> Anon-A-Missly Yours > by Odeinoichus > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Anon-A-Miss Origins > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Six Months before Anon-A-Miss: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were dancing alongside the rest of Canterlot High’s student body as the warring bands sang about things. The trio felt conflicting emotions as the Dazzlings sang their disharmonious tune and the Rainbooms countered with friendship. Magical constructs were formed in the heavens above Canterlot and the Sirens seemed on the verge of victory when a massive rainbow shaped alicorn emerged from the clouds and blasted the trio with a powerful beam of harmonic magic. This caused the Dazzlings to collapse on stage as the source of their powers were shattered completely and utterly. A light wave of magic spread across all of the concert goers and the effects of the Sirens’ songs were finally broken. The Canterlot Movie Club blinked several times as they could once again think clearly and they began to process what was going on. “More magic,” Scootaloo complained as she glared at the Dazzlings who were running off stage. Sweetie Belle shook her head briefly and folded her arms across her chest. “Ever since Sunset came here magic has been a huge problem.” Apple Bloom grit her teeth in frustration. “Ah was worse than ever ta Applejack just because of those magical jerks.” The trio shared a look of understanding. “Ah hate Sunset Shimmer.” Apple Bloom’s declaration drew nods of agreement from her two companions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three Months before Anon-A-Miss: The Canterlot Movie Club were enjoying the early summer fair when they noticed their sisters and their friends setting up on stage for a concert of some sort; curiously they approached the stage and tried to figure out when they’d been told about this. The Rainbooms for their part enjoyed performing as often as they could, Applejack and Rarity were always discussing the fun they had whenever Princess Twilight could visit to spend some time with them. And they were surprised that they’d been able to convince the fair operators to allow this. Apple Bloom blinked in surprise when she noticed Twilight Sparkle with the others. “Why’s she here?” Sweetie Belle shrugged. “No idea.” “It’s not another magical problem, is it?” Scootaloo asked confused. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shook their heads in response, but before they could say anything to answer the Rainbooms started singing. The show was perfect, it got the crowd jumping and dancing as the Rainbooms sang one of their best songs. Scootaloo preferred Awesome as I Wanna Be, but she wasn’t about to say that in front of anybody. At the penultimate climax of the show the band transformed once again into their strange magical forms. Sweetie Belle huffed under her breath at the display. “There they go again, showing off the magic.” Scootaloo looked around at some of the out-of-town guests to the fair. “Why doesn’t anybody else ever question the reality of the situation?” Apple Bloom shrugged. “Ah don’t know and Ah don’t care. Come on, girls, let’s go back to the rides.” Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement. Scootaloo sighed, but joined her friends as they left the area. You saw one magical song number you’d seen them all, even if Rainbow was super awesome with her wings. “Why can’t we have magical transformations? It’d be so cool if we could fly like Rainbow Dash.” Sweetie Belle groaned. “Come off it, Scootaloo, magic is the worst.” “Yeah!” Apple Bloom agreed. “Applejack spends more time with Sunset and her friends than doin’ chores on the farm now that she has her magic band!” Scootaloo sighed again, but kept her mouth shut this time. “And sometimes Rarity changes for no reason when she’s making clothes for everybody, always showing off and glowing a lot.” Sweetie Belle frowned in disgust as something inside of her stirred. “Magic is the worst!” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both nodded in unison at the declaration, though for different reasons. Scootaloo glanced between her friends and the receding stage with a slight hint of desire in her eyes. “Still kind of wish I could get wings like Dash,” she muttered to herself. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two Weeks before Anon-A-Miss: The Canterlot Movie Club once again were meeting in their club room at Canterlot High going over the things they wanted to do for the holidays with their sisters this year. A large flow chart was sitting on the table with drawings all over it; Sweetie Belle was very proud of her work as an artist and it showed as she grinned at her friends. “So, we can meet up for hot chocolate at the mall on Monday, then head off together for some window shopping and a little bit of pampering and then…” “Pampering!” Scootaloo interrupted. “Rainbow Dash and I don’t get pampered, we don’t need any of that spa time stuff you and Rarity love so much.” Apple Bloom giggled. “Aww come on, Scoots, it ain’t so bad.” Sweetie Belle smirked. “Yeah. What’s the matter, you chicken?” Scootaloo puffed her cheeks up slightly in anger and glared at her two friends. “I AM NOT A CHICKEN!” Rubbing her ear with her finger to try and get rid of the ringing Sweetie Belle chuckled good naturedly at the effect her teasing had caused. “Might want to lower that tone just a tad, Scootaloo.” Apple Bloom smiled knowingly before turning back to the flow chart on the table. “Ah can’t wait to spend more time with Applejack… just her and me, no concerts, no changin’ inta a freaky half pony thing, and no magic!” Scootaloo frowned. “Applejack is turning into a centaur now?” Apple Bloom blinked in confusion at the question. “Say what now?” “A half pony thing would be a centaur,” Scootaloo explained slowly as if her friend were really that clueless. “What? She just gets the ears and long hair still.” “Then that’s not half pony,” Scootaloo stated. Sweetie Belle nodded silently in agreement. Apple Bloom growled a little under her breath. “Ah don’t care, ah still say she’s a half pony.” Rolling her eyes Scootaloo turned back to the chart. “What’s this thing?” she asked pointing at the picture of a white and blue blob that vaguely resembled a horse. Sweetie Belle blushed furiously. “That’s Windy the Windigo. I… um, well I kind of saw Flim and Flam putting up pictures of her at their store and I kind of liked the design. She’s pretty cute.” Scootaloo shook her head. “What the heck is a Windigo?” Sweetie Belle shrugged. “Don’t know, I just liked the design.” “Why’s she on the flow chart?” Apple Bloom asked curiously. Sweetie Belle fingered the hem of her skirt nervously and averted her eyes. Her cheeks flushed a little and she tried to answer her friends, but her voice was so soft they barely heard her. “What did you say?” Scootaloo leaned in closer to try and hear better. “I said, I wanted to show it to Rarity!” “Ah don’t think she’d appreciate it.” Before they could continue their discussion a loud murmur from outside in the hall caught their attention. The trio shared curious looks before moving to see what the commotion was all about. Pinkie Pie was bouncing through the halls loudly singing a Christmas carol, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were following her with a few smiles or nervous expressions on their faces. “Hey!” Apple Bloom ran out of the room to give Applejack a hug. “Why are you so excited, sis?” Applejack chuckled. “We’re goin’ to spend tons of time with Sunset during the holidays.” Rarity nodded. “Oh yes, it’s going to be just simply divine.” “And the best thing is we can give her real feelings of togetherness and family while we’re doing it, totally awesome!” Rainbow Dash declared with a huge grin. Scootaloo’s face fell just a tad. “But, what about our plans?” “Aww, we’ll still hang squirt, just not as much as we thought.” Rainbow ruffled Scootaloo’s hair before following after Pinkie. “Yes, I do apologize, Sweetie, but Sunset never really spent much time with her family during the holidays and we want to show how special a time it is meant to be,” Rarity told her sister with an affectionate smile. “We’ll still do things together, but we must spend time with Sunset, darling.” So saying she walked off with her friends leaving Sweetie Belle behind. Apple Bloom glared after them as something inside began to fester and rot. “Horse apples,” she