Canterlot High OSS: Gerald's Secret Weapon

by BNuts

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Human
Length: 11489

After the Sirens' defeat, Gerald notices something and decides it is his responsibility to investigate.

It has been months since Sunset Shimmer's plot forced Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to destroy the portal linking Equestria with Canterlot High, also stranding Shimmer in Equestria. While Gearhead, now called Gerald, searched for a portal safe enough for Twilight Sparkle, Spike, and himself to go home, other threats arose to challenge the group for the fate of the world.

Working together with Jackie, Felicia, Pinkie, Rayne, Rochelle, Spike, and Twila, Gerald managed to defeat the Sirens, rendering them powerless. As the Dazzlings fled the scene, a second threat emerged. With this new force regrouping, the human Elemental Six have the opportunity to take a breather, and Gerald will use that opening to look into that one thing that was bothering him about the Dazzlings.

After all, a hero ought to take responsibility for the messes he makes when he and his friends defeat their opponents.

This Original Side Story (like OAV, OVA, or OAD) is an entry for the Friend-Off Contest on Equestria Daily. The cover image is not mine, but it is one of the bases for the fanfic. I actually got the idea when I saw a screencap similar to this, and thought "doesn't she look like she wants a hug? Wait a minute..! Is that all they wanted?!'

This came out longer than intended, but I'm satisfied and I think I kept each chapter fairly short.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-02-04 19:50:02 UTC

2. Assemblage

When Gearhead had created an operating system for the Alicorn Engine, he had made it simple and then it became more complex as he found it necessary to control more systems -- flight and guidance, power supply and distribution, sensors and shield arrays, and even weapons. Even before he had completed the first prototype, he had layers of safeguards in place to prevent his designs from being stolen and used against him or Equestria. All these efforts meant that Gearhead had not been a stranger to computer languages and programming even before he followed Twilight to this Earth. Still, to learn the different languages used here, and to see behind the curtain of the commonly-used OSs, took more time than Gearhead had first thought it would.

But it was a completely worthwhile effort, since the whole experience would allow him to upgrade his own OS and security by several orders, even if it was several decades or even centuries before computer systems became common in Equestria.

One of the consequences of having learned how to create programs was that Gerald learned how to hack into secure systems. Since his resources were so limited that he could not build another Alicorn Engine and launch something new into the atmosphere, he chose to ride the signal waves and piggyback on what surveillance satellites already in position were learning. Of course, to do that and not get arrested, Gerald had to give the government some reasons not to prosecute him. So he looked for various forms of people seeking to harm others over the Internet, and reported them in to the FBI or CIA anonymously -- or so it would seem, because he hazarded a guess that both organizations would have data slicers more skilled than he was. And he was right.

It was because Gerald normally reported others' illegal activities that he received an encoded message from the FBI as he was going through satellite recordings to track down the Dazzlings. "[Are these persons of interest a possible threat?]" That was all the message said, but Gerald saw the implication: If they were perceived as a threat, the FBI would pick them up, and then they would have little chance of setting their lives straight again, and all because he wanted to be a 'white' operator. "[Please allow me to finish handling this matter privately. I can assure you they do not present a threat.]" Perhaps if the FBI saw that he was already addressing the matter, they would leave the Dazzlings alone. In any case, both party knew they were watching the other. This meant he would have to act quickly and carefully.

While the recordings wound out and the facial recognition software did its magic, Gerald made a call to Twilight, who had taken the name 'Twila Evenstar.' She could have done better on the first name, if she had not started to say her real name before realizing what she was doing. Still, it would have been strange of her to be able to introduce herself by exactly the same name as this world's version of her. Gerald was glad indeed that he had not met his own counterpart, or those belonging to his family, who should be living near the West Coast anyway.

It took a few moments for Twila to answer her phone, because she was around at least one of her friends so often that it would often be Pinkie or Rayne who reached over and answered for Twila -- that was to say, the pink-haired Diane Pinkamena Pie and a brunette version of Rainbow Dash. Diane was 'Di' to most people, and 'Pinkie' to her friends, and was most like the version with whom Gerald was most familiar out of all the Elemental Six here. Rayne liked to go by 'Rae,' and while she did not have her counterpart's ability to fly, she was just as athletic, taking on all sports and all challengers. "Hello? This is Twila," the voice on the other end said.

"Hello Twila, Gerald here. Have you had any thoughts about the Dazzlings since last time?"

"A little, but I have to admit I've been too preoccupied with the new war at CHS to give them more than a few moments."

"I think I may have a plan, but I'm going to need to ask for some assistance. Could you call Felicia and Rayne?"

"What's this now?" Pinkie asked, having been in the same room.

"Gerald says he has a plan and wants our help,"

"Oh, well count me in!"

"Where are you right now?" Gerald asked.

"My place of course, silly," Pinkie laughed, snorting a bit.

"In that case, lets meet there, shall we?"

"Okey-dokey Loki!" From the click as the line went dead immediately after, it was clear that Pinkie was the one hanging up. Well, Gerald could explain more fully once everyone was together.

With Twila and Pinkie informing Felicia and Rayne about the plan to meet at Pinkie's house, that left Gerald himself to contact Jacqueline and Rochelle. Jacqueline Apple was as blonde and strong as her counterpart, the expert in apple bucking and all things farming-related. She just preferred to be called 'Jackie.' As for Rochelle Grant, well, the silken black-haired fashionista-to-be was this world's version of Rarity the Unicorn, and while she lacked magic she could sometimes whip up an outfit in the blink of an eye, and out of nowhere, or so it seemed. She had also volunteered to help Gerald keep his sanity while he worked on the portal issue by distracting him as his temporary girlfriend.

