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Canterlot City's Bizarre Summer
The Bizarre Aftermath of a Fun Afternoon in the Mindscape
A bright explosion of pink-hued light rippled through Sunset Shimmer's living room. As the light faded, our friends, woke up from their experience in Sunset's head. The reformed villainess invited the rest of the gang to test the limits of her mind powers and created a world inside her head to play around in. The result...
"Uuuuuuugh", most of them groaned.
"I feel like someone threw my head into a steel compressor", Twilight was the first to comment.
"Like an elephant stampede in my brain", Fluttershy followed.
"Brain Freeze is nothing compared to this."
"I think I need t-", was all Rarity managed to say before storming off into the bathroom to throw up.
"I think this is what the hangover after three bottles of vodka feels like",Rainbow said, who then turned her head to see Sunset leaning on the wall to support her weight, while downing one-third of her analogy. "How in the hell can you swallow all that?" Sunset let the bottle leave her lips to answer.
"Horse person!", she plainly forced out. "Can't get drunk." She took a moment to look around the room. "Girls?", she said to draw the attention to herself. "We're totally gonna do this again, aren't we?", she said, to which she received a collective "Absolutely!" After all, they had 104 days to do so.
Unbeknownst to them, a figure stood in the alleyway next to Sunset's house, a hood concealing her identity.
"Finally, spying on them paid off." The figure looked at the bow and arrow in her hand. "These arrows seems to have absorbed the pink light they generated and with the power they gave me, I can finally exact my vengeance on that miserable spec of light." The figure made her way home, a ghostlike figure, about as big as her head, appearing next to her. "I'm think I'm gonna need some help."
After everybody recovered enough to get home, each if them said their goodbyes and got on their way home. They all felt tired and Fluttershy even thought they got a fever.
Sunset felt warm as well, but a diffeeent sort of warmth. It wasn't eminating from her body. More like she was encased in am invisible oven.
Thinking a little sleep might do the trick, she went to bed early, but the next day was even worse. She woke up with her mouth completely dried out.
Her first thought was go stumble to the bathroom to moisten her mouth and it felt better than anything she could remember. Winning the crown at the Fall Formal? Getting the power of the Element Diadem? Becoming Daydream Shimmer? Nothing compared to the cold water careening down her throat. So good she neerly climaxed on the spot.
She whiped the steam off the mirror (Steam?) to look at herself. She was sweating and panting like crazy, a heavy blush on her face. She was drenched in sweat to the point that her pyjama had become see-through. She tried to shut the faucet, but retreated her hand as the faucet burned her finger. Confused, she stumbled across the room to her thermometer, slapping both hands on either side. Just how hot was it in her apartment?
She was shocked to see that the temperature was at a normal level. At least for a morning in summer.
What happened next only furthered her confusion. She watched as the liquid in the small tube crawled higher and higher up. Simply standing next to the thermometer made it rise like she had never seen before.
Sunset felt another surge in temperature. And lost all strength in her body. She knew she had to figure out what was going on, but the only thing on her mind was to re-hydrate herself.
"Gotta get to my bar", she thought to herself as it was the coolest place in her appartment, which was actually just a mini-fridge. She desperately tried to crawl her way over to the cabinet containing various sorts of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. But without any strength left, she couldn't help but just lie there and claw the floor. Suddenly, a clinking sound.
Sunset opened her eyes to see a glass of Baccardi Cola was placed before her. And best of all, ice cubes. With newfound strength, Sunset grabbed the glass and greedily gulped down the drink. She even went so far as to chew on the ice cubes.
When she finished, the heat was starting to subside. Sunset felt so relieved that she just had to smile at the (relatively) cool air around her sweat-covered skin, as she just laid there content.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw something hover over her. She shot up and crawled to the nearby wall. There, she got a good look at the creature.
It somewhat resembles a harpy. Wings as arms and claws for hands. Its head was that of a human's, except for the yellow fangs coming out of its mouth. Its skin-part was pure white. Its hair was wild and fiery,only that the colors, red, orange and yellow, merged together seamlessly. Same for its wings. That was all she could see, The creature kinda stopped existing past its hips.
"Did you make me this drink?", she asked, far too accustomed to such things by now to really freak out.
Instead of an answer, the creature hovered over to Sunset getting more and more transparent until disappearing in her body.
"Well, that was bizarre."
Rainbow Dash had a normal day. After a bit of sleep she woke up without any trouble. She ate breakfast and headed to the Mall for her job at the sports wear store.
