Equestria Girls: Hellmouth Harmonyby forrestibChaptersPrologueFirst ContactYour Mission if You Choose to Accept It...Who Can Watch the Watchers Themselves?The Games We PlayLet's You and Her FightTell It Not to a FriendPrologueXander Harris, elder Watcher over the west. Even looking out over a courtyard of two dozen student Slayers the man still didn't feel comfortable with the title. It had been over a year and a half since the Slayers had been awoken. Since then, Buffy and Dawn had moved to Europe. Giles and Willow had tracked down every magic sensor and energy map they could find to try and identify the rest of the Slayers. Oh yeah, and LA had been leveled by an army of demons. That evacuation had been quite literally hell to organize. But that was his job now. He Watched over the entire continent, seeking out apocalypses before they happened and overseeing the training of every new Slayer and champion as they came in. He shook his head with a smile wondering how Buffy had ever gotten him to sign up for this. Vi walked up to him with a cell phone to her ear, “Hey Xander, Willow wants to talk to you. There's some high school in silicon valley she wants you to look into.” It had been almost two months since he and Willow had last talked. It was a shame she had a purpose for the call, but still better than silence he supposed. Xander looked back, “Sure. Hand her over. Thanks Vi.” He took the phone and put it to his own ear with a growing smile, “Will, how's it going? Are you still under China or are you already in Sydney?” The witch didn't seem to be hurried in her tone, which meant apocalypse was unlikely, which was good, “We actually finished the Sydney lead last week. Now Giles and I are in an old Watcher’s bunker in Sweden. There's apparently some kind of diviner for detecting demi-demonic dimensional domain dilation. Try saying that five times fast.” Xander strolled inside and left the Slayers to their lesson, “You know me. I can't even say that twice. Is it gonna help us find hotspots or stop apocalypses or other magic-type stuff?” He continued to listen as he wound his way towards his office, “Maybe all of the above once Giles gets it out of the box the Watchers locked it in. Anyway, you know how I've been keeping an Eye of Cerberus on spiritual curvatures ever since LA? Well, I picked up a major energy spike in California. Nothing apocalyptic, but I checked on it anyway and I found something you might want to look into. A picture of six teenagers and a dog at a school dance last year.” The Watcher of the west heard his fax machine activate, “Oh no how will we ever survive this horrible twist of fate.” As the photo finished printing he saw what had caught Willow’s eye, “Does that girl have rainbow hair?” “And wings, yeah. Three of them have wings and all of them have tails, as well as what look like equine ears instead of the human ones.” Xander removed the photo and looked it over closer up, “Think they're demons?” Willow responded, “If they are it's not any species I've seen reference to before. I asked Giles and he didn't know either. What's also odd is that other photos taken both before and after show them as normal human girls, which would suggest some kind of voluntary transformation. Do you see the other weird thing about all this?” He nodded, “No one at the dance is freaking out about the girl with wings flying a meter off the ground. Either this is the third biggest case of mass denial and memory repression in history, or all the students know already.” The fax machine started up again, “I'll send you everything I could find on the students and school. It's on the outskirts of a city called Canterlot.” “Thanks Will. I've got an exam to do with Faith’s graduating victims in five, but I'll call you back after so we can catch up, kay?” He could hear her smile, “Okay. Thanks Xander. It's great to hear from you. Bye.” He hung up and pulled the new documents from the printer. The school apparently didn't keep a lot of digital records if this was all that Willow could find. A few of the students didn't even have last names listed. But damn these names were odd. Twilight Sparkle? Rainbow Dash? He couldn't imagine what sickness had motivated the Jack family to name their daughter Apple. More to the mystery he supposed. He set down the documents and made his way back toward the courtyard where his duty to Watch teenage girls do flips and beat the crap out of each other was calling. Canterlot High would have to wait for another day. Meanwhile, in silicon valley, a girl with pink hair felt a shiver run up her spine and frazzle her hair. Rarity asked her friend next to her, “Pinkie darling, are you alright?” Pinkie tapped her chin contemplatively, “I'm not sure. I just got the weirdest feeling like we're being watched. Like, more than usual.” After a moment she shrugged, and continued her day with a smile. Author's Note Ok. New site, new story. I can't believe I've been writing for years and've never done MLP before. Well about time to fix that. I placed Canterlot in silicon valley for a few reasons. Firstly, I wanted it to be in California, within driving distance of Sunnydale and LA. Secondly, this story is set in 2005 and that's one of only a few places touchscreen camera phones might have existed in that timeframe. Thirdly, the animation just looks like the parts of northern California I've visited. I also, for story reasons, have retconned the anthro-pony forms of the Mane Seven into having actual tails instead of magical hair extensions. This is partly because it makes tons more sense. But there's also the aforementioned story reasons that will come up later on. There's also a reason I haven't retconned Twilight and Rarity into having horns, that will also come up later on. And lastly, this fic is based exclusively on the television installments of the Buffyverse. I love the comics, but they interfered way too much with my plans. The details on the fate of LA will be discussed more in later chapters. Ack. Giant AN for a tiny chapter. First ContactTwilight nervously approached the school that only a month prior she had almost destroyed. She hesitated at the steps, before gathering courage with a deep breath and entering to face the flames. Dozens of students bustled in the corridor. Two among them gave her a second glance before continuing their day. Four outright smiled at her in greeting. Sunset Shimmer caught up with her new friend, “Wondering why they're not scared or angry at you?” Twilight adjusted her glasses and nodded. Sunset put a hand on her shoulder and they walked forward together, “To be honest it surprises me too. But it probably has something to do with me.” The scientist looked to the older girl, “You mean the precedent of a magical threat to the school being redeemed through friendship? But our circumstances are completely different! They must just be confusing me with the other Twilight.” The two reached their lockers and the orange haired girl opened hers first, “No, I'm pretty sure that's not it. We had plenty of time before break to introduce you to everyone, and your natural mannerisms are pretty different. Take it from someone with experience, but you don't act like a pony. I think the only one left who doesn't quite get it is Flash. And he'll warm up to you eventually.” Twilight looked over at the boy putting his guitar into his locker. The two locked eyes and he seemed to start a smile before remembering who she was and abruptly aborting the social effort. He slammed his locker and stormed away as quickly as he could without running. Twilight drooped at the thought that she hadn't even known the boy before she broke his heart. She felt a tug at her arm and let Sunset direct her toward their next class, “Come on. Statistics is this way. You can mope on your own time.” Twilight perked up at the prompt and followed with increased vigor. On their way they passed by Celestia’s office. The principle stepped out alongside a man wearing an eyepatch. Sunset slowed down and glanced behind in curiosity. The man said something just as he twirled a mysterious silver coin in his fingers, and immediately after Celestia gave a ringing laugh and a positively glowing smile. The two students continued on their way to class. Halfway through the class, Celestia and the new mystery man entered the back of the room quietly and began to watch. Every few minutes one of them would lean and whisper to the other, and more often than not the man would twirl his silver coin at the same time. Professor Blueblood called on her, “Sunset Shimmer?” She looked back to the front of the room, “What?” The maths teacher gave her a stern look, “I asked you to solve the problem for the class.” Sunset glanced at the two chalkboards covered in numbers and instructions, barely taking a pause, “point-two-three electron volts.” She returned to observing the suspicious newcomer. The teacher frowned as the bell rang, “That is correct.” The students flowed out of the classroom at a near constant rate, with Sunset exiting last and leaving the adults on their own. Lunch came, and Sunset and Twilight quickly found the rest of their group. A few minutes in Twilight said something that caught Sunset’s ear, “That's odd. Is that the same person Celestia was talking with in first period? I don't recognize him from parent teacher night.” All present turned to see the principle speaking with the same eyepatched individual as before. The two stood in a corner of the room, observing lunch and leaving Celestia’s usual spot at the teacher table empty. Spike popped his head out of Twilight’s pack, “Now that you mention it it does seem a bit weird.” Applejack scratched her head, “They've been talkin’ fer that long? If he were a parent I can't imagine the principle meetin’ with him out here where any ol’ student could overhear.” Rainbow Dash leaned her chin on her hand in thought, “The same would be true for another teacher.” Rarity joined the discussion, “But if he's not a teacher and he's not a parent, then why ever would he be here?” Pinkie Pie almost screamed and the others flinched at what had previously been a somewhat covert conversation, “But even I don't know him! And I know everyone! I knew Twilight before even I knew Twilight! Does anyone recognize him from anything? Ever!” Everyone shook their heads. Fluttershy answered as the group watched from afar, “Maybe he's new. He could have just moved here. Maybe he's a refugee from Los Angeles looking for a new job.” Sunset narrowed her eyes as she spotted the coin in his grasp again, “Maybe. He's been spinning that silver coin whenever he says anything, and whenever he does Celestia gets all… happy.” Celestia laughed for the fifth time in as many minutes. “Like that. It seems almost as if he's got her under some kind of-” Twilight finished her sentence, “-spell.” Rainbow Dash growled, “Oh no, don't tell me it's mind control again! How are we supposed to fight against an adult who has Celestia as his lackey?” Rarity responded, “It's not like we haven't faced worse than this before. And besides, we don't even know for certain that he is evil. He might just be her new boyfriend who she's showing around her workplace.” Rainbow Dash shuddered and Applejack vocalized agreement, “I really didn't need that visual.” Pinkie Pie grinned, “I think that's a great idea! I really hope that's it. Celestia always seemed a little lonely to me. And not having to save the world again would be nice too.” Rainbow Dash butted in, “Oh come on guys! He wears an eyepatch! How much more evil can you get?” Twilight leaned forward with her elbows on the table, “We should probably investigate a little bit more before we jump to any conclusions and do something rash.” The man kissed the principal on the hand before turning to exit the school. Once he was safely out of earshot, Twilight revised her statement, “Ok. He's evil. How do we kill it?” Sunset shook her head, “No, you were right. We need more information. We don't know for sure that magic is involved. I'll go talk to Celestia and find out what I can. After that we can decide if we need to call the princess for backup.” Sunset approached the teacher where she still stood in the corner of the room, “Excuse me, Principal?” Celestia only then seemed to notice the student right in front of her, “Yes, Sunset Shimmer. How can I help you?” The student asked cautiously, “Can you tell me who that man was with the eyepatch?” The principle nodded, “He was hoping his daughter could come here, and asked me to give him a tour of the building. His name is Xander Harris. He's a survivor of the Sunnydale collapse two years ago. That's how he lost his eye. Why do you ask?” Sunset gave herself a moment to dwell on new information, “No reason in particular. Thank you for telling me.” “If you're worried about the safety of the school, That's very sweet but there's really no need. It's likely no more magical threats to the well-being of the school will ever surface again, let alone three in one semester like last year. You don't have to be suspicious just because something is new.” She nodded, “I know. I'm just being… cautious is all. We're the only protectors this school's got. Thanks again principal Celestia.” Outside the building, Xander stepped into the car that pulled up in front of the school. He spoke to the Slayer he knew was driving, “Did you have to use the limo? I look enough like a spy without a suspicious mode of transit.” Vi answered, “Well, I figure if you look suspicious enough then no-one will suspect you're up to anything. Because you never suspect the first person you suspect.” Xander shook his head, “Vi, this is a high school.” She pulled out and got onto the nearest highway, “Right. Okay, I'll be more discreet. Do you want to go greet her at the airport?” Xander smiled, “She's a day early? Sure. It's been a while since I've seen the Dawnster.” Author's Note To clarify the timeline a little, this is early January. The Friendship Games took place in December, and the Fall Formal dance was in, well, fall. Which means this is only a bit over three months after the portal first opened. I know whole seasons of FiM passed between films, and that will be addressed, you guessed it, later on. Your Mission if You Choose to Accept It...Dawn ran out the airport doors and hugged Xander with all the restraint of a stick of dynamite. Her luggage swung around and slugged him in the back as he struggled to keep the both of them upright, “Xander! You have no idea how much I've missed you!” Xander returned the hug, “Hey kiddo. It's good to see you again.” Vi silently took the bags and put them in the trunk. Dawn stepped back and smirked, “I'm not a kid anymore. I'm 19 now, and I graduated with top grades last year.” Xander made his way back to the limo, “So I'd heard. But you're not allowed to do that. See I'm not dead yet. And you're Buffy’s baby sister. You're not supposed to grow up until I'm old and wrinkley.” Dawn climbed into the seat next to him, “Doesn't matter. It happened anyway. I could drive this car. I can go to bars and pick up boys.” Xander suppressed the mental image, “Have you already forgotten what country you're in? This is the land of the free, as long as you're 21 or up. And I don't think your license is valid here either, so you can't brave the highway either.” Dawn frowned as the realization hit, “Shit.” Xander paused for a moment to let her stew in her non-adulthood, “If the land isn’t free and you're not allowed to be brave, What does that leave for you here?” She laughed and hugged him again as the limo picked up speed, “Home.” A minute or more later, Xander ruined the moment, “So now that you're back, how would you like to go back to high school again?” He got a punch to the shoulder as his answer. He trained with Slayers every day and Dawn still somehow managed to make it hurt. By the time they got back to headquarters he had finished briefing her on the situation. Dawn recapped, “So you want me to act eighteen again and join this school as a student so that I can spy on some other students who may or may not be horrifying winged monsters?” He nodded as he lifted her bags out of the trunk, “More or less. They're not so much horrifying as kind of grotesquely adorable, and you're more of an infiltrator than an actual spy, but yeah. That's the gist of it. Getting you in won't be a problem. As far as I can tell their student records consist of a face and a first name. They don't even track classes. You could probably just walk in tomorrow, but official channels are probably less suspicious.” They got indoors and Dawn took her bags back from Xander, “Who am I spying on?” He answered, “Six students. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, and Pinkie Pie.” Dawn frowned as the list of names continued, “Are we sure there isn't just something in the water?” “Pretty sure, unless something is making hallucinations show up on camera, which is worth investigating in its own right. Oh, one more thing. Keep an eye out for talking dogs.” Dawn gave him a raised eyebrow. “I didn't see it myself, but there was no-one else at the table with them. Might be an invisible boy, but I'm hoping it's the dog.” Dawn challenged, “Care to make a bet on that?” “You know it. Two hundred?” Dawn considered for a moment, “Please. Better make it three.” They arrived at Xander’s office just after Dawn realized she had been following him instead of going to her room to unpack. Xander walked over to his desk, “You drive a hard bargain kiddo but you got yourself a deal. Do you want to look at the files while you're here?” She sighed and dropped her luggage in a corner, “Sure, might as well.” Xander handed her the short stack of papers and she quickly flipped to the picture that had started the whole thing. “You forgot to mention the horse ears, and tails. Is that the dog you think can talk?” Xander nodded, “We don't know how or when they transform yet. There's only the one picture that proves they even can. They didn't seem dangerous when I was there, but that's why we're sending you in, to be sure. And hey, if they do turn out dangerous, decapitation usually works.” Dawn flipped over to the next page, “I assume I can't bring in any weapons. Shit, those are their actual names? Who names a kid Rainbow?” “I don't know Dawn, who names their kid Buffy? It's not like we’re in a place to teach anyone about normal names.” She flipped through the pages repeatedly, as if looking for more, “Hey, at least my weird name isn't my fault, ‘Alexander'. Are there really no last names on these three?” Xander flinched at the use of his birth name, “Apple Jack might be two names. The records are a little inconsistent on that bit. The records are inconsistent on a lot when they’re even there to begin with. The filing cabinet I raided those from would probably give Giles a heart attack if he saw it.” Dawn nodded, “Well it should be enough to work with anyway. When can I start?” The Watcher grinned, “Anytime this week. Why don't you go get unpacked and then we can meet up with Faith in the courtyard. We're teaching the Slayers stealth techniques today.” Dawn smiled and picked up her bags, “Sure thing. See ya then.” Once she got to her guest room, Dawn tossed her bags at an armchair. One bounced off the armrest and landed upside down. The other overshot completely. Dawn flopped face first onto the bed. She sat up a few seconds later and looked through the papers in her hand again, now crumpled. The photograph caught her eye again and she examined the non-demonic traits of her future classmates. They seemed happy, friendly. Besides the obvious there was nothing demonic about them. Except maybe their sense of fashion. God did those colors clash. She practiced with a forced smile, “Hello. I'm new here. You can call me Dawn. Rarity? What an interesting name! Is there a story behind it? You don't say! By the way I love your hair we have to hang out sometime.” She stopped and shook her head, “No, too heavy handed.” The young woman rolled off her bed and dropped the file on the bedside counter, making her way over to the armchair and recollecting her fallen things. She unzipped her main bag and got the crossbow out of the way so that she could get to her clothes. When she got out to the courtyard Xander and Faith were already there. She looked around for any Slayers-in-training, and couldn't find any. She asked, “Hey guys. Where’re the Slayerettes? I thought you had a lesson around now.” Faith smiled, “Hey little B. Yeah, We were just teaching some new recruits how to blend in to their environment.” The teacher Slayer turned towards the empty courtyard, “Keep up the good work girls!” Dawn smirked with a glare, “Did you really think I'd fall for that?” Faith snapped her fingers in disappointment, “Damn. Looks like you were right Xan.” Xander held out a hand and Faith shelled out a fifty. He turned to Dawn, “I told her you were too smart for that. Kennedy is handling lessons today in the arena.” Dawn smiled, “Cool. Then what are we doing?” Faith shifted and rolled a shoulder as if her wallet being one bill lighter caused actual discomfort, “Xander dragged me and Vi into marathoning Blade a few weeks back. He knows vampires in leather is more B’s speed than mine. Wha’d’ya say we repay him by taking him to Phantom? Two straight hours with Gerald Butler and the music of the night.” “Sounds fun.” Xander muttered just loud enough to be heard, “I just can't get into musicals anymore.” Back at Canterlot High, school let out for the day. Seven friends walked out side by side. Sunset turned to Twilight Sparkle, “Are we still on for studying tonight?” The girl in glasses grinned, “You know it.” She turned to Applejack and Rarity, “Are you two sure you don't want to join us? You know what they say, the more the merrier!” Applejack and Rarity shared a glance and Applejack responded first, “Sorry Twilight. I already made plans with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. We're goin’ to the openin’ fer a brand new bowlin’ place downtown.” Rarity declined as well, “If only you'd told me sooner, darling. Pinkie and I were going to the mall this evening for a haircut. Would you like to come with us instead? I think you've likely studied enough by now.” Twilight frowned, “No, that's alright. I need to brush up on my Einstein-Rosen theory anyway. Maybe I can figure out how magic interferes with Higgs interaction while I'm at it. I'll see you tomorrow.” Author's Note I actually researched what the current cultural references would be in 2005. If you remember the year well enough you may be able to track the passage of time during the fic by the movies they talk about. Who Can Watch the Watchers Themselves?“You know we really could've gone with them to the mall.” Twilight looked up from her book at Sunset’s nonsequitur. Twilight sat on the bed in Sunset’s room surrounded by physics studies and notebooks, while the occupant had settled in on the floor next to her with all her own research. Twilight responded, “I know that. I really am rusty on my wormhole physics. We still need to figure out why the magic is still here after being separated from Equestria for so long. And where the magic you used to combat my dark side came from. And-” “And all of those are just excuses. We'll figure them out in time. Why did you really choose to spend your day locked in here, with only books to pass the time?” Twilight had to stop and consider her answer. After several seconds she looked back up at Sunset, “It's not just books though. You're here too.” Sunset’s eyes widened in surprise, before a contented smile settled on her features, “I would've been at the mall too. Nice try though.” Twilight sighed, “They don't really want me there. I'm not going to intrude on their night out where I'm not welcome. Friends don't do that.” Sunset shook her head, “So sure of this, are you? Of what friends should and shouldn't do? Friends spend time with one another. Friends don't hesitate to come where they're invited. You understand that to some degree because you came here, so you obviously consider me a friend. But why don't you think of the others as friends yet?” Twilight paused, and opened her mouth before aborting the words before they came. A tear rolled down her cheek. And then she admitted, “I don't know.” The two sat in silence for some time. Sunset brought up a more comfortable topic, “I think I've hit a roadblock in my research. Magic behaves differently here. I don't know how, but I don't think I was wielding the Element of Magic last semester. The Element has a very distinctive signature, even when corrupted and used for dark purpose. At the Friendship Games, and before that against the Sirens, the magic felt lighter, almost effortless. And the princess was there at the battle of the bands too. I mean, We couldn't both have been using the same Element? Could we?” Twilight shook her head, “Sorry, I'm still new to this. I don't know if I can help you with that yet.” The older girl smiled, “It's okay. I can work it out. I just hope we don't have to use our magic again any time soon.” Sunset Shimmer’s computer lit up at her desk across the room. She stood and dusted off her dress on her way to read the email. Twilight asked absent-mindedly, “What is it?” Sunset sat and pulled up her browser. She spoke with a surprised tone, “It's from CHS. We're getting a new student tomorrow. Dawn Summers. She's a transfer so she's starting as a senior.” Twilight contemplated, “I wonder if she's the daughter of that man who spoke with Celestia.” The girl at the computer started pulling up a new window to search for anything she could find on either, “Xander Harris? The last names don't match. But I suppose she could be taking her mother's name. They're both on indexes of Sunnydale survivors. Xander is on the LA lists too, but Dawn isn't. Maybe they're not related.” Twilight hopped off the bed and cracked her knuckles on the way over, “Here, let me.” Her fingers flew across the keyboard. Sunset lost track as the screen flickered from one site to another, although she thought she saw ‘IRS Database’ come up at one point. They ended up on what looked like a wiki page for each of them in different windows. “Dawn isn't his daughter. She's his best friend's little sister. Buffy Summers shared almost every class through her last three years of high school with Alexander Harris... That's odd. Dawn should be nineteen this year. In fact she already graduated with top honors from one of the more prestigious schools of Italy. What's she doing here?” Sunset scrolled down to her more recent records and saw Canterlot records that had been updated just an hour ago, “With this class listing it looks like she might like school almost as much as we do. In fact she's taking a lot of the same classes I am, which is strange because the classes I signed up for this year were the ones I thought would be the most enjoyable. They're not actually all that good classes for learning. I guess she's not at school for learning anymore either.” Twilight switched over to Xander, “How does he have all this income? There's almost two million here annual. He never went to college and he's listed as unemployed. Hold on... Here it is. He gets regular transfers from someplace called The Magic Box in London. But why are they sending him so much money if he's not even listed as an employee?” Sunset scrolled back up, “Look at this. He had a wedding. Expenses, travel fees, everything. But he never got a divorce and he's unmarried now. Even stranger the bride doesn't seem to be on record anywhere. But there's expenses for her family so she obviously existed.” “There's something that's not quite right about these two. Too many things just don't add up. Look, Sunset, Buffy Summers has a big hole in her record. She didn't go to school or work or make any purchases besides rent for several months in 2001 and 2002. Not long after that a social worker was sent to investigate Dawn’s living conditions, and requested that she be put into foster care before suffering a lapse of psychosis and a ten month stay at a mental institution.” The two became somewhat sickened at the implications of that detail, and silently agreed to take a break from investigation. They minimized the browser for later review. The next day, the seven friends met up before school by the mirror. It was a quiet day, with everyone still waking up from the morning. Birds chirped cheerfully and a slight breeze rolled over the blanket Pinkie Pie had set down over the grass. Twilight pierced through it all with a gleeful shriek while looking at her phone. Spike awoke with a start, “Huh? What! Is Twilight turning into a demon again?” Applejack shook her head, “No, although I don't think any of us would mind if she had done that instead.” Pinkie Pie raised her hand, “I would!” Rainbow asked, “What's the yelling about, Twilight? What's so important it couldn't wait until after my nap?” Twilight flinched with embarrassment, “Sorry. It's nothing apocalyptic. I just got a text from Shining Armor telling me that he's visiting for all of this week! I can't believe it. It's been years since he moved out and he usually only visits for a few days around thanksgiving. But why is he coming now of all times?” The six others exchanged various confused glances before Fluttershy finally voiced, “Who's Shining Armor?” Sunset Shimmer answered, drawing everyone’s attention to her, “He's her brother, a graduate of Crystal Prep who lives downtown.” It was Twilight’s turn to look confused, “How do you know Shining Armor?” Sunset shrunk back, “Well… um, back when I was, well, what I was, I kind of tracked you down and researched your family. In part it was to keep an eye on the counterpart of my arch-nemesis, and I guess I also wanted to know if there was anyone the princess loved more than her friends who I could exploit. And since familial connections at least seem to carry over between worlds, it seemed like a good way to gather information before the portal opened.” A pause extended long enough for everyone to blink. Twilight registered how creeped out she was looking and utterly failed to put an end to it, “But you're not like that anymore… right?” Applejack put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder, “Nope. She's a totally different person.” Rainbow chimed in, “A totally awesome person!” Rarity finished off, “Who's helped us fight off evil twice now! with a great fashion sense if i might add.” Sunset smiled genuinely at the praise, and Twilight seemed to ease up. The situation was interrupted by the approach of a new girl, “Hey there. Is this Canterlot High?” Everyone looked at the new girl intently, examining her for any signs of dark magic or threat. She was of average height, a somewhat athletic build, with brown hair and blue eyes. She seemed to bounce on her heels even as she stood in place, waiting for an answer. The new girl spoke again, “I'm Dawn, Dawn Summers. I'm a transfer student. You guys looked like a welcoming committee or something, so I thought you'd be the ones to ask about stuff?” Sunset Shimmer was the first to shake herself out of it and realize they were supposed to be talking as well. That was after all how conversations happened, “Yes, you could say that. I've welcomed newcomers in the past. I'm Sunset Shimmer, and yes, you are at the right school. Do you want one of us to show you to your classes today?” Dawn perked up at getting a response, “Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks. It's nice to meet someone new.” She held out her hand. Sunset stood and accepted the handshake, “Likewise. I think you'll find Canterlot to be as exciting a place as you've ever lived.” Dawn smirked, “I don't know. There's some pretty stiff competition there.” Sunset internally reviewed the list of residences on the file she had read the previous night. Sunnydale? Rome? She considered the fact that the girl might have lived in a parallel world like herself at one point. Dawn looked past Sunset to the other six, “So which of you is gonna be my new BFF?” She switched to sign language