cussed. “Apple Bloom!” Sweetie gasped in shock. “Don’t tell me ya aren’t upset about this!” Apple Bloom whirled to glare at her friend. “We had a whole mess o’ plans made up, and now we just gotta throw’em away because of Sunset Shimmer?” Scootaloo frowned slightly. “But… I mean they said it was to spend more time with her to show her a good time, right?” she asked. “She wasn’t exactly the best before.” “Ah know!” Apple Bloom snapped in irritation. “Ah remember what she was like before Twilight came here, so what if she never had a decent Christmas? What makes her deserve one now?” Scootaloo glanced between her two friends; she was more used to Rainbow ditching on planned things before so it hadn’t hurt her as much, but she was still disappointed. “Well she helped save us all from the Dazzlings…” “Who were here only because of the magic she brought here!” Sweetie reminded frustratedly. “You two are really upset about this,” Scootaloo observed. “Come on, let’s go see if we can salvage any o’ our plans,” Apple Bloom decided, turning around she headed back into the club room. Scootaloo sighed. Sure it hurt that Rainbow Dash wanted to spend more time with Sunset to help share the love this time of year inspired, but that didn’t mean she was as upset as the other two. She wasn’t sure why, but she began to feel like nothing good could come of this growing resentment they all seemed to be gaining towards Sunset and magic in general. As she rejoined her friends she failed to notice when a small surge of magical energies seemed to flicker between the rapidly disappearing group and her own friends. It was a tiny wisp of magic, but it was something unusual. And it was strange enough to warrant the growing sense of discomfort Scootaloo was feeling at that moment. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Magic of Friendship was a curious thing, in the human world it was extremely confusing for Sunset Shimmer as she continued to try and grasp why it behaved the way it did. Several weeks ago she’d been running tests on her friends to try and understand it more, and her conclusions had been pretty disheartening. Humans and magic were simply just too unpredictable. That being said these test may have resulted in further harmonizing between the group of six which led to their magic beginning to express itself at odd times. Just the other day Applejack had ponied up when she was doing some chores on the farm, at the time she’d been talking with her brother about something important. But this meant she wasn’t paying too much attention, so when she did pony up she’d been just as surprised as Big Mac. Harmony Magic in Equestria was attuned to the Elements of Harmony, and ponies in general. It permeated the air around them and even the land, it was powerful and benevolent and served a purpose. It was also easily quantifiable and measurable and could readily be understood. Entire theses had been written up about the study of magical phenomena. Very little however was known about the magic of Disharmony or Chaos. Discord knew a lot about it of course, but he wasn’t exactly in a sharing mood for most of his life and he still preferred not to mention much about it despite being ‘reformed’. Still it did exist in Equestria, but had yet to manifest in any clear way in the human world. During the incident with the Sirens disharmony was prevalent, but not enough to fully disrupt the Magic of Harmony until the very end when they finally triggered something in the group of girls that had attempted to defy them. This magic had been expelled and dealt with; or so it had been believed, but like all things magical the energy had to go somewhere. When the gems on the Sirens’ necklaces had been destroyed it had fully broke the spell placed on everybody, but it had needed to dissipate somewhere and glowing beacons of magical energy like the Rainbooms was the perfect such receptacle for what little remnants remained of the Sirens’ magic. This in turn could sense the growing conflict within the three hearts of the CMC. It was weak at the moment, but jealousy began to simmer just below the surface. Months of jealousy towards magic, showing off super abilities, expressing love and compassion more towards Sunset Shimmer. A girl who had made them miserable in the past. It had been hard to turn aside the beliefs they had known about the girl from then and now, the image of Sunset as a controlling dominant bully were pretty hard grained into the memories of just about everybody at CHS. But none of them were as close to the source of Harmony Magic as the three CMC were. So the magic within sought a conduit to escape and sow disharmony yet again. To gain a foothold and achieve some measure of control. In other words, the last vestiges of the Sirens’ magic left the Rainbooms and settled themselves within the hearts of the CMC awaiting an opportune moment to begin molding them into the perfect conduits for their plans. And that moment would come soon. As the three argued about what plans to change and how to fix the problem Sunset caused them by being someone their sisters also wanted to spend time with, a stray swirl of green energy in Sweetie’s eye took note of the image on her flow chart. Yes. The Sirens had their chance and had failed spectacularly, now they were off who knew where trying to come to terms with the loss of their abilities. So why not change their new vessels into something more suitable for the holidays? It was time for the Windigos to return. > Anon-A-Miss Continues > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apple Bloom sighed as she climbed into bed intending to go to sleep; her sister and her friends were in the other room laughing and jawin’ away as if it were the best thing ever. Apple Bloom heard the comment about Piggly Wiggly and sighed wistfully at the fond memories. She felt the growing pangs of jealousy and resentment towards Sunset Shimmer, she knew it was wrong, but she honestly did not care. But what could she do about this? She had no really good ideas, so with a tired little yawn she chose to fall asleep. In Equestria the dream realm is guarded by the powerful Princess Luna. She protects everyone who slumbers, pony or other creature, from the nightmares that could plague them. On the world beyond the mirror there was no magical protector of dreams. There were myths and legends concerning such things from ancient Graze, but those were only long forgotten stories. So it was that Apple Bloom’s jealousy continued to fester within her mind and her subconscious picked up upon this. Since being infected several days previously; unknowingly, the girl had been slowly shaped and molded by the strong remnants of the Sirens’ magic, now free and given new hosts to make as it needed. Apple Bloom and her two companions had complained briefly about the cold in their bodies, not thinking much about it being winter and all. Tonight the final push was about to take place. And Apple Bloom could feel it, if only in her subconscious mind. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Confused, Apple Bloom glanced around at the strange world she was in. It felt like a strong pressure was crushing down upon her. Slowly she turned in a brief circle. A giant creature swam out of the darkness, it had a long neck, a dangerous looking head full of razor sharp teeth and a bulky looking body with too many fins and tentacles and other things to make any sense of it. A small blue horse fish thing floated happily around the creature and sang a haunting melody. Apple Bloom shuddered in the coldness of her body as she watched this scene slightly detached. “Stalking me now?” The blue horse fish demanded as she abruptly turned to face the young human girl. Apple Bloom flailed her limbs as the horse fish swam rapidly up to her. It was here that her mind registered she was under the sea, and it did not look better to her at all despite what Disneigh might have said. “Oh. It’s you, what do you want?” The blue horse fish folded her forelimbs in front of her with a tiny pout on her muzzle. “Ah don’t want nothin’.” The blue horse fish stuck her tongue out childishly. “That’s a double negative.” “No it ain’t!” “Is too.” “Is not!” “Is too!” “Is not!” “Is too, is too, is too!” “NOT, NOT, NOT!” Apple Bloom’s chest heaved up and down and it occurred to her that she shouldn’t even be breathing down here. Which is when a tightness filled her chest and she began to sputter and gasp