The main reason Gerald had not accepted the suggestion of dating Felicia Warder, she of the long, strawberry-blonde hair, was because she was Fluttershy's counterpart, and since Gerald had romantic feelings for Fluttershy, dating someone who could so easily be her sister would complicate matters when he, Twilight, and Spike had to go home. Dating across dimensions would doubtlessly lead to broken hearts. Gerald himself had said as much to Bradley Stern, this world's Flash Sentry, about his relationship with Twila. To date Felicia would have been hypocritical. Dating Rochelle was easier because they spent more time teasing each other than they did doing anything romantic or truly affectionate. Yes, Gerald was using Rochelle to get those 'eureka' moments that would help him and his friends get home. They both knew that, and that was part of the reason she had volunteered in the first place. The awkwardness between Gerald and Felicia was the main reason he had volunteered to call Jackie and Rochelle.

"Jackie, it's Gerald. Can you meet the rest of us at Pinkie's?"

"You want me to just drop what I'm doing right now and go?"

"It's about the Dazzlings,"

"I'll be there in twelve," Jackie said, then hung up. Just like that, she was in, at least to hear the plan. Next Gerald dialed his girlfriend.

"Gerald, what an unexpected and welcome surprise to have you call on our day off," Rochelle said immediately upon picking up.

"What're you doing, Rochelle?"

"What do you want me to be doing?"

"The rest of us will be meeting at Pinkie's to discuss the Dazzlings."

"Well, I think it's only fair for me to be there to present my two cents. Will we have enough time to deal with them and study our erstwhile infiltrators? Especially after what they did to me and you?" That was true: for the past few months, some things had not been as they seemed. In fact, the group had ended up with an extra 'Rochelle.'

"We will. What's Elle doing now?"

"Hiding from the family. I'm going to have to bring her with, aren't I?"

"Eiyup,"

"You sure you're not one of them, Darling?"

"I'm very certain I'm me."

"Well then, we'll both see you at Pinkie's." Ro hung up. That was one thing that Gerald had forgotten they were using to distinguish the two, as they used Elle to watch what their enemy was doing. On top of splitting up the name, the 'real' Rochelle wore a beret in her hair that Gerald had made. If Elle tried to wear it, it would counter her magic, revealing her true form. As long as Ro wore it, the diamond glittered slightly. On top of that, Gerald still could use simple magic techniques like Shift Focus to see magic auras and pick out impostors among the real deal, even without his dagger to act as a medium.

With one last glance at his triple-display, he secured his system, pocketed his smartphone and HUD-enabled glasses, and headed down to his car.

3. Inspiration

Gerald pulled in to the driveway at the Pie house to discover that he was the last one to arrive. "Glad you could make it, considerin' you're the one who called this meeting," Jackie said.

"I hope you will bear with such idiosyncrasies," Gerald said.

"There's another word I'd use, but I'd use it for another member of our little company."

"Touche. The others are..?"

"Waiting up in Pinkie's room,"

"Is that wise, inviting a young man up to one's private chamber?"

"It's the only place we'll get the privacy to discuss classified matters."

"True,"

"At least, that's what Twila said to say,"

"After you,"

"Who ever said chivalry was dead?" Jackie said, leading the way.

"Chivalry is dead, or rather it's pure myth. This is me being practical, since I've never been where we're going."

"You just had to go and spoil the moment." Jackie understood 'practical,' dressing either in jeans or jean-shorts and a simple blouse, like the ones she used while she was farming, which was probably what she had been doing before Gerald's call. Of the six, only Felicia, Pinkie, and Rochelle normally wore dresses or skirts -- Felicia's were modest, Rochelle's were flashy or stylish, and Pinkie's were... whatever she felt like.

"Sorry,"

"Never you mind," Jackie said, soon pushing the door open. Pinkie's bedroom was spacious for one person, and could arguably hold three asleep and still not feel cramped. Apparently, though, all six had recently slept here while they came up with a song for the final confrontation against the Sirens. It was appropriate that they use the same location to discuss how to deal with the de-powered Dazzlings. Felicia and Ro were seated on the bed with their backs against the headboard. Elle sat near the foot of the bed on her side. She was wearing a black dress, where Ro wore a light blue one. Gerald checked to be sure they were who they were supposed to be. Rae was sitting backwards at the desk chair, while Pinkie was cross-legged on the floor between the bed and the desk. Twila was sitting in one of two spare chair in front of Pinkie's entertainment system, while Jackie took the other as soon as she entered the room.

"The floor's all yours, so to speak," Pinkie said, laughing again.

"Why thank you," Gerald said wryly. He closed the door, and then stood in front of it. "The reason I've asked you all to assemble here is because I believe we need to come up with a solution to the Dazzlings' current living problems. We are, after all, the ones who left them in this world without the benefit of having even restricted powers. They're not used to that, so it's our responsibility to help them get along with the world."

"Wait a minute," Rayne said, "these guys nearly took over the school by brainwashing everyone, staff included, and you want to help them?"

"Indeed," Gerald nodded. "Regardless of how long they've survived before now, they always had their power at their disposal. Now they have to eat, sleep, have shelter, be clothed, and cooperate just like everyone else."

"Judging by how they were acting, that's not going to be easy," Ro said.

"They did seem to argue a lot," Felicia said.

"Teamwork will be a significant concern," Twila said.

"Right, and they have to earn money, which means they need to get a job. Or jobs," Jackie said. Out of all the friends, she was the only one who could lay claim to a job, and she had it because it was something her big brother, Mark, and her little sister, Beatrice, both did. It was a family business.

"Correct again," Gerald said.

"You wouldn't have come to us without at least a basic plan, after all, we need to prepare for the next attack," Twila said.

"Care to share?" Rae asked.

"For some reason I'm thinking that's my line," Pinkie said. "Nevermind," she said, smiling. "I'm not upset!"

"Indeed I will share what I have, and then I would appreciate your opinions so we can develop a real action plan.