for the rest, “Or is this the school deaf club? No talking allowed.” Twilight signed back, “No. We can hear.” And switched back to vocalizing, “I'm Twilight Sparkle. And this here is Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and right over there is Fluttershy. And this is my dog Spike!” Spike very politely said, “Hello.” Rainbow Dash facepalmed. Meanwhile, surprisingly little happened to Dawn’s demeanor. There was only momentary surprise, followed by confusion, acceptance, confusion again, then what in passing looked almost like annoyance or frustration, before all of it was pushed aside with expert skill all in less than half a second. Twilight managed to keep her cheery tone up, “Also, he can talk!” Dawn blinked. Then responded, “I can see that. Or... hear, actually.” The bell rang and Pinkie Pie was standing directly in front of Dawn only a moment later, “What class are you taking first period?” Dawn took a large step back, “Ancient American History, I think.” Pinkie began skipping away, “Follow me!” Dawn looked back to other six with a smile before running to catch up. All humans still present turned an angry eye towards Spike. A wisp of black smoke exited the lungs of Trixie as the girl walked away. The Games We PlayDawn caught back up with the Wondercolts at lunchtime. She still couldn't quite adjust to how easy it had been to confirm there was something magical going on. Now that that was out of the way, not only did she know, but they knew she knew. It both made things much simpler and put her definitively off-book on how to proceed. The dog could talk. Granted. That didn't answer how. Could she just ask? She wasn't certain if they had simply failed to prevent her from discovering magic or if they had even been trying to begin with. She looked around at the other students. Screw it, “So, have any of you talked with Hecate recently? Tall girl, carries a torch and a key everywhere.” Twilight gave her a funny look, “Greek Goddess of crossroads and Necromancy? Dawn was caught somewhat flabbergasted that anyone had recognized the name, “And dogs. I ask because I'm interested in your dog, and how he learned to, um… talk.” Spike poked his head out of Twilight’s pack on the lunch table, “Well you could just ask me yourself.” “Oh right. Sorry, that was rude of me. Spike was it? I have a friend named Spike. Though he's not a dog. Not that there's anything wrong with that! I had a cat once. Not that I'm comparing you to a cat or anything, unless you like cats? No, of course you don't like cats. Oh! I have a friend who eats cats. I've never tried it myself but he tells me they're, um… tangy…” She decided it was in her best interest to stop talking and wait for someone else to say something so that everyone would stop staring at her. Spike obliged, “...right. Well I can't say I've ever had cat myself, so I don't know. This friend certainly sounds interesting. Is he… foreign?” Dawn answered, “Yes, he is. He's Korean, I think. Something south-eastern. That must be where he learned what cat tastes like, since he says he hasn't eaten any in years.” Dawn cringed. How long had it been since she had tried to make new friends? It hadn't been a priority in Rome. Had she always been this awkward with kids her age? Amanda had liked her, before… great, there went another pint of ice cream toward the cause of forgetting about Amanda and the others. What had she been investigating again? Oh yeah… “So how did you learn to talk?” Spike scratched his ear, “I'm not actually sure. All I did was chase a rabbit through a hole and when I came back I could talk.” Dawn frowned. Not once in history had a story about going down a literal magic rabbit hole been so short... and boring. She wondered if the dog had been taught how to lie since this morning. Fluttershy was the one to break the ice, “So Dawn, where did you go to school before you transferred?” Dawn lit up at the opportunity to change the subject. Even if it meant delaying the investigation a little, “St Georges British, in Rome, Italy. My big sister moved there for her job a few years back and I tagged along for the ride. I mean if you can go live in Rome for free, why not, right?” Rarity beamed, “I certainly agree. But why ever would you then move back here?” Dawn shrugged, “I missed home. California. The beaches aren't the same across the pond. And since, well, I obviously can't go back to Sunnydale, Canterlot seemed like a pretty nice alternative.” Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity held a silent concerned conversation before Applejack voiced their thought, “Are you alright talkin’ ‘bout it? Must've been awful losin’ yer home like that, even if it was empty when it happened.” Dawn smiled, “It's fine. That place kinda blew anyway. I miss the mall. That's about it. Did any of you ever go there?” Everyone shook their head except Pinkie who raised her hand enthusiastically, “I went there one summer. I saw the mayor give a speech. I really didn't like him.” Dawn laughed, “You're right not to. He was a demonically bad mayor. He actually had to be forcibly removed from office by an angry mob. He totally exploded after that. It destroyed his career. There was a big party.” There was another awkward pause. That seemed to happen every time Dawn opened her mouth, much to her annoyance. Twilight broke this silence, “Right, well, you'll have no such trouble from mayor Sombra. He may not be especially pleasant, but he really knows how to get things done in the bureaucracy. There's a reason he's been re-elected every term for almost thirty years. His father was actually the same way. With how similar they look you almost have to wonder if he got anything at all from his mother's side of the family.” Dawn noted to herself that she'd have to look into the mayor too, make sure another ascension wasn't on its way, “Good to hear.” Pinkie Pie grabbed Twi by the collar, “Do you think he's a clone! Robot? Ooh! Immortal? Or maybe he's a vampire!” Yup. Definitely look into the mayor. Sunset peeled Pinkie off of Twilight, “No. I checked on him when I first got here. He's human, at least so far as he ages and bleeds like one.” Dawn picked up on the inconsistencies in the exchange. Firstly, Sunset on record had lived in Canterlot her whole life. Secondly, Sunset apparently felt the need to check if people were human or not. She opted not to push this opening as it may close others later on by making the seven more cautious around her. A student ran up to their table, “Hey! Rainbooms! I was hoping you'd pony up for a party I'm doing Saturday. It's gonna be awesome and if you came it'd just be even more awesome! Game?” Rainbow Dash responded instantly, standing and handing him a twenty dollar bill, “Sure thing Sandalwood. Here ya go.” She pulled him in for a hug and whispered, “We'll talk later.” Rainbow waved as he stumbled off confusedly staring at the money in his hand, “I'll see you Saturday!” Dawn knew something was up. Those two obviously didn't normally hug, which meant Rainbow had had something to say that Dawn wasn't supposed to hear. This seemingly random student had known whatever it was they were trying to cover up. A plan began to form as she looked among the other students scattered throughout the room at different tables. Unfortunately, No matter what she did she couldn't shake her “new BFF" Pinkie Pie. And she had thought she was the follower, and not the followee. Followee... No. Followess? Followship? Followed! That was the word. But the followed she most certainly was. Pinkie was sticking to her like a bad wish. She'd have no luck questioning the other students that day. Ah well. She followed Pinkie (while also being followed by Pinkie) to her next class. After school, she rode back to base. She wondered if there was any way she could phrase her report that would make Xander forget the bet they had made the previous day. Dawn dropped her school bag off at her room before going to Xander’s office. She heard other voices from through the door, but couldn't make out any words. More likely the words were gibberish, scrambled by enchantments on the door much like the ones she had cast on her bedroom in Rome. She didn't bother to knock before entering. Xander was there, along with Faith, and Kennedy on speakerphone. Dawn had to think back to recall that Kennedy had been stationed in London. Kennedy was talking when Dawn walked in, “-and no-one was hurt anyway, so it's… Did someone just walk in?” Faith answered happily, “Don't worry yourself Ken. It's just little sis, back from your side of the sea.” Kennedy took a moment to follow the nickname, “Dawn? Why isn't she still with Buffy?” Dawn cut in, “Because I'm 19 and it's about time I handled an apocalypse on my own. Even Xander had two to himself by the time he was my age.” Xander’s smile faltered slightly, “I'll call you back later. Just keep me posted on this psychic deal and let me know if it gets any stronger.” “Can do, Watcher man. Later.” The call ended and Xander turned back to Dawn. “So what's this I hear about an apocalypse?” Dawn sighed, “There isn't one as far as I can tell. The kids all seem nice enough right now, although they're definitely hiding something from me. The rest of the students know too so I think I can find out from them if I can sneak away from my new best bud club.” She slapped three hundred dollars down on his desk. He took the money and his smile returned full force, “It's really the dog? They have a talking dog?” Dawn nodded. Xander turned to Faith, who had remained oddly silent, “They have a talking dog.” Faith clenched her teeth, “Fuck. I never thought we'd see the day.” She then produced another five hundred bucks to join Dawn's bills on the desk of the winner. “When did you get so good at this anyway?” Xander casually picked up the cash and flicked through it, not really counting so much as gloating, “Comes with the job. I've seen it all.” Dawn smirked, “Except the left side of your nose. There's totally a wart there now, by the way.” Xander stopped, and felt his nose. No wart was present. Faith gave Dawn a high-five that hurt the younger girl's arm. Xander stored his winnings away, “When did I become the mature one?” Faith laughed, “I don't know, maybe when you took the desk job?” Xander poked an accusatory finger at the Slayer, “You're a teacher. You're supposed to be a positive influence.” Faith shrugged, “These kids got enough positive influences in their lives, man. I'm just here to make sure they make the right mistakes and don't get themselves killed.” Xander abandoned the vocal spar, “Can't argue with that. Is there anything else, Dawn? Do you know how the dog can talk or how it connects to the wings?” She shook her head, “Nope. Sorry. Day 1 wasn't as informative as could be hoped.” Faith congratulated, “Still went a heck of a lot better than anyone expected. Way better than my first investigation anyway.” Dawn perked up a little, “Thanks. It's no biggie though. I'll let you get back to your call. It sounded important.” She stood to walk out. No-one said goodbye, because they'd all see each other again later that day. Before she left she heard Kennedy pick up the recall, “Hey Xander. So the Dharma demon, from the storm cellar, stopped flaying and called me-” The Rainbooms had gathered after school and all gone to Pinkie’s house. In a conversational lull, Sunset brought up the elephant in the room. “So what are we going to do now that Dawn knows about Spike?” Author's Note Today I have a question. Other than Sunset/Twilight for obvious reasons, which CHS student (Mane Five or not) would you like to see Dawn paired with? Or do you prefer her with Xander like in the comics? Let me know. Let's You and Her Fight"So what are we going to do now that Dawn knows about Spike?" “Well we could always tell her the truth.” Everyone looked at Fluttershy, blinked, and then Pinkie burst into laughter. She stopped laughing a second later in shock, “Wait were you serious? Are you crazy? She could be another magical being thrust into human form! She could be some sort of interdimensional energy entity! She could be plotting to uncover all our secrets!” Sunset put a hand on Pinkie’s shoulder telling her to back off before putting a reassuring one on Fluttershy’s, “Sorry Fluttershy. I’ve gotta agree with Pinkie here.” Rainbow grabbed her first pizza slice from the box, “She’s totally suspicious. She didn’t even seem all that surprised at the talking dog. Everyone’s surprised by the talking dog the first time!” Spike nodded, “It’s true.” He then jumped up and intercepted Rainbow’s pizza on its way to her mouth. She bit down on air and looked in slight shock as the canine unapologetically licked the cheese off the crust. Rarity continued on topic unaware of the altercation, “We’re going to have to be more careful if we don’t want her finding out about magic. She already knows something is going on. Even if it is just Spike.” Spike was startled back to attention with tomato on his nose, “I didn’t do it!” Rarity looked at him and eyed the half-eaten pizza on the floor with disgust. Rainbow Dash served herself more pizza from the box and prepared to eat. The doorbell rang. Pinkie blurred across the room, taking Rainbow Dash’s plate out of her hands, “Twilight’s back!” Rainbow heard her greeting from across the house, “Twilight! Come on! You’re just in time for pizza!” The others began to file into the other room to greet her themselves. Rainbow Dash snagged another slice from the box on the way out of the kitchen. Twilight freed herself from Pinkie’s hug just in time to get entangled by Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity, followed quickly by Pinkie Pie again. She smiled nervously, unaccustomed to so much affection, “Hey everyone. Sorry I’m late. I stopped for some research material on Sunnydale.” Once the group hug ended she graciously took the plate of pizza. Sunset Shimmer took the bag and dug through the books contained within, “19th Century History, Cultural Atlas, College Yearbook, After The Fall: The Final Days of Los Angeles and Sunnydale. These are some great finds! Where’d you get ‘em?” Twilight answered between bites of pizza, “There’s a store right next to the Free Library that buys off all their overflow. They’ve got all sorts of interesting studies and niche topics if you can get past their organization system, or occasional lack thereof.” Sunset flipped through the first few pages of the last book, “This one looks like exactly what we need to know. This Winifred Burkle seems like she knows her stuff. I wonder why I’ve never seen her work before.” Rainbow Dash traded off her pizza slice for the book and flipped it around to the back, “It says here she’s from some place called Vala… Valnesh? Vahalanesh? No idea, there’s an apostrophe in it. Sounds foreign. Oh, get this, this is her first book. Hey, she’s hot. Not everyone can pull off blue hair.” Rainbow traded the book back, only moments later noticing the several bites taken out of her pizza. Applejack asked, “Wha’do ya hope to learn about her from reading about her old hometown?” Twilight passed by the group and headed back toward the kitchen and more pizza, “I’m not sure yet. It just seems to me that if we want to know more about her, learning about where she comes from is a pretty good start.” The others followed her back, Sunset busying herself with the new book. A happy dog leapt into Twilight’s arms in greeting, eagerly licking her face with laughter as the only response needed. Rarity and Applejack both got themselves slices of pizza, followed by Twilight getting a second. By the time Rainbow Dash got to the box, it was empty. Her stomach complained. Fluttershy silently handed a dejected Rainbow a plate with three saved slices piled onto it. Rainbow lit up and dug in immediately. Later that day Sunset and Twilight were eagerly consuming their new book while the others played cards in the living room. Twilight read highlights for the ones not on the sofa, “It says here that Sunnydale was mostly empty by the time it collapsed. There’s