for non-existent air. The blue horse fish smirked viciously as she swam around her in a tight circle, like a shark circling its prey. “Finally! Playing this role was beginning to grate on my intelligence.” “W-What?” Apple Bloom could barely get enough oxygen past her lips and into her lungs to ask that much. The blue horse fish began to glow unnaturally so and expanded until she was much larger. Then with one flick of her massive tail she pushed herself into Apple Bloom’s body. Apple Bloom let out a high pitched keening wail as her body began to feel much worse. An unnatural cold sapped her limbs and made her blood run slower, more sluggishly. Her skin began to tingle and burn as if she had been out too long in the cold and was now suffering from frostbite. And her breath came out in freezing cold blasts which transformed the alien sea into a world of ice and fish sticks. Giggling slightly at the odd notion of an ocean full of frozen fish sticks Apple Bloom slowly blacked out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Waking with a start Sweetie Belle fumbled around under the covers until she finally reached the phone resting on her night stand. Rarity always insisted on calling it a duvet, or something Prench, but she didn’t really care at the moment about proper bedroom furniture name conventions. Finally getting the phone close enough to see with her bleary half-open eyes she noticed Apple Bloom was calling. At three in the morning. “Apple Bloom!” Sweetie answered the call with a tired groan. “Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo said sounding like a zombie who’d just risen from her grave. “Conference call, girls!” Apple Bloom declared loudly and with an odd echoing effect in her voice. “Why are you calling us at three in the morning?” Scootaloo grumbled. “Ah have the perfect plan to get our sisters back.” Apple Bloom sounded wide awake and extremely energetic for somebody who’d just gotten up at three in the morning to phone her best gal pals. “We have to be at school in a few hours, couldn’t you have waited until then?” Sweetie demanded, frustrated, but also somewhat intrigued at the thought of reclaiming her sister. Apple Bloom didn’t make any sound, but Sweetie and Scootaloo both felt she was probably rolling her eyes. They weren’t sure how, or why, they knew that, but it just seemed obvious. “We’re goin’ ta make a MyStable account.” “How the hay is that going to get our sisters back?” Scootaloo demanded. “What’s hay got to do with anything?” Sweetie wondered in confusion. Scootaloo grumbled under her breath about something. “Never mind that! How is making a MyStable page going to help us get our sisters back?” she repeated her question in a tone that clearly indicated she’d rather be back asleep in bed. Apple Bloom chuckled and the sound of a strong wind could be heard over the receiver. “Are you outside?” Sweetie wondered mystified. “No. Now pay attention girls, Ah’m only explainin’ this here plan once.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following morning at Canterlot High School Sunset Shimmer and Applejack were walking towards their lockers discussing the next planned sleep over at Rarity’s place when Sunset started noticing the odd looks she was getting. Or rather Applejack was getting. There were snickers, and giggling from a lot of the students who were looking at their phones. Just when Sunset was going to ask Applejack what was going on Apple Bloom came rushing up towards them. Sunset noticed that Apple Bloom seemed to have decided on a different outfit than she normally wore. She had on a deep blue top with streaks of swirling white lines running through it, and a matching short blue skirt. Her signature bow was also missing and something looked different about her. “Applejack, Applejack, it’s terrible!” Apple Bloom latched onto her sister’s arm and pulled rapidly. “What in tarnation? Bloom, why are ya wearin’ that in winter? Ain’t yer legs turned ta ice? And what is so gosh darn terrible?” “Laying it on a bit thick?” Sunset asked with a chuckle. Applejack turned and glared at her friend. “It’s this MyStable account!” Apple Bloom explained as she pulled her phone out. “MyStable?” Applejack repeated confused as to why that should matter. “Sooey!” A voice rang out from the other end of the hall. Sunset, Applejack and Apple Bloom glanced up trying to see who had shouted, but everyone was too busy laughing it was impossible to make out who had just shouted. “What is so gosh durn funny all o’ a sudden?” Applejack wondered. Sunset shrugged. Apple Bloom waved her phone in front of Applejack’s face. “It’s Anon-Y-Mous!” she declared. Applejack read over the info on the page Apple Bloom was showing her. Her eyes widened in shock then narrowed in anger. Bon-Bon walked past with Lyra just then and the two of them stopped. “How’s it goin’ Piggly Wiggly?” they both asked before bursting into giggles and walking off to first period. This triggered another laughing attack to the rest of the student body in the hallway. Face flushed with embarrassment Applejack grit her teeth. “That no good pole cat, when Ah find out who this Anon-Y-Mous is Ah’ll tree’em and then have a nice long discussion about airin’ personal private matters over the internet with dad’s old twelve gage!” Sunset stepped back in shock. “Wait a minute? This can’t be that bad!” Pulling out her own phone she quickly searched MyStable for what had gotten Applejack so upset. Her eyes widened when she saw it. Someone had made a rather crude image of Applejack wallowing in a mud pit with the captions ‘Piggly Wiggly’ and ‘Taking a Bath’. “It’s horrible, it’s dreadful, it’s simply uncouth!” Rarity declared as she marched up to her friends with one arm raised in a dramatic fashion. “Applejack, everyone in the entire school has seen this. Including the faculty.” “Ah know, and look at how many are sharin’ it with the rest o’ Canterlot.” Applejack jabbed a finger at the rising number of likes/shares next to the image. Sunset frowned. “But how did this Anon-Y-Mous know about this? I thought only the six of us and your family knew?” Applejack was too angry to reply; instead she grabbed her stuff and high tailed it to class. Apple Bloom watched her go. “Applejack, wait!” Rarity exclaimed rushing after her friend. Sunset turned to Apple Bloom. “Do you know how this could have gotten out?” she wondered. Apple Bloom shook her head. “Nope.” Fingering her left ear she twirled around causing her new skirt to billow out in a brief breeze of freezing cold air and quickly followed her older sister. Sunset watched her go curiously, spotting a gleam on her left ear she noted a peculiar looking earring dangling. It was in the shape of a snowflake. “When did Applejack let her little sister get a pierced ear?” she wondered to herself. “Sooey, Sooey! Here Piggly Wiggly!” Sunset whirled in time to catch sight of Trixie turning around the corner after the shout rang out through the halls. Frowning, she ignored the odd outfit Apple Bloom was wearing and marched off to discuss why it wasn’t such a good idea to mock someone openly in the hallways with Trixie. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Later that day Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo finally met back up with their friend. Both of them were equally surprised to discover the changed wardrobe and pierced ear. Scootaloo thought it was kind of awesome, but Sweetie Belle flinched at the thought of anybody sticking something through her ear. “That plan is workin’ great. Everyone is humiliatin’ Applejack somethin’ fierce.” Apple Bloom stood on the roof outside without anything protective to wear. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were kind of concerned about this, but chose not to address it in favor of finding out what the next step was. “How exactly is this going to work?” Sweetie wondered. “I mean, sure, we set it up to make it look like Sunset’s secret MyStable page, but our sisters are too smart to fall for something like this.” “Yeah! It’s way too blatantly obvious a frame up job.” Apple Bloom sighed as she turned to face her friends. “I suppose you’ll find out when it’s time. You’re not quite ripe enough yet,” she admitted cryptically. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shared confused looks. Apple Bloom turned back around as a cold blast of wind tore across the roof twirling snowflakes and tiny particles of ice around Bloom’s legs and causing her skirt to billow out. Scootaloo’s eyes widened slightly. “Aren’t you cold?” Apple Bloom chuckled. “Nah. The cold never bothered me anyway,” she stated cryptically. Sweetie shivered as her entire body felt like it was trapped in ice. “Apple Bloom, you’re starting to scare us,” she admitted in a soft voice. Apple Bloom spun around. “Never mind that, you two gotta get some dirt on Rainbow Dash and Rarity!” “But I don’t want to expose my sister online!” Sweetie exclaimed. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Ah don’t want ta expose her, what do ya think ah am?” “Isn’t sharing secrets online kind of an uncool thing to do?” Scootaloo questioned, she rubbed the back of neck to stave off a sudden chill as Apple Bloom’s gaze fell upon her. “We gotta do somethin’ ta mess up their cozy little harmony. Sunset broke their friendship so easily back in the day, how hard can it really be ta do that again now?” She smirked as she turned and embraced another blast of arctic wind as it tore across Canterlot High’s roof. “But that was totally uncool, Rainbow Dash always said so,” Scootaloo argued with her friend as she tried to approach her. Gritting her teeth together Apple Bloom spun around and a blast of snow struck them both in the face. “Just do it! You’ll understand when yah start ta feel the music inside.” With those final words Apple Bloom stalked off to head back inside, she needed to find Applejack and make sure she was still being assaulted with embarrassing catcalls. “I think something’s really wrong with Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle said once she’d left. Scootaloo nodded absently as she fingered her right ear where a particularly cold burst of wind had lingered longer than it normally should. “Uh-huh, but this is her plan. And we gotta help her.” “I don’t like this plan, it hurts Rarity; I didn’t want to hurt Rarity.” Scootaloo sighed as she turned to face her friend; Sweetie’s expression was pleading, her eyes shining with concern and unspent tears, possibly caused by the wind biting into her face. “Let’s get off the damn roof and we can figure this out while we dig up the dirt on Rainbow.” “You’re actually going to go through with it?” Sweetie demanded in shock. Scootaloo shook her head. “No, but I don’t want Apple Bloom to think we aren’t with her. She might do something crazy.” Sweetie reluctantly nodded and made her way towards the roof entrance alongside her friend. “I already know the best way to mess with Rarity, but we’ll probably have to wait until the next sleepover. So, how do we embarrass Rainbow Dash? She isn’t exactly shy about her faults or accomplishments.” Scootaloo flinched slightly as she stepped inside and her ear finally stopped tingling. “I think I have an idea, but we’ll have to wait until Friday. Dash never does it except on Fridays when she knows everybody is too busy with their own weekend plans to pay as much attention to her.” Taking her hand away from her ear she turned and quickly headed off to her next class, completely oblivious to the fact that a tiny icicle shaped earring had started to form around her right ear. Sweetie was too worried to notice it herself, she was also really nervous about how she was going to have to get the dirt on Rarity. For the rest of the day their thoughts were torn between concern for this plan and concern for their friend. And the chill never seemed to leave them, no matter how close to the heaters they sat in class. > Anon-A-Miss Disruptions > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scootaloo had been feeling strange since the meeting on the roof with Apple Bloom. Chills kept her from paying as much attention in class as she cared to, and she’d started wearing her coat in class. Most of the other students and faculty were too busy to really care, but Ms. Cheerilee adopted a concerned expression; she approached Scootaloo and placed her hand to her student’s forehead. “My goodness, Scootaloo, your forehead is as cold as ice! I want you to head straight for the school nurse.” Scootaloo blinked lethargically as she looked up to Ms. Cheerilee. Finally it dawned on her what had been said and she got to her feet. “Silver Spoon, go with her to make sure she gets to the nurse.” “What? Why me?” Silver Spoon was clearly put out judging by the tone of her voice. “Because you and Miss Tiara have been giggling throughout my entire lecture, now march!” Ms. Cheerilee indicated the doorway. Scootaloo stumbled along through the classroom entrance. Silver Spoon got to her feet in a huff and followed after her. Outside in the hall Scootaloo was even more lethargic as she stumbled on her way towards the nurse’s office. She wasn’t sure why she was feeling so strange all of a sudden, but she really didn’t like the sensations creeping through her body. Silver Spoon caught her as she stumbled against the lockers. A brief flash of concern on the former bully’s face. “Are you ok?” “I feel cold.” Scootaloo’s teeth began to chatter. Silver Spoon didn’t think she could get Scootaloo to the nurse’s office fast enough; so she flagged down another student in the hallway quickly. “Help! Scootaloo is really sick.” The blonde girl shared a look of concern as her eyes took in both girls simultaneously; she rushed over to help the younger students, lending a hand with getting Scootaloo up and helping Silver Spoon support the slowly freezing purple haired girl. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scootaloo was vaguely aware of voices surrounding her, some filled with concern, others uncertainty, but she barely cared. All she really cared about was the freezing sensation which was creeping through her limbs at a rapid pace. Tossing and turning on the semi-hard surface she was laying on the world slowly faded from her senses completely. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” Nurse Redheart exclaimed as she studied the temperature readings for the young girl under her care. Principal Celestia stood off to the side. “Can you think of anything else, girls?” she asked Silver Spoon and Derpy. The blonde shook her head negatively. Silver Spoon imitated her older companion, but chose to address the Principal verbally as well. “I just don’t know. She’s been acting flakey all day, Sweetie Belle too. Maybe they caught whatever Apple Bloom picked up because she’s acting really odd.” “Yes, I had noticed Apple Bloom was dressed rather inappropriately for the current weather. Do you think it could be some new strain of Flu?” Celestia aimed her question at Redheart who was busily working to continue circulation in the unconscious girl’s legs. Nurse Redheart adopted a thoughtful expression as she worked. “I don’t think so, but maybe we should send her home. Or get her parents to take her to the hospital,” she suggested. Principal Celestia grimaced slightly. “Ordinarily we would, but Scootaloo’s parents are typically away on business and her guardians, her Aunts, are currently incommunicado working wildlife rescue further North until much later tonight.” Nurse Redheart sighed and turned to Celestia. “I just don’t have the equipment to treat this here, let alone diagnose it.” “What about Rainbow Dash?” Silver Spoon wondered. “Aren’t her parents also listed as emergency contacts?” “Vice-Principal Luna is attempting to contact them as we speak. I fear what could happen if we can’t get hold of them in time.” Nurse Redheart shook her head then turned to Derpy. “Fetch all the blankets in the supply closet on the third floor. Silver Spoon, please go tell Ms. Cheerilee what’s happened and somebody get Sweetie Belle down here immediately. If she’s exhibiting the same symptoms we must start monitoring her at once to ensure she doesn’t slip into a similar state as Scootaloo.” Derpy saluted sharply and rushed from the room. Silver Spoon glanced fearfully one last time at Scootaloo before taking off as well. Principal Celestia frowned briefly and turned to leave. “Sweetie Belle is in PE at the moment, I’ll notify Coach Will at once.” Nurse Redheart nodded gratefully as she did everything she could to keep the young teens' body from losing all warmth. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The orange siren floated around Scootaloo’s body as it hovered through the clouds. Rainbow Dash was at her side doing loops and tricks and showing off like mad, but the siren was glaring at the stupid human and seemed impatiently waiting for something. “Come on, Scoots! You can fly too, these wings work just like mine,” Rainbow encouraged. Scootaloo gulped nervously as she looked down from her perch. “A-A-Are you sure, Rainbow?” Dash grinned as she hovered in front of her little sister. “Totally, would I ever lie to you?” Scootaloo glanced at the tiny looking wings on her back. “W-w-well, I guess they do sorta look like yours.” Grinning nervously at her idol she took a tentative flap and then hopped clear of the cloud. The siren grinned. “Finally.” Scootaloo spent several moments enjoying her time ‘flying’ until her wings locked up in pain and she plummeted out of the sky. “RAINBOW DASH!” Zipping down faster than the speedy blue human girl the orange siren latched onto the girl wrapping her hooves around the young human’s body. “I’ve got you.” “You’re not Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo accused. “I’m also not a pathetic worthless siren,” the orange siren admitted with a devilish grin. “Your resistance is high, but now, despite Loyalty’s interference, you are mine!” Scootaloo screamed in pain as the orange siren morphed into strange swirling energy and pushed into her chest, spinning around and around as if going down the drain. And high above the clouds a trio of oddly proportioned equine specters whinnied as they claimed yet another victim. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Windy Whistles arrived at Canterlot High as quickly as she could get away from work for this emergency. When she arrived she found Rarity and Rainbow Dash outside of the Nurse’s office with concerned expressions on their faces. Rainbow Dash rushed up to her mother as soon as she saw her. “Mom! Scoots is in real trouble.” Windy nodded briefly. “I know, Vice-Principal Luna explained as much as she could on the phone. Has the situation worsened? Rarity seemed on the verge of tears. “We don’t think so. Sweetie Belle is dangerously close to experiencing a similar problem, but Scootaloo has begun to stabilize. Nurse Redheart insists they be seen to by a doctor.” “Is your mother coming?” Windy briefly placed her hand on Rarity’s shoulder to offer some comfort. “Father is busy at the moment and mother is out of town, he told Principal Celestia that he would allow us to take her to the hospital as soon as you arrived.” Windy sighed. “Ok, where are they?” “Right here.” Nurse Redheart opened her door to reveal a shivering Sweetie Belle wrapped in three blankets with a hot water bottle hugged tight against her chest and a still unconscious Scootaloo on a makeshift gurney. Rainbow was quick to pick up one end, while her friend Fluttershy took the other. “We’ll take them through the cafeteria loading dock to avoid spending any time out in the cold more than necessary.” Windy turned around and began to lead the group off. “Where is Apple Bloom?” Sweetie asked as they walked. “Applejack has been looking high and low for her, but can’t seem to find her. She seems to be missing from her class.” Rarity patted her sister affectionately. Sweetie frowned briefly. “She might be up on the roof again, she had us hold a meeting up there earlier… she wasn’t wearing any outer wear either.” “Good heavens!” Rarity exclaimed. “You mean to tell me Apple Bloom was out in the cold without any winter clothing at all?” Sweetie nodded. Rarity pulled out her phone and quickly texted Applejack this new information. “If she’s there again, Applejack will find her and join us in the parking lot.” Sweetie trembled briefly as she eyed her sister gratefully, she would have mentioned that Scootaloo hadn’t had a pierced ear earlier that day, but something inside of her held her tongue preventing her from providing any further dangerous knowledge. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apple Bloom watched all of this from her vantage point with a sour expression on her face. Her plans were not working as well as she’d hoped, now that she had full access to the power within she had tried to escalate the transformation in her companions. Unfortunately it may have backfired slightly; fortunately the girls only thought they had contracted something harmful, not that magic had set root within and was altering them on a fundamental level. Applejack would have questions for her, especially as her skin had gained an interesting blue tint to it and her hair was now somewhat longer than it had been that morning. But if she worked her magic on her sister and the others she could keep them from putting two and two together just yet. Dealing with the Harmony Magic within the six friends was not possible yet, they were still too weak. Apple Bloom curled her lip in disgust briefly and then turned back around. “Ah may have made a tactical mistake… But ah know how to fix it.” Grinning she spotted Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon arguing in the front hall. Whipping out her phone she quickly uploaded several images to MyStable. “Anon-A-Miss, yah have another task ta perform fer me.” Swiping her fingers across the screen rapidly she waited and watched. This was going to be good. > Anon-A-Miss Manipulations > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Applejack charged through the entrance to the school’s roof full of worry and concern. Her sister was acting mighty peculiar today and on top of that the entire student body, aside from her friends, was mocking her by making pig noises. Whoever this Anon-Y-Mous person was she was goin’ to get a stern talking too just as soon as she made sure Apple Bloom was alright. “Apple Bloom!” Applejack found her sister standing on the roof without her coat on or anything else really. Apple Bloom slowly turned to face her sister. Her skin looked sickly blue and her hair had changed since that morning, but Applejack failed to notice this as her sister seemed to flinch in her presence before collapsing to her knees. “Apple Bloom!” Applejack repeated with deep concern. She ran up to her little sister and got her coat on, she’d fetched it out of Bloom’s locker before rushing up here. “What in tarnation are ya doin’ up on this here roof without a stitch of protection on?” Apple Bloom gagged slightly as her sister came close to her. The fire of friendship was strong within her currently, family bonds were always the strongest. The Apple Bloom part of her admired and cared deeply for her sister’s concern, the growing Windigo part of her felt sick to her stomach and wanted to lash out, but that would have been fatal for her plans. “Ah’m fine!” she said pushing at Applejack to get her to back off. “Like heck ya are!” Applejack argued. “Come on, we’re gonna get ya to the hospital!” She knelt down and lifted her little sister up effortlessly. Apple Bloom’s eyes widened. If they were stuck in the hospital all of her plans for getting back at Sunset Shimmer and regaining control of Applejack’s affections were doomed. Even if they did make her sick to her stomach right now. “Ah don’t need ta see no doctor!” Apple Bloom declared frustratedly. Applejack shook her head. “Your delirious, little sis.” Pinkie Pie popped up just then. “Everything ok, Applejack?” “No it ain’t. Make way, Pinkie!” “Okie dokie Loki,” Pinkie sang as she cartwheeled out of the stairwell. Apple Bloom was utterly mystified by the display, but as the group ran downstairs and off towards where Windy Whistles was waiting she began to feel stronger. “You told Anon-Y-Mous about this!” Diamond Tiara screamed at Silver Spoon. “No I didn’t!” Silver Spoon defended. Diamond Tiara stomped her foot. “I told you in confidence and only you! So you had to have told Anon-Y-Mous about it!” Silver Spoon trembled frustratedly. “I already told you I wouldn’t share that with anybody!” “Then how did Anon-Y-Mous find out about it?” “I don’t know! But I didn’t tell anybody.” Diamond Tiara turned away in a huff and started off down the hall. “Until you admit what you did we are no longer friends!” Silver Spoon felt really hurt. She clutched her chest and wobbled slightly on her legs as if struck. With tears stinging her eyes she marched off in the other direction; neither girl noticed the small burst of frozen wind that seemed to dance around their legs, or float off down the hall where Applejack was carrying Apple Bloom. Sighing in content Apple Bloom let herself be taken away. Anon-Y-Mous had played her part well, she had absorbed the hatred and despair released just now and it fueled her growing magic. She wouldn’t have to worry too much about somebody