"I've already outlined the most basic human needs, and regardless of being Sirens in Equestria, the Dazzlings are now human. These needs are food, clothing, shelter, and companionship. Everyone needs food regularly, and the Dazzlings can no longer inspire malice and feed off it. Any clothing other than what they have on their backs is something they would need to buy. Shelter is equal to scraps outside of a regular dwelling place. And we've already seen that their teamwork's a mess, and they're unlikely to attract more friends unless they change their attitudes."

"Assuming they only have what they're carrying and don't have a home, their most pressing need will be to get some money to pay for the other things they need," Elle said.

"Why are we assuming they don't have a home?" Felicia asked.

"Because they haven't stayed at anything that could be called that since they ran from us at the end of the Battle of the Bands."

"How do you know that?" Rayne asked.

"Because I've used my surveillance recordings to track them through the city. The good news is that they're still here. The bad news is that they're pretty well dug-in, and if we're going to give them any worthwhile help, we have to get them to you," Gerald nodded to Twila, "or to me."

"Unless you go to them instead," Pinkie said.

"I'll likely need to be able to set up some equipment if I need to make anything for them, so I think we do need to convince them to come to us. But we can't do that unless we can convince them of the value of coming, and unless we can get them to trust us not to do them harm."

"Considering what happened the last time we met, that may be pretty hard," Felicia said.

"I think we have to try," Twila said.

"So what kind of 'value' are we talking about here?" Elle asked. "Giving them money won't do any good once they run out again."

"I could bake some apple pies or brown Betties or something," Jackie said.

"Ooh, I could help," Pinkie said.

"She and I could make some fabulous clothes, and a satchel to carry everything in," Ro said, pointing to Elle, who was nodding: as part of her disguise, she had all of Rochelle's memories to a point, and could copy her non-magical skills. And since, at least until recently, magic had been too subtle in this world to use very easily, that meant Elle could use almost all of Ro's skills.

"But again, what happens when they need more?" Elle asked, no longer nodding.

"'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink,'" Jackie said.

"You could always just ask him if he wanted a drink," Twila said, "or does he want something else?"

"It's an expression. It means that you can't get anyone to just go and do what you want them to, not even for their own good."

"Isn't this more 'give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day; Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime?'" Felicia said. "Unless..."

"No, you're right," Rayne said, "because whatever we do for these guys, they need to be able to keep doing it once we, or they, walk away."

"If we're going to teach them about something they don't have, why not friendship?" Twila asked.

"They may or may not be receptive to 'friendship' after being beaten by it. 'Teamwork?' 'Cooperation?'"

"But we need to teach them fast, so it has to be something simpler," Rayne said. "They won't get it otherwise, I think."

"Agreed. We need to think of something elementary that we know they need, and that we can give them," Gerald said.

There was silence as everyone thought, and it stretched on. Rayne and Pinkie shuffled uncomfortably from side to side, then Pinkie got up and started skipping all around the room. It was her room, so no one thought of stopping her. Besides, there was no point in interrupting her if motion helped her think. Same for her humming. Humming?

Gerald listened more carefully to Pinkie, and it took him a couple astonished moments before he recognized the tune. He turned to stare at Twila, who was likely the only other pony to have heard that particular song, as sung by the Pinkie from Equestria. Gerald did not have any idea how the human version was doing it again, but that was Pinkie Pie all over:

'Cause all I want's to see you smile, smile, smile. Yes I do!~

Despite some complexity on the surface, understanding the motivations behind some beings, like Discord or Pinkie Pie, was a simple exercise. Pinkie loved to see her friends happy. Take that away, and she could go full-blown insane, as Gearhead, Twilight, and Spike knew. Discord was about what could entertain him in the now, although last Gearhead had heard he was still being at least a little cooperative about the efforts to restore Equestria to the way it was supposed to be. Regardless of whether Discord was worried about pushing his limits and getting in trouble with his new friends, a bored Discord was the most dangerous Discord, as Vines had found out.

The big, fat hint to Pinkie's motivation was in her song. Likewise, the largest interactions the Dazzlings had had with anyone else was through their singing. And as Gerald had noted before...

"The Dazzlings sang most about 'being adored," Twila said. "In other words--"

"Hee-hee! They just want friends!" Pinkie said, bouncing around for joy.

"That can't be it," Jackie said, "not with all the trouble they went to, and all the trouble they caused!"

"If you wanted friends badly enough, what wouldn't you do?" Ro asked.

"Oh my, I don't know," Felicia said.

"I know I'd do anything and everything, because I have!" Pinkie said.

"Including singing," Ro said.

"And being relentless," Rayne said.

"Please call it 'persistence,'"  Pinkie said.

"I liked the hugging best," Felicia said.

"I have to agree with that sentiment," Ro said, and Elle nodded.

"Me too," Twila said.

"I can't exactly disagree with that," Jackie said.

"So, what, we're gonna try to just walk up and hug them?"

"Can you name a faster way to make friends?" Pinkie asked.

"It'll be dangerous if they've armed themselves,"

"I'm also armed, but lets try to make sure it doesn't come to that," Gerald said.

"I don't think everyone should go, in case they run," Twila said.

"Agreed. We'll need strength and endurance," Rayne said. "As a true athlete, I'll go."

"Hey now," Jackie said, "don't go jumping in without me."

"I'd go for the hugging, if I could keep up," Felicia said.

"I wanna go!" Pinkie said.

Twila and Gerald exchanged a glance. "You, Rae, and Pinkie?" She asked.

"Just three?" Jackie asked, disappointed.

"Three-on-three's fair," Rayne said.

"This ain't a game, so we don't need to be 'fair,'"

"No, but we don't want to scare them either," Gerald said.

"Not when we're going to be giving away free hugs!" Pinkie said.

"So that's really going to be our plan?" Rayne asked.

"Are you against it?" Elle asked.

"You kidding? I'm all in!" Rayne whooped.