a whole section on theories about sociopolitical reasons for the exodus. But that’s all they are, theories. The survivors who were interviewed simply said that they no longer felt safe in their own homes, although stated reasons for that varied wildly case by case. No-one knows what really happened to make everyone leave. It’s fascinating.” Sunset turned the page, “If I didn’t know any better I might say that magic had a hand in it. But that’s impossible. The Element of Magic hadn’t even been brought here yet two years ago. The Sirens were here before then, but something makes me doubt that they had the power or motive to make so many people leave their homes. Do you think Star-Swirl the Bearded might have sent other magical threats here?” Rarity discarded her entire game hand and drew new cards, “It may be possible but that doesn’t make it likely. The fact that the Sirens alone were here for so long without drawing notice boggles the mind. If any other monsters had been sent through, don’t you think there’d be historical evidence of it?” Rainbow trumped Rarity, “Plums are tall. I win again. Who’s for six of eleven?” Pinkie Pie answered by starting to put the game away. Applejack stood to browse the shelves for their next game. She pulled one of the boxes out, carefully as to not topple the large wall that their host possessed. The seven heard the front door open and Pinkie bounded up to greet whoever it may be. Two of her sisters showed themselves from the front hallway and both received large hugs, “Maud! Marble! Are you going to join us? We were just about to play Election Detection! I got the Election Prevention Expansion last week and it looks super fun!” Marble simply smiled and nodded as she hung her hat on a hook by the door. Maud gave no visible reaction discernible to anyone except Pinkie, “Ok.” Pinkie Pie jumped for joy, “Yay! This is so exciting!” Meanwhile Applejack was sorting through several dozen cardboard tokens that varied in size, symbol and color, “You said this thing has expansions?” Pinkie ran over and expertly removed a stack of boxes from the shelf, “Yup! Election Elective, Detective Election, Elation Detection and Election Prevention!” Pinkie emptied the stack of boxes and a new pile of increasingly elaborate tokens, with multiple types of cards mixed in, was added to what Applejack had been attempting to organize. Marble Pie sat next to Applejack and quickly began to sort out the pieces into neat stacks. Maud sat down next to Sunset and Twilight on the couch, “After the Fall: The Final Days of Los Angeles and Sunnydale.” Pinkie gasped, “Of course! Maud! You wrote a paper on Sunnydale didn’t you?” She nodded, “19th Century History. I wrote about the long-scale effects the Gold Rush had on California politics, including the founding of Sunnydale.” Twilight pulled the other book from her bag and checked the inside cover, “I’m guessing you sold your textbook to the library after you finished the class?” Maud blinked, “Is that my book?” Sunset stared at the name written on the top of the first page, “Apparently.” Twilight asked the older girl, “Do you know anything about the circumstances of Sunnydale’s destruction? Maud answered, “The city had been experiencing regular seismic activity for several years leading up to its collapse. There were no discernible fault lines or tectonic causes for the event that could be conclusively determined. It’s the biggest rock-based mystery since calcified carbon disulfide was found near uracil deposits in the ice caps on mars.” Sunset and Twilight paused in their reading to consider that. Rarity unfolded a game board bigger than some tables as Rainbow carefully sorted out five separate decks of cards to shuffle. Maud looked up at the game setup, “You shuffled the district cards in with the zoning cards.” Marble nodded nervously, “Mmhm.” Rainbow’s eye twitched and a scowl formed. Fluttershy took over sorting the sixth deck out as Rarity constructed the 3D portions of the board. Sunset flipped to another section of their book, “Wait a minute. We’ve been focusing on Dawn so much we’ve forgotten how we got into this mess to begin with. Xander Harris, the man with the eyepatch, was an L.A. survivor too. Maybe we should be looking into the similarities between the two events. Otherwise Canterlot may wind up the third city destroyed in as many years.” Twilight frowned, “But what similarities? Sunnydale was empty and turned into a giant sinkhole. L.A. was a fire caused by negligence at a power plant. The only connection is that Xander Harris was there both times.” The other reader shook her head, “doesn’t that seem odd to you? What effect could be achieved by demolishing two California cities? There’s been economic fallout, sure. But I can’t imagine that being the end goal of all this.” Twilight straightened her glasses, “You know it wasn’t long after Sunnydale that Xander started getting transfers from England. Maybe he’s in it for the money. Overseas companies would probably pay a hefty sum to even partially collapse the American dollar.” Applejack joined the discussion, “If yer talkin’ ‘bout sinkin’ cities for profit, I don’t think anyone’d pay more than the military. If anything, North Korea would probably be easier to bring down than L.A. for someone with that kind of power.” Twilight gave a frustrated sigh, “What kind of power? The cause is completely different in both cases! What could he possibly be able to do that would start fires and enact earthquakes to the same effect? I’m not even certain anymore that the two incidents are actually connected at all!” Sunset put a calming arm around her study partner, “Hey. Take a deep breath. We’ll work it out.” Maud stood and left the two on the sofa to join the rest of the group on the floor. Pinkie passed her two dice and a currency exchange rate card. Fluttershy looked up at the two remaining outliers, “Are you two going to join us? Nine players would definitely help with the notoriety token distribution.” Sunset and Twilight both looked at Fluttershy, and then at the game, and back to Fluttershy, and then to each other. Sunset raised her eyebrows slightly, indicating that the choice wasn’t to be her own. Twilight smiled initially, and hesitated. She looked down at her feet, Spike curled up asleep nearby. She looked back up to Sunset to see that the choice was still unmade and settled in with a contented smile, “No. Thank you, but I think we’re fine right where we are.” Sunset found herself pleasantly confused and confusedly pleased as the other girl leaned back against her arm. After a second of thought and another second of watching the game start, she relaxed and reengaged in the book that was still held in front of her. Several minutes into the game Twilight looked back up at Sunset, “Do you want to go with me to meet up with my brother tomorrow?” Pinkie Pie gasped, “Are you kidding. I’d love to! We can all go!” Applejack saw the shock on Twilight and intervened, “Hold up there Pinkie. I think she was talking to Sunset there, and I don’t think we should overwhelm Shining Armor by meeting too many strangers at once.” Pinkie’s hair briefly deflated, “Aw.” Sunset answered, “Thank you for the offer, but I really wouldn’t want to intrude. I know you haven’t seen him in a while.” Twilight smiled, “That’s very thoughtful of you, but Pinkie’s right. I do want to introduce him to my new CHS friends, and there’s no-one I’d rather start with than you. And you know I never mind having you around…” They both looked at their feet. Neither girl noticed the other’s cheeks increase in color. Everyone else in the room, who had stopped their game to watch with fascination, most definitely noticed. Applejack put her hand over Pinkie’s mouth to prevent her from interrupting. They returned to their game after the awkward pause lingered on for a few too many seconds. By the time Sunset looked up at them they were trading favor cards and shifting pieces of the board around like they’d never stopped. The next day, Dawn prepared to enact her master plan. Author's Note The more oblique title I opted to replace for this chapter was "The Elephant's Last European Tour". TvTropes seemed like the safer reference. And to clarify, "Winifred Burkle" is a convenient pen-name for Illyria. No retcons there. Tell It Not to a FriendThe call ended and Xander turned back to Dawn. “So what's this I hear about an apocalypse?” Dawn sighed, “There isn't one as far as I can tell. The kids all seem nice enough right now, although they're definitely hiding something from me. The rest of the students know too so I think I can find out from them if I can sneak away from my new best bud club.” Dawn saw the seven students she had met the previous day outside the school. She very intently circled a wide area around them, melting into the crowd of other students entering the building. She wanted to see how long she could go today without picking up a tail. Yesterday one of the other students had almost spilled the beans on whatever it was that was going on here. She needed to talk to as many other students as she could, without being noticed by her welcoming party. Her first target was a blue-haired boy with a guitar. She walked up and said, “Hey.” The boy didn’t even look up from his guitar, “Hey. You’re the new girl, right? Dawn?” She nodded, “Uhuh. I was wondering if I could ask you a question?” He retuned one of the strings that she was fairly certain had been fine before, “Sure. What do you want to know?” “Well, there’s the talking dog...” “Spike.” Dawn paused at the correction, “Right… So how about that? I mean what’s the deal?” The boy sighed and looked up from his guitar for the first time, “Look, I may not entirely get along with those girls anymore, but it’s really not my place to be talking about them either. If you want to know about the talking dog, I think you should talk to the talking dog or his owner. I don’t mean any offense to you. It’s just not my story to tell.” She smiled, “Well that’s very gentlemanlike of you. If you don’t mind me asking, why don’t you get along with them anymore? You seem like a really nice guy.” He frowned in contemplation, “Let’s just say Sunset Shimmer and I used to go out, and Twilight, well… This Twilight never even gave me the time of day. Look I have to get to class. If you wanna talk about something else we can meet back up at lunch.” Dawn managed to dodge them all through classes. Quite the feat, considering how many classes she and Sunset and Twilight had in common. She reapproached her new informant at lunch. He was still holding his guitar. Did he take it to class with him too? “Hey.” The boy looked up and smiled when he recognized her, “Hey.” Dawn slid into the seat next to him, “I didn’t catch your name before, did I.” He laughed, “It’s alright. You were too busy interrogating me about my exes. I’m Flash, Flash Sentry.” “Dawn.” She paused, “But you already knew that anyway. I don’t suppose there’s any chance you forgot in the last few hours?” Flash stopped strumming and retuned the instrument for the third time she had seen that day, “Well I was getting rusty on a few of the details from when we met this morning. The refresher is nice. It’ll come in handy if I get tested later.” “Right. Well anyway, you said we could talk later, and, well, now it’s later. So can we talk?” He sighed again and frowned at her, “Look, Dawn, you seem pretty cool, and I’d love to talk or hang out or even go out sometime. If you wanted to, which I’m pretty sure you don’t. If you want someone to talk to, I’m your man. If you want someone to finish interrogating about the Rainbooms, you’ll have to ask someone else to spy for you.” Dawn nodded respectively, “So when you said that we could talk about something else…” “...I meant something else. Sorry Dawn. Like I said before, they’re not my secrets.” She smiled up at Flash, “You know for someone who doesn’t get along with them anymore, you’re a pretty good friend.” As she got up he waved goodbye, “I try. See you around, Dawn.” She looked around the room briefly for anyone else to ask. The kid that had almost outed them the day before was there, Sandalwood. He was sitting next to one of the more unfortunate fashion victims she had ever seen. But he was also the one who had almost outed them yesterday. If they had talked to him since she might expose herself by going to him. Four younger girls, probably sophomores, caught her eye. She didn’t realize at first why they looked so familiar, until she compared two of them to their older sisters. Younger versions of Rarity and Applejack sat in the same room. The third had her hair styled the same way as Rainbow, not a common look. And the fourth had several characteristics that were shared between Applejack and her sister. Not quite similar enough to be a third sister though. Then again, she was like four years older than them. No way that’d be suspicious at all. Oh hey, third sibling. She walked over to sit with Applejack’s brother. “Heya. I’m new here. My name’s Dawn. Are you Applejack’s brother?” The boy finished chewing and swallowed a bite of his sandwich, “Eyup.” Dawn waited for that statement to continue. It didn’t, “So what’s your name?” He once again finished processing the food in his mouth. Patient conversationalist, “Apple Mcintosh. But everyone calls me Big Mac.” Dawn smiled cheerily, “It’s nice to meet you.” She immediately drew a blank on what to say next. She reached into the depths of her experience in conversation. What did she talk about other than demons and how to fight them? She looked closer at Big Mac, grasping for details that she could work with. “I like your jacket. It matches your hair. I’ve always liked red hair.” She kicked herself under the table and stopped talking. If she had stopped to think maybe she would have realized before speaking that most of her conversation experience was with other girls. What was she thinking trying to talk fashion with a guy? Big Mac smiled at her and kept eating. A man of few words, apparently. She would have liked that if it weren’t totally annoying. As things were she found herself sitting awkwardly and trying to think of something to say. Well, awkwardly for her at least. It seemed like Big Mac hadn’t noticed the silence, or maybe he was just used to it. “So have you and Applejack been going here long?” He swallowed the last bite of sandwich, “Eyup” Dawn had decided that she liked her conversations with a bit more conversing in them. All she knew about this boy was that he didn’t talk much. At this rate it would take her days to get anything meaningful about his sister and she only had five more minutes of lunch. Wait, she only had five more minutes of lunch? She frustratedly rechecked the clock. She was actually hungry too, and hadn’t eaten anything all day. She could always eat after school. Or she could just eat and investigate more tomorrow. Her stomach liked that idea better. At the end of the school day Twilight rushed out the door faster than Sunset had ever seen her run. She tackle-hugged someone who Sunset and the rest assumed must be her brother. The other five turned away toward their own modes of transit. Sunset had her car nearby, but kept walking to go meet the person she had only observed from afar several years before. Twilight said something to him and Shining Armor turned to Sunset, “So you’re the girl I’ve heard so much about for the past month.” Author's Note On the subject of Legend of Everfree, I'm not using it, for three reasons. First, I'm not sure I can bring myself to rewatch it enough for practical research, because of the ship tease with Timber. It's impossible for me to accept a romance between a camper and counselor. Second, even setting aside that one truly horrific subplot, the rest of the movie was just a little disappointing to me. If you liked it, I'm happy for you. But I'm going to near-ignore it and wait for EG5. Third, I already have a plan, and a summer camp isn't part of it. I may implement references to it. But Legend of Everfree isn't canon to this fic.