examining her now. “See! I told ya, ya had ta come inside,” Applejack told her. Her accent thickened slightly with her concern making it come out more strongly. Pinkie nodded with a giggle beside them both. “We’ll get you to the doctor and some chicken soup will make you feel all better.” Apple Bloom grimaced, but mostly because Pinkie Pie had even more of the Fire of Friendship than her sister did; if that could be believed. The trio arrived at the loading dock for the cafeteria to find everybody waiting there, including Granny Smith. The elder woman walked up to her granddaughters with concern in her expression. “Applejack, you make sure they take good care of her, ya hear me?” “Yes, Granny.” “We’ll get her seen to in time, Miss Smith,” Windy Whistles assured as she ushered the group towards her waiting car. “Shucks, no need ta be so formal, call me Granny,” Granny said with a warm smile. Apple Bloom really thought she was going to throw up this time; the Fire of Friendship was extremely powerful here. Steeling herself for having to go through with this she waited until she could see the others and then she smirked. Scootaloo was already changed, considering her right ear was now fully pierced with the focal gem. Sweetie Belle still seemed to be holding on to her true self, but once they began to enact plan Anon-Y-Mous fully she had every confidence that she would come around. Still; what could be causing such a delayed reaction within the cream skinned girl? It wasn’t as if her magic hadn’t been strong enough, considering Scootaloo’s transformation had accelerated, so why was… Apple Bloom’s eyes widened in sudden realization. “Aria,” she cursed under her breath. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The purple siren floated next to the human girl with her forehooves crossed and glared at the landscape she was stuck in. Granted she was only a shade of the magic which had been part of Aria Blaze for so long, but even so she was still highly linked to the original personality of the bearer of said magic. “Like hell I’m going to go from taking orders from Adagio to being stuck with Sonata in charge, of all sirens,” she complained. “Apple Bloom isn’t that bad, she’s really smart and clever. I mean she thought up Anon-Y-Mous all on her own,” Sweetie said. “I don’t care! It’s still Sonata’s magic she absorbed.” The not Aria pouted considerably. Sweetie sighed. “This kind of really, really hurts, couldn’t we just merge together like they did and work out how to get along with her in charge when I’m not feeling like a huge gaping void has torn out my heart?” Aria slowly turned to stare down at the girl, a swirling vortex of white and dark blue icicles had formed inside her chest making it look like she’d been shot with a snow gun. “She is totally the worst.” “I’m deeply concerned for my sister,” Rarity suddenly spoke up as she entered the picture. “But I can share her with you if it means making her whole again, I am after all the very embodiment of generosity.” Aria stuck her tongue out and made a bleh sound. A cute little Windigo girl floated around the trio next and offered a smile towards Aria. “We could play some really mean tricks on a lot of people, especially Apple Bloom.” Aria jabbed one hoof at the embodiment of all that was wrong with this world. “Windigos are not cute! You are an abomination of the highest order and I refuse to acknowledge you!” Rarity sighed. “This is getting absolutely nowhere.” “Tell me about it,” Sweetie complained. “Well I suppose there’s really only one thing for it then,” Rarity decided. Aria eyed the spiritual embodiment of generosity with a sudden hint of worry. “Stay back. I’m warning you.” Before she could utter another word Rarity grabbed her by the tail and pulled her next to Sweetie Belle, then things really got weird. “Hey! Stop! What are you doing! That doesn’t bend that way!” Sweetie Belle giggled as she felt like a nice warm blanket was now covering her. In a way it was because Generosity had given them both something. Aria stared down in horror at herself, she was dressed in a cute little outfit that somehow both clashed with and complimented her purple scales and fins. Then her eyes widened as she saw the matching outfit on Sweetie Belle. “Gah!” Twirling in the tight frilly dress Sweetie giggled again and showed off her new wardrobe. It was a complimentary looking one-piece dress with a dark ice blue colour that turned into white the higher up it went until the blue was completely gone. A matching hairband with Windy’s hair colour was resting on top of Sweetie’s head and a pair of sparkling earrings rested in her ears. They were in the shape of two whirling vortexes of sleet. “By The Leviathan’s left teat! This is worse than being stuck with Sonata in charge.” She wasn’t sure how she was even wearing a near identical outfit to the younger teen, but the siren was definitely disturbed by it. Horrified even. “I think it’s adorable,” Windy said. “You stay out of this!” Aria snapped. Sweetie pouted slightly. “Don’t you like it?” Aria grit her teeth. “Nope, no way am I being caught dead in that.” “Dead is exactly what you’re going to be if you don’t shake a fin and merge with my adorable little scamp of a sister,” Rarity pointedly stated. She folded her arms over her chest and glared at the stubborn siren mental construct. “Can’t we just all get along?” Windy pleaded. Aria rolled her eyes, but finally consented to what Generosity was saying. “Alright, better stuck with Sonata in charge than being dead I suppose. But you better not tell her I said that!” she threatened Sweetie Belle. “I thought this was all just some odd symbolism thing inside my mind to make sense of everything?” “Whatever.” Aria flicked her tail and charged bodily into Sweetie. The two then merged and Sweetie’s skin tone changed slightly gaining a bluer tinge to it. Her hair band also got purple spikes all over it. Sweetie sighed contently as the maelstrom within her finally settled down. “Much better, I think I’m ready to…” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A piercing bright light shone in Sweetie’s eye as she finally woke up. At some point during the car ride she’d lost consciousness, but now she was fully awake again and wasn’t feeling nearly so cold. She did feel a little sick to her stomach though with all the waves of concern and love and hope bleeding off her sister. “Yuck,” she complained in a weak tone. “Hmmmm.” Doctor Horse frowned as he continued to study her. “Just like the others… I’m afraid it isn’t like any kind of Flu I’ve ever seen, but at least their body temperatures seem stabilized.” “If you call being on the brink of Hypothermia stabilized!” Rarity exclaimed in her usual dramatic fashion. Doctor Horse shot her a brief annoyed look. “Yes, well, seeing as how they do not seem to be dying at the moment it’s possible that they are past the danger. We’ll run several tests of course, however with the hospital so full of patients already I recommend giving them plenty of bed rest, some TLC and this prescription,” he informed passing a piece of paper to Rarity. “If this phenomena persists or the test results come back with anything more alarming we’ll call you back in.” Rarity nodded as she accepted the prescription and rushed over to hug her little sister. Sweetie flailed her arm in Rarity’s general direction. “Get off!” she whined as she really thought she was going to throw up. “Tut, tut, my little sister is going to get all the love and attention she needs.” Rarity was actually crying. “And please don’t ever scare me like that again,” she whispered. Sweetie Belle, the part of her that still wanted to be close to Rarity, smiled gratefully. Then the rest of her realized what was about to happen, turned her head to one side, and expelled her lunch all over the hospital room floor. Rarity’s eye twitched briefly. “Yes, um, I think we’ll be needing something to help settle her stomach as well, Doctor Horse.” Chuckling lightly he passed her a second prescription. > Anon-A-Miss Expandings > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunset had been putting out small fires for most of the rest of the day and into the week. While the others had been concerned with their siblings’ strange descent into some kind of odd flu. Sunset had been dealing with countless ‘friendship’ problems all caused by Anon-A-Mous. First she’d tried to get Trixie to back off on Applejack, then she’d found out Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon weren’t talking to each other anymore. Button Mash had gone home the following day halfway through it, in tears, all because some inconsiderate jerks had changed their text message alerts to play Simple and Clean from Kingdom Hearts. Button was pretty emotional about that ever since his father left, the song really upset the young tween. His mother had been furious with the faculty for not doing anything and had vowed they wouldn’t hear the end of this. And it just kept snowballing from there; Lyra and Bon-Bon were no longer speaking to one another, instead involved in some odd pantomime language nobody could figure out whenever they bumped into each other in the halls. Microchips and Sandalwood were constantly bickering about the state of the global problems caused by pollution. Even Flash’s band had broken up after the harsh realities of failing to win the Battle of the Bands finally came to light. Sunset had never seen CHS this divided before, not even when the Sirens were spreading their negativity. At least the cliques had stayed together during that time, but here entire social groups were separating and dividing. Friends were no longer on speaking terms and, to make matters worse, everyone just kept ignoring her attempts at rekindling the Fire of Friendship. Shaking her head at the memories of everything disrupting Canterlot High, Sunset finished packing her supplies for the slumber party at Rarity’s. Sweetie Belle wasn’t contagious and seemed to be fine, despite the odd tint of blue to her skin. Whatever they’d contracted it wasn’t adversely affecting them in any normal way. The doctors were still running tests though. Slipping the journal into her overnight bag she contemplated contacting Princess Twilight, but thought to wait until she had more to say. There might be new developments Rarity could share with her once she got to her place. Double checking she hadn’t forgotten anything, Sunset shut the door to her room and left her cozy little apartment making sure to lock the door as she did. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apple Bloom watched Applejack getting ready from her bed. Her sister was packing for the slumber party at Rarity’s place. Seemed she didn’t have much to bring. Watching her with half-lidded eyes she feigned dozing for fear of Applejack staying behind. Pretending to be sick wasn’t too difficult with the Fire of Friendship still burning brightly within Applejack. Grimacing at the sour taste it left in the back of her mouth, Apple Bloom slowly turned over. Applejack glanced over briefly. “Now, Bloom, Big Mac will be just down the hall if ya need anythin’. Are ya sure ya don’t want me ta stick around tonight? Apple Bloom faked a little cough. “No. Go, have fun.” Applejack smiled thinly doing her best to hide her concern as she approached Bloom and ruffled her hair. “Hoowee, this is gettin’ mighty tangled. Think we oughta set an appointment with the barber soon.” Apple Bloom grimaced. “It’s fine. I like it this way.” “Whatever ya say, little sis, ah’ll be back Saturday. Bright and early, but call if ya need ta talk or somethin’.” Applejack turned to leave. Apple Bloom watched her go and waited at least several more minutes until she was gone. Tossing aside the stifling blanket she rushed over to the window and quickly opened it. Particles of ice and snow blown upon the wind from CHS flew into the room and refuelled her. “Ahhhhhh. That sure hits the spot.” It was good to get more negative energy born on the winds from all of Anon-A-Mous’ hard work. Once she and the others had enough power they could proceed onto phase two. Shattering the Fire of Friendship within their siblings so they could feast upon all of the negative emotions they could ever hope to find. Reaching for her phone she quickly scrolled through her notes. “Ah think it’s time Trixie found out just what Octavia and the rest of the Drama Club really think about her.” Smirking she began to input a new message. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sweetie Belle was extremely nervous as she tagged along beside Scootaloo. If anybody came home and found her out of bed she’d have a pretty hard time explaining where she’d been, or why. Despite feeling so much better now that she was absorbing magic energy on her own, she still was unsure as to this entire so-called ‘plan’ of Apple Bloom’s. Scootaloo flinched back behind the wall. “Man, since the school exploded into secret revealing crazy Dash is really paranoid right now.” “Where are we going anyway?” Sweetie glanced around to make sure nobody was paying particularly close attention to the pair of them. Scootaloo shook her head and rushed quickly around the corner. “Come on!” The pair were quick to continue tailing Rainbow Dash as she slipped down one side-street after another until; much to Sweetie’s surprise, she came to a stop outside the doors to Lotus Spa & Recreational Facility. Scootaloo pulled her phone out quickly and took several pictures of Dash furtively glancing around then making her way inside. Sweetie gasped. “Rainbow Dash goes to the spa?” Scootaloo fidgeted slightly then quickly made sure the coast was clear before dashing across the street. Sweetie blinked rapidly and then rushed after her companion. “What are you doing?” she hissed when she realized Scootaloo was trying to reach an outside window. “We’ve gotta take a shot of her in the spa or nobody will believe it.” Scootaloo hopped again trying to grab the window sill and fell flat on her feet with a wince when she missed. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes and walked around the side of the building. “Hey! Where are you going?” Scootaloo rushed to follow after her. Sweetie mutely indicated the back door left partially open so that steam from the steam room could escape. “Rarity comes here all the time. She says they have a real problem with some of the boys in town sneaking peeks, but Aloe and Lotus just can’t afford to get a better ventilation system installed this year.” Scootaloo shrugged at this revelation and quickly snuck a peek inside. A large burly looking woman glared down at her from behind the door. She kind of looked like a slightly older version of Bulk Biceps. Smiling nervously she licked her lips. “Uh… is Rainbow Dash in yet?” Sighing the woman rumbled out her response. “Yeah!” “Great.” Scootaloo slipped back outside. “I’m going in.” Sweetie’s eyes widened in alarm. “What?” she squeaked. “They may not be able to afford a new vent system, but apparently they can hire a bouncer. So wait here for me, I’ll get in, meet up with Dash like I sometimes do and get the pic. Then I’ll be back before you know it.” Scootaloo grimaced slightly and slipped into the stifling warmth of the spa. Sweetie Belle wasn’t sure what to do. She also wasn’t sure about her cohort’s little plan either. But Scootaloo did know Rainbow Dash the most. Who would have thought she spent time in the spa, it certainly never came up when Rarity would get to talking about her time here. The longer she waited the more concerned she got. She started to pace a little back and forth. Rarity could be back home any moment to prepare for the slumber party tonight, seeing her gone she’d be in a panic. Then she’d call the police in near hysterics about her ‘poor wittle sister’, sick, and away from home. This was taking too long. Unseen eyes watched her as she paced. An observer from the building across the street had noticed the peculiarity of the pair of girls and recognized something about them. Long straight combed hair in a rich purple colour with steaks of teal running the length of it. Familiar purple tinted skin. This was Aria Blaze, former Siren, now current CEO of Songstress Music. It hadn’t been easy since losing her magic at the Battle of the Bands. Forming the company had been Adagio’s idea as a fallback plan, in case anything should happen to them. Boy did it sting to find her being right about this idea. The reason why Adagio wasn’t in charge was simple math. Adagio hated all the complex things necessary to run such a business. It wasn’t entirely clear what Songstress Music did right now, but it’d be pretty clear soon enough. The Crystal Seams had just finished recording their latest single. The graduates from Crystal Prep had approached them to get their foot in the music industry. But all of this wasn’t important right now. Aria’s gaze narrowed as she continued to