4. Patience

With a little more time, Gerald could have outfitted his car with a complete sensor suite and overhaul, but the vehicle had been the last priority for him as long as he could use it to get to any portal that might appear. As it was, he had put some relatively minor modifications into it to make it run more efficiently. At the same time, he had made sure it still looked like the common, average vehicle it had been when he bought it, used, for $2,000.

The 2007 G5 was the successor to the older Sunfire, which Gerald had thought was an apt name for a vehicle that one of Princess Celestia's students might use. It only seated five legally, and six would be pushing things, but its smaller size also made it so it could maneuver between smaller gaps. The engine was fair, with only a slight delay between putting the pedal down and getting the power out to really move, and it was loaded with all kinds of goodies on the inside, like a compact disc player, power windows and locks, and a cruise control system that Gerald doubted he would ever use since he did not do any highway driving. The car's previous owner had taken good care of it, so it was in good condition, without any need for repairs or maintenance. The only reason it had been available was because that person had traded up -- not an unexpected event, if he or she had had it for seven years.

Gerald's first modification was to turn the internal combustion engine and the gasoline feeding system that powered it into a kit, so that when he removed it it would be easy to put back in. He detached two of the smaller condenser units from his Gatekeeper armour and set them up to power the engine. The condensers were essentially power-packs, storage units for the particle energy the Alicorn Engine produced, and as those particles were based on the sort of magic that the two Princesses and Discord put out, it was extremely potent. Two full condensers could run for months with the minuscule power demand a little car like the G5 put on them, and Gerald could just reattach them to his armour to recharge them as needed. He would run his house off his Alicorn Engines if he could, but he lacked sufficient material to set up the special conducive wiring that required. But that did give him another idea as to how he could set up the defensive version of the Engine to be used, once he got back to Equestria where there were plenty of gemstones.

Since the disk-like condensers could provide plenty of power, Gerald had also reinforced the G5's skeleton and casing with Kevlar and his magic, geomancy that allowed him to see the relationship between inanimate objects and transform them to their ideal arrangement. This included the ability to repair and reinforce items. Finally, he removed all the limiters on the engine and cooling systems, and even beefed up the engine's output to its maximum. If the G5 had been 'fair' power-wise before, at least it would be 'above average' now.

On the inside, the car looked perfectly normal as well, apart from the clip and power adapter for Gerald's smartphone. As per the law, he went completely hands-free when it came to making or receiving calls and navigating the city's streets. The team was even going to use the hands-free headsets with which Gerald had equipped his half of the band, even though they would not have to use the magic-filtering function on it anymore. The headsets, small white and silver clips that hooked onto the ear, would still help the teams keep in touch and coordinate their efforts as the situation changed.

While Gerald followed the rules of the road to the letter, Pinkie bounced excitedly in the seat behind him. He had long since stopped trying to get her to calm down and sit still, knowing that in any form, Pinkie Pie was a bundle of kinetic energy, especially when the prospect of making new friends hovered nearer and nearer. Rayne had insisted on sitting shotgun, and while she knew Pinkie well enough not to be constantly yell at her to calm down, judging by her tapping fingers the other girl was already starting to get on her nerves.

"For sure they're not gonna be happy to see us," Rayne said. "They'll run."

"Aww,"

"Oh, definitely. So what's the first thing most people do when someone starts running from them?"

"We chase after them!" Pinkie said, even sitting forward and pointing straight ahead, past Gerald.

"Exactly,"

"What if they split up?" Rayne asked.

"They probably will, in which case we need to choose who we will chase, and then try to herd them so we can talk to them all at once. If not, we all tell our counterparts the exact same thing."

"The headsets should make that trick easier," Rayne said.

"Maybe they won't be able to run away if we can just hug-ambush them," Pinkie said.

"I think that's called 'glomping,'" Gerald said.

"It would definitely slow them down, but have you seen the spikes on Adagio's outfits? Ouch!"

"They have to be plastic, although that would still hurt, moving fast enough," Gerald said.

"So it'll be a careful hug," Pinkie said. "Nobody gets away from Pinkie Pie!"

"Hey, this neighbourhood's starting to look a little 'wrong side of the tracks.'" Rayne said.

"This is where the sat tracked the Dazzlings, so this is where we'll go."

"Aren't you worried someone'll steal your car?"

"I modified the security, so no worries there." The armour should repel most low-level thieves, and for those who tried to force it, they would get a slight, increasing shock. Built-in sensors, flush with the outer shell, would tell the onboard computer whether the vehicle was under persistent attack, so overuse of the electric defenses would not occur. In the meantime he, Rayne, and Pinkie could be as persistent in their pursuit of the Dazzlings as they needed to be.

"Well, I'm always up for a challenge," Rayne said. "I'll take Adagio. Don't worry, I'll be careful." Glancing at her grin, Gerald could almost hear her say 'not. I'm going all-out!' "Who do you want, Gerry? Aria or Sonata?"

"Aria's so gloomy," Pinkie said. "I bet I could brighten up her day!"

"Then we can count on you for her," Gerald said. "That leaves Sonata."

"Just one hug should do it," Pinkie said.

"I don't know," Gerald said. "She's more hardcore than she seems. I will not underestimate her just because she's so happy-go-lucky: she's a Dazzling."

Gerald turned left, and pulled all the way into an alley that ended in a chain-link fence. "This is as close as we can drive, so our mission starts here."

"Finally," Rayne said, getting out of the car. She was wearing jeans, a simple T-shirt, and cross-trainers. She had a couple pouches on her belt that contained high-strength lines on grappling hooks, in case she needed to get somewhere her Parkour couldn't take her: she was not going to let anything get in her way.

"Yay!" Pinkie bounced out onto the asphalt. There were only two amendments to her usual outfit, on Jackie's insistence: running shoes and jean shorts.

