The Rainbooms deal with a few things after their time at Camp Everfree with Fragment Hunter helping them. However, they aren't the only ones that came from Remnant. A few opponents that the Huntsmen and Huntresses have faced are here as well.
In a trilogy of connected stories, the Rainbooms and Fragment Hunter make a music video to raise funds, get invited to a movie shoot, solve a mystery, and even get to visit Equestria when Sunset Shimmer needs a new magic journal. However, both groups encounter enemies new and old as they go about their days. Will they be able to handle what comes their way?
I meant to make a different story for around Halloween, but I couldn't piece it together in time. So, here's the next few specials from Equestria Girls instead.
Cover art is my Original RWBY Character, Azalea Calla Holstein, made by my friend, jkl930, on Tumblr.
It was a sunny day at Canterlot High School and the Rainbooms were busy with a car wash they were holding. As Sunset Shimmer and Applejack soaked their sponges and scrubbed the vehicle that needed cleaning, Pinkie Pie was cheering on her friends as she spoke in rhythm. "To the right! To the right! To the left! To the left! Now up! Now up! Bring it down! Spin it around! Wash that car like you mean it! Come on!" After the muddy truck was scrubbed down, Fluttershy took a hose to spray off the soapy water and mud. When the truck was rinsed off, Rarity used a cordless blow dryer to dry off most of the vehicle. When the fashionista finished, Pinkie grabbed a pair of towel brushes and wiped down everything she could. With a job well done, Big Macintosh payed for the Rainbooms helping him out before he drove off.
"Hah! Thanks, Big Mac," Rainbow Dash said as she accepted the money. "Sweet! More cash to add to the stash!"
As Pinkie Pie cheered, Rarity wiped her forehead as the heat was getting to her. "How about a little break? All of this sunshine and suds are doing a number on my hair," she suggested. The other Rainbooms agreed and they walked off to a cooler where they had drinks. As they started to relax, a rainbow-colored flash of light appeared and revealed their friends from the world of Remnant, Fragment Hunter.
"Hey, girls," Layla Carbuncle greeted as the group, but noticed that there were only six girls instead of seven. "Where's Twilight?"
"Yeah. Has anybody seen her lately," Rainbow Dash questioned as well before their friend showed up.
"I'm here. I was just going over the numbers again," Twilight stated as she held a money box in her hands.
"Still raising money after what happened the last time we were here," Rebecca Haze asked.
"Have we raised enough to make all the repairs to Camp Everfree," Sunset Shimmer asked hopefully. While the ball they hosted helped raise enough to pay back Gloriosa's overdue rent to Filthy Rich, the battles that took place at the campgrounds still did a number on the buildings and landscape. Not to mention all the times that the groups had to repair the dock after it kept getting broken.
"We've only raised half. I counted the money four times just to be sure," Twilight replied as she opened the money box to check once more.
"We'd help out, but I don't think this world takes Lien," Azalea, in a new casual attire, remarked as she held out a small card with a magnetic reader strip. "If it did, I could ask my uncle Mason for some money. Or my cousin, Valencia."
"It's all right. We can just wash more cars. There's gotta be some we missed," Applejack said as she put her hands on Azalea's shoulder and glanced at the parking lot. Looking in the same direction, everyone saw that the lot was completely empty and the only sound they could hear was the wind blowing. To show that the place was deserted, a tumbleweed even passed through the lot.
"I, uh, think we're gonna have to come up with a new plan," Sunset Shimmer voiced as everyone saw the empty parking lot.
"Where did the tumbleweed come from," Slate Quartz asked as he looked at the lot.
"But we're running out of time," Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "The camp fundraising deadline is next week. And Pinkie Pie's already hosted a bake sale with Applejack, Twilight and Fluttershy had that doggie daycare, and Sunset Shimmer and I planned this car wash."
"We could help. But, I don't think this place would pay us to be Hunters like back at Remnant," Rua Amaranth said.
"Not to worry, darlings," Rarity told her friends. "It's my turn to devise a plan, and I already have something amazing in mind. It will be the most profitable of all of our fundraising events! The pièce de résistance!"
"What about peas," asked Slate's sister, Pinkamena Momo Quartz.
"Hee-yoo! Now we're talkin'," Applejack exclaimed. "What's your idea?"
"Meet me in the music room later this afternoon, and I will explain everything," Rarity said to them.
As the Rainbooms and several members of Fragment Hunter walked by Rarity to head off into the school, Sunset Blaze and Spike stayed behind. "You got nothin', huh," the two asked Rarity, which immediately changed her smiling face into one of panic.
"How did you know," Rarity asked as she looked at the Huntress and the dog.
"I don't need to read your mind to know this sort of thing," Sunset Blaze told the fashionista. "You gave subtle clues during the whole thing and I've been getting good at reading them thanks to my friends."
"And I know Twilight does the same sort of thing when she has inventor's block," Spike explained.
Rarity sighed as she tried to calm herself down. "I'll think of something in time. I'll just go clear my head at the mall. Bring some of the others with you if they want to join," Rarity said to Blaze before walking off. As the girls separated, Blaze thought she sensed something and looked up at the roof of the school. Suspicious of what she was feeling, she decided to investigate.
On the roof of Canterlot High School, a young man with a raccoon tail wearing a black trenchcoat and a mask looked at where Rarity and Blaze were talking. "Well, things certainly got more interesting if Wildfire's here," the man said as his tail twitched. "And who's that beautiful gem she was talking with? I should go see for myself," he told himself before he phased through the roof like a ghost just before Sunset Blaze arrived. Changing from his black coat to a hoodie and removing his mask, the man hid his tail under his clothes and ran a hand through his black and gray ombre hair. "Let's go do some recon," the male said as he began to silently follow Rarity to the Canterlot Mall.
After reaching the Canterlot Mall, Rarity spent her time checking out stores in order to try and get any sort of idea for how to earn the money for Camp Everfree. Unfortunately, she wasn't having much luck with figuring anything out. "Oh, rats. Three hours and still no ideas for a lucrative last-minute fundraiser," Rarity said to herself. "Usually, window-shopping inspires me." As Rarity continued to walk through the mall, she soon heard an announcer's voice from a nearby television and investigated out of curiosity.
"Are you a musician? Do you and your friends love to dance?"
"Yes," Rarity replied to nobody in particular as she continued watching the TV.
"Are you unique, cool, stylish," the advertisement asked as three posing silhouettes appeared on the screen.
"Yes, yes, yes, and... obviously," Rarity answered and took pride in knowing she was fashionable.
"Do you want to win a cash prize," the television asked and Rarity's eyes widened immediately when she heard. Answering in excitement, she continued to watch the TV as the announcer explained more. "Then enter the Canterlot Mall Chance to Prance Competition! All you need is a music video of your own original song and dance. Then you could be prancing your way to first prize! Sign up now at the booth near the Aunt Orange smoothie kiosk."
After hearing the initial details of the contest, Rarity immediately headed off for the booth as fast as she could. But just as she passed by the next store window, she screeched to a halt and saw a red jewel-studded dress in the window display. Entranced by the glamorous outfit, Rarity's smiled widened as an idea started to pop into her head. "Oh, we're certain to win," she declared as inspiration for her music video struck her.
Bolting for the smoothie kiosk and the signup booth, Rarity almost ended up crashing into somebody and lost her balance. But before she could fall on her face, something hooked around her waist and kept her upright. "Watch your step, Miss. Don't want you to hurt yourself," a suave-sounding young man told Rarity as he helped her to her feet. When Rarity was standing up again, she saw that the male who helped her was wearing a blue hoodie and was twirling a hooked cane around idly.
"Oh. Thank you," Rarity said as she looked at the young man's black and gray hair, cane, and brown eyes.
"You know, I should be thanking you since I haven't seen a radiant gem such as yourself since I got into town," the man voiced as he began to flirt with Rarity.
Rarity herself was flattered by the young man's gentlemanly behavior and started to flirt back. "Why, aren't you the charmer?"
"Guilty as charged," the male admitted as he shrugged his shoulders.
"How rude of me to not introduce myself to the gentleman that helped me," Rarity said as she placed her hand on her collar. "My name is Rarity."
"What a delightful name for a beautiful girl such as yourself," the male complimented. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Rarity. You can call me Leblanc."
"You have a nice name as well," Rarity said to 'Leblanc'. "Now if you'll please excuse, I have a contest to enter myself and my friends in."
"Hmm... Good luck with that, my shining jewel," 'Leblanc' told Rarity as he took her hand and kissed it. "I have a feeling that we'll see each other soon." After saying that, he left Rarity's field of view. Rarity was charmed by 'Leblanc' and his behavior, but she had to focus on entering the 'Chance to Prance' contest and left for her destination.
On her way there, Rarity saw Sunset Blaze approaching her. "Hey, did you find anything yet," Blaze asked.
"In fact, I did," Rarity exclaimed. "The mall is having a 'Chance to Prance Competition' where the winner's music video gets a cash prize!"
Sunset Blaze was fascinated by the idea of a music video contest. "Huh. Cool. I'll need to check it out for myself and see if Fragment Hunter can enter."
As the two girls made their way to the signup booth, they filled out the forms they needed when they heard a familiar voice behind them. "Rarity! Sunset Shimmer! What a nice surprise," said Sour Sweet in a friendly tone before quietly muttering to herself. "Not."
"It's Sunset Blaze," the Huntress doppelganger of Sunset Shimmer corrected as she saw Sour Sweet, Sunny Flare, Sugarcoat, and Lemon Zest approach them.
Rarity gasped happily as she saw the Shadowbolts while Sunset Blaze stared at them with a blank expression. "Sour Sweet! Sunny Flare! Why, it's been ages," Rarity said as she hasn't seen the Shadowbolts since Twilight's transfer to CHS.
"It's only been a few months since the Friendship Games," Sugarcoat stated.
"Is that all? Wow," Rarity giggled. "How is everything over at Crystal Prep Academy?"
"Oh, things at CPA have never been better since Principal Cadance took over," Sunny Flare told the girls as she checked her nails.
"Principal? Looks like somebody finally gave that Cinch bitch the boot after she blackmailed Twilight," Blaze remarked.
"Yeah. Cadance said she's going to let us have the spring dance on a yacht," Sour Sweet said to Rarity. "If we raise the money."
"Ooh, sounds divine," Rarity commented.
Before the conversation continued, Sunset Blaze questioned the Shadowbolts about something she noticed. "Hey, where's that other girl? Indigo, was it?"
"She's on vacation with her family," Sugarcoat explained. "They're on a cruise."
After getting an answer about Indigo Zap, Blaze and Rarity turned to see Lemon Zest speaking to them. "Are you signing up for the "Chance to Prance" contest, too?"
"Indeed we are," Rarity said with a chuckle as she and Blaze placed their entry forms into the signup box. "Are you girls here to sign up for the competition?"
