In Brightest Day: The Second Front

In a more suburban part of the city, a young girl made her way into the basement of her home. Over time she had converted it into her own personal lab, crammed full of computers, books, circuit boards, and a few desks with tons equipment piled on top. However above one of the desks was a bulletin board covered in notes, strip charts, and several strings pinned in various places on an areal map of the city.

In front of the bulletin board stood a young lavender-skinned girl, she wore a lab coat with a violet turtleneck underneath it, her hair was tied in a messy bun, a pair of goggles were perched above her glasses, and she wore long purple rubber gloves. "There's no doubt about it, Spike." She said to her canine companion, a light purple dog with a tuft of green fur atop his head, who was busy playing with his chew-toy. "Whatever these strange phenomenons are, they seem to be going on in various points of the city...." She mused as she pulled out a picture of the Crimson Dragon and pinned it to one of the strip charts. "And this... Crimson Dragon may just be the cause of it..."

Spike however simply snarled as he continued to play with his chew-toy, to which the girl simply sighed in exasperation. "Sorry if I don't sound enthusiastic to play Spike, I just have a lot on my mind." The girl said as she went for a strange box-shaped device not too far away from her desk. It had a standard handle attached to the bottom, antennas on the top, an adjustable dial, and an oscilloscope signal with a pointer and dial gauge split into two regions, green and red. "I have to head out... unless you wanna come?"

This got Spike's attention as he dropped the chew-toy and rushed towards his master, barking enthusiastically and he leaped the chair. “I'll take that as a "yes"!” She giggled as she placed the device into her bag and quickly pulled out a leash. “I suppose it would look a little less suspicious if I was walking you and not snooping around…” However she then caught a glimpse of her reflection on one of the blank monitors and sighed. "But I look like a wreck.... and there's no way I'll be making myself look like one of those... bullies at Crystal Prep…"

A few minutes later the girl made her way out of her room wearing sneakers, jeans, and a hooded sweatshirt, said hood covering up as much of her face as possible. Inside her book-bag was her scanning device as well as a few notes… and some doggy bags and a spare leash for her pet.

“Mom! I’m taking Spike out for a walk!” She called out as she opened the door.

"Alright Twilight! Just be careful and make sure his leash is on good!" Her mom yelled back as the girl exited her house.

"Alright Spike, adventure awaits us." She said as she began the trek to find the source of the anomalies. “Let us venture forth! FOR SCIENCE!!”

Meanwhile in the closed-off section of the city, Adagio was pacing back and forth Aria was typing relentlessly on her laptop, both of them waiting for their youngest sister. “Still nothing!?” Aria groaned as she closed the laptop in frustration. “Seriously, you'd think that symbol on the ring would be part of some sort of ancient civilization or have some historical trivia behind it, but everything's coming up blank!”

"You can't be serious. Just... search it again." Adagio growled as she continued to pace. "AND WHERE IN TARTARUS IS SONATA?! SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE BACK BY NOW!"

As if on cue, their youngest siblings slid down into the abandoned tunnel carrying a few bags. "Guess who bought tacos!" She smiled as she approached the two.

"...tacos? Really Sonata!?" Aria snarled in irritation. "You couldn't have gotten anything else!?"

"Hey, you spend time saving up coupons and then you can choose whatever you want for dinner!" Sonata jabbed back, sticking out her tongue.

"YOU ALWAYS GO OUT FIRST AND BURN ANY COUPON THAT ISN'T ABOUT TACOS!" Aria snapped at her. "SERIOUSLY WHAT IS IT WITH YOU AND THAT DAMN FOOD?! THE REST OF US CAN'T BUCKING JUST EAT THOSE THINGS FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES!"

Sonata got dangerously close to Aria's face. "WELL MAYBE IF YOU GOT OFF YOUR LAZY ASS AND DIDN'T ALWAYS SADDLE ME WITH THE CHORES, WHICH MIGHT I INCLUDE BUYING FOOD, THEN MAYBE YOU WOULDN'T-"

"ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!!" Adagio finally snapped.

