud thump from behind her. Turning carefully, she shook in worry, hoping that her gut feeling was wrong, and that she was in no danger at all. Inapan's pointed smile was all she saw before Princess shoved her down the staircase.
Holding out her hands, flailing hopelessly, she felt not as if she was falling, the inky blackness covering her senses, she felt instead that the world was moving around her at a greater speed, and she was floating helplessly.
Finally, she hit the bottom, her mask falling out of her pocket as the alien descended the stairwell. Inapan's translucent wings shone through the blackness, cascading an aura of malevolence while the front of her face remained indistinguishable, all except for the pointed corners of her crooked, evil smile. Fluttershy tried moving, pain wracking through her body as she turned to her front, scrambling to find her mask before Inapan could go for the killing blow. With the her vision gone, she could only use her hearing to attempt to determine how close Inapan was to finding her. Step. Step. Step. Panting and hearing the footsteps grow ever more closer, Fluttershy crawled through the basement, searching for her mask and maneuvering through stacks of boxes and old Hearths Warming decorations.
"I am not a difficult woman." Inapan began, her descent continuing. "I ask for simple things: a man to love, a source of energy to use, and creatures to follow my word, even just a little bit. I would have been FINE with being ignored, at least then I would try other things, and make new ideas. I would have been very, very happy if everything went to plan. Your stupid planet would still be here and you may very well be on it." Fluttershy felt something on the floor and put it on, breathing heavily and waiting for the last moment to turn the tables on her, effectively deafening the alien. "Yet you did neither of those. You didn't leave me be, you didn't follow orders, you did as much as you possibly could to make me mad. Now you will die. You will die like your best friends did: on their knees, begging." Fluttershy's eyes opened wide as Inapan's words entered her mind.
"I blasted them into puddles of thin gruel, Fluttershy. They felt NOTHING but a single bolt of pain. But you and Applejack, oh, if Applejack's still alive she will be joining you in a far more horrifying experience than being torn from the afterlife and sent back repeatedly like the white and blue ones will." Inapan bragged as she knocked aside boxes, growing closer to Fluttershy's location. "What you two will feel is the pain of mind control. I recently learned that, if exposed too long, the human mind will eventually deteriorate into nothing. What I plan to do is expose you to the minimum amount of our radiation so that over the course of weeks you feel your minds fall apart piece by piece, until you're a slug laying in a puddle of your own fluids, unable to move, see, speak, or hear. But you will be very much alive."
Inapan saw Fluttershy's movement out of the corner of her eye, her glowing wings providing the necessary light. Approaching the girl, the alien put out her glove, not in a fist or carrying a weapon, but in an open palm.
"But, I suppose a willing servant is a better solution then a dying slave. I am not a cruel, heartless monster. I am a woman who wants only the best for herself. Perhaps if you join me, tell me about your energy, let me harness the secrets and the abilities your kind knows it has, then maybe all of this could go away."
"Wh-what?" Fluttershy asked, confused in her change of tone. "But you-"
"I did things because I had to. Your friends attacked me first, assuming I had come in favor of violence." She lied through her teeth and removed her gloves, holding the hand out again. "Everything here was done in self-defense," Inapan remembered how Lemon and Indigo had tried running the moment they saw her, and how easily a blast to the back of the head fell them. "Join me, I can bring back your friends, I can give your world cures and technologies they would never achieve on their own, and humanity can rule by my side."
Fluttershy was about to answer when a voice came from the top of the stairwell. It sounded like Lemon and Indigo saying something both at the same time. "She's lying! We saw EVERYTHING! She shot us in cold blood! If you give her your hand you will die!"
"Obviously!" Fluttershy said, unhappily smacking Inapan's hand away. "I'm not a fool, Princess!" She began getting closer to the alien, pushing her back. "I'm not going to be sweet-talked into helping a genocidal lunatic simply because she claims to be sorry." Inapan's hearing slowly came back to her as Fluttershy continued, content her mask would keep her safe.
"I saw what your sister did to Cinch, the one human who helped you. You kidnapped and forced the one human who cared about you into a loveless marriage. You've killed my best friends! I may be trusting, but I'm not stupid!"
Inapan's smile turned into a frown, then into a grimace, then finally, a scowl. "You do NOT speak of my husband like that!" She said, clenching her fist. "He loves me, and I love him! We are DESTINED to be together!" before Fluttershy could react the back of Inapan's hand made its way across her face, the blow knocking her mask aside and out of her reach. She swiftly followed with a blow to the girl's stomach, bending her over and into prime position for what is commonly known as a "kneeing in the mouth". Fluttershy hit the ground, moaning as Inapan climbed onto her and scratched at her face.
Fluttershy tried to reach for something to disarm her, or at least knock her off with. Grabbing a snowglobe and smashing it against her face was a prime choice, sending Inapan to the floor with shards of glass in her.
"Now's your chance!" Lemon and Indigo's voices shouted, spotting Inapan's glowing wings fall to the floor. "We need to get out of here!"
"No!" Fluttershy said. "You go, get yourself and the crusaders to safety! I'll keep her busy!"
"But she'll kill you!"
"Just go! I can handle myself!" Fluttershy turned back around, just in time to see Inapan had gotten up. Removing her gloves, Princess tossed them aside and lunged at Fluttershy who kept her ground.
The figure, unsure what to do, followed the orders. Running out of the kitchen, she ran through the house, looking for the remaining crusaders until she arrived in the restroom. "Sweetie Belle!" Sweetie's response was not as hoped. She shouted and backed away, pointing at the figure approaching her. "Wh-what's wrong? What's, is there something behind me?"
She turned to look behind her but instead caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She couldn't believe it, so she carefully turned back to it. In the mirror was a girl in the Crystal Prep school uniform, wearing both goggles and headphones. One of her eyes were gold while the other was orange, on one of her arms was a sweatband, her skin was a pale pink, and her hair was long and flowing in the back, but pointed upwards in a slicked-back manner in the front, colored in three shades of aquamarine. Opening her mouth, the voices of both Indigo Zap and Lemon Zest came out in unison.