PrologueXander Harris, elder Watcher over the west. Even looking out over a courtyard of two dozen student Slayers the man still didn't feel comfortable with the title. It had been over a year and a half since the Slayers had been awoken. Since then, Buffy and Dawn had moved to Europe. Giles and Willow had tracked down every magic sensor and energy map they could find to try and identify the rest of the Slayers. Oh yeah, and LA had been leveled by an army of demons. That evacuation had been quite literally hell to organize. But that was his job now. He Watched over the entire continent, seeking out apocalypses before they happened and overseeing the training of every new Slayer and champion as they came in. He shook his head with a smile wondering how Buffy had ever gotten him to sign up for this. Vi walked up to him with a cell phone to her ear, “Hey Xander, Willow wants to talk to you. There's some high school in silicon valley she wants you to look into.” It had been almost two months since he and Willow had last talked. It was a shame she had a purpose for the call, but still better than silence he supposed. Xander looked back, “Sure. Hand her over. Thanks Vi.” He took the phone and put it to his own ear with a growing smile, “Will, how's it going? Are you still under China or are you already in Sydney?” The witch didn't seem to be hurried in her tone, which meant apocalypse was unlikely, which was good, “We actually finished the Sydney lead last week. Now Giles and I are in an old Watcher’s bunker in Sweden. There's apparently some kind of diviner for detecting demi-demonic dimensional domain dilation. Try saying that five times fast.” Xander strolled inside and left the Slayers to their lesson, “You know me. I can't even say that twice. Is it gonna help us find hotspots or stop apocalypses or other magic-type stuff?” He continued to listen as he wound his way towards his office, “Maybe all of the above once Giles gets it out of the box the Watchers locked it in. Anyway, you know how I've been keeping an Eye of Cerberus on spiritual curvatures ever since LA? Well, I picked up a major energy spike in California. Nothing apocalyptic, but I checked on it anyway and I found something you might want to look into. A picture of six teenagers and a dog at a school dance last year.” The Watcher of the west heard his fax machine activate, “Oh no how will we ever survive this horrible twist of fate.” As the photo finished printing he saw what had caught Willow’s eye, “Does that girl have rainbow hair?” “And wings, yeah. Three of them have wings and all of them have tails, as well as what look like equine ears instead of the human ones.” Xander removed the photo and looked it over closer up, “Think they're demons?” Willow responded, “If they are it's not any species I've seen reference to before. I asked Giles and he didn't know either. What's also odd is that other photos taken both before and after show them as normal human girls, which would suggest some kind of voluntary transformation. Do you see the other weird thing about all this?” He nodded, “No one at the dance is freaking out about the girl with wings flying a meter off the ground. Either this is the third biggest case of mass denial and memory repression in history, or all the students know already.” The fax machine started up again, “I'll send you everything I could find on the students and school. It's on the outskirts of a city called Canterlot.” “Thanks Will. I've got an exam to do with Faith’s graduating victims in five, but I'll call you back after so we can catch up, kay?” He could hear her smile, “Okay. Thanks Xander. It's great to hear from you. Bye.” He hung up and pulled the new documents from the printer. The school apparently didn't keep a lot of digital records if this was all that Willow could find. A few of the students didn't even have last names listed. But damn these names were odd. Twilight Sparkle? Rainbow Dash? He couldn't imagine what sickness had motivated the Jack family to name their daughter Apple. More to the mystery he supposed. He set down the documents and made his way back toward the courtyard where his duty to Watch teenage girls do flips and beat the crap out of each other was calling. Canterlot High would have to wait for another day. Meanwhile, in silicon valley, a girl with pink hair felt a shiver run up her spine and frazzle her hair. Rarity asked her friend next to her, “Pinkie darling, are you alright?” Pinkie tapped her chin contemplatively, “I'm not sure. I just got the weirdest feeling like we're being watched. Like, more than usual.” After a moment she shrugged, and continued her day with a smile. Author's Note Ok. New site, new story. I can't believe I've been writing for years and've never done MLP before. Well about time to fix that. I placed Canterlot in silicon valley for a few reasons. Firstly, I wanted it to be in California, within driving distance of Sunnydale and LA. Secondly, this story is set in 2005 and that's one of only a few places touchscreen camera phones might have existed in that timeframe. Thirdly, the animation just looks like the parts of northern California I've visited. I also, for story reasons, have retconned the anthro-pony forms of the Mane Seven into having actual tails instead of magical hair extensions. This is partly because it makes tons more sense. But there's also the aforementioned story reasons that will come up later on. There's also a reason I haven't retconned Twilight and Rarity into having horns, that will also come up later on. And lastly, this fic is based exclusively on the television installments of the Buffyverse. I love the comics, but they interfered way too much with my plans. The details on the fate of LA will be discussed more in later chapters. Ack. Giant AN for a tiny chapter.
First ContactTwilight nervously approached the school that only a month prior she had almost destroyed. She hesitated at the steps, before gathering courage with a deep breath and entering to face the flames. Dozens of students bustled in the corridor. Two among them gave her a second glance before continuing their day. Four outright smiled at her in greeting. Sunset Shimmer caught up with her new friend, “Wondering why they're not scared or angry at you?” Twilight adjusted her glasses and nodded. Sunset put a hand on her shoulder and they walked forward together, “To be honest it surprises me too. But it probably has something to do with me.” The scientist looked to the older girl, “You mean the precedent of a magical threat to the school being redeemed through friendship? But our circumstances are completely different! They must just be confusing me with the other Twilight.” The two reached their lockers and the orange haired girl opened hers first, “No, I'm pretty sure that's not it. We had plenty of time before break to introduce you to everyone, and your natural mannerisms are pretty different. Take it from someone with experience, but you don't act like a pony. I think the only one left who doesn't quite get it is Flash. And he'll warm up to you eventually.” Twilight looked over at the boy putting his guitar into his locker. The two locked eyes and he seemed to start a smile before remembering who she was and abruptly aborting the social effort. He slammed his locker and stormed away as quickly as he could without running. Twilight drooped at the thought that she hadn't even known the boy before she broke his heart. She felt a tug at her arm and let Sunset direct her toward their next class, “Come on. Statistics is this way. You can mope on your own time.” Twilight perked up at the prompt and followed with increased vigor. On their way they passed by Celestia’s office. The principle stepped out alongside a man wearing an eyepatch. Sunset slowed down and glanced behind in curiosity. The man said something just as he twirled a mysterious silver coin in his fingers, and immediately after Celestia gave a ringing laugh and a positively glowing smile. The two students continued on their way to class. Halfway through the class, Celestia and the new mystery man entered the back of the room quietly and began to watch. Every few minutes one of them would lean and whisper to the other, and more often than not the man would twirl his silver coin at the same time. Professor Blueblood called on her, “Sunset Shimmer?” She looked back to the front of the room, “What?” The maths teacher gave her a stern look, “I asked you to solve the problem for the class.” Sunset glanced at the two chalkboards covered in numbers and instructions, barely taking a pause, “point-two-three electron volts.” She returned to observing the suspicious newcomer. The teacher frowned as the bell rang, “That is correct.” The students flowed out of the classroom at a near constant rate, with Sunset exiting last and leaving the adults on their own. Lunch came, and Sunset and Twilight quickly found the rest of their group. A few minutes in Twilight said something that caught Sunset’s ear, “That's odd. Is that the same person Celestia was talking with in first period? I don't recognize him from parent teacher night.” All present turned to see the principle speaking with the same eyepatched individual as before. The two stood in a corner of the room, observing lunch and leaving Celestia’s usual spot at the teacher table empty. Spike popped his head out of Twilight’s pack, “Now that you mention it it does seem a bit weird.” Applejack scratched her head, “They've been talkin’ fer that long? If he were a parent I can't imagine the principle meetin’ with him out here where any ol’ student could overhear.” Rainbow Dash leaned her chin on her hand in thought, “The same would be true for another teacher.” Rarity joined the discussion, “But if he's not a teacher and he's not a parent, then why ever would he be here?” Pinkie Pie almost screamed and the others flinched at what had previously been a somewhat covert conversation, “But even I don't know him! And I know everyone! I knew Twilight before even I knew Twilight! Does anyone recognize him from anything? Ever!” Everyone shook their heads. Fluttershy answered as the group watched from afar, “Maybe he's new. He could have just moved here. Maybe he's a refugee from Los Angeles looking for a new job.” Sunset narrowed her eyes as she spotted the coin in his grasp again, “Maybe. He's been spinning that silver coin whenever he says anything, and whenever he does Celestia gets all… happy.” Celestia laughed for the fifth time in as many minutes. “Like that. It seems almost as if he's got her under some kind of-” Twilight finished her sentence, “-spell.” Rainbow Dash growled, “Oh no, don't tell me it's mind control again! How are we supposed to fight against an adult who has Celestia as his lackey?” Rarity responded, “It's not like we haven't faced worse than this before. And besides, we don't even know for certain that he is evil. He might just be her new boyfriend who she's showing around her workplace.” Rainbow Dash shuddered and Applejack vocalized agreement, “I really didn't need that visual.” Pinkie Pie grinned, “I think that's a great idea! I really hope that's it. Celestia always seemed a little lonely to me. And not having to save the world again would be nice too.” Rainbow Dash butted in, “Oh come on guys! He wears an eyepatch! How much more evil can you get?” Twilight leaned forward with her elbows on the table, “We should probably investigate a little bit more before we jump to any conclusions and do something rash.” The man kissed the principal on the hand before turning to exit the school. Once he was safely out of earshot, Twilight revised her statement, “Ok. He's evil. How do we kill it?” Sunset shook her head, “No, you were right. We need more information. We don't know for sure that magic is involved. I'll go talk to Celestia and find out what I can. After that we can decide if we need to call the princess for backup.” Sunset approached the teacher where she still stood in the corner of the room, “Excuse me, Principal?” Celestia only then seemed to notice the student right in front of her, “Yes, Sunset Shimmer. How can I help you?” The student asked cautiously, “Can you tell me who that man was with the eyepatch?” The principle nodded, “He was hoping his daughter could come here, and asked me to give him a tour of the building. His name is Xander Harris. He's a survivor of the Sunnydale collapse two years ago. That's how he lost his eye. Why do you ask?” Sunset gave herself a moment to dwell on new information, “No reason in particular. Thank you for telling me.” “If you're worried about the safety of the school, That's very sweet but there's really no need. It's likely no more magical threats to the well-being of the school will ever surface again, let alone three in one semester like last year. You don't have to be suspicious just because something is new.” She nodded, “I know. I'm just being… cautious is all. We're the only protectors this school's got. Thanks again principal Celestia.” Outside the building, Xander stepped into the car that pulled up in front of the school. He spoke to the Slayer he knew was driving, “Did you have to use the limo? I look enough like a spy without a suspicious mode of transit.” Vi answered, “Well, I figure if you look suspicious enough then no-one will suspect you're up to anything. Because you never suspect the first person you suspect.” Xander shook his head, “Vi, this is a high school.” She pulled out and got onto the nearest highway, “Right. Okay, I'll be more discreet. Do you want to go greet her at the airport?” Xander smiled, “She's a day early? Sure. It's been a while since I've seen the Dawnster.” Author's Note To clarify the timeline a little, this is early January. The Friendship Games took place in December, and the Fall Formal dance was in, well, fall. Which means this is only a bit over three months after the portal first opened. I know whole seasons of FiM passed between films, and that will be addressed, you guessed it, later on.