"NO! HOW ABOUT YOU BE QUIET ADAGIO!" Aria snapped back causing both to stare in shock. "SONATA HAS BEEN LITERALLY FEEDING US THE SAME DAMN FOOD AND NOTHING ELSE JUST TO SPITE US! I'M SO SICK OF THE DAMN TACO WEEK! IT'S ALWAYS TACO WEEK!"

"Well to be fair, last I checked it was your job to get the food during certain points of the week until you decided to shovel it all onto Sonata, so kindly get off your lazy ass!" She scoffed before turning to her youngest sister. "And you, just because you love the food more than life itself doesn't mean the rest of us have to!"

"Adagio I keep TRYING to get the food job again but guess who keeps getting in front of me when that happens?" Aria said before pointing to Sonata who was whistling while slowly pushing a taco bag towards Aria. "I mean seriously you punish me more than her! Sometimes for shit that's actually her fault! Why are you pulling a mom...... wait are you doing this because mom said I was her favorite?!"

"N-NO!" Adagio quickly replied as she turned away. "This has nothing to do with that-"

"OH. MY. GOD." Aria snapped as she stormed up to her. "YOU'RE STILL HOLDING A GRUDGE!? ARE YOU FUCKING FOR REAL RIGHT NOW!?"

"Wait Dagi's still holding a grudge? Huh. That's neat." Sonata said as she gently poked Aria with the taco bag. "But come on Aria. You know you wanna eaaaaaaaaat."

Aria glared at her little sister and smacked the bag away. "Poke me with that one more time and I'll shove it down your throat!"

Adagio groaned at this. "I swear to God..."

"Hey! You can't do that! You don't believe in stuff like that!" Sonata shouted… only to have a taco thrown in her face.

Downtown, the doors of a bus opened up and Twilight stepped out with Spike in her arms. “Alright Spike, the signals seemed to be coming from this section of the city…” She explained as she placed him on the ground and placing his collar around his neck. “Now then, let's begin our search!” Spike only barked as the leash was locked onto him. Twilight shivered as the bus drove off. "Wow it's chillier out here then I thought. Is the outside always this cold?" Spike simply snorted as he started sniffing around, eagerly taking in the new sights and scents.... until his nose caught a whiff of a more distinct smell...

Food!

Twilight barely had the chance to properly hold onto Spike's leash before he scurried off, dragging his owner with him. "Spike! Hold on a sec-" Twilight protested.... only to notice her scanning device reacting... and it was getting stronger as she moved in the direction Spike was pulling her! "Okay Spike, take me wherever you're going!" Twilight said with a smile as she ran alongside him. Spike just yelped a few more times as he picked up the pace. As the two continued to run they turned the corner and accidentally pushed past a girl with yellow hair with red streaks and a leather jacket.

"Sorry!" Twilight called out as she continued to run.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" The girl fired back before storming down the street in the opposite direction....

After finally settling down and eating their lunch, The trio of siblings made their way through the subway tunnels once more. "Dagi? Why exactly are we going back to that creepy puddle of red stuff?" Sonata asked. "Didn't we decide that it was too dangerous to feed from it?"

Adagio simply gave her youngest sister a confident grin. "At first... but I think I've figured out how to get around that little issue…”

"Is it toss a coat over it and then walk on the coat? Because that's my idea first." Sonata said. Adagio groaned and Aria simply rolled her eyes. "What?! It's an idea! Not a set in stone thing!"

“NOT LITERALLY YOU DOLT!” Adagio snapped as they walked out of the train and climbed up to the station. “I mean a awa we can feed from it and gain more power!”

Aria gave her sister a wary look. “The last time you fed from it was pretty freaky though… it felt like you were going to snap and go slasher mode on us…”

“That was just an adrenaline rush, nothing more.” Adagio replied, casually stepping over some rubble. “But this time, it'll be different.”

"Okay just saying. I don't think it will Dagi. I mean last time you said that we ended up here after getting our ass kicked by those six big jerks when you said this town wasn't going to fight back." Sonata pointed out.