Gerald finished stowing the adapter and dropped his smartphone into a pant pocket so he could pull his white longcoat on. He did not doubt the Dazzlings would recognize it from that last performance, and he counted on that recognition. Gerald had his steel dagger up his left sleeve in a clever knot for easy release, and his geargem dagger, which could lengthen to full sword length with a thought, on his belt. He made sure the latter was visibly on the right side, because despite his watch showing him as being right-handed, any prospective mugger might think twice if they thought he was ambidextrous. Since he had all his gear, Gerald closed the door and pressed the button on his fob to visibly lock and secure the car.

He squeezed the right temple on his glasses, and the Heads-Up Display showed a mini-map and an arrow pointing along the shortest route to the targets. The headset clip he wore activated at the same time. "Rainbooms," he said, "mission start."

"Roger that," Twila said over their signal. She and the others would try to ensure the equipment they needed was where they needed it.

5. Perseverance

Rayne, Gerald, and Pinkie advanced quickly and quietly through the maze of back alleys, guided by Gerald's satellite feed. When unidentified loiterers spotted them at a distance, they often tried to get into a better position, but when they took a closer look at how the three of them were equipped, and how they carried themselves with confidence, they either stood own or tried to vanish altogether. Unfortunately for those who were interested in criminal activity, they eyes-in-the-sky Gerald had turned on this neighbourhood did not belong to him exclusively.

When the trio got close enough to put just one last corner between them and their quarry, Gerald made sure to make one final check on the full sat feed through his smartphone to confirm everything. He shifted his visible dagger so it would not be visible, then gave his longcoat to Pinkie, the least threatening member of the group. This left him in a black golf shirt and green pants. Just as they were ready to launch themselves into a surprise attack, an alert chimed in Gerald's ear.

"What's that?" Rayne whispered, while they skidded to a halt and scampered back behind the wall. Gerald hoped they had not already given the game away.

"We have a portal," Gerald said, checking his smartphone again.

"Team-3 is ready to go secure it," Twila said. If Gerald's group was Team-1, Jackie's group was Team-2, which included Twila's sub-group, which was to respond to any portal that opened nearby.

"Location?" Gerald could not tell just from the voice whether it was Ro or Elle who spoke.

"Standby," Gerald whispered as the information streamed in. "This energy profile looks like it belongs to a single-user type." While there were portals whose operation were based on either the phases of the moon or a large quantity of magic to activate, they either anchored to a large, person-sized object or to a free but secluded location, which only one person could access at once. The portal had that linked to the statue at CHS's forward courtyard was an anchor-type, and it was stable enough for general use until it had been destroyed. Single-user types could open in mid-air just long enough to permit admittance to one person, probably whoever was closest. The last one of that type the friends had seen was only stable enough for two uses, which meant a  round trip for the individual who had come through from Equestria. If this portal was of the same type, there was no way they could switch it out for the one they intended to use.

And besides, Twilight, Spike, and Gearhead had other things to do before they could go home.

"The portal's stabilized in... Pinkie's closet?"

"Well that's convenient," Pinkie snorted. "Ha-ha!"

"Did you hear something?" Gerald heard Aria say.

"Shh!" Both he and Rayne leaped at Pinkie to cover her mouth. She made noises that matched up with "Oh, sorry!"

"I didn't hear anything,"

"Of course you didn't, Sonata. You'd better stay back while I check it out."

Gerald and Rayne exchanged a glance. This was not good: if the Dazzlings stood divided physically, the warning from their sudden appearance could allow the others to escape without hearing them out. Rayne, having looked at their surroundings, shook her head to indicate that she could get enough of a grip on the buildings' walls to scale them using Parkour, and her grapple lines would be too noisy.

May as well spring things now, Gerald thought, and held up three fingers. Two. One. He made a fist, the 'go' signal.

"Hello," Gerald said as he led off. Aria, who had been the one to hear his group talking, was the one who had decided to check things out.

"You!" Adagio said, and she and Sonata both got to their feet. Aria started backing toward the others, away from Gerald.

Sonata jumped up on the toes of one foot and started waving. "Hi!"

"Hi!" Pinkie waved back.

"Hey!" Adagio turned on Sonata.

"Sorry," the other said, fiddling with her fingers and shrinking back.

"Actually, we're here to talk," Rayne said. "We were hoping you'd hear us out, since we feel responsible for leaving you powerless here."

"You are responsible for that!" Adagio said.

"So we're agreed," Gerald said, "but we can help you to find a better way and a better place."

"Oh, so you think you can do better?" Aria asked.

"What would you know about what it's like to live like this without magic?" Sonata asked.

"I know all about it, because I was powerless shortly after I got here. I did not have the influence you three had over people either, but I had a contingency plan for money, and I made friends who would support me if I fell."

"We may not have our 'influence' anymore, but we don't need your help," Adagio said.

"Oh? What're you doing for cash?"

"Rayne! We're not here to talk about how we'll help them earn the money they need to but food, clothes, and shelter."

"It's still a valid point,"

"I like food," Sonata said, and three stomachs complained about a general lack of contents.

"You're making it worse," Aria groused.

"Sorry,"

"Why are we standing here talking? Run!" Adagio said, and then she turned to take her own advice.

"Wait," Pinkie called out, "we just wanna be friends!" But none of the Dazzlings were planning on staying, not even Sonata. Rayne launched straight into a sprint, lining up with Adagio. Gerald also gave chase. "You're running from me?" Pinkie blinked, and tilted her head in confusion. "Nobody runs from Pinkie Pie!" After yelling, she broke into a full-on tear down the alley, shouting furiously.

"Pinkie, that's just gonna scare 'em more," Rayne said.

"Oh, sorry. I'll do it more quietly. Raaaaaaaaah."

"How about not yelling?"

"Oh, but it's so much fun!"

Gerald couldn't see her face, but he figured Rayne was rolling her eyes too.