"We definitely aren't here because we like standing in lines," Sugarcoat replied in her monotone voice.
"Ask a stupid question," Blaze muttered as she placed a hand on her hip.
"I assume you already have a video concept figured out," Sour Sweet said to Rarity as she checked her nails. "The competition's going to be pret-ty fierce."
"Yes, it came to me as soon as I saw that gorgeous red ruffled ensemble on the way over here," Rarity said to everyone.
Hearing what Rarity said, Sour Sweet soon had a wicked idea. "Tell me more," she requested. When she did, Sunny Flare and Sugarcoat both gained the same sinister smile as Sour Sweet as they caught onto the plan. Blaze noticed the looks of the Shadowbolts and had a concerned expression as she looked at Rarity.
"Oh! Well, each member of the Rainbooms is going to dance in a different style," Rarity explained. "Like flamenco, hip-hop, or street ballet," she elaborated as she did poses for each style. "And we'll wear costumes to match each genre. Designed by yours truly, of course," she added with a giggle, proud of her idea.
"That sounds like a very good concept," Sugarcoat stated.
Sour Sweet considered the idea that Rarity had before giving Rarity her opinion on it. "Yeah, heh, I guess it's okay. If you're going for way too over-the-top."
"Thanks," Rarity said as she took the compliment. "So, what's your concept?"
Just after she asked that, Rarity heard Sunset Blaze in her head as she used her Semblance to speak to her telepathically. "Do you really think it's a good idea to tell your concept to the girls who helped pressure Twilight into unleashing world destroying magic she didn't understand just to win a game of Capture the Flag, which me and my friends would have totally won by the way?"
"Don't be so negative, Darling. I'm sure that they aren't the same girls who would do anything to win a contest," Rarity mentally told Blaze.
"Nothing. We don't have one yet," Sugarcoat bluntly stated to Rarity as she answered the question.
Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare gestured for Sugarcoat to stay quiet before the former spoke to Rarity again. "What she means is it's a surprise! But it's a-ma-zing. So original." Blaze could tell that Sour Sweet was lying without reading the girl's mind, but she soon sensed something else around where they were before Rarity spoke again.
"Oh, well, I can't wait to see it. Good luck," Rarity said as she and Blaze started to leave.
"You, too," Sour Sweet replied before smiling sinisterly. Blaze looked behind herself to see Sour Sweet's expression and glared at the girl before she headed off with Rarity.
Unknown to any of the girls, 'Leblanc' was also listening in on the conversation from the shadows. "Well... looks like I found my next targets," he said to himself as he moved his raccoon tail out from underneath his hoodie.
On their way back to the school, Sunset Blaze and Rarity talked about the contest some more. "Okay, it looks like second prize gets some money as well, but it's just under the amount you have to get for the deadline," Blaze said as she read some information that she grabbed just after she signed up Fragment Hunter. "Plus, only the winner gets their video broadcast over the mall's televisions."
"Why don't you and Fragment Hunter ask Bianca to help you out? I'm sure that a fabulous pop star from Remnant would be a big help for securing one of the top prizes," Rarity suggested.
"Well, we do need the money if we want to keep spending time here with you and the Rainbooms. It wouldn't hurt to have a little help from a professional," Blaze remarked before she adopted a sly smirk on her face. "Besides, there's no rule against it." As she chuckled to herself, she noticed something in Rarity's hair. "What's this," Blaze asked as she grabbed the item.
"Hm? What's what," Rarity asked as she looked to see what Sunset Blaze picked out of her purple hair. Seeing that it was a paper rose, Rarity was amazed by the details of how it was made. "Oh, how did that get there? Did that charmer Leblanc sneak it in when I wasn't looking?"
"Leblanc," Blaze questioned before she decided to search Rarity's recent memories. Seeing the man that Rarity met just after learning of the contest, Sunset's expression changed from curiosity to annoyance. "Of course. It was him," she said as she ended up burning the rose in her hands.
Rarity was startled by the sudden flames and let out a light shriek. "Darling? Why in the wide, wide world of Remnant would you do that," she asked Sunset Blaze.
Seeing the ashes in her hand, Sunset brushed them off and apologized. "Sorry. Bit of jealousy. I know who you're talking about and we have a little history," she explained.
"Ex-boyfriend," Rarity inquired.
Blaze looked away as her cheeks began to turn a light shade of pink. "You could say that... Come on. We should go tell the others what we have planned," she said before returning to the task at hand. As they left for CHS again, the ashes moved in the wind and flew past a wild raccoon that was resting in a tree.
Upon returning to Canterlot High School's music room to meet up with the others, Rarity and Sunset Blaze explained about the mall's 'Chance to Prance' contest. "See? It's a wonderful plan. We'll write some lyrics for our new song, and we'll choreograph some dance moves. Then our video will win a cash prize, and voilà," Rarity explained to her friends.
"You make it sound simple as pie," Applejack commented as she sat next to Fluttershy, Azalea, and Spike.
"That's because it is! The girls at Crystal Prep even agree. They're making a video, too," Rarity stated and mentioned Twilight's old school.
When she heard about her old school's name and the Shadowbolts, Twilight was surprised while the rest of Fragment Hunter all looked like they were ready to punch something. "They are," Twilight asked.
"I-Is that a problem, darling," Rarity asked Twilight.
"Oh, no, it's not," Twilight said. "Just haven't heard much about my old school since I left, I guess," she remarked in wistful reminiscence.
"Well, if you ask me, Crystal Prep has got nothin' on CHS! I love it here," Spike said as he stretched his body. After he did, Fluttershy scratched the dog's chin. "See what I mean," Spike said as Fluttershy and Azalea chuckled in amusement over Spike's reaction to getting scratched.
"Okay, before we get started with the choreographing of our dance moves, there's just one tiny, teeny-weensey, little thing I forgot to mention," Rarity said and mumbled the last part.
"What's that," Sunset Shimmer curiously asked.
"Uhhhh... I would need to use our fundraiser money to buy costume materials for the video," Rarity managed to say quickly.
The Rainbooms thought it over and wondered if it was a good idea to use the funds they already earned in a gamble like what Rarity had planned. "Hmm. How much is the grand prize worth," Sunset Shimmer asked.
"More than double what we need to fix up Camp Everfree," Rarity stated.
"Really?! I must have misread the prize amounts the first time if that's the case," Sunset Blaze remarked as she pulled out the contest information she brought with her from the mall. Looking at the top three prizes again, Blaze noticed her mistake from earlier. "Ah, second prize is pretty much the same as the repairs plus what you've already earned," Blaze told the Rainbooms. "Looks like either spot is great for the both of us."
"Hah! Then of course you can use the money for costumes," Rainbow Dash said as she stood up.
Applejack sighed before she gave her answer in eager agreement. "Oh, what the hay? Why not?" Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie agreed with the plan for the music video, however Twilight pulled out a calculator and started to go over the numbers.
"According to my calculations, if we lend Rarity the funds we've already raised, we stand to gain four times as much money as we have now. And even if we get second prize, we'll still earn more than enough for Camp Everfree's repairs," Twilight stated as she was surprised by the amounts they could win. The teenagers all cheered at the news before Twilight continued. "But if we lose the video contest, we'll be completely back to square one and zero dollars. Anyone else think this is an awfully risky endeavor," she reminded and made her friends worried. Rua and Silver responded to Twilight's doubts by glaring at her. "I mean, um, heh... Me neither," she corrected herself out of embarassment and fear.
"All right, girls. Who's ready to shoot our winning dance music video," Rarity asked as the Rainbooms got excited. As the girls cheered, Applejack handed her friend the money box filled with the funds they earned and Rarity laughed in excitement over the idea she had coming to life. "Looks like I have some fabric shopping to do!"
"And we've got to make a few stops in Remnant before we get started," Sunset Blaze said as she and the others prepared to head off. "Let's go, Fragment Hunter!" With a flash of rainbow-colored light, the teenagers from Remnant vanished to get what they needed from their world.
In the CHS gymnasium, Rarity sat in a director's chair to keep an eye on the music video's progress while the others were in costumes on stage. Rarity recruited Photo Finish and DJ Pon-3 to help with the shoot, so the Rainbooms only had to focus on doing the dance steps they needed. Before Rarity could go over what the girls needed to do, a flash of light appeared behind her and everyone turned to see Fragment Hunter had returned. "We're back with Bianca," Azalea exclaimed as she and her childhood friend walked toward the stage with the rest of Fragment Hunter.
"A music video contest sounds like a great way to earn money," Bianca said. "Let's see what we can come up with for our own and help out Rarity."
"Why, thank you," Rarity told Bianca before returning to her 'job' as director. "Let's take it from the top one more time. Rainbow Dash, don't forget your cue. It's when Fluttershy does her triple pirouette, okay?" Photo Finish pointed the camera to the stage and DJ Pon-3 started up the music just as Rarity signaled for the girls to start. "And... action!" As the music started playing, Sunset Shimmer walked onto the stage wearing a red and gold flamenco dress while Fluttershy appeared in an outfit that looked like it was a mix between regular street clothes and a ballerina's attire. As they danced, Fluttershy accidentally kicked Shimmer and knocked her off-balance. Fragment Hunter and Bianca all put their hands against their heads as things started to get awkward. As Fluttershy attempted to do the pirouette move that Rarity wanted her to perform, Rainbow Dash slid onto the stage in a hip-hop outfit. Seeing everything not go correctly, Rarity shouted. "CUT!!!"
Hearing Rarity, DJ Pon-3 stopped the music to the confusion of Rainbow Dash. "Hey! What happened to the music?"
Rarity walked over to Fluttershy and Bianca followed because she wanted to check something for herself. "Fluttershy, it's supposed to be a triple pirouette," Rarity stated as Spike started to wake up from a nap he was taking next to Rarity's director chair.
" I know. It's just that... um... uh, I-I don't think I can do one of those," Fluttershy meekly and nervously replied.
"Darling, of course you can, darling. I believe in you," Rarity told Fluttershy as she fixed the girls hair and gave her a hug.
After the two separated, Bianca took a closer look at Fluttershy's street ballet attire. "Hmm... You know, I think I gave Azalea an outfit that's very similar to this."
"Well, you must have a fashion sense similar to my own, Bianca," Rarity said with a smirk. "Can we just do the steps correctly, please?"
"How about you try 'jazz paws' instead," Spike suggested as he stood up and held up his front paws.
"Heh. Thanks, Spike," Sunset Shimmer told the dog as she fixed the flower in her hair. "But all these moves are pretty hard."
"Oh, I know," Rarity admitted. "But if we want to win, we have to bring our A-game!"
"Crystal Prep certainly will," Twilight said. "They're excellent dancers, and you know how they love to compete."