"What on Earth?" She covered her mouth, Sweetie Belle standing her ground in absolute confusion, holding a toilet brush to defend herself from the strange new girl that had just wandered in to this tale. It was at that point that it stuck them what had happened: "The laser!"
Inapan stood over Fluttershy, both of them battered and bruised. Cracking her knuckles and panting, the alien began leaving towards the stairwell, content her opponent had been defeated.
"I've gotten more than enough genetic material from you. I don't believe this fight is necessary anymore..." Fluttershy moaned in response, turning onto her stomach to face the alien as she walked away. "I'll just clone you and use its energy. Don't worry about it, since pain will be the only thing it'll ever know, it won't think twice about serving me... unlike you."
As Inapan began leaving, a loud humming came from behind her, the christmas lights, the broken lightbulb, and the assorted other decorations began coming to life, shining brighter than they ever had before. Fluttershy's body slowly floated from its position to a t-stance, where butterflies seemed to miraculously burst forth from her. Her hair grew longer, and from the back of rarity's coat had come the wings of a pegasus. Opening her eyes showed nothing but pure light, the entire basement becoming exposed as all of Fluttershy's injuries healed themselves before Inapan's eyes. The basement's many boxes were revealed, as well as their contents; boxes of sports equipment, old plastic bags, old clothing, Nightmare Night costumes (including a box of old masks that had fallen over next to Fluttershy's), there were boxes marked fragile, boxes with canned food, and another two doors were exposed to them; one to the pantry and one to the power and appliances.
"So, this is the power my sister had told me about..." Inapan mused, returning in front of her opponent. "Yes, this should work well on m-" Fluttershy grabbed the alien by the collar and lifted her. Inapan pushed away and used her wings to take to a similar position.
"No more talking, Princess." Fluttershy announced. "We end this now." She opened her palm and a sphere of energy began forming.
"Well said." Inapan admitted.
The two stared one-another down, each waiting for the other make the first move. Fluttershy moved her hands slightly, hoping to fake Inapan out, to no such luck. Finally, after what felt like forever, the alien began charging at her enemy, the yellow girl ducking out of the way and firing the energy sphere at the alien's back. Shouting in pain, Inapan turned back around to return the favor, grabbing a hefty box of various fine chinas and throwing it at Fluttershy. Barely dodging the strike, Inapan dashed forward to close some ground between them. Having learned from a prior mistake, she grabs Fluttershy's fist that was planned to sucker-punch her, and follows up with a headbutt, sending the yellow girl reeling. Holding her forehead, Fluttershy spotted her mask on the floor, next to a variety of Nightmare Night masks. Realizing how quickly the fight would be over with that mask, she hardly notices Inapan coming in to scratch her face until it was too late.
The alien's degloved hands were more like a falcon's talons than human hands, now that Fluttershy saw it in proper light. Although it was in the same five finger layout one would expect, it had bands of flesh creating a ring-like pattern across her fingers. At the tips of her hands were curved, jagged nails that dug deep into her flesh, tearing as much as they could while she struggled to pull them off. The equestrian girl finally pushed Inapan away with a backhand and backed away to survey the damage done to her lower face. Before she could wipe blood off of her mouth, the alien emerged from her daze. She raised her hook-like claws for another swipe, but Fluttershy had turned her looking away from her opponent into a shoulder-charge, pushing her into a large box. The cardboard box made a loud metallic clang as Inapan fell to the floor, a hissing sound emerging as it fell apart, revealing it had held the home's water heater.
Turning her attention to the mask on the floor, Fluttershy began rushing to the it in hopes to grab it before Princess could recover. Inapan grasped the back of her head, pulling herself up with her wings, careful not to be burned by the hot metal and careful not to tear into herself with her claws. She was marginally confused before recalling what information the clone Flash had given her. Running forward and tackling Fluttershy to the ground, the two of them stopped within arm's length of the mask.
"Don't, you fool!" Inapan shouted, unhappily. "You don't know what powers you mess with! My technology and your energy could be disastrous in an uncontrolled environment!"
"It would be disastrous in your hands too!" Fluttershy's retort was as subtle as it was effective; she elbowed the alien in the mouth and crawled forward, putting on the mask.
Rather than erupting in a burst of light, or floating to the center of the room, Fluttershy's transformation was just as brief and uneventful as Twilight's putting on of the mask.
Or so it seemed. Inapan pounced onto Fluttershy once more, aiming to scratch out the back of her head. The moment her first crooked claw drew blood, Fluttershy vanished and her attacker fell to the floor.
What remained was a blast mark, like one that would result from an explosive. Inapan took a deep breath, the air feeling heavy and the situation having taken an odd turn. She looked around, to make sure what she was seeing was real.
Fluttershy was in an endless black void, standing up straight, but feeling neither ground nor air beneath her. She tried to flap her wings, but she went nowhere. Eventually, as she floated through the emptiness, she felt something pulling her. With several jerks and pulls, she was turned around, and saw a bright, powerful light coming towards her. Several conflicting thoughts entered her mind; had she died, would her friends be okay, had she let Inapan get the mask?
The pulling slowed, becoming more gentle as a figure appeared before her. The figure was her, in a uniform resembling the one the aliens had worn, complete with butterfly wings. It had some differences though: her belt hadn't a gem on it, but a simplistic butterfly. She also wore a mask that resembled Rainbow's, but she could see her eyes through the clear glass covering them, and she wore a clear skirt that showed tights of a psychedelic nature. The second Fluttershy held out her gloved hand, looking at her other self as the void seemed to turn from a shade of black to a clean yellow. The first Fluttershy backed away, confused, afraid, but as the two locked eyes, the yellow girl saw a trusting look, the look of an old friend that she had never met. Cautiously, she took the doppelganger's hand. She froze as her body began healing itself, and the second Fluttershy entered her like it was a hole in the world.
She awoke on the floor of Lemon's basement, panting and breathing heavily. The lights had begun dimming, but gave her enough light to identify she was wearing the uniform her other self was. Slowly getting up, Fluttershy cautiously observed her surroundings. Going up the stairs, she made a shocking discovery upon staring out the windows of Lemon's living room: it was now the dead of night, and there were no signs of anyone. Silence filled the air as she carefully looked around the home, finding only the damage that had been done by Inapan.