Gerald was the only one who could follow the satellite feed directly if they lost sight of any member of the Dazzlings as they split up, but Jackie, who had a temporary password for the tracking system at Gerald's house, and Gerald himself, could vector Rayne and Pinkie in on whatever path they needed.

Even after they split up, Sonata did not show any hesitation about which fork to follow any time the alley split. As hungry as she might be, she did not stop or pause at all. She even faked going down one alleyway, only to reverse direction and slide to her knees to slip under one of Gerald's arms as he tried to grab for her. As Gerald pivoted, he realized that unless he gave himself a boost, catching his target would take longer than he had first thought. He touched his dagger's hidden pommel and whispered "Ventos," to gather a WInd Magic boost at his feet.

Gerald continued in his dogged pursuit of Sonata. She seemed to have a good idea of when he got close. Perhaps she could sense his magic, since she started to juke more aggressively to get around him when he was nearly within reach of her. She can guess when I am going to try to get a hold on her, but can she react quickly enough 100% of the time? Gerald focused more, and doubled his boost.

This time when Sonata tried to fake him out and dive under his left arm, he pivoted and launched himself right into her. The world tilted as they both tumbled to the ground, Gerald rolling and Sonata scrambling free. But he recovered quickly and lunged, wrapping both arms around the girl's waist.

"Let go, let go!"

"Not this time," Gerald said. "We let you all go after the show, and look where that got you. You don't have to be alone anymore!"

"But I want --" Sonata's stomach growled again.

"Why don't you let us be friends, and we can help take care of you." Gerald subtly shifted his grip, so he was less holding Sonata back and more holding onto her.

"What are you doing?"

"I think it's called a 'hug.' Why?"

"Because it doesn't hurt. But I still can't eat it."

"We can get you some food, but we might need some help convincing the others."

"Let me think about it," Sonata said.

* * *

Adagio ran full-out for five seconds, and then slowed to a jog to conserve her strength. As per the plan, she went left at the first fork. Why does this have to happen now? She thought. But she shoved that aside, and focused on her anger. It's time to show these idiots that being powerless doesn't mean we're helpless!

"Hi again," Rayne said, jogging alongside Adagio. "Listen, it'd be easier to talk if you slowed down a bit more."

"Who said I wanted to talk?" Adagio said, and then she pivoted to dash in the other direction.

"Look, we really are sorry for not seeing passed the brainwashing, but we had to stop you."

"You're so annoying!" Adagio went most of the way past another alley, only to dodge down at at the very last moment.

"We're willing to help you now," Rayne said, matching her again.

"Oh yeah, helping your enemy at your convenience so we'll owe you later!" Adagio jumped and pulled herself up and over the fence at the end of the alley. She dropped down and started to run full-tilt again to get away while Rayne scaled the barrier. Except she was right in front of the Dazzlings' leader, who nearly ran right into her.

"We had another thing to take care of right as you left, but we have the time, and we honestly wanna help. You just have to let us."

"That sounds so convenient, but we don't want your help." Adagio planted her left foot and swung straight at Rayne's stomach with her right.

"Watch the spikes," Rayne said, catching the foot. in both hands. "Oh wait," she said, getting an idea.

"No way that's happening," Adagio said, and she dragged her foot right out of her shoe and then turned to flee back down the alley.

Rayne sighed. "Don't you want your shoe?"

"Keep it for all I care!"

"Man, you're angry. Maybe you'll be a little less angry if... I do hate to admit it sometimes when Pinkie's right, but I think with this one she's bang-on."

"What're you talking about?" Adagio asked as she jumped to start climbing the fence. Rayne grabbed her by the belt and yanked her back down. "What the...?" She blushed, flustered, as Rayne spun her around and wrapped her arms completely around her. "Wha-wha-what do you think you're doing?!"

"Being a friend, damnit! And I'm not letting go until you at least agree to hear us out completely."

Adagio was silent for awhile. "Fine." She paused. "You're too persistent."

"You're not so bad yourself."

"Are... are you going to let go of me now?"

"Why not give yourself a minute?"

Why would this be giving myself more time? On reflection, Adagio was surprised to find that she was resting her hands gently around Rayne too.

* * *

"Get back here and let me hug you!"

"No way, crazy girl!" Aria ran all the faster, but unlike her, Pinkie did not show any signs of tiring.

"You know, the more you refuse the Hug Monster, the more she wants to hug you."

"Why are you so obsessed?"

"Stop running and I'll show you why."

For every twist and turn, for every time Aria tried to fake Pinkie out, the latter in turn seemed to jump ahead of Aria and find her again. For what seemed like five minutes, Aria ran herself ragged. Then she collapsed against a wall. "I give up," she moaned. "You win!"

"Really?" Pinkie squatted in front of Aria so they were looking into each other's eyes. "I don't feel like a winner; I feel like a bully."

"I thought... you wanted... to catch me."

"Silly Aria, we just wanted to talk. Oh, and also this." Pinkie wrapped one arm around Aria's back, and started patting her head with her other hand.

"Hey, I'm probably older than you," Aria said.

"What, is this a bad thing? It doesn't make you feel uncomfortable, does it?"

Aria paused. "Not... exactly."

"Maybe it makes you more relaxed?"

"Maybe a little,"

"And happy?"

"I don't..."

Pinkie kept up the hug and patting for a moment more, and then she pulled back and looked Aria in the eyes again. And smiled. As though responding to that, Aria felt something strange happening to her lips: the corners were curling upward, and not in a sneer of any sort.

"Maybe a little," Aria said, blushing.

6. Compassion

"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."

7. Gratitude

Even once everyone stopped sobbing there was not a single dry in the room. Even Gerald had shed his share of tears, although he had only wept silently. The moment was about Adagio, Aria, and Sonata and the opportunity for them to feel completely released from the fetters of their past. Tears to cleanse, and a waiting embrace to start the healing.