Your Mission if You Choose to Accept It...Dawn ran out the airport doors and hugged Xander with all the restraint of a stick of dynamite. Her luggage swung around and slugged him in the back as he struggled to keep the both of them upright, “Xander! You have no idea how much I've missed you!” Xander returned the hug, “Hey kiddo. It's good to see you again.” Vi silently took the bags and put them in the trunk. Dawn stepped back and smirked, “I'm not a kid anymore. I'm 19 now, and I graduated with top grades last year.” Xander made his way back to the limo, “So I'd heard. But you're not allowed to do that. See I'm not dead yet. And you're Buffy’s baby sister. You're not supposed to grow up until I'm old and wrinkley.” Dawn climbed into the seat next to him, “Doesn't matter. It happened anyway. I could drive this car. I can go to bars and pick up boys.” Xander suppressed the mental image, “Have you already forgotten what country you're in? This is the land of the free, as long as you're 21 or up. And I don't think your license is valid here either, so you can't brave the highway either.” Dawn frowned as the realization hit, “Shit.” Xander paused for a moment to let her stew in her non-adulthood, “If the land isn’t free and you're not allowed to be brave, What does that leave for you here?” She laughed and hugged him again as the limo picked up speed, “Home.” A minute or more later, Xander ruined the moment, “So now that you're back, how would you like to go back to high school again?” He got a punch to the shoulder as his answer. He trained with Slayers every day and Dawn still somehow managed to make it hurt. By the time they got back to headquarters he had finished briefing her on the situation. Dawn recapped, “So you want me to act eighteen again and join this school as a student so that I can spy on some other students who may or may not be horrifying winged monsters?” He nodded as he lifted her bags out of the trunk, “More or less. They're not so much horrifying as kind of grotesquely adorable, and you're more of an infiltrator than an actual spy, but yeah. That's the gist of it. Getting you in won't be a problem. As far as I can tell their student records consist of a face and a first name. They don't even track classes. You could probably just walk in tomorrow, but official channels are probably less suspicious.” They got indoors and Dawn took her bags back from Xander, “Who am I spying on?” He answered, “Six students. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, and Pinkie Pie.” Dawn frowned as the list of names continued, “Are we sure there isn't just something in the water?” “Pretty sure, unless something is making hallucinations show up on camera, which is worth investigating in its own right. Oh, one more thing. Keep an eye out for talking dogs.” Dawn gave him a raised eyebrow. “I didn't see it myself, but there was no-one else at the table with them. Might be an invisible boy, but I'm hoping it's the dog.” Dawn challenged, “Care to make a bet on that?” “You know it. Two hundred?” Dawn considered for a moment, “Please. Better make it three.” They arrived at Xander’s office just after Dawn realized she had been following him instead of going to her room to unpack. Xander walked over to his desk, “You drive a hard bargain kiddo but you got yourself a deal. Do you want to look at the files while you're here?” She sighed and dropped her luggage in a corner, “Sure, might as well.” Xander handed her the short stack of papers and she quickly flipped to the picture that had started the whole thing. “You forgot to mention the horse ears, and tails. Is that the dog you think can talk?” Xander nodded, “We don't know how or when they transform yet. There's only the one picture that proves they even can. They didn't seem dangerous when I was there, but that's why we're sending you in, to be sure. And hey, if they do turn out dangerous, decapitation usually works.” Dawn flipped over to the next page, “I assume I can't bring in any weapons. Shit, those are their actual names? Who names a kid Rainbow?” “I don't know Dawn, who names their kid Buffy? It's not like we’re in a place to teach anyone about normal names.” She flipped through the pages repeatedly, as if looking for more, “Hey, at least my weird name isn't my fault, ‘Alexander'. Are there really no last names on these three?” Xander flinched at the use of his birth name, “Apple Jack might be two names. The records are a little inconsistent on that bit. The records are inconsistent on a lot when they’re even there to begin with. The filing cabinet I raided those from would probably give Giles a heart attack if he saw it.” Dawn nodded, “Well it should be enough to work with anyway. When can I start?” The Watcher grinned, “Anytime this week. Why don't you go get unpacked and then we can meet up with Faith in the courtyard. We're teaching the Slayers stealth techniques today.” Dawn smiled and picked up her bags, “Sure thing. See ya then.” Once she got to her guest room, Dawn tossed her bags at an armchair. One bounced off the armrest and landed upside down. The other overshot completely. Dawn flopped face first onto the bed. She sat up a few seconds later and looked through the papers in her hand again, now crumpled. The photograph caught her eye again and she examined the non-demonic traits of her future classmates. They seemed happy, friendly. Besides the obvious there was nothing demonic about them. Except maybe their sense of fashion. God did those colors clash. She practiced with a forced smile, “Hello. I'm new here. You can call me Dawn. Rarity? What an interesting name! Is there a story behind it? You don't say! By the way I love your hair we have to hang out sometime.” She stopped and shook her head, “No, too heavy handed.” The young woman rolled off her bed and dropped the file on the bedside counter, making her way over to the armchair and recollecting her fallen things. She unzipped her main bag and got the crossbow out of the way so that she could get to her clothes. When she got out to the courtyard Xander and Faith were already there. She looked around for any Slayers-in-training, and couldn't find any. She asked, “Hey guys. Where’re the Slayerettes? I thought you had a lesson around now.” Faith smiled, “Hey little B. Yeah, We were just teaching some new recruits how to blend in to their environment.” The teacher Slayer turned towards the empty courtyard, “Keep up the good work girls!” Dawn smirked with a glare, “Did you really think I'd fall for that?” Faith snapped her fingers in disappointment, “Damn. Looks like you were right Xan.” Xander held out a hand and Faith shelled out a fifty. He turned to Dawn, “I told her you were too smart for that. Kennedy is handling lessons today in the arena.” Dawn smiled, “Cool. Then what are we doing?” Faith shifted and rolled a shoulder as if her wallet being one bill lighter caused actual discomfort, “Xander dragged me and Vi into marathoning Blade a few weeks back. He knows vampires in leather is more B’s speed than mine. Wha’d’ya say we repay him by taking him to Phantom? Two straight hours with Gerald Butler and the music of the night.” “Sounds fun.” Xander muttered just loud enough to be heard, “I just can't get into musicals anymore.” Back at Canterlot High, school let out for the day. Seven friends walked out side by side. Sunset turned to Twilight Sparkle, “Are we still on for studying tonight?” The girl in glasses grinned, “You know it.” She turned to Applejack and Rarity, “Are you two sure you don't want to join us? You know what they say, the more the merrier!” Applejack and Rarity shared a glance and Applejack responded first, “Sorry Twilight. I already made plans with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. We're goin’ to the openin’ fer a brand new bowlin’ place downtown.” Rarity declined as well, “If only you'd told me sooner, darling. Pinkie and I were going to the mall this evening for a haircut. Would you like to come with us instead? I think you've likely studied enough by now.” Twilight frowned, “No, that's alright. I need to brush up on my Einstein-Rosen theory anyway. Maybe I can figure out how magic interferes with Higgs interaction while I'm at it. I'll see you tomorrow.” Author's Note I actually researched what the current cultural references would be in 2005. If you remember the year well enough you may be able to track the passage of time during the fic by the movies they talk about.
Who Can Watch the Watchers Themselves?“You know we really could've gone with them to the mall.” Twilight looked up from her book at Sunset’s nonsequitur. Twilight sat on the bed in Sunset’s room surrounded by physics studies and notebooks, while the occupant had settled in on the floor next to her with all her own research. Twilight responded, “I know that. I really am rusty on my wormhole physics. We still need to figure out why the magic is still here after being separated from Equestria for so long. And where the magic you used to combat my dark side came from. And-” “And all of those are just excuses. We'll figure them out in time. Why did you really choose to spend your day locked in here, with only books to pass the time?” Twilight had to stop and consider her answer. After several seconds she looked back up at Sunset, “It's not just books though. You're here too.” Sunset’s eyes widened in surprise, before a contented smile settled on her features, “I would've been at the mall too. Nice try though.” Twilight sighed, “They don't really want me there. I'm not going to intrude on their night out where I'm not welcome. Friends don't do that.” Sunset shook her head, “So sure of this, are you? Of what friends should and shouldn't do? Friends spend time with one another. Friends don't hesitate to come where they're invited. You understand that to some degree because you came here, so you obviously consider me a friend. But why don't you think of the others as friends yet?” Twilight paused, and opened her mouth before aborting the words before they came. A tear rolled down her cheek. And then she admitted, “I don't know.” The two sat in silence for some time. Sunset brought up a more comfortable topic, “I think I've hit a roadblock in my research. Magic behaves differently here. I don't know how, but I don't think I was wielding the Element of Magic last semester. The Element has a very distinctive signature, even when corrupted and used for dark purpose. At the Friendship Games, and before that against the Sirens, the magic felt lighter, almost effortless. And the princess was there at the battle of the bands too. I mean, We couldn't both have been using the same Element? Could we?” Twilight shook her head, “Sorry, I'm still new to this. I don't know if I can help you with that yet.” The older girl smiled, “It's okay. I can work it out. I just hope we don't have to use our magic again any time soon.” Sunset Shimmer’s computer lit up at her desk across the room. She stood and dusted off her dress on her way to read the email. Twilight asked absent-mindedly, “What is it?” Sunset sat and pulled up her browser. She spoke with a surprised tone, “It's from CHS. We're getting a new student tomorrow. Dawn Summers. She's a transfer so she's starting as a senior.” Twilight contemplated, “I wonder if she's the daughter of that man who spoke with Celestia.” The girl at the computer started pulling up a new window to search for anything she could find on either, “Xander Harris? The last names don't match. But I suppose she could be taking her mother's name. They're both on indexes of Sunnydale survivors. Xander is on the LA lists too, but Dawn isn't. Maybe they're not related.” Twilight hopped off the bed and cracked her knuckles on the way over, “Here, let me.” Her fingers flew across the keyboard. Sunset lost track as the screen flickered from one site to another, although she thought she saw ‘IRS Database’ come up at one point. They ended up on what looked like a wiki page for each of them in different windows. “Dawn isn't his daughter. She's his best friend's little sister. Buffy Summers shared almost every class through her last three years of high school with Alexander Harris... That's odd. Dawn should be nineteen this year. In fact she already graduated with top honors from one of the more prestigious schools of Italy. What's she doing here?” Sunset scrolled down to her more recent records and saw Canterlot records that had been updated just an hour ago, “With this class listing it looks like she might like school almost as much as we do. In fact she's taking a lot of the same classes I am, which is strange because the classes I signed up for this year were the ones I thought would be the most enjoyable. They're not actually all that good classes for learning. I guess she's not at school for learning anymore either.” Twilight switched over to Xander, “How does he have all this income? There's almost two million here annual. He never went to college and he's listed as unemployed. Hold on... Here it is. He gets regular transfers from someplace called The Magic Box in London. But why are they sending him so much money if he's not even listed as an employee?” Sunset scrolled back up, “Look at this. He had a wedding. Expenses, travel fees, everything. But he never got a divorce and he's unmarried now. Even stranger the bride doesn't seem to be on record anywhere. But there's expenses for her family so she obviously existed.” “There's something that's not quite right about these two. Too many things just don't add up. Look, Sunset, Buffy Summers has a big hole in her record. She didn't go to school or work or make any purchases besides rent for several months in 2001 and 2002. Not long after that a social worker was sent to investigate Dawn’s living conditions, and requested that she be put into foster care before suffering a lapse of psychosis and a ten month stay at a mental institution.” The two became somewhat sickened at the implications of that detail, and silently agreed to take a break from investigation. They minimized the browser for later review. The next day, the seven friends met up before school by the mirror. It was a quiet day, with everyone still waking up from the morning. Birds chirped cheerfully and a slight breeze rolled over the blanket Pinkie Pie had set down over the grass. Twilight pierced through it all with a gleeful shriek while looking at her phone. Spike awoke with a start, “Huh? What! Is Twilight turning into a demon again?” Applejack shook her head, “No, although I don't think any of us would mind if she had done that instead.” Pinkie Pie raised her hand, “I would!” Rainbow asked, “What's the yelling about, Twilight? What's so important it couldn't wait until after my nap?” Twilight flinched with embarrassment, “Sorry. It's nothing apocalyptic. I just got a text from Shining Armor telling me that he's visiting for all of this week! I can't believe it. It's been years since he moved out and he usually only visits for a few days around thanksgiving. But why is he coming now of all times?” The six others exchanged various confused glances before Fluttershy finally voiced, “Who's Shining Armor?” Sunset Shimmer answered, drawing everyone’s attention to her, “He's her brother, a graduate of Crystal Prep who lives downtown.” It was Twilight’s turn to look confused, “How do you know Shining Armor?” Sunset shrunk back, “Well… um, back when I was, well, what I was, I kind of tracked you down and researched your family. In part it was to keep an eye on the counterpart of my arch-nemesis, and I guess I also wanted to know if there was anyone the princess loved more than her friends who I could exploit. And since familial connections at least seem to carry over between worlds, it seemed like a good way to gather information before the portal opened.” A pause extended long enough for everyone to blink. Twilight registered how creeped out she was looking and utterly failed to put an end to it, “But you're not like that anymore… right?” Applejack put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder, “Nope. She's a totally different person.” Rainbow chimed in, “A totally awesome person!” Rarity finished off, “Who's helped us fight off evil twice now! with a great fashion sense if i might add.” Sunset smiled genuinely at the praise, and Twilight seemed to ease up. The situation was interrupted by the approach of a new girl, “Hey there. Is this Canterlot High?” Everyone looked at the new girl intently, examining her for any signs of dark magic or threat. She was of average height, a somewhat athletic build, with brown hair and blue eyes. She seemed to bounce on her heels even as she stood in place, waiting for an answer. The new girl spoke again, “I'm Dawn, Dawn Summers. I'm a transfer student. You guys looked like a welcoming committee or something, so I thought you'd be the ones to ask about stuff?” Sunset Shimmer was the first to shake herself out of it and realize they were supposed to be talking as well. That was after all how conversations happened, “Yes, you could say that. I've welcomed newcomers in the past. I'm Sunset Shimmer, and yes, you are at the right school. Do you want one of us to show you to your classes today?” Dawn perked up at getting a response, “Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks. It's nice to meet someone new.” She held out her hand. Sunset stood and accepted the handshake, “Likewise. I think you'll find Canterlot to be as exciting a place as you've ever lived.” Dawn smirked, “I don't know. There's some pretty stiff competition there.” Sunset internally reviewed the list of residences on the file she had read the previous night. Sunnydale? Rome? She considered the fact that the girl might have lived in a parallel world like herself at one point. Dawn looked past Sunset to the other six, “So which of you is gonna be my new BFF?” She switched to sign language for the rest, “Or is this the school deaf club? No talking allowed.” Twilight signed back, “No. We can hear.” And switched back to vocalizing, “I'm Twilight Sparkle. And this here is Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and right over there is Fluttershy. And this is my dog Spike!” Spike very politely said, “Hello.” Rainbow Dash facepalmed. Meanwhile, surprisingly little happened to Dawn’s demeanor. There was only momentary surprise, followed by confusion, acceptance, confusion again, then what in passing looked almost like annoyance or frustration, before all of it was pushed aside with expert skill all in less than half a second. Twilight managed to keep her cheery tone up, “Also, he can talk!” Dawn blinked. Then responded, “I can see that. Or... hear, actually.” The bell rang and Pinkie Pie was standing directly in front of Dawn only a moment later, “What class are you taking first period?” Dawn took a large step back, “Ancient American History, I think.” Pinkie began skipping away, “Follow me!” Dawn looked back to other six with a smile before running to catch up. All humans still present turned an angry eye towards Spike. A wisp of black smoke exited the lungs of Trixie as the girl walked away.