Lemon Zest and Indigo Zap (Or as they will be called for the remainder of this unusual combination for the sake of convenience: Lemigo Zast) panted as she (they?) sat on Sour Sweet's couch, the other three shadowbolts staring at their friend(s?). Sour Sweet's home was a lot less impressive than most of the shadowbolts'. Mostly because while the rest of the girls lived in high-class, upper crust society dwellings with multiple floors, Sour lived in the local Trailer Park. There was one large bedroom, a counter and stove that served as the kitchen, a small bathroom, a TV and the couch on which the girl(s?) of the hour sat, staring at her companions.
"So, you were Lemon and Indigo." Sunny says, trying to wrap her head around this. "But now you're just someone else."
"No, no, no, I am Indigo and Lemon! Er, I are! I mean... We are, maybe?" The fact she had both voices coming from her mouth simultaneously only compounded on this confusion.
"You got hit by a laser, then when you... two woke up you were like this? And you expect us to believe this just because you're wearing their clothes and have their voices."
"We hope so, yes."
"This is the dumbest thing I've been a part of in a long, long time." Sugarcoat told the group.
"But it's true!" Lemigo shouted. "How can we prove to you it's still us?"
"Chocolate Swirl!" The two voices shouted at once, the group looking at one another.
"Well..." Sour Sweet said, astounded. "I suppose this changes things quite a bit."
"I'm glad it's not me in there. I don't think I could emotionally handle it." Sugarcoat nods. "But I suppose we need to figure this out in..." she took a look at her watch. "Three days."
"We should call Twilight, even if she's the one who made all this happen by sending us Flash."
"No wonder he was so hot, he was just a spy." Lemigo sighed. "But yeah, we need to find Twilight."
"No, no we don't." Sunny frowned. "Every time the Canterlot High kids get involved we just end up worse off somehow. We can fix this ourselves."
"But how? We don't have super powers, those aliens are willing to shoot us on sight, and if she's any indication attempts will end in some freakish mutation." Sour said, sighing.
"Gee thanks for being so sensitive." Lemigo said, taking off her headphones and adjusting her goggles to a more comfortable position with her left and right hands, respectively. "I- er, I mean WE honestly think the best idea is to just go talk to Twilight."
"Good luck with that." Sugar said, holding up her cell phone. "The Canterlot kids aren't answering their phones. I assume they're in mourning or something."
"Of course, they use us, then they refuse to let us use them, we've been played like fiddles." Sour moaned. "Who else do we know that're smart enough to do this?"
"I know a guy down in Diamond City who has this machine tha-" Lemon's voice came out, her left hand removing her goggles and the right putting the headphones back on.
"In case you haven't noticed, we're still trapped in a dome. We need to think, there's got to be SOMEONE smart enough to work on this."
"Yeah, but even if we do we'd still need to find the laser pistol to reslime us." Lemigo said, visibly annoyed as her left hand tossed the headphones to the floor and her right doing the same with the goggles. As Lemigo began fighting herself, the other Shadowbolts began ignoring her.
"So we need someone smart, familiar with magic and alien tech, and doesn't hate us." Sunny recapped.
"An impossible solution for an impossible problem," Sugarcoat commented. "Why don't we just leave them like this? We don't owe them anything, I don't even like them."
"You say you don't like any of us, but you still follow us around and refuse to leave when we ask," Sunny pointed out.
"I don't need to justify myself to you."
"She's just afraid of being alone when we all die." Sour commented darkly, both girls looking at her, slightly shocked.
While the Shadowbolts consulted each-other, the heroes of our story consoled one-another.
"I can't believe it. They're gone, just like that." Twilight stared at the ground. "I only met them a few months ago, yet it feels like they were my best friends forever." Pinkie was crying, sniffling as Sunset Shimmer gave her a shoulder to lean on. Spike, meanwhile, remained oblivious. Being a dog the concept of mortality had never crossed his mind, so seeing all his friends so upset just confused him.
"So, when are they coming back?" Spike asked, Pinkie just crying even harder in response. "Because I mean, maybe they can cheer you guys up." Sunset looked at the ground, remembering her past sins and recalling the good times.
"Spike..." Twilight began, kneeling down by his side. She pet him softly, the dog looking at her worried. "I... this is..." She tried to think of a way to explain this to him. This was something she'd never thought she'd needed to do, even when he'd gained intelligence. "Do you remember that book I read you, back before we got into Crystal Prep? About that really sad, rich guy and how, halfway through, there was this lady who was hit by a car?"
"I kinda remember..."
"And how everyone made a big deal of it? Well, when someone gets-" Twilight paused, taking a deep breath. "When someone gets really hurt, they just" she paused, "stop."
"But they get better right? I mean, I get hurt all the time an-"
"N-no, no Spike." Twilight sighed and held him close. "They stop forever. And we think that happened to our friends." A long, painful silence followed as Spike let this sink in.
"B-but, I won't stop. Will I?" Spike asked. This finally made Twilight cry, the dog backing away, worried. "I mean, it's only if we get hurt, right?" Twilight just cried harder and Sunset's phone began ringing. Upset and assuming it was the Crystal Prep kids again, Shimmer answered and began yelling.
"What?! What do you want so badly! We're in pieces here and everything's going wrong! Half our friends are dead, our plan's in ruins, people want us strung up in the town square, and Inapan's on her way here to kill us as we speak! What could you POSSIBLY want?"
"O-Oh, I'm so sorry... I-I thought maybe I could... I-I'll be right over." Shimmer paused as the voice resonated in her ears. Before she could respond the phone hung up. Shimmer dropped her phone and her frown began turning into a smile.
Inapan arrived at the ship, beaten and unhappy. Even though she had gotten her laser pistol containing two of the girls back, the other two had slipped through her grasp. She had Fluttershy's genetics literally in her hands, but she and the cowgirl had vanished without a trace. Well, not the cowgirl, all the broken glass had left quite a bit of blood marking her escape route, but Fluttershy's distraction had made it so she could have been anywhere in town at that point. Still, she had gotten what she-
"Princess..?" Flash asked, standing outside the teleporter room just as she left.