Adagio's eye twitched upon being forced to recall THAT bitter memory. "That's because it was a small, off the road town with no guards! If SOMEONE had managed to round up all the villagers and NOT miss one we'd still be in Equestria right now!" She fired back as they approached the acidic puddle, several bubbles and red sparks started dancing across its surface... as if it could sense their conflict. "But this time, no one even knows about this little source of power, or us for that matter. If we play our cards right and be more subtle, we'll be able to bring this entire city under our control!”

Not too far from the siblings location, Twilight took a moment to catch her breath. "OK Spike.. just... just give me a moments..." She said between gasps. "WOW, Shining Armor was right, I'm really out of shape..." She sighed... only to notice Spike about to eat something off the ground. "Spike no! You don't know where that's been!" She shouted as she picked him up... and unintentionally stepped on something that made a loud *SQUELCH* looking down she realized that is was a small bag of food. "Is this... a burrito?" She then groaned in irritation before glaring at her pet. "Spike I swear, if you seriously dragged me all the way here just because you smelled some food it's no treats for a week."

Spike could only bark in disappointment, Twilight sighed at this. 'Wish I could invent a device that let me talk with animals…’ She thought as she decided to start scanning for any anomalies in the area, hoping she didn't get dragged over here for no reason. Much to her surprise however, her scanner was going nuts! A bright smile adorned her face as she immediately started searching the area, only to realize that she wasn't too far away from the construction site. "So the signal is coming from where the first anomaly took place? Maybe that "Crimson Dragon" left something behind?" She mused to herself as she continue to search the area, eventually coming close to the gig that separated her from the abandoned and unstable buildings, but what really got her attention was the hole in the gate.... someone had been sneaking in here...

"Okay girls, here's the plan..." Adagio began as she and her sisters stood around the acidic puddle in the circular formation. However it was right around then that they heard barking.... and someone talking....

“These readings are amazing! I swear, I might just be close to the discovery of a lifetime!”

The trio quickly ran up the stairs leading out of the subway and hid behind an overturned police car. Peeking around the side they saw Twilight searching around the hole in the building. “....but, should I really go in?” She asked herself. “This place doesn't look very stable… they haven't even started reconstruction in this area yet...”

"Ancestors dammit, Sonata!" Adagio whispered in irritation as Aria glared at her younger sister.

The youngest sibling glared at the eldest. “How do you know it was my fault?!”

The three peeked out from behind the car once more to see Spike barking as he leaped out of her arms, rushing over to a dropped taco. “Spike, no! That's people food! You'll get sick!” Twilight shouted as she pulled him back with the leash.

Sonata giggles nervously as her siblings gave her a disappointed/aggravated glare. “Ehehehe… oops?”

“Oh, never mind. We need to get this girl away from here and block off the exit.” Adagio whispered, trying to focus on the matter at hand. “She could end up finding that puddle…”

“So what? It's not like she know exactly what it is or how to use it, right?” Aria chimed in.

“She could end up drawing attention to this area, the only reason the construction workers haven't covered this area yet is because we've been able to “convince” them otherwise.” Adagio explained, before turning her attention back to Twilight. “That’s a risk we can't afford to take. Sonata? You're going to lead her away. Me and Aria will close off the opening and and text you where to find us afterwards."

Nodding, Sonata immediately snuck over to the building and ran up the stairs to the second floor. Just as Twilight was about to walk through the hole, she jumped out of the window and landed a few feet behind her, getting her attention.

"What the-!? Who are-"

"TACO ATTACK!" She shouted before hurling one of her tacos at Twilight.

"OW!" Twilight grimaced as the taco hit her in the face, her canine companion immediately growling at the supposed threat to his master. "What the heck?! What is wrong with you?!"

Sonata simply blew a raspberry at her under her mask and ran off. "You'll never catch me!" She shouted tauntingly.

"Why would I-WAIT, SPIKE COME BACK!" Twilight shouted as her pet leaped out of her arms and started giving chase. "I swear this dog will be the death of me." Twilight mumbled as she chased after Spike.