"You were right, Pinkie," Rayne said, chuckling. "Hugs are magic."

"Told you!"

"So," Adagio said, still kneeling on the bed. "How does this work?"

"It's simple: you put your amulet on, and I tune it to you as it does its thing."

"Why do you have to tune them?" Sonata asked.

"Since you don't have even a hint of your former abilities right now, you need the maximum amount of assistance from the amulets. Tuning allows me to optimize the amulets not only to that need, but also to each of you individually. Then, as you become more skills, the optimization from now will affect you less and less. Eventually you won't need any help from your amulet, and could even sell them."

"Get rid of them?" Adagio asked, looking around the room, and then over at the open box at the foot of the bed. "I don't think so." And then she reached out and picked up the center piece. Without any hesitation, she brought the necklace up to put it on, but she could not put it over her considerable hair, and the clasps were hard to feel. "Uh..." After all that drama, it was anticlimactic to be unable to put the amulet on, especially when she felt so good.

"I can do that," Felicia said softly, holding out both hands.

"I... thank you," Adagio placed the item in Felicia's hands, and the other girl quickly leaned forward and put it on her, giving out a free hug in the process. "Thank you."

"That's what friends do," Felicia said, smiling with all her heart. Adagio blushed.

Aria picked up the left-hand amulet and held it out to Ro. "Would you..?"

"I would be honoured," Ro said.

"I guess I will have to help you another time," Elle said.

"There'll be another time?"

"Of course there will be," Elle said. "We're here to help, or have you forgotten already?"

"No, I haven't forgotten. It's just... too much."

"There, we're friends, aren't we?" Elle gave Aria her own hug.

"It's funny, but in more than a thousand years we kept thinking we were above everyone else, so we made ourselves unapproachable. It never occurred to us to try to become friends with anyone else," Adagio said.

"That's not funny," Pinkie said as she helped Sonata with her amulet. "It's strange!"

"Well, that's what I meant."

"If I'd known having friends felt this way I'd have insisted on doing it a long time ago," Aria said.

"I know, right? I feel much more full!" Sonata said. "For the first time ever I don't feel hungry anymore."

"So..."

"I could still go for a taco, though."

"I thought so," Aria said, but there was a smile on her face.

"This is the same thing I only discovered for myself recently thanks to Twilight's friends," Shimmer said. "I didn't realize how power-hungry I was before. Not to mention how insane I was for thinking that that plan would work in the first place," she looked at Gerald, who had verbally poked her plan full of holes back when they met, she a demon and he in full armour. "Now I don't need any of that."

"That's nice, but you're living in Equestria, where we don't want to go. We're going to stay here, but we don't want to be leaning completely on you now," Adagio said.

"You won't have to," Gerald said, changing the tuner's settings through his smartphone. The actual tuner was sitting in the room under this one, just where Jackie had put it. "As soon as I'm done tuning, you should be able to sing just fine."

"And then the learning can begin," Twila said.

"And the training," Rayne said, grinning.

"You really like training," Aria said, "but it sounds like a lot of effort."

"I love doing sports, and I have to train hard to be able to do them as well as I do. But I get my biggest high when my friends are watching me play. It's so awesome!"

"That... doesn't sound bad," Aria said.

"So," Sonata said, still hugging Pinkie, "when do we start?"

"Soon," Gerald said. "Tell me: how do you feel?"

Multicoloured light flowed out of each amulet, bathing each wearer in its glow. It only lasted for twelve seconds, and then the light showed stable in each gemstone. "I feel lighter," Aria said.

"And fresh," Sonata said.

"I feel... like singing," Adagio said.

"Give it a try," Pinkie said.

The Dazzlings took the stage at the head of Pinkie's bed, while the others gathered around them. At first the three of them were hesitant to let out even a single note, remembering how they had not been able to carry a tune after their pendants were destroyed. But now, softly, they held their notes, their voices rising and falling through the scale. With their new friends listening attentively and openly, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata raised their voices, and allowed their growing song to reach out, aiming as far as they could go. They could sing!

"Very nice," Rayne said, "but you're not the only musical talent around. Can we cut in?"

"Oh, so you wanna join, Rainbooms?" Adagio grinned. "Why not?"

"Hang on, y'all: I think we'd better move this production to the garage," Jackie said.

"Can I join too?" Shimmer asked.

"Heck yeah," Rayne said. "Lets move it!"

Within a couple minutes, songs from a massive band in a little garage started to ring out throughout the neighbourhood, and considering how gently the music flowed through the streets and embraced the listeners, Gerald really could not claim he was surprised when nobody filed a complaint about the noise. This was music in the air. This was harmony.

"Hey," Shimmer said as she continued to play the guitar, "even though I'll have to take the portal back soon, I'm really glad I came."

"Me too, Sunset Shimmer," Twilight said.

"Heck, my best friend called me though my book. How could I say no?"

"Neither of us could. None of us could, because we're friends!"

"Better be careful," Sonata said, "or I'll feel like hugging you again."

Not that any of them would mind, although there were three new friends who still blushed at the thought. They would learn, though.

1. Curiosity

It had been a long road, living in this alternate dimension, but Gerald hoped that it was almost over. It had all began when Sunset Shimmer, Princess Celestia's protegee prior to Twilight Sparkle, used Celestia's moon-phase mirror to sneak into the Crystal Palace and steal Twilight's crown, and the Element of Magic along with it. Not knowing what to expect, the princesses, Celestia and Luna, sent Twilight after Shimmer through the mirror. Her objective was to recover the Element, and she was supposed to do it alone out of concern for the balance between worlds, but Gearhead gave her an imitation Magic Element that could be used on its own, and Spike ran through the portal after her. Gearhead followed later, using his specially-created Gatekeeper armour, equipped with solar core turbines, or Alicorn Engines, designed specifically to create and stabilize portals between Equestria and wherever Shimmer had taken the Element.