"Yes dear?" She hated to admit it, but she had almost forgotten about her dear, sweet husband. She turned around, having had the foresight to put her gloves back on so Flash wouldn't see her horrid claws.
"I think we need to talk about things. Like when can I go outside again?"
"Oh Flash." Inapan adopted a friendlier persona, smiling and approaching, neither seeming to notice that she was covered in two different kinds of blood. She grabbed his hand and pet it softly. "We can go whenever you like. You just have to come with me. We can go to the fair, we can see those movies, we can go to a human restaurant if you want. I can set aside any time to be with you, doing whatever you want."
"Well, what I want is to see my friends and family again." Flash said unhappily. "I want to go to school and talk to other people, like me!"
"But don't you like it here?" She asked, using her wings to float up to his height and rub her cheek on his. "Don't you like me? I'm doing everything I can to make my you happy: I've given you the finest cuisine, the loveliest of homes, as much time as I can, but you still want more Flash. I've moved mountains, done the impossible, and gone through fire for you, but it's never enough." She looks at Flash with her puppy-dog eyes.
"I-"
"I just want you to be happy Flash. I really, really do, but if you want to leave me with broken hearts, I can't stop you."
Flash pauses, looking at her. He needed to be firm, strong, and set limits. He needed to put on the pants in this relationship if he wanted his friends to be alive and well, even if that meant stripping them from her.
"Inapan, listen. Maybe this can work, but we just rushed into it a bit. I-I don't know what kind of speed your culture works at but on Earth we take it slow and easy." He carefully takes her hands. "You're a nice, cute, clever alien girl who likes being in charge. I'm a nice, dumb, normal guy who just likes things a bit more rational." Inapan stared at him, trying to figure out where he was going with this. "What I'm saying is that maybe we both need to start doing things together. You seem to know a lot about me, but I never got to know you. I don't know what you like, what your pe- erm, species does. I've been cooped up in my car while you get to go out and see my world. Forget about my world for a while, let my people live their lives. Let me be with you, the real you. The you who doesn't try to impress me, or keep me locked away in a tower while you face the world alone."
"But Fla-"
"No, no buts. If you truly love me you'll think about what you're doing to me. To the people I care about. I just have a feeling, Inapan. A feeling that maybe you don't love them like you do me."
"But how will we know if this will work?"
"You need to trust me. You need to tell me everything and I'll do the same."
"What if you get angry or try to leave?"
"You can tell me anything, and I won't get mad if you thought it was best for us." Princess paused, feeling her laser in its holster as Flash brushed her hair back and looked into her eyes. She'd already gone past the point of no return, sending him back while his clone was still thought to be alive and well would be a death sentence for her lover, but she had also done the forbidden dance with him, binding them together.
"By this time tomorrow you will be freed."
"Wait, really?" Flash asked, surprised his speech had worked.
"Yes honey. Tomorrow we will go wherever you want. We'll go out and see the world, I'll tell you all about myself, and have a nice, earthling meal."
"I- Alright then." Flash smiled, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "By the way what's with the uh..." He pointed to the blood on her skirt.
"Oh, this? I was out hunting some of your local game." She bluffed. "Yes, Grunt asked me to accompany him out in the wilds to capture some of those "Beeeee-" She stuttered, trying to think of an Earth animal.
"Bears?" Flash suggested.
"Yes! Be-airz." She smiled. "We went out hunting Be-ares. Grunt will be back in a short while. With the bares."
"Well then... should I help you to the medical bay? You look pretty beaten up."
"You should see the other ones..." she mumbled as Flash escorted her.
Applejack was alone. As she limped through town, shouting for help, none came. Mansion after mansion ignored her cries, when she looked at the windows the shades were drawn and shut her out. She was out of breath, and had been losing blood at a constant rate.
"Someone get me some doggone help!" She shouted one last time before falling to the pavement, her vision fading.
"Why did we have to save her?" Applejack heard a voice as she came too, a snobby, rotten voice. "We need all the food we can keep for ourselves. She'll just take it."
"Dad, tell mom to shut up." Diamond Tiara's voice said, annoyed. Applejack opened her eyes and saw three people huddled around a garbage can fire.
"Now now dears," Filthy Rich said, calming them both down. "We're members of the street now, we have to be kind to our fellow man, in hopes that they'll return the favor."
"Dad, all you know about the homeless was from when you met that guy who won the lottery."
"And he taught me a valuable lesson about-" Applejack moaned, and he turned to look at her. "Look, our visitor's awake!"
The cowgirl moaned as she tried sitting up, holding her side. Pulling her hand away, she frowned at the sight of her hand coated in blood.
"Good, you're awake! Miss uh... what's her name again, sweetheart?" Filthy asked his daughter.
"Applejack, she goes to my school." Diamond approached, her clothes uncharacteristically filthy. She helped Applejack to the fire, trying not to get in her blood. "Come on, you lost a lot of blood, and I don't think any of us knew how to bandage you up properly... you probably should go to the hospital."
"No, no, I'm fine... I just need to get back to the others... how come you're all huddled by a fire? Don't you have a mansion and three hundred people to cater your needs?"
"Well..." Filthy began. "It's a long, long story."
"No, no it's not. My idiot husband let our servants into our bunker and they locked us out," Rich's wife said. "Without people to keep us safe and do our work the "proletariat" came and robbed us blind. They didn't want any of our money, just the food and the mansion. All we had was a single flintlock, they had torches and pitchforks..." She mumbled under her breath.
"That's terrible! Kinda... on a moral level it's terrible." Applejack reassured. "...I thank you for helping me. And I promise, things will be back to normal, I just need to get back to my friends."
"Yeah, yeah, you probably want to find a working sink and a sewing kit, just some advice." Diamond shook her head, returning to the fire. Applejack began limping away, as the wife began complaining.
"See Filthy? Now we're out our first aid kit's bandages. What happens if I cut my finger? Or if someone attacks us?"
"Well seeing as you're already a heartless bloodsucker both those problems would resolve themselves fairly quickly."