The Games We PlayDawn caught back up with the Wondercolts at lunchtime. She still couldn't quite adjust to how easy it had been to confirm there was something magical going on. Now that that was out of the way, not only did she know, but they knew she knew. It both made things much simpler and put her definitively off-book on how to proceed. The dog could talk. Granted. That didn't answer how. Could she just ask? She wasn't certain if they had simply failed to prevent her from discovering magic or if they had even been trying to begin with. She looked around at the other students. Screw it, “So, have any of you talked with Hecate recently? Tall girl, carries a torch and a key everywhere.” Twilight gave her a funny look, “Greek Goddess of crossroads and Necromancy? Dawn was caught somewhat flabbergasted that anyone had recognized the name, “And dogs. I ask because I'm interested in your dog, and how he learned to, um… talk.” Spike poked his head out of Twilight’s pack on the lunch table, “Well you could just ask me yourself.” “Oh right. Sorry, that was rude of me. Spike was it? I have a friend named Spike. Though he's not a dog. Not that there's anything wrong with that! I had a cat once. Not that I'm comparing you to a cat or anything, unless you like cats? No, of course you don't like cats. Oh! I have a friend who eats cats. I've never tried it myself but he tells me they're, um… tangy…” She decided it was in her best interest to stop talking and wait for someone else to say something so that everyone would stop staring at her. Spike obliged, “...right. Well I can't say I've ever had cat myself, so I don't know. This friend certainly sounds interesting. Is he… foreign?” Dawn answered, “Yes, he is. He's Korean, I think. Something south-eastern. That must be where he learned what cat tastes like, since he says he hasn't eaten any in years.” Dawn cringed. How long had it been since she had tried to make new friends? It hadn't been a priority in Rome. Had she always been this awkward with kids her age? Amanda had liked her, before… great, there went another pint of ice cream toward the cause of forgetting about Amanda and the others. What had she been investigating again? Oh yeah… “So how did you learn to talk?” Spike scratched his ear, “I'm not actually sure. All I did was chase a rabbit through a hole and when I came back I could talk.” Dawn frowned. Not once in history had a story about going down a literal magic rabbit hole been so short... and boring. She wondered if the dog had been taught how to lie since this morning. Fluttershy was the one to break the ice, “So Dawn, where did you go to school before you transferred?” Dawn lit up at the opportunity to change the subject. Even if it meant delaying the investigation a little, “St Georges British, in Rome, Italy. My big sister moved there for her job a few years back and I tagged along for the ride. I mean if you can go live in Rome for free, why not, right?” Rarity beamed, “I certainly agree. But why ever would you then move back here?” Dawn shrugged, “I missed home. California. The beaches aren't the same across the pond. And since, well, I obviously can't go back to Sunnydale, Canterlot seemed like a pretty nice alternative.” Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity held a silent concerned conversation before Applejack voiced their thought, “Are you alright talkin’ ‘bout it? Must've been awful losin’ yer home like that, even if it was empty when it happened.” Dawn smiled, “It's fine. That place kinda blew anyway. I miss the mall. That's about it. Did any of you ever go there?” Everyone shook their head except Pinkie who raised her hand enthusiastically, “I went there one summer. I saw the mayor give a speech. I really didn't like him.” Dawn laughed, “You're right not to. He was a demonically bad mayor. He actually had to be forcibly removed from office by an angry mob. He totally exploded after that. It destroyed his career. There was a big party.” There was another awkward pause. That seemed to happen every time Dawn opened her mouth, much to her annoyance. Twilight broke this silence, “Right, well, you'll have no such trouble from mayor Sombra. He may not be especially pleasant, but he really knows how to get things done in the bureaucracy. There's a reason he's been re-elected every term for almost thirty years. His father was actually the same way. With how similar they look you almost have to wonder if he got anything at all from his mother's side of the family.” Dawn noted to herself that she'd have to look into the mayor too, make sure another ascension wasn't on its way, “Good to hear.” Pinkie Pie grabbed Twi by the collar, “Do you think he's a clone! Robot? Ooh! Immortal? Or maybe he's a vampire!” Yup. Definitely look into the mayor. Sunset peeled Pinkie off of Twilight, “No. I checked on him when I first got here. He's human, at least so far as he ages and bleeds like one.” Dawn picked up on the inconsistencies in the exchange. Firstly, Sunset on record had lived in Canterlot her whole life. Secondly, Sunset apparently felt the need to check if people were human or not. She opted not to push this opening as it may close others later on by making the seven more cautious around her. A student ran up to their table, “Hey! Rainbooms! I was hoping you'd pony up for a party I'm doing Saturday. It's gonna be awesome and if you came it'd just be even more awesome! Game?” Rainbow Dash responded instantly, standing and handing him a twenty dollar bill, “Sure thing Sandalwood. Here ya go.” She pulled him in for a hug and whispered, “We'll talk later.” Rainbow waved as he stumbled off confusedly staring at the money in his hand, “I'll see you Saturday!” Dawn knew something was up. Those two obviously didn't normally hug, which meant Rainbow had had something to say that Dawn wasn't supposed to hear. This seemingly random student had known whatever it was they were trying to cover up. A plan began to form as she looked among the other students scattered throughout the room at different tables. Unfortunately, No matter what she did she couldn't shake her “new BFF" Pinkie Pie. And she had thought she was the follower, and not the followee. Followee... No. Followess? Followship? Followed! That was the word. But the followed she most certainly was. Pinkie was sticking to her like a bad wish. She'd have no luck questioning the other students that day. Ah well. She followed Pinkie (while also being followed by Pinkie) to her next class. After school, she rode back to base. She wondered if there was any way she could phrase her report that would make Xander forget the bet they had made the previous day. Dawn dropped her school bag off at her room before going to Xander’s office. She heard other voices from through the door, but couldn't make out any words. More likely the words were gibberish, scrambled by enchantments on the door much like the ones she had cast on her bedroom in Rome. She didn't bother to knock before entering. Xander was there, along with Faith, and Kennedy on speakerphone. Dawn had to think back to recall that Kennedy had been stationed in London. Kennedy was talking when Dawn walked in, “-and no-one was hurt anyway, so it's… Did someone just walk in?” Faith answered happily, “Don't worry yourself Ken. It's just little sis, back from your side of the sea.” Kennedy took a moment to follow the nickname, “Dawn? Why isn't she still with Buffy?” Dawn cut in, “Because I'm 19 and it's about time I handled an apocalypse on my own. Even Xander had two to himself by the time he was my age.” Xander’s smile faltered slightly, “I'll call you back later. Just keep me posted on this psychic deal and let me know if it gets any stronger.” “Can do, Watcher man. Later.” The call ended and Xander turned back to Dawn. “So what's this I hear about an apocalypse?” Dawn sighed, “There isn't one as far as I can tell. The kids all seem nice enough right now, although they're definitely hiding something from me. The rest of the students know too so I think I can find out from them if I can sneak away from my new best bud club.” She slapped three hundred dollars down on his desk. He took the money and his smile returned full force, “It's really the dog? They have a talking dog?” Dawn nodded. Xander turned to Faith, who had remained oddly silent, “They have a talking dog.” Faith clenched her teeth, “Fuck. I never thought we'd see the day.” She then produced another five hundred bucks to join Dawn's bills on the desk of the winner. “When did you get so good at this anyway?” Xander casually picked up the cash and flicked through it, not really counting so much as gloating, “Comes with the job. I've seen it all.” Dawn smirked, “Except the left side of your nose. There's totally a wart there now, by the way.” Xander stopped, and felt his nose. No wart was present. Faith gave Dawn a high-five that hurt the younger girl's arm. Xander stored his winnings away, “When did I become the mature one?” Faith laughed, “I don't know, maybe when you took the desk job?” Xander poked an accusatory finger at the Slayer, “You're a teacher. You're supposed to be a positive influence.” Faith shrugged, “These kids got enough positive influences in their lives, man. I'm just here to make sure they make the right mistakes and don't get themselves killed.” Xander abandoned the vocal spar, “Can't argue with that. Is there anything else, Dawn? Do you know how the dog can talk or how it connects to the wings?” She shook her head, “Nope. Sorry. Day 1 wasn't as informative as could be hoped.” Faith congratulated, “Still went a heck of a lot better than anyone expected. Way better than my first investigation anyway.” Dawn perked up a little, “Thanks. It's no biggie though. I'll let you get back to your call. It sounded important.” She stood to walk out. No-one said goodbye, because they'd all see each other again later that day. Before she left she heard Kennedy pick up the recall, “Hey Xander. So the Dharma demon, from the storm cellar, stopped flaying and called me-” The Rainbooms had gathered after school and all gone to Pinkie’s house. In a conversational lull, Sunset brought up the elephant in the room. “So what are we going to do now that Dawn knows about Spike?” Author's Note Today I have a question. Other than Sunset/Twilight for obvious reasons, which CHS student (Mane Five or not) would you like to see Dawn paired with? Or do you prefer her with Xander like in the comics? Let me know.