"They may like to compete, but I doubt that they can handle a guy with claws attacking them like a wild animal," Rua stated. "I bet that if their attitudes didn't repel him, Percival Ivory would have loved to go up against Crystal Prep when those games happened."
"That guy doesn't hold back," Silver said as he remembered the times Fragment Hunter sparred with the student from Shade Academy in Vacuo. "I think I still have scars from his claws. It doesn't matter if the Shadowbolts can dance their way around him, he'd be able to take them all out on his own."
"You think I could meet this guy," Rainbow Dash asked while Rarity was worried about not being able to win the contest.
Applejack approached Rarity and placed a hand on the fashionista's shoulder to comfort her. "How about we forget about the other teams and get back to dancin'," AJ suggested.
"Great idea, Applejack," Pinkie Pie said as she was still dancing and imitated synth drums. "It's really fun! I haven't stopped this whole time!"
"Let's take it from Rainbow's entrance," Rarity said as she returned to her chair. "And... action!" As Rainbow Dash slid onto the stage again, the girls started dancing. However, they were too close to each other and during one of her steps, Sunset Shimmer's heel caught on Rainbow's jacket when the former lost her balance. In one quick motion, the article of clothing ripped and Rarity gasped in shock. "Oh! Oh! This is a disaster," Rarity dramatically shouted as she inspected the ruined jacket.
"Sorry, Rarity," Sunset Shimmer apologized.
"Oh. Well, I can fix it, but I'll have to run to the fabric store before it closes," Rarity said as she removed the jacket off of Rainbow Dash. "Keep practicing while I'm gone! Ahhh!"
As Rarity left the gym in a panic, Sunset Blaze called out to the fashionista. "We're coming with you," she exclaimed as she, Bianca, Azalea, and Vinyl all followed after her.
At the mall, the four girls from Remnant waited outside the shop that Rarity went into. "Oh, thank goodness I budgeted for backup fabric," Rarity told the girls as she exited the shop with her bag.
"You wouldn't believe how many outfits I needed to scrap because I forgot to do just that," Bianca remarked with a wave of her hand.
"At least you managed to recycle them for other things, B," Azalea reminded as she stretched her arms. As the girls headed for the exit, Vinyl heard music playing and pointed the girls toward the fountain where four familiar faces were dancing. "Umm, Rarity..."
Rarity gasped in shock at what she was looking at. "Is that a disco-inspired look? And a street ballet tutu?! I don't believe it," Rarity said as she saw the Shadowbolts. "They stole my brilliant idea!"
"I warned you, Rarity. You didn't listen," Sunset Blaze told Rarity as she and Bianca glared at the Shadowbolts. As they did, nobody saw a large man with tattoos and chains walking by eating a burger. The man passed by the girls and leaned up against a wall out of Fragment Hunter's sights. As he ate his meal and watched the Shadowbolts dancing, a voice spoke to him from the other side of the wall.
"Kun, see those girls at the fountain," the voice asked.
"Yeah," the man said with his mouth full.
"They're our next targets," the voice told him.
Swallowing what he had in his mouth, Kun turned his head to speak to the voice. "You sure? They don't look like the types to have high security in their homes," he remarked. "Did they do something you think makes them targets?"
The voice stepped forward enough to reveal himself to Kun and pointed to Rarity as she and the girls from Remnant left the mall. "They stole that girl's original idea."
Kun nodded as he understood what the other male meant. "Okay. I get it. Your own code's making them potential targets, Smoke. There are just some things that shouldn't be taken from others."
"Oliver's already tracking them," Smoke said as he pulled out a Scroll. "They don't seem like threats, so it'll just be some minor stuff."
"Pickpocketing and general pranks. Just like when we started our careers back around Mistral," Kun voiced with a chuckle. "See ya when you need me," he said as he stuffed the rest of his burger into his mouth and started chewing.
"You got it, Tremor," Smoke said as he walked toward the exit and followed after the girls who left.
After returning from the mall, Rarity contacted her friends before immediately getting to work at repairing Rainbow Dash's jacket. As Rarity used the sewing machine in her bedroom, she heard a knock on her bedroom door and the Rainbooms arrived with the rest of Fragment Hunter. "We're here," Pinkie Pie exclaimed as Silver, Slate, and the girls all entered the bedroom.
"We got your text. You said it was an emergency," Twilight asked.
"Everythin' all right, sugarcube," Applejack questioned.
"Well, since you asked," Rarity said as she kept her composure and calmly sat down on a chaise lounge she had in her room. When she flattened out her skirt, Rarity began to sob dramatically. "The answer is no!"
"Oh, no! What happened," Fluttershy asked as she pet Rarity's cat, Opal.
Rarity began to answer as she continued crying. "Sour Sweet... and the... Crystal... Prep girls stole our video concept," she told the Rainbooms before she sniffled. "I saw them filming at the mall. They copied my design ideas and everything! So of course they looked absolutely fabulous," she explained before going on a brief tangent. "But the worst part is that they're all incredible dancers!"
While Rarity told everyone, the teenagers all had different expressions when they heard about the Crystal Prep Shadowbolts. Twilight and Applejack felt sorry for Rarity's idea being stolen while Sunset Shimmer, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash all patiently listened. The members of Fragment Hunter looked like they were trying to prevent a few of their members from going on a manhunt as they held back Silver and Rua. "Major bummer in the summer," Pinkie Pie exclaimed before she held out a tissue for Rarity. "Tissue for your issue?"
Rarity accepted the tissue and daintily dried her running mascara with it before loudly blowing her nose. "Everyone is counting on me, on the video to win us the prize money for the camp," Rarity said with a sigh as she flopped down onto her chair. "Oh, how could I have been such a fool," Rarity asked as she scolded herself angrily. "Of course, those Crystal Preppers stole my concept! I practically served it to them on a platter!"
"I said it to you before, Rarity," Sunset Blaze reminded. "It wasn't a smart idea to share your plan with the girls who pressured Twilight into harnessing magic that almost destroyed three different worlds just to win a stupid game of 'Capture the Flag'. No offense, Sci-Twi."
"None taken," Twilight said to Blaze before facing Rarity. "Don't be too hard on yourself, Rarity. It's gonna take more than one Friendship Games for those Crystal Prep girls to learn that winning isn't everything."
"And if they don't, I'll pull a 'Winchester Special' on them," Rua stated as she held up a closed fist and pulled on her glove.
"What does that mean," Twilight questioned.
"Punch them in the face until something bleeds or breaks," Silver explained mildly surprising everyone.
"Then why is it called that," Twilight asked.
"A bully at Beacon Academy named Cardin Winchester," Celadon told the Rainbooms. "When he first insulted Azalea in our history class, Rua pummeled him into his desk. The two ended up getting detention for it."
"I'LL NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR IT," Rua shouted.
"Eh, maybe this was all for the best," Applejack remarked as she changed the topic, confusing Rarity as she sat up to listen to her friends. "Uh, your concept and costumes are really awesome, but, uh... our dancin'..."
"Nnnnot so much," both Sunset Shimmer and Sunset Blaze said.
Applejack giggled at how bad the Rainbooms were at the dance Rarity had planned. "A few of us can dance normally, but these moves aren't what we usually do," she stated. "We could barely get in a two-step without trippin' over each other's boots."
Everyone started to laugh and agree on what Applejack said before Rarity spoke up. "Nonsense! You all looked great," she exclaimed as she attempted to correct the girls, but sighed as she knew they were right. "Okay, maybe not great, but, but... but it was getting there! And the point is we don't have to let them win," she said as she returned to the subject of the Shadowbolts and started to march around her room. "That is our video concept! And I am going straight to Crystal Prep to let them know that they have messed with the wrong girls! Who's with me?!" When nobody answered Rarity, she was disappointed by the lack of reaction from the Rainbooms and cleared her throat. "No, n-no, seriously, who is with me? I have no idea how to get to Crystal Prep," she added.
"I'll go. Maybe I can try to reason with them. We were classmates once," Twilight said as she decided to help Rarity.
"And we followed Twilight there when we saw her sneaking around CHS while she was still part of that prep school," Rebecca added.
"That's the spirit! Come on," Rarity declared as she pulled Twilight out her her bedroom.
Rebecca, Sunset Blaze, Azalea, and Rua all joined the two and headed off while the others stayed behind and processed everything. "So... while they're doing that, you want to help us with our music video," Bianca asked the other Rainbooms, who pleasantly agreed.
The six girls all made their way to Crystal Prep Academy and snuck their way in through one of the doors while Azalea used her Semblance to keep all of them invisible. As they entered the school, they didn't see that a raccoon-tailed man wearing a trenchcoat and mask was watching them from the roof of the building. "Well, well, well. Looks like today's a lucky day for me," he said as he recognized several faces before they disappeared. Pulling out a Scroll, he spoke to somebody on the other end. "Tremor, get ready. We have a little company joining us today." After giving the message to his ally, the man phased through the roof like a ghost to enter Crystal Prep.
As the girls all snuck through the halls and avoided students, Rarity peeked around a corner of lockers just as Azalea deactivated her Semblance. "Okay, where's the dance studio," Rarity asked Twilight.
"There's a dance studio," Twilight and the members of Fragment Hunter asked.
"Didn't you go to this school, Twilight," Rarity asked in reply as she didn't expect Twilight to not know the answer.
"Well, I can show you where the library is," Twilight said, which amused Rarity and the others.
"Of course you can, Sci-Twi," Sunset Blaze remarked.
Before the girls could say anything else, Rebecca and Rarity gestured for the others to be quiet. "Wait, shhh. That's their music," Rarity said as she heard the music that the Shadowbolts were dancing to in the mall. Looking for where the music was coming from, Rarity saw an open door in front of the group and grinned. "Bingo!"
As the girls made their way to the studio, they saw the Shadowbolts finish practicing their dance routine and Rarity was in awe as her jaw dropped. The Shadowbolts saw the visitors and stopped dancing. "Hey, girls," Sour Sweet greeted. "So what did you think of our routine? Scared yet?"
"We kill soulless monsters for a living and I'm friends with a pop star," Azalea remarked with a bored expression on her face as she adjusted her top. "I'd say we're fine."
"How are you friends with a pop star, you d-" Sunny Flare questioned, but stopped herself from calling Azalea what she intended, remembering the reactions Fragment Hunter had at the Friendship Games.
"Don't change the subject," Rarity exclaimed. "You know why we're here! You stole my— our music video idea," she corrected as she remembered Twilight was with her. "Now... change your concept, or else!"
Rua cracked her knuckles to threaten the Shadowbolts, but they weren't intimidated by her as they only stretched to prepare for more of their dance routine. "Sorry, heh, but we can't," Sour Sweet told Rarity and the Shadowbolts all laughed at her.
"And why is that," Twilight and Sunset Blaze asked in different tones. Twilight's out of curiosity, while Blaze's was more of a tone you would expect from an interrogator from the police.