Applejack walked through the streets of the city's once booming rich district, digging into her pockets and taking out her phone, dialing up Fluttershy just as she flew over camp.
"Come on, come on..." She mumbled.
"Hello?" Fluttershy asked, picking up the phone.
"Fluttershy, that goodness! It's me, AJ. Your good with medicine, right?"
"Applejack, you're alive? Oh thank goodness, I was so worried that maybe you- oh sorry I'm babbling, where are you?"
"I'm uh... well, I think I've been out a bit too long, I can't read these signs. I'm in the rich district, if'n you pony up you'll see me at a trash fire from above. Just hurry, I'm not sure these bandages will keep."
"I, OK, just... try calling the others, OK? I'll be over as soon as I can!" Hanging up, Applejack did as ordered and trying to remember her friends' phone numbers.
Looking at her own cell phone, she felt as if she was staring at that alien language Twilight was working with. The letters and numbers seemed to meld into one-another, forming a largely unrecognizable mess. What she could recognize were out of place, 9 being where 3 was, TH being in place of 5, it was just a huge mess. Thinking quickly, she just pressed the contacts button and chose whichever one came up first.
"Hello?" A voice came over the phone.
"Principal Celestia?" She asked, confused.
"Applejack, is something wrong?"
"I'm kinda... It's a long story but uh, do you know Sunset Shimmer's number? Because I need to tell her something but I think I have a concussion."
"That's terrible! Where are you? I'll come right over and get you to the hospital!"
"No, no, I already called Fluttershy for that just..." Applejack paused.
"Applejack, are you still there?"
"Principal Celestia?" She asked. "How did- nevermind, I meant to call the others but uh, can you do that? Tell them I'm still bucking and all that, yeah?"
"Alright Applejack, but please try to get some sleep, it's good for a head injury."
"I don't need any doggone sleep!" She shouted, hanging up. Celestia shook her head, dialing Sunset Shimmer as Vice Principal Luna entered the room.
"Sister, I've found something very disconcerting..." she announced.
Fluttershy found herself arriving at the designated point, her bright glowing wings and white costume scaring off the Rich family, who'd assumed it was one of the aliens, come to perform horrible experiments on them.
"Wait!" She shouted as they ran, none of them listening.
"Fluttershy?" Came Applejack's voice, weakly. She lay on the sidewalk behind her, looking very pale and confused. "No, you're not... you can't be... you're in the aliens' clothes, with her wings." Applejack stood up, shaking and taking deep breaths. "Ya come to finish the job!" Her voice was slurred. "Come on... take me! Take me like you did my friends! I'll get 'em back! I'll send you to Hell so they can laugh at you from Heaven!"
"Applejack! It's me, calm down! I'm here to help!"
"The only one needing help after this is you, you twisted green-"
"Applejack, no, look!" Fluttershy took off her mask, letting the cowgirl see her soft yellow skin and kindly appearance. Applejack smiled and gave a soft laugh.
"Well... I guess it really is you... what's with the costume?" She asked, holding her side and falling to her knees. Fluttershy rushed to her side, helping her lie down.
"Applejack, oh my goodness, you really are, oh dear... How long have you been like this?"
"I can't tell time anymore." Applejack mumbled, sadly.
"OK, just lie down. I've dealt with cuts like this before but oh, never on a-" Applejack was already out cold. The shy girl tore open the bandages and flinched at the wounds. Glass had been dug pretty deep, and there'd been a poor job removing the debris. Fluttershy looked around the alley, spotting the family's abandoned First Aid Kit laying near a bloody blanket. She wasted no time grabbing the kit's sanitizing lotion, removing Applejack's shirt, and identifying the area of the wound. Carefully cleaning her hands, she then moved on to applying it to her friend's skin. Grabbing a pair of tweezers and a needle, the operation begun.
"What seems to be the matter?" Celestia asked, hesitating from pressing the dial button on her phone.
"It's- Do you remember how we have been trying to find out who keeps breaking into the school at night? How food and supplies seemed to have gone missing around the time Shimmer arrived?" Luna said, sitting beside her sister.
"Yes..?"
"I have found the culprit. It was none other than Shimmer herself." There was a pause as Celestia didn't react at all.
"Sister, Sunset Shimmer has been destroying security cameras and stealing hundreds of dollars worth of items, she's been sleeping in the wrestling room for three years, and she's been using the knowledge of the school to boost her grades and status."
"And you only found this out now?"
"I-"
"Sister. This has been as plain as my nose since the day Shimmer aced her first test after nearly flunking. I have known this for a long, long time. Why do you think I uninstalled those security cameras?"
"You said it was a lack of budget."
"Sister, we make a japanese game show stage in the Baseball field every three years. We don't charge people to come and watch, and nobody's seen those games outside of the school board and the participants for twelve of those events. We have more budget than Fort Knox has gold."
"But Sunset Shimmer's been cheating, she-"
"She has no parents, no home, no friends, no family. She came from another dimension with no skills or abilities. We turned her into a proper citizen. A girl whose interpersonal skills and mental faculties rival those of a college professor's."
"I was going to suggest she let her live here." Luna finally said. "I understand that she is a good girl, with grand prospects ahead of her. But why did you not let her come here?"
"I have attempted, Sister. I had multiple times. She rejected me all of those times and now it's too late." Celestia hits the call button.
"We could speak to her now. It might not be too late."
"Hello?" Shimmer asked, Celestia paused.
"Hello?" She repeated.
"Sunset, it's me, Celestia."
"Celestia? How did you get my number? Why are you-"
"It's... there's a lot of things we need to discuss." Luna nodded solemnly as she listened in on the conversation.
"Well, like what?" She asked.
"There's a lot of good news and bad news. The good news is that Applejack called and told me to tell you she's still alive."
"W-wait, really? Oh my goodness, Celestia, that's great news, bu-"
"The bad news is that we know it's been you breaking into the school for the last several years." There was yet another pause. "I know why you did it though. You aren't in trouble, you won't be expelled. Just please, I'm making you the offer one more time. If we make this- WHEN we make it then please, please come live with us. You need a home. You can't stay in the school's wrestling room all your life."