Let's You and Her Fight"So what are we going to do now that Dawn knows about Spike?" “Well we could always tell her the truth.” Everyone looked at Fluttershy, blinked, and then Pinkie burst into laughter. She stopped laughing a second later in shock, “Wait were you serious? Are you crazy? She could be another magical being thrust into human form! She could be some sort of interdimensional energy entity! She could be plotting to uncover all our secrets!” Sunset put a hand on Pinkie’s shoulder telling her to back off before putting a reassuring one on Fluttershy’s, “Sorry Fluttershy. I’ve gotta agree with Pinkie here.” Rainbow grabbed her first pizza slice from the box, “She’s totally suspicious. She didn’t even seem all that surprised at the talking dog. Everyone’s surprised by the talking dog the first time!” Spike nodded, “It’s true.” He then jumped up and intercepted Rainbow’s pizza on its way to her mouth. She bit down on air and looked in slight shock as the canine unapologetically licked the cheese off the crust. Rarity continued on topic unaware of the altercation, “We’re going to have to be more careful if we don’t want her finding out about magic. She already knows something is going on. Even if it is just Spike.” Spike was startled back to attention with tomato on his nose, “I didn’t do it!” Rarity looked at him and eyed the half-eaten pizza on the floor with disgust. Rainbow Dash served herself more pizza from the box and prepared to eat. The doorbell rang. Pinkie blurred across the room, taking Rainbow Dash’s plate out of her hands, “Twilight’s back!” Rainbow heard her greeting from across the house, “Twilight! Come on! You’re just in time for pizza!” The others began to file into the other room to greet her themselves. Rainbow Dash snagged another slice from the box on the way out of the kitchen. Twilight freed herself from Pinkie’s hug just in time to get entangled by Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity, followed quickly by Pinkie Pie again. She smiled nervously, unaccustomed to so much affection, “Hey everyone. Sorry I’m late. I stopped for some research material on Sunnydale.” Once the group hug ended she graciously took the plate of pizza. Sunset Shimmer took the bag and dug through the books contained within, “19th Century History, Cultural Atlas, College Yearbook, After The Fall: The Final Days of Los Angeles and Sunnydale. These are some great finds! Where’d you get ‘em?” Twilight answered between bites of pizza, “There’s a store right next to the Free Library that buys off all their overflow. They’ve got all sorts of interesting studies and niche topics if you can get past their organization system, or occasional lack thereof.” Sunset flipped through the first few pages of the last book, “This one looks like exactly what we need to know. This Winifred Burkle seems like she knows her stuff. I wonder why I’ve never seen her work before.” Rainbow Dash traded off her pizza slice for the book and flipped it around to the back, “It says here she’s from some place called Vala… Valnesh? Vahalanesh? No idea, there’s an apostrophe in it. Sounds foreign. Oh, get this, this is her first book. Hey, she’s hot. Not everyone can pull off blue hair.” Rainbow traded the book back, only moments later noticing the several bites taken out of her pizza. Applejack asked, “Wha’do ya hope to learn about her from reading about her old hometown?” Twilight passed by the group and headed back toward the kitchen and more pizza, “I’m not sure yet. It just seems to me that if we want to know more about her, learning about where she comes from is a pretty good start.” The others followed her back, Sunset busying herself with the new book. A happy dog leapt into Twilight’s arms in greeting, eagerly licking her face with laughter as the only response needed. Rarity and Applejack both got themselves slices of pizza, followed by Twilight getting a second. By the time Rainbow Dash got to the box, it was empty. Her stomach complained. Fluttershy silently handed a dejected Rainbow a plate with three saved slices piled onto it. Rainbow lit up and dug in immediately. Later that day Sunset and Twilight were eagerly consuming their new book while the others played cards in the living room. Twilight read highlights for the ones not on the sofa, “It says here that Sunnydale was mostly empty by the time it collapsed. There’s a whole section on theories about sociopolitical reasons for the exodus. But that’s all they are, theories. The survivors who were interviewed simply said that they no longer felt safe in their own homes, although stated reasons for that varied wildly case by case. No-one knows what really happened to make everyone leave. It’s fascinating.” Sunset turned the page, “If I didn’t know any better I might say that magic had a hand in it. But that’s impossible. The Element of Magic hadn’t even been brought here yet two years ago. The Sirens were here before then, but something makes me doubt that they had the power or motive to make so many people leave their homes. Do you think Star-Swirl the Bearded might have sent other magical threats here?” Rarity discarded her entire game hand and drew new cards, “It may be possible but that doesn’t make it likely. The fact that the Sirens alone were here for so long without drawing notice boggles the mind. If any other monsters had been sent through, don’t you think there’d be historical evidence of it?” Rainbow trumped Rarity, “Plums are tall. I win again. Who’s for six of eleven?” Pinkie Pie answered by starting to put the game away. Applejack stood to browse the shelves for their next game. She pulled one of the boxes out, carefully as to not topple the large wall that their host possessed. The seven heard the front door open and Pinkie bounded up to greet whoever it may be. Two of her sisters showed themselves from the front hallway and both received large hugs, “Maud! Marble! Are you going to join us? We were just about to play Election Detection! I got the Election Prevention Expansion last week and it looks super fun!” Marble simply smiled and nodded as she hung her hat on a hook by the door. Maud gave no visible reaction discernible to anyone except Pinkie, “Ok.” Pinkie Pie jumped for joy, “Yay! This is so exciting!” Meanwhile Applejack was sorting through several dozen cardboard tokens that varied in size, symbol and color, “You said this thing has expansions?” Pinkie ran over and expertly removed a stack of boxes from the shelf, “Yup! Election Elective, Detective Election, Elation Detection and Election Prevention!” Pinkie emptied the stack of boxes and a new pile of increasingly elaborate tokens, with multiple types of cards mixed in, was added to what Applejack had been attempting to organize. Marble Pie sat next to Applejack and quickly began to sort out the pieces into neat stacks. Maud sat down next to Sunset and Twilight on the couch, “After the Fall: The Final Days of Los Angeles and Sunnydale.” Pinkie gasped, “Of course! Maud! You wrote a paper on Sunnydale didn’t you?” She nodded, “19th Century History. I wrote about the long-scale effects the Gold Rush had on California politics, including the founding of Sunnydale.” Twilight pulled the other book from her bag and checked the inside cover, “I’m guessing you sold your textbook to the library after you finished the class?” Maud blinked, “Is that my book?” Sunset stared at the name written on the top of the first page, “Apparently.” Twilight asked the older girl, “Do you know anything about the circumstances of Sunnydale’s destruction? Maud answered, “The city had been experiencing regular seismic activity for several years leading up to its collapse. There were no discernible fault lines or tectonic causes for the event that could be conclusively determined. It’s the biggest rock-based mystery since calcified carbon disulfide was found near uracil deposits in the ice caps on mars.” Sunset and Twilight paused in their reading to consider that. Rarity unfolded a game board bigger than some tables as Rainbow carefully sorted out five separate decks of cards to shuffle. Maud looked up at the game setup, “You shuffled the district cards in with the zoning cards.” Marble nodded nervously, “Mmhm.” Rainbow’s eye twitched and a scowl formed. Fluttershy took over sorting the sixth deck out as Rarity constructed the 3D portions of the board. Sunset flipped to another section of their book, “Wait a minute. We’ve been focusing on Dawn so much we’ve forgotten how we got into this mess to begin with. Xander Harris, the man with the eyepatch, was an L.A. survivor too. Maybe we should be looking into the similarities between the two events. Otherwise Canterlot may wind up the third city destroyed in as many years.” Twilight frowned, “But what similarities? Sunnydale was empty and turned into a giant sinkhole. L.A. was a fire caused by negligence at a power plant. The only connection is that Xander Harris was there both times.” The other reader shook her head, “doesn’t that seem odd to you? What effect could be achieved by demolishing two California cities? There’s been economic fallout, sure. But I can’t imagine that being the end goal of all this.” Twilight straightened her glasses, “You know it wasn’t long after Sunnydale that Xander started getting transfers from England. Maybe he’s in it for the money. Overseas companies would probably pay a hefty sum to even partially collapse the American dollar.” Applejack joined the discussion, “If yer talkin’ ‘bout sinkin’ cities for profit, I don’t think anyone’d pay more than the military. If anything, North Korea would probably be easier to bring down than L.A. for someone with that kind of power.” Twilight gave a frustrated sigh, “What kind of power? The cause is completely different in both cases! What could he possibly be able to do that would start fires and enact earthquakes to the same effect? I’m not even certain anymore that the two incidents are actually connected at all!” Sunset put a calming arm around her study partner, “Hey. Take a deep breath. We’ll work it out.” Maud stood and left the two on the sofa to join the rest of the group on the floor. Pinkie passed her two dice and a currency exchange rate card. Fluttershy looked up at the two remaining outliers, “Are you two going to join us? Nine players would definitely help with the notoriety token distribution.” Sunset and Twilight both looked at Fluttershy, and then at the game, and back to Fluttershy, and then to each other. Sunset raised her eyebrows slightly, indicating that the choice wasn’t to be her own. Twilight smiled initially, and hesitated. She looked down at her feet, Spike curled up asleep nearby. She looked back up to Sunset to see that the choice was still unmade and settled in with a contented smile, “No. Thank you, but I think we’re fine right where we are.” Sunset found herself pleasantly confused and confusedly pleased as the other girl leaned back against her arm. After a second of thought and another second of watching the game start, she relaxed and reengaged in the book that was still held in front of her. Several minutes into the game Twilight looked back up at Sunset, “Do you want to go with me to meet up with my brother tomorrow?” Pinkie Pie gasped, “Are you kidding. I’d love to! We can all go!” Applejack saw the shock on Twilight and intervened, “Hold up there Pinkie. I think she was talking to Sunset there, and I don’t think we should overwhelm Shining Armor by meeting too many strangers at once.” Pinkie’s hair briefly deflated, “Aw.” Sunset answered, “Thank you for the offer, but I really wouldn’t want to intrude. I know you haven’t seen him in a while.” Twilight smiled, “That’s very thoughtful of you, but Pinkie’s right. I do want to introduce him to my new CHS friends, and there’s no-one I’d rather start with than you. And you know I never mind having you around…” They both looked at their feet. Neither girl noticed the other’s cheeks increase in color. Everyone else in the room, who had stopped their game to watch with fascination, most definitely noticed. Applejack put her hand over Pinkie’s mouth to prevent her from interrupting. They returned to their game after the awkward pause lingered on for a few too many seconds. By the time Sunset looked up at them they were trading favor cards and shifting pieces of the board around like they’d never stopped. The next day, Dawn prepared to enact her master plan. Author's Note The more oblique title I opted to replace for this chapter was "The Elephant's Last European Tour". TvTropes seemed like the safer reference. And to clarify, "Winifred Burkle" is a convenient pen-name for Illyria. No retcons there.
Tell It Not to a FriendThe call ended and Xander turned back to Dawn. “So what's this I hear about an apocalypse?” Dawn sighed, “There isn't one as far as I can tell. The kids all seem nice enough right now, although they're definitely hiding something from me. The rest of the students know too so I think I can find out from them if I can sneak away from my new best bud club.” Dawn saw the seven students she had met the previous day outside the school. She very intently circled a wide area around them, melting into the crowd of other students entering the building. She wanted to see how long she could go today without picking up a tail. Yesterday one of the other students had almost spilled the beans on whatever it was that was going on here. She needed to talk to as many other students as she could, without being noticed by her welcoming party. Her first target was a blue-haired boy with a guitar. She walked up and said, “Hey.” The boy didn’t even look up from his guitar, “Hey. You’re the new girl, right? Dawn?” She nodded, “Uhuh. I was wondering if I could ask you a question?” He retuned one of the strings that she was fairly certain had been fine before, “Sure. What do you want to know?” “Well, there’s the talking dog...” “Spike.” Dawn paused at the correction, “Right… So how about that? I mean what’s the deal?” The boy sighed and looked up from his guitar for the first time, “Look, I may not entirely get along with those girls anymore, but it’s really not my place to be talking about them either. If you want to know about the talking dog, I think you should talk to the talking dog or his owner. I don’t mean any offense to you. It’s just not my story to tell.” She smiled, “Well that’s very gentlemanlike of you. If you don’t mind me asking, why don’t you get along with them anymore? You seem like a really nice guy.” He frowned in contemplation, “Let’s just say Sunset Shimmer and I used to go out, and Twilight, well… This Twilight never even gave me the time of day. Look I have to get to class. If you wanna talk about something else we can meet back up at lunch.” Dawn managed to dodge them all through classes. Quite the feat, considering how many classes she and Sunset and Twilight had in common. She reapproached her new informant at lunch. He was still holding his guitar. Did he take it to class with him too? “Hey.” The boy looked up and smiled when he recognized her, “Hey.” Dawn slid into the seat next to him, “I didn’t catch your name before, did I.” He laughed, “It’s alright. You were too busy interrogating me about my exes. I’m Flash, Flash Sentry.” “Dawn.” She paused, “But you already knew that anyway. I don’t suppose there’s any chance you forgot in the last few hours?” Flash stopped strumming and retuned the instrument for the third time she had seen that day, “Well I was getting rusty on a few of the details from when we met this morning. The refresher is nice. It’ll come in handy if I get tested later.” “Right. Well anyway, you said we could talk later, and, well, now it’s later. So can we talk?” He sighed again and frowned at her, “Look, Dawn, you seem pretty cool, and I’d love to talk or hang out or even go out sometime. If you wanted to, which I’m pretty sure you don’t. If you want someone to talk to, I’m your man. If you want someone to finish interrogating about the Rainbooms, you’ll have to ask someone else to spy for you.” Dawn nodded respectively, “So when you said that we could talk about something else…” “...I meant something else. Sorry Dawn. Like I said before, they’re not my secrets.” She smiled up at Flash, “You know for someone who doesn’t get along with them anymore, you’re a pretty good friend.” As she got up he waved goodbye, “I try. See you around, Dawn.” She looked around the room briefly for anyone else to ask. The kid that had almost outed them the day before was there, Sandalwood. He was sitting next to one of the more unfortunate fashion victims she had ever seen. But he was also the one who had almost outed them yesterday. If they had talked to him since she might expose herself by going to him. Four younger girls, probably sophomores, caught her eye. She didn’t realize at first why they looked so familiar, until she compared two of them to their older sisters. Younger versions of Rarity and Applejack sat in the same room. The third had her hair styled the same way as Rainbow, not a common look. And the fourth had several characteristics that were shared between Applejack and her sister. Not quite similar enough to be a third sister though. Then again, she was like four years older than them. No way that’d be suspicious at all. Oh hey, third sibling. She walked over to sit with Applejack’s brother. “Heya. I’m new here. My name’s Dawn. Are you Applejack’s brother?” The boy finished chewing and swallowed a bite of his sandwich, “Eyup.” Dawn waited for that statement to continue. It didn’t, “So what’s your name?” He once again finished processing the food in his mouth. Patient conversationalist, “Apple Mcintosh. But everyone calls me Big Mac.” Dawn smiled cheerily, “It’s nice to meet you.” She immediately drew a blank on what to say next. She reached into the depths of her experience in conversation. What did she talk about other than demons and how to fight them? She looked closer at Big Mac, grasping for details that she could work with. “I like your jacket. It matches your hair. I’ve always liked red hair.” She kicked herself under the table and stopped talking. If she had stopped to think maybe she would have realized before speaking that most of her conversation experience was with other girls. What was she thinking trying to talk fashion with a guy? Big Mac smiled at her and kept eating. A man of few words, apparently. She would have liked that if it weren’t totally annoying. As things were she found herself sitting awkwardly and trying to think of something to say. Well, awkwardly for her at least. It seemed like Big Mac hadn’t noticed the silence, or maybe he was just used to it. “So have you and Applejack been going here long?” He swallowed the last bite of sandwich, “Eyup” Dawn had decided that she liked her conversations with a bit more conversing in them. All she knew about this boy was that he didn’t talk much. At this rate it would take her days to get anything meaningful about his sister and she only had five more minutes of lunch. Wait, she only had five more minutes of lunch? She frustratedly rechecked the clock. She was actually hungry too, and hadn’t eaten anything all day. She could always eat after school. Or she could just eat and investigate more tomorrow. Her stomach liked that idea better. At the end of the school day Twilight rushed out the door faster than Sunset had ever seen her run. She tackle-hugged someone who Sunset and the rest assumed must be her brother. The other five turned away toward their own modes of transit. Sunset had her car nearby, but kept walking to go meet the person she had only observed from afar several years before. Twilight said something to him and Shining Armor turned to Sunset, “So you’re the girl I’ve heard so much about for the past month.” Author's Note On the subject of Legend of Everfree, I'm not using it, for three reasons. First, I'm not sure I can bring myself to rewatch it enough for practical research, because of the ship tease with Timber. It's impossible for me to accept a romance between a camper and counselor. Second, even setting aside that one truly horrific subplot, the rest of the movie was just a little disappointing to me. If you liked it, I'm happy for you. But I'm going to near-ignore it and wait for EG5. Third, I already have a plan, and a summer camp isn't part of it. I may implement references to it. But Legend of Everfree isn't canon to this fic.