Sonata was keeping a good distance for them to see her but enough to actually catch her. Running from angry homeless folks does have it's benefits after all. Spike continued to bark as he chased after the perceived threat to his master, occasionally jumping over or crawling under some rubble in an attempt to catch up with her. After a few turns he saw the threat climbing over a gate and noticed a small hole at the bottom. Growling, he immediately crawled through the hole and proceeded to give chase once more, only to be yanked back, he realized his leash had gotten caught in the gate. He angrily started pulling as hard as he could and slipped the collar over and off his head. Proud of his accomplishment immediately turned the corner to gave chase once more... only to unintentionally bump into someone's legs.

"Whoa there little guy." The person's voice asked. Spike shook his head as he looked up at the stranger.... he wasn't sure exactly how to feel about the person but that wasn't the point. The threat! The threat to his master!

Spike started looking around for her, but could only see hundreds of more people walking about through the streets, going about their daily lives. And sadly her scent was lost amongst the sea of various others. Spike's ears drooped as he started to whimper, realizing that he had lost her...

"Hey there, easy a little guy. Are you lost?" The person asked as he picked him up, bringing Spike face-to-face with him. Spike just whimpered and looked sad at how he failed his master. The person petted him which helped Spike a little but it wasn't the same. Now master was going to be mad at him for losing the threat.

"There, there little guy... how about I help you find your owner? I'm sure they must be really worried about you." The person reassured Spike as he gave him a nice scratch behind the ears. Spike's tail wagged at the mention of his master, maybe this person wasn't so bad after all. They might know his master and bring them together! She'd be more worried than mad at him if that happened and then he wouldn't get punished with the red dot!

"Spike? Spike! Here boy!"

Sonata peeked around the corner as Twilight continued to call out for her dog. Smirking, she casually walked off, whoever she was she be too busy looking for her pet to concern herself with whatever she was looking for near the puddle... and by that point the entrance would have been blocked off and they have a different way of accessing it.

As she continued on her way she felt her phone vibrating and quickly pulled it out, it was a message from her sisters on where to meet up next.... she then stared in disgust at the designated location. ".... why the Shawarma place!? I HATE Shawarma!"

"Spike! Here boy! Come on!" Twilight yelled as she whistled after him, making her way out of the alleyways near the closed-off section and back to the more busy streets of the city. "Spike! Here boy! Spike-OOF!" She continued to call before she accidentally bumped into a girl with rainbow-colored hair. "Sorry!"

"Nah it's my fault lady. I wasn't looking." The girl said as she brushed herself off. "You looking for something or someone named Spike?"

"He's my dog. We were chasing someone and.... look it doesn't matter I need to find him." Twilight said with worry in her voice. "Oh God, what if the Dog Catcher got him!?"

"Hey, hey, calm down." The girl said as she placed her hand on the panicking girl's shoulder. "I've got some time before I gotta meet up with a friend, maybe I can help you find him?"

"....w-why? You don't even know me." Twilight asked the girl in confusion. She'd just met her and yet she was willing to help her right off the bat? "I-I'm just a nobody..."

For a split-second, in Twilight's place, the rainbow-haired girl saw one of her old friends, someone she'd stop seeing long ago... shaking her head, she gave the girl a warm smile. "Hey now, don't talk like that, whoever told you you're a nobody doesn't have the right to claim they know you." She stated firmly. "Now then, where did you last see your dog?"

"I-I saw him running up.... I think an alleyway near Cirrus Street." Twilight stammers as she rubs her eyes under her glasses again.

The girl took a moment to think about this before pulling out her phone and bringing up a map of the city. "Cirrus Street.... Cirrus Street... Wait a sec! That's what the music store is!" She smiled as she grabbed Twilight's arm and started running. "Good news! I know someone who hangs out there most of the time! If you're dog's anywhere in the area he'll probably have spotted it!"

"Y-you mean it?!" Twilight asked excitedly.

"Yeah just give me a moment." She said as she looked through and found who she was looking for and quick-dialed them. "Hello? Hey Flash! Listen, I know we don't chat much but... yeah, yeah I know, look okay I get it, Scoots shouldn't prank your little brother like that. I gave her a talking to and we straightened it out. Look, I need your help. Some girl lost her dog on Cirrus Street. Think you can find it?"