"Principal Celestia..." She shook her head. "I'll think on it. What about Applejack? Is she safe? Where is she?"
"I don't know." Celestia admitted. "She mentioned having a concussion, and bleeding. She didn't give me a location either, but supposedly she called Fluttershy."
"Celestia listen, there's... this might be the last time we get to talk to each other." Sunset sighed, rubbing the back of her head. "I'd wanted to do this in person but I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for?"
"I'm sorry about everything. I'm sorry about ruling the school with an iron fist, I'm sorry I'd done everything in my ability to harrass, humiliate, and bully. I-"
"My faithful student." Celestia said, Shimmer coming to a dead halt with those words. "You've already been forgiven for all of those misdeeds, by both me and the school. You're the biggest success in Canterlot High's history. Stories of your friend's conquests will echo across the city for hundreds, if not thousands of generations... But maybe it's not me you wished to apologize too."
"You're right," she sadly admitted. "For a moment I though you were the Princess."
"Sunset, I may not be the princess. I may not have a kingdom, I may not have powers, or live longer than 100, or any of that fancy, magical things you've talked about her or described her as, but I do have something that she doesn't: perseverance."
"I... excuse me?"
"I have been your teacher for years. I have seen your activities and the way you treat others. I could have reported you to the police, to the FBI, to the tabloids. I could have expelled you for cheating on tests and stealing school property. I could have even thrown you out by your ear, but I didn't. Because that is not the Canterlot way."
"Prin-"
"No, I took you in, like all students, despite your flaws, your mental and physical issues. Sunset Shimmer, you were the greatest challenge I ever attempted."
"But Twilight was the one who-"
"Yes, Twilight succeeded where I failed, but what I'm saying is that despite all her power, her rule, her immortality, Princess Celestia gave up on you."
"You're not helping." Sunset sighed.
"But if she refused you, maybe she's not as wise as you thought she was." Principal Celestia said. "It is my belief that every child has potential to change the world for the better. Through all my years of teaching your actions have proved this point far more than any collection of situational evidence could. I could go on about you, how you continue to surprise me and excel in ways I'd never anticipate, but I think you're plenty redeemed already. And if Princess Celestia doesn't believe you're worthy of her kingdom, I say the kingdom ill needs a ruler like her."
"You don't understand, she's powerful, she has the power of the heavens an-"
"And if she comes here, she wouldn't be. She'd be human, like all of us. Except for you and your friends. You've become something we should all strive to be, not because of your powers or achievements, but because of your kind hearts and willingness to act. I believe in you, Sunset Shimmer."
Sunset paused as she let Celestia's words enter her mind. "Tha-thank you, Ms. Celestia." She hung up, turning to her friends and giving a soft smile.
"Well, even more good news. Applejack's alive too." Pinkie's crying lessened as Twilight looked to the orange girl's side. Spike gave a shaky smile, sniffling slightly. "Here, call Fluttershy... I want to be alone for a moment," the red-headed girl passed her phone to her companions, getting inside the tent to pack up.
Rainbow gasped as she was forced awake, panting horrified as she looked around her. She was in a semi-clear, plastic tube in a dark, dark room. She felt the tube shift, and it knocked her into the side as it slowly moved forward towards a bright light. Letting her eyes adjust, rainbow found herself in a metal room filled with machinery, and Inapan sitting in a metal chair, passing her time by reading something on one of her archive's tablets. A loud buzz let her know the process had been completed.
"Ah, Rainbow Dash." The alien said, setting the tablet aside and standing up. "I believe that was your name. Welcome back to the world of the living! Of course, this is assuming your species dies when you are deconstructed atom by atom."
"Wait, Princess? Let me out of here so I can kick your futuristic green a-" She struck the edge of the tube, hoping to break it. Naturally, this failed and only hurt her fist. The alien laughed in response.
"Oh Rainbow, a pity you only have the same amount of braincells as you do colors in your hair, or you'd have realized this tube was made of the third hardest substance in the universe!" Inapan explained as a second robot arm picked up the tube, lifting and dropping it onto another conveyor.
"Why did you even want me alive? You had me dead for... how long have I been out?" Rainbow asked.
"Six earthen hours. I would have assumed someone that important would have been through the Pearly gates by then, but I suppose you have as many sins as virtues."
"Wait, you're an alien. What do you know about religion?"
"Rainbow, is it not possible that two completely different species have had the same idea of an almighty being pointing us towards what is right?"
"Wha- How is this NOT a sin?! Killing us, terrorizing our friends, threatening to wipe out our species?!"
"Oh look, we're here!" Inapan said as a third claw delivered Rainbow into some kind of socket, spinning it in place like it was some kind of odd, cylindrical lightbulb.
Fluttershy cleaned her hands, shaking her head and taking deep breaths. It wasn't exactly "surgery" she'd done, given all she had to do was remove a few pieces of glass and sew up the holes they left in Applejack's side, but it still wasn't a pleasant experience. She needed to find a way to get Applejack to pony up, then she'd be healed and ready to help herself. Fluttershy paused at this notion, wondering if she'd actually remain healed once she powered down... or if she'd power down at all. She'd never had this amount of energy flowing through her for this long a time, hopefully it wasn't dangerous.
As she began rubbing the disinfectant on Applejack's wound, the country girl began waking up, shaking her head and slowly opening her eyes.
"Fluttershy? Why're you... where's Apple Bloom?" She sat up, flinching as the pain in her side grew.
"Careful!" the impromptu nurse said, carefully lowering Applejack back to the ground. "You've gotten a lot of stitches, and any sudden movement could pull them loose." Fluttershy's calming voice worked wonders for AJ's nerves.
"R-right, I'm just... Is Apple Bloom safe?" She asked again.
"Apple Bloom ran away from the battle while I held Inapan off." Fluttershy offered the wounded cowgirl her hat. "She should be safe... do you want to call her, to be sure? You should still have your-" Fluttershy was cut off by her own cell.
Embarrassed, she took the call and turned away from Applejack. "Hello?"
"Fluttershy!" Twilight gasped. "Oh thank goodness I was- wait, this isn't her voicemail, is it?"