"Because we care about winning. Duh," Sunny Flare stated smugly, which annoyed Fragment Hunter.
"And we will, because we're just about to submit our video," Sour Sweet said with an overconfident tone and laughed with the rest of the Shadowbolts. Sunset Blaze only glared in suspicion as she knew that the Shadowbolts were hiding something. Her Semblance's mind reading abilities allowed her to tell if a person was lying or not, which made it great for gathering information or knowing if she could trust somebody.
On the other hand, Rua was absolutely livid at the way the Shadowbolts were acting, forcing Blaze and Azalea to hold the brawler back. "CRANBERRY, WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU AND YOUR BITCH FRIENDS, YOU'LL HAVE DUST CRYSTALS SHOVED RIGHT UP YOUR A-" Before Rua could finish screaming her threat at the Shadowbolts, Rebecca jabbed a finger into one of Rua's pressure points and the latter made a gurgling noise as she fell unconscious.
Rarity looked dismayed at what Sour Sweet said while Fragment Hunter managed to keep Rua from going through with her attempted threat. "You're what," she asked before stammering and focusing again. "It doesn't matter! Because we are still doing our video the way we planned!"
"Go ahead," Sour Sweet told Rarity. "But there's just one flaw in your little plan."
"By the time you submit yours, it'll just look like you copied us," Sunny Flare stated.
"Except the worse version," Sugarcoat added.
Rarity and Fragment Hunter were appalled by what the Shadowbolts said. As they only looked at Sour Sweet and the others, Lemon Zest walked over to start up the music the Crystal prep girls were practicing to. But just as she was about to press the button, she felt nothing. "Hey, where's my boombox," Lemon Zest asked as she saw her music player had vanished.
Everyone's attention now turned to the empty table in front of the wall of mirrors. "An immature tactic like that won't stop us," Sugarcoat told Rarity, Twilight, and the members of Fragment Hunter.
"Where would we hide a music player like that," Twilight asked as she looked at her old classmates.
"I didn't touch it," Azalea said as she held onto Rua.
"That's because it was me, my beautiful wallflower," a voice echoed around the dance studio.
Everyone looked around to see where the voice came from. "Who said that," Sunny Flare asked in surprise as the Shadowbolts looked in every corner.
Rarity recognized the voice from before and searched the room for herself. "Leblanc? Is that you," she asked.
"Is that what you're going with now, Sombra," Rebecca questioned as the voice was very familiar to the members of Fragment Hunter.
"I feel like I've heard that name before," Twilight remarked as she scratched her head.
"Come on out, Ringtail. I know it's you," Sunset Blaze told the voice.
Phasing through the wall of mirrors, the masked man walked into everyone's view and twirled his cane around idly. Rarity, Twilight, and the Shadowbolts were all startled by the fact a young male with a raccoon tail entered through the mirror. "Ladies, it's a pleasure as always to see you," the male said with a smile as he looked at Azalea and Sunset Blaze.
"Wish I could say the same to you, thief," Sunset Blaze replied as she crossed her arms.
"Blaze, you know this guy," Twilight asked.
"He's been trouble for us since our first semester at Beacon," Blaze said. "Rarity, Twilight, say hello to the first real threat that Fragment Hunter has ever faced. The phantom thief, Smoke Shadow."
Rarity, Twilight, and the Shadowbolts all heard what Sunset Blaze said as she said the name of the intruder who walked through the wall of mirrors to enter the dance studio of Crsytal Prep Academy. "This is the thief that you've all dealt with," Rarity asked the members of Fragment Hunter.
"That's correct, my sweet and shining jewel," Smoke Shadow replied as he moved near the Shadowbolts and looked at Rarity. "My card," he said as he held up a calling card and tossed it gently to Rarity. The fashionista caught it and saw an emblem that looked like a two colored half-moon with diamond shapes to resemble a mask and a raccoon’s tail curling to resemble a question mark.
"He's a Raccoon Faunus from the Kingdom of Mistral and grew up as an orphan with his best friends," Sunset Blaze explained. "He claims that there's nowhere he can't break into and he's right because of his 'Phantasm' Semblance. He can phase through objects and walk through walls for as long as he can hold his breath."
"He said his name was 'Leblanc' when I met him at the mall and he stopped me from falling to the ground," Rarity said as she looked at Smoke and his attire. "He's a gentleman and he definitely has style with that outfit."
The Shadowbolts watched as Smoke continued to circle the room before Sugarcoat spoke to Rarity. "Tell us, Rarity. Do you have special feelings for this boy," she asked bluntly.
"What?! Of course not," Rarity exclaimed as she denied any attraction toward the criminal. "I just consider him special and I'm grateful for him helping me. Sure it was a surprise to see him here, even if he showed up by walking through a wall." Rarity's face and gestures failed to convince the others that she didn't like Smoke Shadow.
"Yep... you definitely do like him," Sugarcoat stated as she fixed her glasses, making Rarity blush and fume at the girl's lack of subtlety.
Getting back on track, Sunset Blaze walked over to the Faunus and looked him in the eye. "So, Smoke Shadow. Why'd you take the boombox," she asked.
"I was in the neighborhood and I thought that I'd pay a visit to some girls I saw earlier," Smoke answered as he made his way around the room again. "The strange thing is that when I did, they decided to take something from somebody that was just being a generous soul. Not only that, but it was one of the few things nobody should ever take," he said as he stood in front of the Shadowbolts.
"Oh, and what would that be, you walking cliche," Sour Sweet asked with her usual namesake tone, muttering what she called Smoke Shadow.
The Raccoon Faunus looked at the girl and pointed his hooked cane at her before he gave his answer in a serious voice. "Credit." Pressing a button on his cane, electricity began to spark off of the weapon and intimidate the Crystal Prep student into back off. "You never steal credit for doing something. You also don't steal from charities or innocent families. I could go on, but that would take too much time," he said before deactivating the electricity. "You four are lucky that I don't like to hurt girls. If I did, let's just say that you wouldn't like having your teeth knocked out one at a time and force fed to you. My partner, on the other hand, is more than willing to do something like that." Smoke Shadow's threat made the Shadowbolts all gulp in fear before he continued. "It's a good thing I'm not giving him the chance to do so. I already got what I wanted from you girls," he remarked as he reached into his pocket to pull out a few wallets.
The Shadowbolts recognized the designs and checked their pockets to see that they had been robbed. "Hey! My wallet," Lemon Zest exclaimed as she found her pockets were empty.
"He stole all of our wallets," Sugarcoat stated.
"Don't worry. You can have them back," Smoke said as he started to use slight-of-hand magic tricks to make it look like the wallets were being shuffled around like a deck of cards. Tossing the items back to the Shadowbolts, he revealed that he had also taken most of their money as he did his trick. "I left you enough for snacks somewhere," he added as he placed the money in a pouch on his leg.
"You never get tired of that magic hand thing, do you," Sunset Blaze asked the thief.
"You're one to talk," Azalea voiced. "You actually slept with the guy." When Azalea blabbed about the relationship between Blaze and Smoke, most of the girls in the room blushed a bright red while the Raccoon Faunus only smirked.
"I knew he was an ex-boyfriend of yours," Rarity remarked as she composed herself.
"He isn't," Rebecca stated as she drew some shuriken and prepared the throw them.
"He's still wanted in Remnant," Azalea said as she pulled out her Multi-Action Dust Baton from a holder on the back of her belt.
Smoke Shadow grinned as he looked at Azalea. "But we're not in Remnant, my gorgeous flower," he reminded the girl before taking her hand and giving it a kiss. "Either way, I must bid you all farewell. Good luck with the music video troubles," he said as he walked backward and went through a wall. Before any of the Huntresses could go after him, the building began to shake and everyone in the dance studio fell to the ground.
"Great. He's here, too," Sunset Blaze remarked as she and Azalea knew why the building shook. "Think he wants a rematch," she asked the Cow Faunus.
"When doesn't he want one," Azalea said as she helped Twilight to her feet.
"We aren't near any sort of fault line. What was that," Twilight asked as she questioned the shaking building.
"We'll explain on the way back to CHS," Rebecca told Twilight. "Just help carry Rua out." As the girls began to leave, Rarity pouted angrily as she was reminded about her stolen video concept and the Shadowbolts claiming that their video would have been better than her attempts.
While the others left, Sunset Blaze stayed behind to speak with the Shadowbolts. "I'm sure that you won't be able to get far with Rarity's idea," she told the Crystal Prep students. "There are still others in that contest. You aren't the only ones. I'm sure that somebody's original song and dance will take first prize." Before the Shadowbolts could say anything, Blaze walked away and closed the door of the studio.
"Did we just get roasted and robbed by some thief right from under our noses," Lemon Zest asked as the four girls processed everything.
"Let's just focus on our routine," Sour Sweet said. "We'll use your phone, Sugarcoat." Sugarcoat handed Sour Sweet her phone and they started to play music by Sapphire Shores. "I'm not going to let some walking cliche or a doppelganger of a CHS student talk us out of winning the prize."
"He's a wanted criminal that threatened to make us eat our own teeth," Sugarcoat reminded. "I'm pretty sure that he would've gone through with it if he had the desire to."
"Let's just finish practice," Sunny Flare said. "But still... he is kinda cute," she commented and made the other stare at her in confusion. "What?"
After returning from Crystal Prep, Rarity had to break the bad news to the rest of the Rainbooms and Fragment Hunter. "Oh, this is all my fault! All the money we raised is gone, and now we have no music video! I should never have convinced you all that we could pull this off in so little time," Rarity bemoaned.
"Well, to make ya feel better, at least Smoke took their own money out of their wallets," Sunset Blaze reminded.
"I still can't believe that he's here in this world," Lapis said as Blaze told everyone about what happened after confronting the Crystal Prep Shadowbolts.
"You need to be careful about who you can trust," Azalea told Rarity. "Huntsmen that work together need allies that will help them when they need it."
"And we're just that," Rainbow Dash declared. "We're great at doing stuff super-fast. I mean, look at Pinkie Pie. She just built that castle made entirely out of chocolate bars while we were talking."
Hearing what Rainbow Dash said, everyone looked at Pinkie and saw that the girl was putting the finishing touches on a castle made out of cookies, chocolate, and other candy. Satisfied with her creation, she took off a chocolate bar and bit into it. "Want some," she asked the others and immediately when she did, Azalea and Momo grabbed a couple of pieces to enjoy for themselves.
"What I want is a new video concept," Rarity said while the girls ate chocolate.
Fragment Hunter and the Rainbooms all agreed to brainstorm some ideas for a backup video. "I'm sure that if we put our heads together, we'll come up with something even better than before," Sunset Shimmer stated. While Rarity started to think of an idea, Pinkie Pie grabbed each of the Rainbooms and put them into a group huddle where they literally put their heads together.