Things had not gone as planned, when Shimmer came back to Equestria in demon form at the head of a small brainwashed army. Their numbers forced Princess Celestia to make a hard decision, and she destroyed the portal, or more accurately the points anchoring the portal to both dimensions. The energy unleashed had fried Gearhead's Gatekeeper armour, rendering it useless, but Shimmer was most probably defeated and captured -- Gearhead and Twilight had not had any word from Princess Celestia since then.

Gearhead, taking on the name 'Gerald Green,' began to search for other usable portals. He used his time to study computers, and found information on data slicing, or hacking. He funded his efforts with some of the gemstones he had brought over in his armour for emergency funds, and by working for the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Central Intelligence Agency tracking down and reporting illegal rings. He also did some digital trading on the side, so he could afford a small house and all the electronic equipment he bought and customized. Gerald was shocked to learn that the safeguards he had developed for the Alicorn Engine's simple operating system back in Equestria would not have stood for long against one of Earth's hackers. As a result, when he had the free time, he rewrote both his OS and his safeguards.

The amount of free time Gerald had dropped dramatically when the Sirens surfaced and started making trouble at Canterlot High School. Since the Sirens relied heavily on magic, it would have been much easier of Gearhead and Twilight could access their own, but it was harder to each this world's 'magic stuff.' Gerald had found it to be more subtle. He could only use it perfectly when he was near an open portal, and even then, only when he had his Geargem Dagger on him, as it acted as his spell medium. Gearhead was an Earth Pony with the other tribes' magic, so he was used to keeping such a measure. Twilight, by contrast, was not, so she had largely given up on casting any sort of spell. In the end, it was only by working together and keeping their guard up that the band, Sonic Unity backed by 'DJ-Pon3,' managed to defeat the Sirens and shatter the gems powering their magic even in this world.

As the de-powered Dazzlings fled, the second enemy, about which Gerald knew because he had stumbled on them by accident, and then been captured, tried a sneak attack. It did not work, because Gerald still had the ability to detect magical auras when it happened. Using his newly-restored and reconfigured Gatekeeper, Gerald forced his opponents to pull a fade-and-run to attack another day. This gave the Elemental Six the opportunity to regroup as well, and for Gerald to tell them all about the threat the faced: he remembered them from his first pass through Equestrian history. Memories from before the rewrite was something Gearhead only had in common with two other beings: his oldest brother, Verdant Vines, and Discord. Now everything was different.

The moment of calm also allowed Gerald the opportunity to reflect on the curious thoughts and facts he had concerning the Dazzlings. They were a trio of young women, and while they looked and acted like teenagers in this world, they had been malice-spreading Sirens in Equestria one thousand or so years ago. Here, too, they had used their magic and their voices to manipulate the people around them, generating waves and auras of negative emotion, and absorbing that into the pendants they had worn on chokers -- it turned out they consumed such negative vibes, like inverted Changelings, but without the shapeshifting as well.

The Dazzlings' leader and brains was Adagio Dazzle. The warmth of her bright orange and red hair (of which she had a surprising amount) belied her pure malice. Gerald was surprised that with all the spikes she wore she did not end up poking anybody, but she was obviously careful, even if these spikes were not intended as weapons. Aria Blaze was Adagio's second, if only by the virtue of not being the Cloudcoocoolander of the group. Her whole persona was dark, from the hair she wore in twintails to her clothes to her morose personality. Even when she snarked on Sonata Dusk, the actual Coocoolander, Aria's efforts only seemed to be half-hearted. As for Sonata, any thought that she might not actually have been evil went out of Gerald's head the moment the three of them confronted him about his interference. Sonata had cheerfully joined in with the others in trying to sink his spirits. She might often be silly enough to remind Gerald of Pinkie Pie, but she had no less ill intend than her friends.

If you could even call the Dazzlings friends, because they fought and argued with themselves as often as with anyone else, when they thought no one was watching. Maybe it made sense, since dissent was what they ate. Other than that, when they sang they had perfect teamwork, so they knew when to come together when it counted. Other than that, they never seemed to truly cooperate, which was the opposite of the Sonic Rainbooms thanks to the Sirens' interference.

As Gerald sat at his custom computer rig and typed in the command to go through camera footage for three specific faces, he reviewed the Dazzlings's actions over the past few days. It was something in the way they acted, and the way they posed and danced, that bothered him. He knew there was something he was missing, and he would have it if only he knew where, exactly, he was looking.

It was odd, but at their first appearance in front of the school, the Sirens had sung of having a battle of the bands event instead of the musical showcase that had been originally planned. The magic in the song turned the united student body against each other, separated not into cliques as Shimmer had done, but into smaller musical bands. And even as the Sirens divided the students, they touched them, or at least Adagio did. They had not done that while singing again, perhaps because their magic had required it back then, but not afterwards. Or maybe touching their audience would have looked too out of place to pass muster during the Battle of the Bands.

Or maybe because the song's lyrics had been divisive, they needed something else to balance it back out, because all the rest of the Sirens' songs had been about how the audience was falling under the Sirens' control, and would adore them, happily letting them make the decisions from then on. It would have been nice to correlate this guess by also knowing about the song they had performed for Principal Celia and Counselor Selena, but that was impossible.

Gerald felt there was something in all the touching and the lyrics about being 'adored' that spoke to a deeper need that the Dazzlings had always had. This was something about which he could only ask them in person to confirm it, and to do that he would have to find them first. This thought also led him to another: through Starswirl's and his own group's actions, the Dazzlings were in a world where there probably no longer possessed skills relevant to survival. This was now his fault, for shattering their power. Well, there's nothing to do but take responsibility for that, by giving them the beginnings of a way to get along in this world.

Gerald's fingers flew across the keyboard: It was time to get started.