"N-no, I'm right here. Are you OK? You sound worried."
"We thought you were dead!" Twilight explained.
"Oh, I'm so sorry I made you think that, b-but I'm perfectly fine and Applejack's on her way to health too."
"Applejack's there? Then Principal Celestia was right..."
"She can't come to the phone though, she's trying to call Apple Bloom."
"I understand, it must have been pretty rough."
"Oh, b-but I have other good news too!" Fluttershy explained her transformation (with Twilight taking careful notes) while, at Canterlot High, something important began unfolding.
In the dark of the gymnasium, the jocks practiced hand-to hand combat, Spitfire watching from the stage. Despite the lowering of the sun, the musclebound teenagers worked hard to become the fighters they needed to be, punching in almost unison as Soarin' approached his superior. Spitfire had put on a pair of sunglasses that she usually only wore during practice. She was a completely different person in those shades. Harsher, meaner, more determined.
"Spitfire! Spitfire!" Soarin' shouted.
"That's Commander Spitfire." She corrected.
"Commander, Ma'am, we've captured the nerd Leader. He split from th-"
"I don't CARE how he was captured. Bring him to me."
"Y-yes ma'am." He whistled and Bulk Biceps began walking across the room. In his arms was Microchips, wearing some kind of uniform one would have seen in a sci-fi film. Struggling in Bulk's grasp had no effect but tiring out the boy as he looked up to see Spitfire. Finally being set down before her, he rubbed his arm.
"Geeze, does he have to b-"
"Name and rank, soldier." Spitfire interrupted sternly.
"Name and rank? What on Earth ar-"
"Are you NOT the Nerd leader?"
"I-I am, I guess, but I-"
"Silence!" She commanded. "I am COMMANDER Spitfire, and that means I outrank you and ALL of your men, women, and children."
"I don't quite understand th-"
"Do not speak unless spoken to!" She commanded. "I am taking over your role as the head honcho! You and all your tiny nerds listen to me! If we are going to win this war it will be through Shock and Awe! Do you understand?"
"I think so...?"
"Good! Your first assignment is to build us a weapon! We're currently fighting with bows, arrows, and spears! They're fighting with god only knows! Even the playing field, maggot!"
"You don't need to yell! We'll build you a weapon, all you had to do was ask!"
"This is a stupid idea." Sugarcoat said as the girls stared at Lemigo Zast strapped to a comfortable leather chair, with two different massive speakers pointed at the anomaly's head. They were back at Lemon Zest's house, in her room. The room was covered head to toe in music memorabilia, from signed instruments to first edition records to T-Shirts from various obscure rock bands. The grey carpet (supposedly it was originally white, but the girls doubted that) was littered with dirty clothes and old food-stuffs.
"I saw it in a movie, if we play music loud enough, the vibrations will separate them." Sunny smiled cockily.
"I saw that movie!" Sour said. "It blew."
"Really? I liked it." Sugarcoat confessed. "But that was under a completely different condition. If anything, this plan will probably deafen us for the rest of our lives."
"Just them." Sunny passed her companions ear plugs. Grabbing one of Zest's CDs, they placed it in the CD player. "Are you ready!?" She asked, the hybrid of their friend nodding solemnly. With the flip of a switch the room began shaking as the bass and electric guitars did their thing. An angsty string bean "teen" in his thirties shouted to the rhythm about authority figures in general, the girls flinching as the song seemed to grow louder and louder, except for Lemigo who seemed to either be headbanging or suffering a stroke.
Grunt sat on a raft, floating in the middle of the lake. He'd been here for a while, so while he was definitely angry he'd wrapped all the way around to a more subtle, dulcet anger. He was no longer swiping at the water below and stomping on his raft to upset the fish beneath, he was too tired for that anyways. He was now staring at the land intently, putting together a plan to deal with those girls. The first girl, the purple one. She wore armor and had his strength, she would suffer first. First, he'd bind her to a tree (or whatever the humans called these things) and hit her as much as he could without killing her. He'd do this for hours and hours, days if it took that long, he'd beat her until her skin was bloody and raw. As she wails and cries, then he'll chop down the tree, NO! He'll uproot the thing with his bare hands and slam the ground with it until she was nothing but a pulp. Then would come the faker, the white one who dared impersonating an officer. The traditional punishment for a war crime was execution, and boy would she be executed. With the ship's laser cannon while she's bound to two poles holding her up. He'd blast her through her chest, a pin-point precision right through her puny human heart. Just as she's dying, he'd scalp her and take her precious hair.
But the orange one, oh he'd make her suffer. She'll wish she'd died as quickly as the other two. He'll keep her captive in the holding cells, he'd feed her nothing but the worst foods he can imagine. Rotting meats, spoiled cheeses, tainted water from the very lake he's standing on. She'd ask him why, but she'd get no answers, nothing more than a passing glance. Weeks would pass before she'd finally be freed, on one condition. When they land on his home planet, a planet with 9 times the gravity of this pitiful planet, they would do battle to the death. The winner would go free, and with all the rotted food and poor condition, he will beat her. She will plead for death after one strike, and he'd leave her on the planet surface to bleed to death, her own drops blood feeling like a gunshot when they land on her hands.
That's when he saw Flash on the shore, looking for something. Was he going mad? Well, by the paragraph you'd just read the answer is yes, but he didn't know that. He stood up weakly, waving his massive hands in the air to try and draw the pathetic human's attention.
"I don't know about th-th-this." The Flash cyborg said, looking at the massive beast from the corner of his eye. "It looks like he could kill me."
"That's because he's been stranded for about two days. His species are followers, and without orders to follow they kind of go mad. Not all of them, mind, buuuuut a good most of them." Inapan explained. "But yeah, he'll probably tear you apart the moment you save him, but that'll just be your body. Your brain will be fine and we can just put it in another clone."
"I'm sorry what was that? I could have sworn you said I'd die."
"Oh yes, you will. Horribly, but you're not the real Flash, and you'll die even if you ignore my demands. So go save Grunt and bring him back to the ship."