"I think it's working," Pinkie said to the girls, making Fragment Hunter roll their eyes in amusement at the girl's antics.
" Yeah! I-I got somethin'," Applejack told everyone as an idea came to her. "Okay, so we're in home-ec class..."
"Hold up. Let's make it a little easier for everyone," Vixen said and started to use her Semblance to create illusions of the ideas the others shared. In a couple flashes of light, each of the Rainbooms were now standing around the Home Economics room of Canterlot High. When they did, Vixen made it so that each of the girls were now wearing new clothes that fit for Applejack's idea and made them look like cowgirls. When she saw what she was wearing, Rarity let out a horrified scream at the worn-out overalls she had on. Vixen laughed at the joke she pulled on the fashionista before Applejack continued on with her idea.
"...bakin' some apple fritters," AJ said and Vixen created trays of the food that the girls now held onto. "And then, a fresh batch comes outta the oven," she said and enjoyed the smell of the treats as Vixen's illusions were extremely convincing. "And everybody's havin' a great time!"
"Sounds nice enough," Azalea said as she agreed with the idea and the other girls started to talk with each other.
Rarity was just about to take a bite into an apple fritter when she thought about the idea again and paused. "Wait. So basically, we are eating pastries at school in our music video," Rarity questioned and Pinkie stole the fritter from her hand.
Applejack laughed in embarassment as she looked at Rarity. "Uh, I guess I'm just kinda hungry," AJ admitted.
"Yeah. You girls didn't get a chance to eat any of the chocolate friendship castle," Vixen remarked as she dispelled her illusion to show that most of the sculpture was eaten at, making it look like it was in ruins.
"My castle! My art! My masterpiece," Pinkie cried dramatically as Momo continued to munch away at the roof of the edible sculpture. "Eh, I'll just make a new one later," Pinkie said happily as she immediately calmed down and took a piece of the castle to nibble on for herself.
After watching Pinkie's little act, Rarity moved back to the brainstorming session. "Anyone have another idea," she said with an annoyed look on her face.
"Oh, oh! I do," Rainbow Dash called out. "So... we're in the middle of the jungle," she described and Vixen made another illusion of the location described. Vixen even gave each of the Rainbooms outfits that were fit for exploration, but was kind enough to give Rarity a more fashionable one after her initial prank. "And we're being chased by henchmen who are shooting poison arrows at us!" The Rainbooms all screamed as they dodged arrows being shot at them, but the members of Fragment Hunter dodged the attacks or deflected the arrows with their combat skills before Rainbow continued to explain her idea. "We run for safety when suddenly, out of nowhere, the shadow of a giant beast appears!"
As soon as Vixen created the shadow of a beast, Twilight interrupted to say something. "Wait a second! Isn't this a scene from the latest Daring Do book," she questioned.
Rainbow Dash laughed in embarassment as she rubbed the back of her head. "Oh, yeah. That's why it seemed so cool. Never mind," she said.
"Well, we had to think up of a few different ideas before settling on our current one," Cereza said as she deflected an arrow with her tonfa. "So, we'd be happy to share our scrapped ideas with you."
"Alright! We're in a couple of different locations throughout Remnant like Forever Fall," Celadon said as Vixen created the appropriate scenery. "The beautiful red leaves gently flowing in the breeze as we walk along our way. Then, we have the music starting up when begin Grimm to appear." Vixen created illusions of numerous types of Grimm like Beowolves or Death Stalkers. "As the battle starts, we move in time to the music and fight the Grimm while the locations change around, which has us dealing with all sorts of enemies as we showcase our styles," Celadon elaborated as Vixen changed the locations from the red forest to all sorts of different areas like a ship at sea or a snowy village while other Grimm showed up.
When the scene changed to a ruined city, a Nevermore flew by and Fluttershy ducked under the monster bird. "Why didn't you go with this one," Fluttershy asked as Bianca Coloratura helped her to her feet.
"I thought the song we were going with made more sense with a different idea," Bianca explained before Pinkie started to get excited about something.
"Okay! I've got it," Pinkie exclaimed.
Rarity looked at the girl before she heard the illusion of the Nevermore cry out and throw its feathers like darts. Screaming as she dodged the attack, Rarity asked Pinkie to continue. "Please, do tell."
"We'll start out on... the moon," Pinkie said and Vixen used her illusions. Unlike the others, Pinkie's idea was brought to life in the form of a child's drawing and Vixen had to keep herself from laughing as she kept it up. "And we'll be wearing really sparkly costumes. No, wait! We'll be in spacesuits," Pinkie said as she thought of more details and Vixen added them. "We're surrounded by gorgonzola cheese! But then, a space doggie walks over and start to eat the cheese!"
As Vixen added onto the idea, her laughter was getting louder as she made floating cheese wheels and Spike soon floating past one to take a bite out of it. "Mmm! Rich with buttery undertones," Spike said and Vixen immediately lost it. As everyone laughed at Pinkie's idea and Vixen's illusions of it, Rarity was losing her patience.
"Stop! This will never work," Rarity shouted and Vixen's illusions stopped, putting everyone back into the music room of Canterlot High School.
"Aw, why not," Pinkie and Momo asked as they stood next to Rainbow Dash.
"Because the contest is for dance music videos, and not one of your ideas included dancing at all," Rarity exclaimed as she was getting annoyed at how nobody seemed to be helping.
"I take offense to that," Vinyl shouted and started to show off her battle style's dance-like movements as music played from her weapon, Rhythm Scratch.
When Vinyl's routine ended, Pinkie held up a scorecard that read '9.6'. "Sweet moves," she said to Vinyl before returning to the topic of the other video ideas. "But ours were pretty funny, huh," she asked with a giggle. "I liked yours, Rainbow Dash."
"Thank, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said.
Rarity was getting more annoyed with the lack of help and growled in frustration, prompting Fluttershy to respond. "Are you okay," she asked Rarity.
"Okay? No, I am not okay," Rarity angrily told the others. "The contest deadline is tomorrow, and we have just been wasting time!" After ranting to the others, Rarity stormed out of the music room and began to leave the school grounds.
While the Rainbooms were unnerved by Rarity's meltdown, Sunset Blaze sighed before she spoke up. "Me and Azalea are going to go check on her. Besides, we're almost done with our video," she said.
"We'll see you guys after we talk with her," Azalea said as she and Blaze went off to follow the frustrated girl.
Azalea and Blaze followed Rarity after she left Canterlot High School, eventually finding her approaching a diner and entering the building. As the girls entered the shop, another figure in a blue hoodie followed them inside. Rarity sat in a booth and waited for a young waitress to arrive and take her order. "Can I get an ice cream sundae, please," the fashionista asked as it sounded like her voice was cracking.
"Make that three," Azalea said as she and Sunset Blaze sat down across from Rarity. "Can I get mine with all chocolate ice cream?"
The waitress nodded before she felt somebody place their hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure that dessert would be as sweet as any four of you," Smoke Shadow said as he pulled down his hood and revealed himself to the table. Taking the waitress' hand, Smoke moved around the young woman and released it as he took a seat next to Rarity. "It'll be my treat for you girls and I'd be happy to give our lovely waitress a good tip for her service," he said as he looked at each girl. The waitress opened her hand to see that Smoke had snuck some money into her palm, then she blushed and giggled at his flirting before she left to get the ice cream.
"Was that money you gave her from the Crystal Prep girls or somebody else," Sunset Blaze asked as she looked at the thief.
"Why ruin my generous offer with questions," Smoke said as he placed a hand on his heart and looked at the girls.
"Because you're a thief that loves to steal cash and flirt with any pretty face you see," Blaze replied.
Smoke thought it over and didn't object to what Blaze said about him. Looking over at Rarity, Smoke spoke to the girl as she looked like she was holding something back. "So, what's the matter, Rarity," he asked the stylish girl.
"You better spill it. I can sense your emotions bottling up," Sunset Blaze stated as she reminded Rarity of her Semblance. "It's not healthy for you."
Questioned by the visitors from Remnant, Rarity's eyes began to water and she started to cry. "I just... just... I let them all down," she shouted as she bawled. Grabbing onto Smoke's hoodie, she began to cry against the Raccoon Faunus as he gently patted her on the head.
"Just let it out, Rarity. It'll be better for you," Azalea told the girl as Smoke tried to gently calm her down.
"This video would have raised more than enough m-money for the c-camp," Rarity explained through her tears. "I kept saying that we could go through with it, b-b-but I... I..." Rarity continued to cry and her makeup started to run as she did. Soon, the waitress returned with the ice cream the girls ordered and Rarity turned to the woman. "Thank you," she said as she accepted the dish. As Rarity kept weeping, she ate her treat and made 'Nom-nom-nom-nom-nom' sounds as she did.
Azalea looked at Rarity as she ate and spoke up about something. "Ice cream's always been one of my favorite comfort foods. I've had plenty of bad days growing up," she said as she remembered all the times she was bullied before attending Beacon Academy. "Nothing helped me out like a nice tasty treat."
"You can say that again, Lea," Blaze said as she looked at Azalea's well-endowed chest.
"You're staring, Spitfire," Smoke remarked as he saw where the girl was looking.
"So are you," Blaze countered as she used her Semblance's mental connection abilities to see through Smoke's eyes, turning her eye color to match his own as she did. Hearing that she was being stared at and seeing that was the case, Azalea harshly slapped both Blaze and Smoke in their faces. "We deserved that," Blaze said as she felt her stinging cheek.
"Agreed," Smoke said as he chose to not phase through the attack and took the full force of Azalea's intended slap. Soon, the girls and Smoke heard something in a booth nearby. "Are those..."
Listening in on the conversation, Rarity and the others recognized that it was the Shadowbolts. "It's no use, Sour Sweet. Why are we even still trying," said Sunny Flare.
"Because the deadline hasn't passed," Sour Sweet said. "We can still come up with an original song to replace the Sapphire Shores one we've been practicing our choreography with."
"Why did we tell Rarity that we already submitted our video," Lemon Zest asked.
"So that we can still use her concept. Rarity is creative. She'll come up with something else," Sour Sweet explained to her classmates. Overhearing this, Rarity wiped away her tears and continued to listen in with the others. "But if we don't, we have nothing. And imagine what our classmates would say," Sour Sweet continued before burying her face in her hands.
"They'll say it's our fault the spring dance had to be held in the boring old auditorium instead of on a yacht like we promised," Lemon Zest remarked.
"Exactly," Sour Sweet agreed as the four girls started to lose hope in what they promised to Crystal Prep.
"Oh. They just don't want to disappoint their classmates," Rarity said in pleasant surprise as she was impressed the Shadowbolts were actually trying to do something for their school.
"They could have done something besides steal your idea. This just means they aren't as creative as you are, Rarity," Blaze remarked.
Azalea ate more of her ice cream as she gave her input. "They're still doing it for their class. While they went about it the wrong way, it seems like they really are changing for the better."