observe the CHS girl across the street. The blue tinged skin tone, the hint of frost and ice forming in her slightly damp looking hair. The swirling particles of negative magic floating around her waist. Aria and her sisters may not have been magical any more, but they could still recognize it when they saw it. Reaching for the phone, Aria hit a single button on the inter-office communication system. “This better be important!” A hoarse voice whispered over the line. Aria slowly smiled. “I found our magic.” A contented purr came over the line. “It’s about time it manifested somehow. Where?” “Just take a look outside at the back door to the spa.” The orange skinned girl with the purple hair rushed back outside at that moment rejoining her friend. They spoke for a few moments and then quickly headed away together. “Oh, this is just too perfect.” Aria nodded. “Do we confront them?” “And risk losing this opportunity for revenge? No, let the little ‘darlings’ have their fun. When their sisters find out, it will break their precious little hearts. Then we can step in and reclaim what is rightfully ours. Along with our brilliant little apprentices.” Aria groaned mentally at the idiotic notion, but kept her tone neutral. “Should we tell Sonata?” “Absolutely not! I will not have her making us lose this chance at reclaiming what was lost. Besides, if we can’t somehow re-take the magic from those girls she would be devastated worse than she is now.” Aria reluctantly nodded. “Fine, but I take it you’ll be keeping an eye on them at least? I can’t exactly leave the office for long periods of time,” she reminded. Adagio purred again and some of the old Adagio seemed to return to her tone. “Oh most definitely, I’ll be keeping a very close eye on our little cousins. It will be so good to have the family together again.” Somehow Aria just knew her sister was smirking on the other end before she hung up. Rolling her eyes she got back to the important matters of running a rapidly expanding music business. Hitting the intercom she summoned her secretary. “Miss Pommel, my coffee isn’t here yet.” A tiny eep escaped the secretary’s lips. “Oh. Of course, Miss Blaze, I’m terribly sorry, Miss Blaze. Please don’t fire me, Miss Blaze!” Aria reveled in the power she got to wield over the lesser people. “For your daughter’s sake, of course not, but get in here now!” The door flew open and a mousey looking woman with thick glasses and a pale cream complexion rushed inside. The woman was older than Aria currently appeared, physically, but mentally she was a child when compared to the thousand year old siren. Grinning maliciously she took a slow sip of her espresso and grimaced. “More cream next time. Now, have we heard back from your daughter’s former class mates yet?” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once she was back home Sweetie Belle felt relief. She wouldn’t be found out by her sister and she wouldn’t expose the growing power she was gaining. Magic was really capable of doing just about anything, her sister could power up and be infinitely more creative when she was working in her ‘pony’ form. Sweetie felt stronger and more resilient with her newfound magical abilities. But while the benefit of going outside and not freezing was a perk, the fact that she needed to consume vast quantities of negative energies made her uneasy. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo didn’t seem to care as much as they should, at least Sweetie didn’t think they did. It was hard to tell when Scootaloo was acting cagier the longer they perpetuated this Anon-A-Mous plan. And it had only been a week. Well just shy of a week. Sweetie sighed as she attempted to straighten her locks. The sudden growth spurt in her hair was beginning to get a tad annoying as well. “Where did this magic come from?” she glanced at herself in the mirror and tried to see the former person she recognized looking back at her. Instead all she saw was the paler, pierced, blue tinged child of frost and ice staring back at her. Shaking her head she sighed wistfully. “Why am I the only one to know what’s going on?” “Well d’uh, your sister’s lingering magic fused you with me forcefully.” Sweetie blinked and turned back to the mirror. “Uh. Who said that?” Her reflection folded her arms over her chest and glared. “Don’t be so stupid, I did.” Sweetie reacted as any sane person might if they saw their reflection speaking to them. She screeched and dove out of sight of the mirror as if that would protect her. “You do realize I’m still part of your inner psyche?” the voice asked this time speaking directly inside of her mind. Sweetie flinched and slowly got back up to stare at herself in the mirror. “So. I know I’ve changed because of magic and I’m still somewhat separate from that personality because my sister’s magic got involved?” Her reflection nodded. “How does that even work?” She tossed her arms up in exasperation. “How should I know?” “Oh come on!” Sweetie glared angrily at her reflection. “Sweetie Belle! I’m home, darling!” Rarity’s voice echoed from below. Sweetie’s reflection gagged. “Quick, get the bucket!” Sweetie frowned. “But I don’t feel-” Rarity strode rapidly into the room and embraced her little sister. Sweetie felt bile rising in her throat and quickly rushed to the bathroom. Rarity sighed. “Oh dear, still suffering from that upset stomach, Sweetie, dear?” Sounds of violent nausea was her response. Rarity frowned. “Perhaps I should postpone the slumber party and contact Doctor Horse again.” “No!” Sweetie shakily returned to her room looking paler than before. “I’ll be fine. Just… maybe I should avoid any solids for the night.” Rarity pursed her lips. “Hmmm. Yes, that might be a good idea. I’m terribly sorry you girls seem to be having such a difficult time of it, Sweetie.” Rarity moved closer. Horrified Sweetie held up a hand to stop her. “Stop! Just, uh, don’t want to ruin that outfit of yours.” Rarity blanched. “Yes, yes, quite right. I’ll fetch your medicine and then you go right into bed, alright?” Sweetie nodded. “Ok.” Rarity smiled warmly at her sister before rapidly departing. Sweetie glared at her reflection once she left. “Why do I keep getting sick whenever Rarity hugs me?” Her reflection sighed. “Welcome to life as a Windigo. The Fire of Friendship is highly potent Harmony magic. In Equestria it was powerful enough to banish our kind to the Frozen North. They haven’t been seen in Equestria since.” Sweetie eyed her reflection skeptically. “How do you even know that?” “I know everything my former host knew before we were separated.” Sweetie gasped. “You mean, you weren’t always my magic?” Her reflection chuckled and shifted appearances into one of the three sirens. “Nope.” Before Sweetie could finish questioning her own reflection Rarity returned. Dressed head to toe in a fashionable looking hazmat suit she slowly approached with a glass of water and two bottles of pills. Sweetie folded her arms and glared at her sister. “Really?” “You’re the one who said you might feel more nauseous, dear.” Rarity pointed out, her voice sounding odd coming from behind the full-facial helmet. Sweetie took the glass of water and downed a pill each from the two bottles. “Whatever.” The doorbell suddenly rang. “Ah, that must be the girls.” Rarity took the now empty glass and two bottles and headed back towards the door. “Now, you get straight to bed, I’ll be in shortly with your dinner.” “Thank you, Rarity.” Sweetie sighed as she began to change for bed. Even though she really wasn’t tired and it was still way too early for it. Then her stomach tightened as she began to feel the growing group of magic downstairs. “Urp.” Sweetie’s reflection winced slightly. “Yeah, another drawback to being a Windigo now. Your sister and her pals are the biggest source of Harmony magic in this place. The Sirens coveted it, desiring to regain their full potential. Us.” She trailed off as Sweetie made a mad dash for the porcelain repository once more. Reappearing in the bathroom mirror with a low chuckle she watched as Sweetie emptied what little was left in her stomach once more. “Yep. Totally messed up when I agreed to this gig.” Sweetie made a rude gesture to her reflection before losing more of her dignity, and her recent liquid intake. “Hate you too,” her reflection said before returning to a normal non-magical image. Panting for breath Sweetie flushed the toilet. “Apple Bloom owes me for this. Big time.”