Canterlot High OSS: Gerald's Secret Weapon

"Are you sure they'll come?" Elle asked, again sitting on Pinkie's bed.

"They had better, after all the effort we went to to make things right after their effort," Jackie said. Once they learned that the portal was at Pinkie's, she had rushed to convince Mark to lend a hand with his truck in moving Gerald's larger equipment from his house to the Pie's place. Neither Apple knew what the tall black boxes were for, but they reminded both of the first computers.

"I'm pretty sure they will," Pinkie said, happily kicking her legs as she sat in one of the other chairs she had brought into her room. She was humming and nodding side to side happily.

"Why didn't you just bring them right here?" Ro asked. "It would be faster."

"You didn't see the looks on their faces," Rayne said. "We need to let them choose, so they don't feel at all forced."

"Exactly," Gerald said.

"I just hope it works," Felicia said.

"And then everyone can be friends," Pinkie said.

Once Team-1 caught each of their Dazzlings, they brought them back to the alley where the car was parked. Gerald then gave each of them a card with Pinkie's address on it. "This is where we're meeting. Think you can make it all that way?"

In response, three stomachs growled persistently, and Aria and Sonata actually looked fearful. Adagio wore a mask of neutrality, but every time she glanced in Rayne's direction it cracked a little bit.

"How about I give you girls a ride part of the way, say to a restaurant nearer to the meeting than to this place." A hand-wave indicated the general grunginess. When Rayne had called it 'the wrong side of the tracks,' she had not been far off.

"We'll even spot you some cash," Rayne said. "You can pay us back later. But it won't do to try to talk seriously in the state you three are in. It'll be much better if we can talk as equals."

"If not as friends," Pinkie added. Even Adagio had agreed to a lift and a meal then. After that, it was only a matter of each Dazzling's word that she would show up. But after running them down in a setting of their choice, Gerald doubted they would flee again. He had a strong inkling that Sonata, at the very least, wanted to talk, since she had insisted on a hug from each of them before they drove to the restaurant.

The doorbell rang nearly forty minutes later, and Pinkie went downstairs to bring their guests up. There were Adagio, Aria, and Sonata. The first two looked sheepishly around, while Sonata just looked happy not to be hungry again. The room was crowded with chairs where there was insufficient bedding surface for everyone to sit.

"Why aren't we sitting downstairs?" Adagio asked as she took a seat near the window.

"Because this is cozier," Pinkie said.

"It's also more private," Twila said. "Not everyone remembers being brainwashed, or even knows they were being controlled."

Aria stopped looking around, and tested the chair that was offered to her before she sat down. "I think you have one too many," she said.

"Really? Because I think we got it just right," Elle said.

"So shouldn't we wait for the last person?" Adagio asked.

"She's looped in, but we haven't much time right now," Rayne said.

"Then lets get started," Jackie said. "Basically, we want to help you out, as friends."

"How's that supposed to work? We can't build houses or make money off of hugs," Adagio said.

"Or eat them," Sonata added.

The Ponyville Fair and the Changelings would be to differ, Gerald thought. "That would be Part Three of our plan. Part One was finding you and bringing you back. Part Two is establishing a relationship. We don't have to be full-out friends, at least not right away, but if we're going to be able to help you, we're going to need to trust each other enough to be open and honest."

Aria snorted. "And what could we possibly do if we refused? We can't even get away from you guys."

"Oh, we hope you don't want to run away anymore," Felicia said. "Instead, we want to help you find the things that you can do."

"Felicia's right,"Twila said. "Living here has different requirements from living in Equestria, and those requirements changed only recently for you three. While we'll be able to give you some support, we still need to know about the sort of things you can do money-wise."

"We always just used to sing," Aria said after a pause.

"We can't do that anymore," Adagio said, but her heart wasn't in her glare, so it lacked punch.

"We can still dance," Sonata said.

"Which will only get us so far," Adagio said. "To be honest we never took this world seriously, so we don't have any serious skills that aren't tied to magic."

"And that's where I come in," the final member of the group said as she entered the room through the door, her red and gold curls bouncing. She was holding a case underneath her arm, and wearing a single gemstone on a necklace. It showed red and blue, green and gold, for it was the key to the portal that Twila had opened earlier.

"You are... Sunset Shimmer? But we heard you went through the portal to Equestria!" Adagio said.

"And I've been helping Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle's friends ever since. It also turns out that with a little coordination, we can find active portals very effectively. But that wouldn't be possible if I wasn't remorseful for what I'd done, and willing to let others help me get my redemption."

"That's a pretty story, but what's it got to do with us?" Aria asked.

"It has everything to do with you, with us," Elle said. "We're going to show you the way, a path you can use to live in this world."

"Who better to help than me?" Shimmer added. "I'm like Equestria like you, and I've adapted to living in this world without magic. But I also acted deplorably, and eventually got welcomed into a group of friends anyway. The same is possible for you three, if the only things you take from the past are the lessons you've already learned."