"The Rainbooms have a band. They'll surely have a killer original song, and we don't," Sugarcoat stated to the Shadowbolts.
"Yet," Sour Sweet reminded as she tried to keep up the spirits of the other girls.
"Face it, Sour. We're doomed," Sunny Flare said.
Rarity and the Remnant visitors approached the table and Rarity cleared her throat to get the attention of the Shadowbolts. "Excuse me, girls."
"R-Rarity! Uh, how long have you been over there," Sour Sweet asked as she was surprised to see the girl they were just talking about.
"Long enough to hear that you have no original song," Rarity said as she answered the girl.
"Like I said. Doomed," Sugarcoat told the others, believing that Rarity could go through with her original plan for the video and just took a sip from her drink.
Sour Sweet glared at her friend before Rarity chuckled awkwardly and cleared her throat. "Maybe you're not," the fashionista said as she took a seat in the booth. "Look, I know our teams haven't been getting along too well lately. But I think I have a solution where everybody wins."
"I hope you know what you're doing, Rarity," Azalea told the girl as she looked at the Crystal prep students and kept eating her sundae.
"If they try any funny business with us around, I think think they may need more drinks," Sunset Blaze said as she used the Fire Dust in her jacket to create a flame in her palm and let it dance around as she showed it to the Shadowbolts.
Choosing not to upset the girl that could control fire, the Shadowbolts looked at Rarity as they cooperated. "We're listening," Sour Sweet replied as Blaze snuffed the flame out by closing her hand.
"I'd say that I'm not needed here anymore," Smoke remarked as he began to leave and left the money he owed for the ice cream on the table he was at before. Sunset and Azalea watched as the thief left their sights. Looking at each other while Rarity and the Shadowbolts talked about their idea, the two Huntresses knew that this wasn't the last they would see of Smoke Shadow.
Back at Canterlot High School, Fragment Hunter and the Rainbooms followed Rarity into to gym as she wanted to tell them something. "So what's the big plan you were excited about," Applejack asked before Rarity opened the doors to show off a newly decorated stage. The teenagers were amazed by all the crystals and colors on a dance floor that was similar to an old nightclub.
After being awed by the new stage, Sunset Shimmer realized something. "Aren't the Crystal Prep girls using this video idea now?"
"They are, yes. But so are we! Girls, you can come out now," Rarity said before calling out and the Shadowbolts walked out onto the stage. The Rainbooms were surprised to see the Crystal Prep girls, but Fragment Hunter all got into stances and were ready to fight when the moment called for it. Before anybody could do anything, Rarity continued talking. "I know it's hard to believe, but the Crystal Preppers here helped me to realize that competing against one another was getting us nowhere."
"And Rarity helped show us that winning was the only thing driving us," Lemon Zest stated. "We didn't even care if we had to steal to accomplish it."
"But that's not who we are. Anymore," Sour Sweet said as she was sounding more humble.
"It better not be, Cranberry," Rua said as she held up a fist.
As Rarity gently put Rua's arm down, she spoke up again. "The Crystal Prep Academy girls have offered to help with dance moves if we'll help them with an original song," she explained.
"Combining our talents is the most logical thing to do," Sugarcoat stated.
"We'll make one epic music video together," Sunny Flare told the Rainbooms.
"So, what do you guys think? Are you in," Rarity asked with overeager anticipation.
While most of the Rainbooms were unsure and Fragment Hunter was indifferent, Pinkie Pie had a giant excited smile on her face as she gave her answer. "Best! Music! Video! Idea ever!"
"Ehh. I've made a few different ones, so that might be debatable," Bianca said as she thought about the idea.
"Let's get everything set up," Sunset Blaze told everyone. "We'll help with special effects since our video's done now."
"Yup. We just sent it in before Rarity asked us to come over here," Bianca stated.
"Okay, then. Let's go, girls," Sunset Shimmer said as everyone participating in the music video shoot went to get changed.
After the girls all changed, they were talking about a few different things while Fragment Hunter made sure the stage were good for recording the video. Fluttershy and Azalea walked over to Sunny Flare and handed her a lyric sheet. "We can start by teaching you the words to our song," Fluttershy told the Crystal Prep girl.
Sunny Flare took the paper and quickly read the lyrics before she talked to Fluttershy. "But this is just about the Rainbooms. There's nothing about us in the lyrics," Sunny Flare said.
"That's easy to fix," Azalea remarked. "Just a little editing and you'll be good to go for the song itself."
"Exactly," Fluttershy agreed as she held a pen. "Wanna help me make some changes?"
Sunny Flare smiled as she, Fluttershy, and Azalea went to rewrite the lyrics with Bianca. Rarity enjoyed how everyone was getting along now that they were collaborating on the video. "Anybody else care to work on some music," she asked.
"We'll get to it after I teach you some dance moves," Sour Sweet told Rarity.
"Music first," Rarity insisted.
"Dance first," Sour Sweet insisted before it turned into a shouting match.
"Music first!"
"Dance first!"
"Music first!"
"Dance first!"
"Uhh... arguing isn't really helping," Sunset Blaze said as she watched everything.
"The order is irrelevant," Sugarcoat stated as she looked disapprovingly at the two girls while Pinkie Pie and Momo watched. "We have more than enough people to work out both at the same time."
"The girl with the ironic name is right," Silver remarked. "And don't get started on the irony of my own name as well," he added as he whipped his wolf tail around.
"Oh, yeah," Rarity said as she and Sour Sweet laughed in embarrassment. After feeling ashamed of themselves, the girls came to a compromise and everyone got ready for the music video. "Lights," Rarity called out.
At the Canterlot Mall, the three groups watched the winning video on a couple of televisions. Smiling as 'Dance Magic' played, Vinyl, Momo, and Bianca all did the dance steps featured in the video. After the video ended, the teenagers shared their excitement over everything. "Yee-hoo! We've got enough to make Camp Everfree look just like new," Applejack exclaimed.
"And we're having the spring dance on a yacht," Lemon Zest said as she practically shook with excitement.
"Not to mention we managed to get second prize and have enough money to last us quite a while here," Celadon added as she remarked on Fragment Hunter's own entry.
"We're rich! We're rich, I tell you," Momo shouted in excitement as she rolled around on money scatter across the floor.
"Um, Momo. It's really not all that much," Twilight told the younger doppelganger of Pinkie Pie.
"We're well off! Well off, I tell you," Momo corrected as she continued to roll around in the money like a dog in the grass.
"Okay, that's enough, Sugar Rush," Slate said as he grabbed his sister's shirt collar like a cat and got her to stand upright. When Momo was off the money, Layla used her Semblance to collect the funds.
"Who's up for a celebratory Aunt Orange smoothie," Pinkie Pie asked as she put her arms around Applejack and Lemon Zest's shoulders.
Everyone agreed and headed off, leaving Rarity to talk with Sunset Blaze and Sour Sweet as the fashionista stopped the girl from Crystal Prep. "I have just had the most brilliant idea! Maybe Crystal Prep could use an award-winning band to play at their spring dance? It'll be the perfect way to show off your new dance moves," Rarity suggested as she was excited at the idea of her friends playing on a yacht.
"That would be amazing," Sour Sweet agreed before she thought of something else. "Of course, then we'd have a new dilemma to deal with."
"Oh, no. What," Rarity asked in worry.
"Figuring out what we're all gonna wear," Sour Sweet replied.
Hearing what the girl said, Rarity's worries vanished as she smiled. "Oh, I already have some ideas that I'd be willing to share," she said.
"Me too," Sour Sweet told Rarity as the two laughed and headed off to meet up with their friends.
"Glad to know you're getting along after this," Sunset Blaze remarked as she walked alongside the girls.
As they left, Smoke Shadow watched the girls as he messed around with a type of high-tech lockpick that had a safe dial on it. While he did, a short and scrawny-looking young man with glasses and dirty blond hair was looking at a laptop next to the Raccoon Faunus. "I'm getting some strange readings from those seven girls that you saw before, Smoke," the young man said as he fixed his glasses.
"And what would that be," Smoke asked as he put the lockpick in his pocket.
"I don't know, but the energy signature is very similar to what brought us to this world in the first place," the blond said. "Not to mention that the members of Fragment Hunter seem to be giving off their own unique energies as well."
Smoke thought about what his associate was implying and understood enough as he asked his next question. "You think that you can give us a way to get back to Remnant, Oliver?"
"Analyzing the readings from both groups will help me get what I need. Until then, you and Rouge keep a close eye on them," the young male, revealed as 'Oliver', said as he typed at his computer. "I'll upgrade your spycams so that you can get me the information I need."
Smoke smiled and nudged the blond he stood next to. "What would I do without you, buddy?"
"Lots of things," Oliver retorted with a smile of his own. "If this is successful, we'll be able to travel between this world and Remnant at our pleasure."
"Okay then," Smoke said as he pulled up his hood. "Let's get to work, Gamma."
Dark clouds covered the sky and lightning struck over a volcano in the middle of a jungle as a cloaked figure approached the landmark. As they walked toward the volcano, he stopped at a pair of torches that acted like a gate and removed his hood to reveal himself. The man had an appearance that just screamed 'classic movie villain look' and laughed evilly as he dramatically threw his cloak open to reveal his exploration outfit underneath. "It is almost time," he said as he pulled out an ornate golden scepter with red jewels at the ends from his cloak. "Once I have all three relics, no one will be able to stop me, and Marapore will fall," he boasted in evil triumph. "For I am Stalwart Stallion—!"
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa," somebody called out from just out of view.
"Ugh! Cut," shouted somebody else. The jungle and volcano were revealed to be part of a movie set and the 'Stalwart Stallion' man was an actor who was playing the villain role. The director who told everyone to stop turned to see Fragment Hunter and the Rainbooms looking at Rainbow Dash, who interrupted the take.
"Sorry," Rainbow Dash apologized. "But at this point in the story, Stalwart Stallion would be known as Mojo." Everyone looked at the girl and Twilight wagged her finger at her to scold. "What? You think he wants Daring Do fans to call him out for making a mistake like that," she stated, thinking that she didn't do anything wrong.
As Rainbow spoke, Celadon was looking through one of the scripts that was left aside and found the scene they were watching. "It even says the exact name in the script right here," she said as she gave the script to the director and pointed to the line.
Reading the page for himself, the director turned back to the actor who was playing Stalwart Stallion. "They're right. Let's go again," he said before bringing the megaphone back up to his face. "And this time, say 'Mojo' instead of 'Stalwart Stallion', 'kay? And action!" Everyone watched as the scene was starting over again and Rainbow Dash had a very excited smile on her face the whole time.
After the take was completed, the director was showing the large group around the set. "I can't believe we're really here," Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Thank you so much for letting us come, Mr. Zoom," Twilight said to the director.