She went silent for a moment as the person on the other end began to talk, Twi noticing her smile getting slightly wider as she continued to listen, after a few seconds she glanced back at Twilight. "Your dog wouldn't happen be small, purple, with a tuft of green fur on its head, would it?"

"THAT'S HIM!" Twilight shouted excitedly.

"Bingo! Flash that's the one." The girl said as they stopped near the corner. "I'm across the street from the auto parts shop. Get over here and the girl might give ya a “reward” for savin' her dog." She said with a wink at Twilight.

Twilight felt her face heat up for a moment then when she said this. "W-W-WHAT!? B-B-BUT-I DON'T EVEN-"

"Relax four-eyes, I'm joking." The girl said as she gave her a playful punch on the shoulder. "Although you do gotta be careful around these parts of the city..." The girl thought for a moment, as if trying to remember something... and then let out an embarrassed laugh. "Wow, all that and I didn't even bother asking your name, or doing mine for that matter..." She held out her hand towards Twilight. "Name's Rainbow Dash, and you?"

"Twilight...... Twilight Sparkle." She answered with a smile as she shook her hand.

"Well Twilight Twilight Sparkle you gotta be careful around these parts of the city they are.... less friendly than most other spots.” She explained as she leaned against the wall. “Especially if you see a girl with.... well only way I can describe it is fucking bacon hair. Just stay away from her, trust me."

Twilight winced at her vulgar tone, wondering what kind of grudge she had against such a person…. and why the description sounded so familiar...

“So, what part of the city are you from? I've never seen you around these parts, or Canterlot High for that matter.” Rainbow asked, trying to make small talk while they waited.

Twilight was about to answer but briefly froze when she mentioned the Canterlot High. If there was one thing she knew from her time in Crystal Prep it was that both her school in the one Rainbow mentioned downright hated each other the passion. The last thing she wanted to do is get on her new associates’ bad side by bringing up that she was from a rival School. “Um… w-well, y'see… I'm not from around here, I'm… uh, um... home-schooled!” She lied, smiling awkwardly.

"...okay stop lying Twilight." Rainbow said as she arched an eyebrow in amusement. "Like you're a worse liar than an old friend of mine and she SUCKS at lying. So come on. Upfront and honest. Where did you come from?"

"I... well... y'see..."

Thankfully she was spared the trial of having to explain further by a familiar bark. "Spike!?" She smiled as she and Rainbow Dash immediately rushed around the corner. "Spike!?"

"I'm assuming this little guy is yours?" A young man asked as he held Spike in his arms. The man in question had spiky, deep-blue hair, he wore simple jeans, a white T-shirt with an icon resembling a yellow lightning bolt on a blue shield, and a dark gray jacket with a red and white stripe on the back and each sleeve.

Sighing in relief Twilight ran up to him as Spike leaped into her arms. "Oh thank you, thank you so much!"

"No problem. Poor guy looked lost." He smiled as he gave him another scratch behind the ears, which he happily accepted. "You're lucky I found him and not the dog catcher...."

"See Twilight? Told ya you'd get him back." Rainbow said, giving her a playful pat on the back with a proud smirk on her face. “Thanks for the assist, Flash!”

"Yeah, I'm not exactly familiar with this part of the city, so you saved me a lot of searching too." Twilight said as she scratched Spike's head and gave him a warm smile. “Thank you so much.”

Flash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Hey, it was nothing, really… I couldn't imagine the thought of Ember being lost and alone out here…”

Twilight blinked at this. “Oh, you have a dog too?”

"No, a pet cat." Flash said as he chuckled a bit. "I like dogs but..... more of a cat person."

"Oh... well cats are nice to." Twilight said with a smile as she scratched Spike's ear again.

"So Twilight..." Rainbow began, getting back into the conversation. "You said you don't usually come to the city, what brings you here now?"

Flash blinked that this. "Oh, you're new in town?"

"In a sense, I live in the more suburban areas outside of the city." Twilight admitted. "As for the reason I'm here... well, I kind of heard a lot about these weird occurrences..."