"In addition to whatever benefits you can glean from our friendship, or acquaintanceship if you prefer, you should be able to create your own path in the world, assuming you don't want to come back to Equestria when we go back," Twila said.

"We won't go back," Adagio said. "Ever."

"Then you'll need to adapt using what you can do," Gerald said.

"That's not much right now, as you've learned," Aria said.

"Oh, we never meant for you to do anything alone, not completely," Felicia said.

"That's why we're all here," Pinkie said. "We'd like to be friends, but if you don't want to right away, that's fine. It's more important to get you started first."

"So to that end," Shimmer sat on the empty seat, set the case on her lap, and carefully opened it up. It contained three chokers, each of which held a single, small crystal, each completely clear. "These are for you."

"Are you really trying to replace the pendants we had before?" Adagio asked, regardless, she could not take her eyes off of them.

"You'd have to be pretty dumb to try that," Aria said.

"I think it's sweet," Sonata said.

"These aren't like your original pendants," Shimmer said.

"They couldn't possibly like the originals: we were born with them, and stored and used their power every minute of our lives, at least in some way. You can't have any idea of what it feels like to watch as something that was a part of you is destroyed forever," Adagio said.

"You're right," Twila said, "we don't know. But we can help you get enough of your abilities back that you won't have to struggle to make a living."

"With us backing you, you'll do great!" Rayne said.

"So, what do these actually do?" Adagio asked.

"Gearhead's the one who can best explain it," Shimmer said.

"Here the name's 'Gerald,'" he said.

"Or 'Gerry,'" Elle said.

"Anyway, these amulets are designed using the last of the gemstones I brought over from Equestria. They allowed me to get established here, so it only seems appropriate that they now do the same for you three. The first thing they do is scan the wearer for any sort of magic, whether it be leftovers, or ambient, or even dormant. Next, it purifies any unwanted leftovers to make room for the third stage, when it brings forth latent abilities."

"What if we don't have any?" Aria asked.

"I can assure you that while this world's magic is far more subtle than in Equestria, it is still there. Everyone has at least a little magical potential. And you can relax, because the amulets should provide a slight boost. You should get your voices back, but without the ability to use your sound alone to manipulate others. That is the way I designed them."

"How can you be sure they'll work that way?" Sonata asked.

"I feel very confident about my work. As an Artificer, it turns out I am fairly competent."

"He even created artificial versions of the Elements of Harmony," Shimmer said. "I've seen them, except for one."

"This one," Twila held her left hand up, and showed the others the black bracelet she wore there. It had an amethyst stone set within it. "It's not as powerful as the true Element of Magic, but it's very reliable, and it does what it's supposed to."

"Yeah, but how could you have made an Artifact in this world?"

"Because I know how to reach the magic weave. It's especially easy when there's an open portal nearby. But also because I was successful in casting a very potent spell I was unable to cast before: Remove Curse. It does exactly what it sounds like it should do, and that is one of the magicks loaded into each amulet."

"He had to cast it three times. That's a stretch, even with someone cheering you on, Darling." Ro said.

"I can vouch for that," Shimmer said.

"So we put the amulets on and let them clean away our old magic and put your new magic in. Then what?" Adagio asked.

"And then you start training your butts off," Rayne said.

"And we'll be here to support you as long as you need it," Jackie said.

"So you expect us to... work at our skills? To take the time to get better?" Aria asked.

"Why not? Isn't that the sort of thing friends do?" Pinkie asked.

"We'll give you as much of the time you need," Felicia said.

"And hugs!" Pinkie said.

"How do we know you won't betray us and let us down?" Adagio asked.

"Because we have integrity," Jackie said.

"And compassionate," Felicia said.

"Fun and full of hugs and laughter!" Pinkie said.

"Generous," Ro said.

"And forgiving," Shimmer said.

"You can depend on us," Rayne said.

"And our friendship," Twila said.

"Well, this is the sort of thing we tend to do," Gerald said. "You don't have to decide today, but I don't know if you can stay here."

"Of course they can!" Pinkie said. "You're welcome anytime, friends or not."

"That's really..." Adagio wiped at her eyes, surprised to find tears there. "I don't know what..."

"It's alright," Felicia said, coming over with a box of tissues. "You can let go." She wrapped Adagio gently in her arms and held her close, and that was all it took before the leader of the Dazzlings started to wail.

"No fair! If you're crying, then..." Aria broke down more slowly, but Ro and Elle were there in the blink of an eye to catch her.

"I don't understand," Sonata said. "I feel so happy, so why do I feel like crying?" And Pinkie was there for her, also crying.

"Because this is the start of something new for you," Shimmer said, tears in her eyes, too.

"This is fine," Gerald said softly. "We're all friends."