"We promise we won't get in the way," Sunset Shimmer told him before looking at Rainbow Dash. "Again." Rainbow Dash only laughed in embarrassment.
"I was honestly surprised that you would invite us here, Canter Zoom," Ventus Gaia voiced as he walked alongside Terracotta and Ivy.
"As a fellow Camp Everfree alum, I was more than happy to afford the ones who helped save it the chance to visit the set of our little film," Canter Zoom told the group.
"Eh-heh! Little," Rainbow Dash scoffed before continuing in an excited tone. "This is Daring Do we're talking about! This movie is gonna be huge!"
Slate was looking at the first Daring Do novel that Twilight gave him to check out since they arrived when he spoke up. "If these books tell me what the movie might be like, I'm with Rainbow. These stories are awesome," the gunslinger of Team FCSA said. "Puzzle-solving, action scenes, exotic locations. I told Azalea before on our first date that if I wasn't trying to be a Huntsman, I'd be a treasure hunter."
"That sounds like fun," Pinkie Pie remarked. "I'm sure this movie will be amazing!"
Soon, one of Canter Zoom's assistants arrived and spoke to the director about something. "Uh, there's a problem in wardrobe. They can't find the costume Daring Do is supposed to wear in the nightclub scene."
Canter Zoom put a hand against his face as he heard the bad news. "If we're ever able to finish it, it will be," he told the group about the movie. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go help with wardrobe."
"We'll join you," Terracotta said as he, Ivy, and Ventus went with the director to help out.
As the adults left, Twilight pulled out a schedule while Slate continued to read the novel that she loaned him. "According to our visitor schedules, they won't start shooting the next scene for a while, which means we have time to—"
"Get my picture taken with Chestnut Magnifico, the actress playing Daring Do," Rarity interrupted as she expressed what she wanted to do between scenes.
"And ask her to sign my petition to bring more bird feeders to Canterlot High," Fluttershy added as she held Spike in her arms.
Everyone looked at Fluttershy before Cereza asked what everyone was thinking. "Care to explain why you think a celebrity such as this Chestnut woman would help you? I'm only curious."
"Well, Chestnut Magnifico is an avid supporter of a foundation that helps build homes for animals in need," Fluttershy explained as she hugged Spike.
"My uncle's construction company does that too," Azalea said. "Providing homes for those who need it was the main reason why his family was so successful. Along with all the investments and other business ventures he's done, Uncle Mason is a very rich man."
"I wouldn't mind tagging along to meet this actress," Bianca told Rarity, who smiled brightly at the Dove Faunus.
"Oh, okay," Twilight said. "But I was thinking that we could—"
"Check out all the sets," Sunset Shimmer suggested as she interrupted Twilight.
"That sounds like fun," Rebecca remarked as Vinyl gave a thumbs-up in agreement.
"I'd love to look around," Lapis said.
"I'd sure like to get a closer look at that volcano," Applejack added.
Twilight looked at the schedule as she tried to explain her own idea of what to do. "Actually, I thought we'd—"
"Find the buffet," Spike said as he cut off Twilight.
"And the craft service tables," Momo added as she looked at the talking dog.
"And the cupcake fountain," Pinkie Pie said as she picked up Spike. Upon hearing what her older doppelganger said, Momo started drooling at the thought of cupcakes.
"I don't know what a cupcake fountain is, but I'm pretty sure they don't have one," Rainbow Dash remarked.
"Of course they do," Pinkie said as she pulled out a brochure. "I read it in my '100 Things You Didn't Know About This Movie Studio: Insider's Tour Guide'."
"Is the number-one thing we didn't know that the guy who founded this studio was an eccentric oddball with a sweet tooth," Applejack and Rua both asked playfully. Looking at the pamphlet, Pinkie immediately said that was the correct answer, making Rua chuckle.
Twilight was a little disappointed at the fact everyone wanted to do their own thing. "I guess we're splitting up," she asked and everyone agreed as the separated. Rarity, Fluttershy, Bianca, Silver, Sunset Blaze, Celadon, and Cereza all went to find the actress. Sunset Shimmer and Applejack went off to explore the sets with Rebecca, Vinyl, Lapis, and Rua. Pinkie Pie, Spike, Momo, Azalea, and Vixen went off to find as much food as they could. This left Twilight with Rainbow Dash and Slate, prompting her to ask them if they wanted to do her thing. "I don't suppose you want to—"
"Check out the props that A. K. Yearling designed specially for the movie," Rainbow Dash interrupted once more, but Twilight smiled at the idea.
"You read my mind," Twilight said.
"Sounds like fun," Slate voiced as he closed the book and went with the girls. Unknown to everyone, four individuals started to follow each group as they separated.
After the group split up and went to check out the film lot together, Rarity and Fluttershy were outside of Chestnut Magnifico's trailer. Cereza, Celadon, Sunset Blaze, Silver, and Bianca joined them and they talked about what they were doing. "Maybe we shouldn't bother her when she's in her trailer," Fluttershy said to Rarity in concern.
"Darling, please. Actresses love interacting with their fans," Rarity countered.
"Well, that all depends on what they're like offscreen," Silver remarked as he stood next to the fashionista. Suddenly, the trailer door slammed open, hitting Rarity and Silver as Fluttershy gasped. "Ow! My face!"
After quickly getting over the pain, Rarity and Silver poked their heads out from behind the door. As Rarity tried to get the attention of Chestnut, the actress was yelling to somebody on the phone. From the way she was talking to them, it was likely her agent. "Ugh! I don't care if I'm under contract! This is a joke, and I want this thing shut down! Do you hear me?!" Hanging up her phone, Chestnut Magnifico stormed off without noticing any of the teenagers around her trailer.
As the actress walked away, Rarity giggled nervously as she and Fluttershy looked at her in fear. "She probably just didn't see us," Rarity said.
"I doubt that. I think she didn't even care of our presence," Cereza countered.
"Even huntsman and huntresses back in Remnant don't like too much attention," Sunset Blaze added.
"She looked like she was ticked about something with her agent from that call," Bianca remarked as she checked to see if Silver was okay.
Celadon sighed as she looked at everything. "I guess an actress isn't the dream job it was either," she said before the group headed off. As they did, a woman with dark skin and white hair watched them leave, laughing to herself quietly before sneaking into the trailer for herself.
At the set for the jungle volcano, Sunset Shimmer and Applejack were checking out the area. Joining them were Rua, Rebecca, Vinyl, and Lapis. "Hmm. Wonder how long it takes to build somethin' like this," Applejack questioned.
"Several weeks, I bet," Sunset Shimmer mused.
"Almost reminds of Vacuo before the Great War ravaged the landscape. The plants make it seem like the pictures I've seen in history books," Lapis mentioned as the girls looked all around the set.
"They sure do go all out makin' it look like the real deal, huh," Applejack remarked before everyone heard a crunching sound.
Seeing where the noise came from, Sunset Shimmer lifted her boot to see that she stepped on a candy wrapper. "Though I don't think the rainforest is known for its... Bon Mot peanut butter praline crunch bars," Shimmer stated as she inspected the wrapper.
"Who would throw this on the ground like that," Rebecca questioned.
"Annoying litterbugs," Rua muttered as she looked around to see if anybody was still around.
"Better pocket that," Applejack said to Shimmer. "Wouldn't want it ruinin' the shot." Putting the wrapper in her jacket, Sunset Shimmer smirked at the girls before they continued to check out the different sets. As they left the false jungle, a young man with glasses came out of hiding and typed away at a laptop that had images of the girls who just left. As the screen reflected in his glasses, the computer soon showed live surveillance of the rest of the movie lot and his attention was focused on a set that resembled a town bazaar.
In a village set for the Daring Do movie, Rainbow Dash and Twilight were captivated by some of the props for the film as Slate stood next to them. "Wow! These are the three Altoriosa Relics," Rainbow Dash said with a gasp before she and Twilight zipped over to where the props were placed.
"Cool," Slate said as he approached at a more casual pace while Twilight and Rainbow looked at the relic props up close.
"The Staff!"
"The Sword!"
"Don't forget the Arrow of Altoriosa," said a new voice. Turning around, the three saw a girl about their age with glasses and bluish hair. "You're from Canterlot High, right?"
"Not me. Just visiting," Slate clarified while Rainbow and Twilight said they were.
"I'm Juniper Montage, Canter the director's niece," the girl told the three before gesturing to the relics. "What do you think?"
"They're awesome," Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she was unable to contain her excitement.
"A. K. Yearling is very hands-on when it comes to the sets and props for the movie," Juniper explained.
"Have you met her," Twilight asked.
"Just once when she came to check out the relics. I did get her to sign a copy of the latest Daring Do book, though," Juniper said with a squeal of excitement over getting an autograph. A feeling that the girls all shared while Slate shook his head in amusement.
"So what do you do here," Twilight asked.
"Yeah. If you're the director's niece, then you probably have something to do while you're here," Slate added.
"Mostly, I bring my uncle coffee and help get everything ready for shooting. I've been on the set for all the movies he's shot here. Pretty much know every inch of this place like the back of my hand," she explained with a giddy giggle. "I even took lessons from stuntmen in order to learn how to defend myself. I tried to convince Uncle Canter to cast me as Daring Do, but... he didn't really go for that," she stated with a bitter tone when she mentioned trying out for the role she wanted before instantly speaking in a cheerful voice once more. "Hey! Have you guys seen the set for Caballeron's secret lair?"
Rainbow Dash gasped at the idea of seeing another set for the film while she and Twilight shook their heads, excited to see the next area. "Seeing the bad guy's hideout would be pretty cool," Slate said as he agreed to checking out the location.
"They usually lock the door to that set, but I've got keys that open just about every door in this place," Juniper said as she pulled out a set of keys, grinning with pride. "Come on. I'll show you." As Juniper led the three to the locked set, a male in a blue hoodie inspected the relics. Smiling to himself as he looked at the prop sword, he soon turned his attention to the four that left and followed them quietly. As he did, a raccoon tail was shown poking out of his clothes before he hid it away again.
In the craft service area, Pinkie Pie and Spike were sitting down while they talked to Momo, Azalea, and Vixen about what they found on their search. "Three lunch buffets, six different kinds of fondue, two rooms with nothing but candy, and still no cupcake fountain," Pinkie listed and expressed her frustrations while the other girls ate what they grabbed from previous stops. "Oh, well. At least we found those peanut butter praline crunch bars! They weren't in my guidebook, but they sure were delicious!"
"I'll say," Spike sighed with satisfaction as he patted his belly. "You think they got any more?"
At the mention of the praline bars, Azalea's face scrunched up in disgust. "Bleh... I'm not a fan of peanuts. You can have them," she said to the others, prompting Momo to grab another bar she had in her pocket and took a bite out of it.