"I feel like the real Flash! Don't you think it's a bit macabr-AAAAAH AAAAAH AHHH!" He squealed and grasped his head, falling to his knees as Inapan held a button down on the console. She held this for about a minute, checking her nails and trying to remember if there was a holiday coming up before remembering she was in the middle of torturing someone. As the cyborg lay on the ground crying, Inapan let go and returned to work.
"Now go get him." She said, returning to doing nothing.
After ten minutes, the Crystal prep girls had blown the massive speakers, probably setting Lemon's parents back a few hundred thousand. Lemigo sat in the chair, her head facing downwards. As the girls removed their earplugs, they grew worried. "Lemon? Indigo?" Sunny asked, approaching the two.
"Oh god we killed them." Sugarcoat said, following.
"Oh no!" Sour said, running up to them. "I can't go to prison! ...Or Hell!"
"Don't worry. We'll still be going there, but for a different reason." Lemon said, looking up, revealing Lemigo had gotten Lemon's eyes back.
"Oh thank god!" Sunny said, breathing a sigh of relief and unstrapping her.
"Is Indigo alright in there too?" Sour asked, not following up with a bitter justification for once.
"I think so?" Lemon answered. "I mean, she ain't saying nothing but..."
"How the Hell does that work...?" Sugarcoat asked.
"Indigo! If you're still in there, say something!" Sunny shouted. A long, painful silence followed.
"Oh god we killed her." Sour said, realization striking.
"Hello?" A soft voice asked over the cell phone. "The ID says it-"
"Yes Apple Bloom, it's me." Applejack responded, smiling happily. "Where are you, are you OK?"
"Applejack!" The girl shouted, a tearful smile overtaking her as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle yawned and woke up, looking at their cheerful friend. "I can't believe you're safe!"
"Neither can I, sugarcube." The cowgirl confessed. "I'm just glad you three aren't here... where are you anyways?"
"We're at Scootaloo's house, her parents are having us hole up in the basement for our safety." Apple Bloom rubbed the cement floor, wishing she'd gone camping like Twilight and company had.
"Scootaloo has parents?" Applejack asked Fluttershy, who was busy trying to clean her friend's blood off and repressing this experience. "She never talked about 'em." The orange girl said, humming and sighing sadly. "Anyways, I'm sorry about what happened. I-It's our fault for trusting you with a group of strangers."
"Applejack?" The girl asked. "Are you feeling OK? You just went from happy to confused to sad in three sentences..."
"Just a bit woozy, I'm probably a bit funny on account of the surgery."
"Surgery?" Apple Bloom parroted. "The hospitals are all clogged up, how did you-"
"Let's- I'll explain later. For now, I gotta meet up with the rest of the girls."
"Wait. Do you know if Rainbow or Rarity are-" she paused, unsure how to say this without upsetting her friends.
"No, no I don't." Applejack sighed, the heavy feeling crashing down on her that her friends were gone. Both sides were silent, the two wishing they were together to help each other. "I have to go now, Apple Bloom. Stay strong, we'll get through this." Hanging up, Applejack let out a deep breath while Fluttershy finished washing her hands. The cowgirl looked at her companion with a quiet gratitude. "Let's go to the girls, maybe they'll know what to do." The quiet girl nodded solemnly in response, setting her bloodied gloves in a trash can.
Back at camp, Twilight and company had begun packing up in anticipation for Inapan's inevitable strike. Well, what was left of them. Spike, Sunset, and Pinkie Pie worked on packing up while Twilight took a deep breath and tried to relax.
"We don't have to do this, you know." Sunset said, worried.
"No, we do. Inapan's getting stronger and smarter every day, even our friends can't be trusted anymore. I'll stay here and tell Applejack and Fluttershy the new hiding place. If they don't show up within three hours, I'll come to you. If I'm not there by the stroke of noon, assume the worst." Twilight said, taking a deep breath and putting on her mask.
"And if you're late?"
"Then it won't be me. Ask me a question, a question only the eight of us know the answer too, something Inapan would never know even if it was staring her dead in the face. If the answer's wrong, then you'll need to fight for your life."
"I'm sorry it came to this, Twilight."
"I am too." The two hugged as Pinkie hefted the tent and supplies onto her back, struggling to move.
"Pinkie, maybe we should leave the others' supplies here." Spike said, putting a paw on her leg.
"No!" Pinkie shouted, "no. They'll want their stuff when they come back."
"What makes you think they'll come ba-" Spike cut himself off, realizing what was happening. "I mean... why don't you let Sunset and I help? You might hurt yourself." Pinkie gave a small smile and set the supplies down, looking through it and passing Spike Rarity's small 'Hope Chest' and setting aside Rarity's backpack for Shimmer to pick up.
"Thanks, Spike."
"It's what friends do."
As the group went their separate ways, Twilight sat down and opened her backpack, looking over her journal. There had to be something, something from the ship, from the fights, something that would tell her how to deal with Inapan. Even with their powers the stakes grew ever more dangerous, and if they didn't do anything Inapan would soon overtake them. The unusual weapons, the power limiters, the cloning tech, everything she read and reread just showed her how outgunned they truly were. The more she read of the aliens the more furious she grew until finally she threw the book into the dense woods, embedding it in a tree. She tore off her mask and held her head in her hands. All signs pointed to failure, no matter how she sliced it. She was stuck.
Then it hit her. Not an opponent like she had feared, but an idea. Stuck, the power limiters, their powers. She knew how to defeat Inapan! She began laughing and running to her mask, picking it up and cleaning it off. "I have it, I have it! I know how to kill her!" She announced, not just to herself, but to a rustling in the bushes. She stopped, realizing the attention she must have drawn. She stood stalk still, hoping it was just a wild animal. As the rustling grew louder and louder she felt relaxed actually, happy with her eureka moment. All she needed to do now was to tell her friends.
"Kill who?" Asked a sultry, bitter voice. Twilight slowly turned around, shuddering as she hoped it was a passing stranger. As the figure entered her vision, she saw the purple and silver jumpsuit. She saw the flowing red and yellow hair and matching wings. She saw the heartless red eyes. She saw that the figure was taller than she was. She saw Second Sunset, and began backing away.