"Funny, that's usually the reason people want to get away from the city these days..." Flash added, remembering how a few people had already moved out after the first attack…

"Well I'm not one of those people." Twilight said defensively. "I'm trying to figure out what exactly happened in regards to the... "Crimson Dragon", that's what everyone's calling the red one right?"

"Yeah... personally I think something's off with her." Rainbow said with a glare. "Seriously something about that girl rubs me the wrong way."

Flash scoffed at this. “You mean besides the giant dragon arm? Seriously, that thing just looks weird.” He stated bluntly. “Then again, it's better we have her flying around than those freaky zombies-WHOA!” He yelped in surprise as Twilight got dangerously close.

“You mean you two have actually SEEN her!?” She asked, an unnervingly wide smile on her face. “Where!? When!? Does she have a set pattern in her appearances!? I need details!” She started asking as she pulled out a notepad and pen.

"Okay okay jeez. Cool your jets!" Rainbow said as she tried to pull her away from Flash. "Sorry I had no idea she'd do that..... and I think she lost her dog again."

"Didn't get far this time...." He mused, pointing over her shoulder, the two turned to see Spike casually sniffing at a fire hydrant. "You might wanna put a leash on him before someone else mistakes him for a stray..."

"Right, sorry about that." Twilight said in an embarrassed tone as she pulled out a spare leash from her bag and quickly fastened it around Spike's neck. "It's just whenever the opportunity for research presents itself I can get a little... excited..."

"Yeah no kidding." Dash said with a small chuckle. "So you doing anything else or-"

"Oh, um... I have to... I actually need to get home soon." Twilight said quickly as she hurried off with Spike. Flash chuckled at how Dash handled that.

"Really? Did you just try and hit on her?" Flash said.... and immediately regretted joking like that.

"....so what if I did, huh? Is that a problem?" Dash sneered in a more defensive tone. "Because you know that bitch-"

"Look I'm sorry. I forgot how sensitive that subject is." Flash said with a disappointed sigh. "And for the record I wouldn't care if you were or weren't gay."

"Sweet, another name to add to the very short "won't judge you" list..." Dash sighed. "I mean it's not that weird is it? Lots of people are coming out as that now."

Flash just sighed. "Rainbow I want to sound like I know what I'm talking about... but half the time I just pull stuff out of my a-."

"WAIT I ALMOST FORGOT!" they both heard Twilight shouting as she dashed back to the two. "I need your numbers!"

Rainbow and Flash shared a look and stared at her a bit. "Uh-"

"In case an anomaly shows up!” She quickly added, blushing madly upon realizing how that sounded.

"Well.... I mean this feels kinda abrupt." Dash said as she scratched her head. "I mean no offense, you seem really nice but I barely know you."

She almost immediately she regretted saying that as Twilight nodded and looked completely dejected. “I'm sorry, I meant to ask before but um... I-I got a bit embarrassed. I don't socialize well that often...."

Flash sighed at this as he stepped in. "Hey, we didn'y exactly say no, you just came on a little strong, it happens. We're still willing to exchange numbers if you are..."

"Oh.... w-well I mean.... sure." She sighed in relief before addressing Rainbow Dash. "But you're kinda right I just kinda assumed you'd give me your numbers without thinking." Twilight said as she rubbed the back of her head. "But I would really appreciate some help in locating the anomalies.... please this could be really important."

"... I don't see why we can't do that, right Dash?" Flash smiled, with Dash herself nodding as they both pulled their phones out. "Okay are you ready to get mine first?"

"S-Sure" Twilight nodded as she pulled out her phone and began the exchange.

Rainbow couldn't help but chuckle at the awkwardness of the situation. 'Yeah, she's just like... her....' She thought as a feeling of nostalgia momentarily distracted her…

"Um.... Rainbow are you ready to share?" Twilight asked, causing Dash to snap out of her daze.

"Huh.... um.... sure why not?"

Twilight smiled as they both popped up on her list of contacts.... and then gave them both a blank stare when she notice exactly what their mobile nicknames were. "SentryMan and The Dashinator? Really?"

"What? it's a cool nickname!" They both proudly proclaimed at the same time.

'What have I gotten myself into...?' Twilight mentally sighed as Spike started scratching himself.