As Pinkie looked at her tour guide pamphlet again, Vixen noticed a commotion at the tables and saw Canter Zoom talking to Chestnut Magnifico. "What's going on over there," she asked and everyone's attention was caught.
"Ahh! One more month, Chestnut! That's all we need," Canter Zoom pleaded with the actress as she looked for something at the table. "I'm doing everything I can to keep us on schedule! But with all the setbacks we've had, I don't think we can do it! If you could just agree to stay on for one more month...!"
"Unacceptable," Chestnut exploded in anger. Believing that Chestnut was refusing to continue working, Canter Zoom tried to talk with her again before she interrupted him. "Where are my imported peanut butter praline crunch bars," the actress questioned as she couldn't find the candy anywhere.
Looking at their feet and seeing all the praline crunch bar wrappers, the girls and Spike all looked nervous. "Now would probably be a good time to resume the search for that cupcake fountain," Spike whispered. Nodding in agreement, Pinkie and Vixen started to back away while under the cover of the Fox Faunus' illusions.
Azalea and Momo, on the other hand, stayed behind as the latter held a few unopened candy bars in her hands. "Should I give them back to her," Momo asked Azalea.
"It would be the right thing to do," Azalea said to Momo like she was her own little sister and was teaching her a lesson about honesty. Before Momo could approach Canter Zoom and Chestnut, Azalea saw a large and familiar man talking them first. "Stay quiet," she warned the girl as she used her Semblance to make the two invisible.
"Are you looking for these," the large male asked as he handed Chestnut Magnifico a few praline bars. "I've been finding them around the place. Somebody else must have been sneaking them from you," he remarked as he grabbed a plate and helped himself to whatever was available at the buffet.
"Thank you. I needed one of these about now," Chestnut said as she took a bite out of the imported candy and left, prompting Canter Zoom to follow her while the large male went his own way.
"Now that my newest member of the security team found your snacks, can we talk about the schedule," the director asked as the two left the craft service area.
Deactivating her Semblance, Azalea looked at the man who gave Chestnut her candy back. "What's Tremor doing here? And why is he security," Azalea asked as she knew the man was a member of Smoke Shadow's gang of thieves.
"We should tell the others when we can," Momo said as she took another bite of the candy bar she had opened.
After checking out everything they wanted to, the Rainbooms and Fragment Hunter regrouped back at the volcano set where Canter Zoom and the other people involved with the Daring Do movie were about ready to shoot the next scene. While everything was getting set up for the take, Rainbow Dash talked to everyone about the relics she saw with Twilight and Slate. "You guys should've seen the relics," Rainbow whispered to her friends before her excitement got the better of her. "They were amazing!"
"Ugh! Quiet on set, please," Canter Zoom exclaimed as he turned around to look at Rainbow Dash.
The athletic girl nervously smiled as she apologized. "Sorry! Maybe I'll just go take one more peek at them," she said before running off to the other set where the relics were kept for the moment.
"I better go keep an eye on her," Slate told everyone. "Make sure she doesn't get too excited about something we haven't seen yet."
As Canter Zoom saw Slate and Rainbow Dash leaving the set, he turned back and signaled for the take to start. As the actor who played Mojo/Stalwart Stallion approached the volcano, Momo's foot began to twitch as the false landmark began to break apart. As the Rainbooms gasped in shock at what they saw, Terracotta sprang into action. "Everyone, move," the Bull Faunus shouted as he rushed onto the set and prevented the rubble from harming anyone by supporting it with his arms and back. When Ventus and Fragment Hunter made sure that everyone else was out of the way, Terracotta threw the set aside and it crashed on the ground while Canter Zoom kept yelling 'Cut'. "Anybody hurt," Terracotta asked.
After the cast and crew said they were okay, Canter Zoom was getting stressed over the incident. "What is going on around here? We just filmed on this volcano, and it was fine! This could set us back weeks," the director stated as he started to get exhausted with everything happening lately.
"They're gone! They're all gone," Rainbow Dash yelled as she and Slate came running back.
"What's gone," Canter Zoom asked as his eye twitched.
"The relics," Juniper Montage said as she came up next to Slate and Rainbow Dash. Everyone gasped in shock as they heard the news of the important props for the movie being taken.
The group made their way over to the village set for the film and Rainbow Dash explained what she saw with Slate. "I wanted to check them out again up close, and they weren't there," Rainbow Dash said as she showed where the relics were missing from.
"They were here just earlier," Slate said as he removed his hat and scratched his head. "Why did somebody take them?"
"This can't be happening," Canter Zoom exclaimed as he was getting stressed even further. "What are we gonna do?!"
"Couldn't you just get the prop department to make new ones," asked Sunset Shimmer.
However, Canter Zoom dismissed the idea with his answer. "The missing relics were personally approved by A. K. Yearling! We could have new ones made, but we can't use them until Miss Yearling has given them her official stamp of approval! You think it'd be easy to reach someone who is always holed up in her office writing, but Miss Yearling is a very difficult woman to track down."
"Maybe because she doesn't hide away in an office writing all the time," Terracotta asked as he looked at the Daring Do novel that Slate was reading before. "The descriptions of these places in the book seem like she visited them herself. Even reminds me of places like Vacuo or Menagerie. She might be exploring other areas to get inspiration for her stories."
"Oh, who knows when we could ever get a hold of her if that's the case," Canter bemoaned.
"I-It'll be okay, though, right," Rainbow Dash asked. "You can still go on when the props are approved?"
"Chestnut's contract with us is almost up, and with Mount Vehoovius collapsing, and now this, I fear we'll have to stop production altogether," Canter Zoom explained as he became more and more frantic.
Hearing that the movie could be cancelled with all the setbacks, Rainbow Dash was getting worried as well. "But-but you have to finish this movie! Think of all the Daring Do fans who'll be so disappointed if you don't!"
Twilight was concerned as well as she started to speak to the director. "Are you sure there's nothing you can do to—"
Suddenly, another crash was heard back at the Mount Vehoovius set and everyone looked in that direction. "Sounds like the rest of the volcano fell over," Silver remarked.
"I'm so sorry. Please excuse me," Canter said with a voice that sounded like he was about to break down as he excused himself. As the director left, Juniper smiled awkwardly as she went on her own, likely to help her uncle out.
"Poor guy," Sunset Blaze said as she saw the look on the director's face over everything that was happening.
As everyone was concerned about everything, Twilight began to think. "Hmm... There was trouble with one of the costumes when we first arrived. A set that was fine yesterday just collapsed. And now, the most important props in the movie have been stolen. I don't think these are just coincidences," Twilight listed as she gave her opinion on the situation.
"Me, neither," Sunset Shimmer agreed. "All the things that have gone wrong on set have put production on hold. It seems to me like someone is going to a lot of trouble to make sure this movie doesn't get made."
"Everything's pointing toward sabotage. Unless Qrow Branwen somehow followed us. His Misfortune Semblance causes bad luck to anyone and anything around him, but he has no control of it outside of battle. It surges out," Terracotta stated before mentioning an old friend from Beacon Academy.
"Like my own Semblance," Momo said as she added to Terra's remark. "I felt it happen when the set was falling."
Getting back on track, Spike began to ask who would want to sabotage the movie before Fluttershy gasped, interrupting him as she looked at Rarity and Celadon. "Oh, dear! You don't think..."
"Oh, no-no-no-no. Certainly not," Rarity exclaimed as she knew what Fluttershy was implying.
"Well, we did overhear her," Celadon remarked as Bianca and everyone who was with Rarity and Fluttershy earlier nodded in agreement.
While the others looked at them, Sunset Blaze was the first to ask a question. "You all want to tell us or what?"
Fluttershy was the first one to explain everything as she looked at the others. "When Rarity, Celadon, Cereza, Silver, Sunset Blaze, Bianca, and I followed Chestnut Magnifico to her trailer, we overheard her saying something about shutting down the movie..."
"Yes, but she said she wanted something shut down," Rarity reminded. "We don't know that she was talking about the movie."
"True," Bianca said. "It could have been something else entirely."
"Even if we knew, there had to be a valid reason as to why she wants to," Sunset Blaze told everyone as they tried to figure out what they could.
"Maybe she's just really mad that they're always running out of her imported butter praline crunch bars," Pinkie Pie suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.
Hearing about the candy, Sunset Shimmer pulled the wrapper she and Applejack found earlier. "Bon Mot butter praline crunch bars," she questioned as she showed the wrapper to everyone.
"Those are the ones," Pinkie exclaimed.
"We, uh... may have tried a few ourselves. Heh," Spike admitted as he was held in Fluttershy's arms.
"We found this on the Mount Vehoovius set right before it collapsed," Shimmer told everyone.
With the new information, Twilight said what everyone was thinking. "It sure seems like all signs are pointing to Chestnut Magnifico as the one causing all the problems around here."
"I don't think so," Azalea voiced as she brought something up. "Earlier when me, Momo, Vixen, Pinkie, and Spike were at the craft service area, I saw Tremor with some of those peanut butter bars. If he's here, then I'm sure that we know a familiar Faunus and his gang are around too."
"Smoke Shadow," Vinyl said as she lowered her sunglasses, remembering all the previous encounters with the Raccoon Faunus thief from Remnant.
"I don't know who's behind this or what's going on, but the first thing we need to do is find those relics," Rainbow Dash stated.
"I agree," Twilight said. "The relics were here earlier, and if Chestnut is behind this, then they must still be around here somewhere. If it was Smoke Shadow like you think, then they could be somewhere else."
"Chestnut Magnifico is an acclaimed actress! She'd never do something so dramatic," Rarity exclaimed as she refused to believe Chestnut was the guilty party.
"An actress? Dramatic? Never," Sunset Shimmer, Lapis, and Rua all sarcastically said at the same time with smirks on their faces.
"Well, she might do somethin' like this if she was tryin' to get out of workin' on a movie she didn't want to do," Applejack said as she gave her opinion on the possibility of Chestnut being the thief.
After Applejack gave her thoughts, Ivy stated her own. "Refusing to work, sure. But not sabotage. Something doesn't seem right. I think this might be a red herring."
"Besides, the popularity of the books and how everything's been following along with them means that this movie would be a success," Slate remarked as he held the Daring Do novel.
"Why don't Fluttershy, Pinkie, Spike, and I follow Chestnut Magnifico and see if we can find anything out," Sunset Shimmer suggested.
"Oh, I wanna go too," Momo exclaimed as she jumped onto Shimmer's back.
Sunset Blaze removed the girls from each other and spoke to everyone. "Okay. Momo will go with Lapis, Celadon, Bianca, Silver, Rebecca, Vinyl, Terracotta, and Ivy. With this many people, I'm sure that we can find Chestnut faster."
"Let's do it," Pinkie exclaimed after the plan was figured out and the group separated.
"In the meantime, the rest of us should look for the relics," Twilight told Ventus and other teenagers.