It was almost time for lunch and she just finished putting uo a dusplay for swimming gear when she saw two delinquents got to work on the register while the cashier was gone.
"Hey", she yelled as a warning, but the two only saw this as a sign to take the money and gun it.
"Cloud Kicker, watch the register!", she told her co-worker as she ran after them. Unfortunately, in order to not abuse its power, she kept her amulet in her pocket. Of the jacket that hung in her locker.
But even without it she was still fast enough to catch up to them. But something strange happened.
Once she was within three meters of them, they seemed to slow down. Not that Rainbow noticed. She ran past them, turned on her heels and punched one of them so hard he flew backwards. When she punched him, a second, crystally blue arm came out of her own.
Baffled, she stopped her attack, but whatever eas in her didn't. In fact, even more came out. Now the entire creature was visible. And it delivered a devastating punch to the guy's friend.
"RIIIOOOOO"!"
The guy flew back and hit his friend, who managed to stand up again, knocking both of them over.
"What the hell?", Rainbow asked. The two robbers left the money on the ground and high tailed it outta there, which confused Rainbow. "Wait, you don't see that?"
"See what, you bitch?" And like that, they left. Along with some broken ribs.
Rainbow got a good look at the creature that came out of her. It definitely looked humanoid. Like some sort of Android. It had a similar color as she did, but it looked like a polished crystal, kinda anglular, transparent and sparkly. It's eyes were magenta ovals with vertical slits in them, covered by a pair of sunglasses. Its hair was six differently colored streaks of hair twirling around each other into a ponytail and a baseball cap going over into the hair so seamlessly she couldn't tell where it started and ended. Six differently colored lightning bolts covered the backs of its hands, its chest and its thighs. On its shoulders, Rainbow saw a folded pair of wings, seemingly made of clouds.
The blue girl tried something. She willed the ghost to get ther the money on the floor and it followed her command.
"Oh this is gonna be good."
Fluttershy was in bad shape. She had fever and was gasping for air. She didn't even have the strength to pick up her phone and call her friends or puck uo the call that went to voice mail.
Fluttershy, I know you called yesterday to say you can't make it, but we're in big trouble. There's been an accident. A shelf fell on the hamster tubes. Not only is it completely destroyed, but many of the critters are injured. We need you to help us treat them. Click."
Fluttershy wanted to help, but she couldn't muster the strength to move out of bed. After one last look to the clock, it was 11:30, she passed out.
The dream she had was a very bizarre one. She was lying in her bed andflew up to the ceiling. Looking down, she saw her own body. Oh my. This isn't good. I better get moving. The mistress gave me something to do." She heard her own voice say with a ghost-like echo over it.
She then flew out the window. Analyzing the street, she began flying at breakneck speed, passing by every flower on the way.
Her workplace was in the mall, which was on the other side of town, but she managed to get there in 2 minutes flat.
Once she arrived, she noticed the carnage. The hamster tubes under the shelf were absolutely destroyed and she heard the sound of hectic rummaging in the back room. "Better get to work."
Her feeble black arm reached inside the pouch she carried around, took a handful of pollen she collected and let it rain down on the demolished tube labyrinth. In a matter of seconds, it was repared.
"Now for the little critters." Now, Fluttershy, or whatever she was, flew into the backroom that doubled as infirmary and spread her pollen across the entire room. As soon as the pollen hit the hamsters, all of their ailments were cured. No broken bones, no bruises, no nothing.
Fluttershy woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. She looked at the clock. She was only out for a couple of minutes.
"Hello?"
"Oh Fluttershy, thank goodness you're able to pick up. I left a message before about how we needed your help, but that's over."
"Excuse me?"
"Yeah. Pretty crazy, I know. The hamster tubes got smashed and some of the little ones got injured, but now, they're up and running again. I don't know what happened, but I'm sure glad it did. Now my worst problem is my hayfever. Suddenly acted up after all this."
"I wonder why." Fluttershy noticed that she could now sit upright again. She felt her forehead and gladly noticed that her fever was gone too. Right after, she felt a golden powder trickle down on her.
When she looked up, she saw what could only be described as a bumblebee the size of her hand with butterfly wings and carrying a pouch. "I'm gonna call you back."
"I know it's crazy", Sunset told Rainbow Dash over the phone. Her blue friend decided to contact her as soon as possible after her bizarre discovery. Sunset was the go-to expert on magic in the group. "But I'm not even sure it's magic. I know almost everything about Equestrian magic and I've never seen anything like this. In other cases I had at least something to base an idea on, but I didn't even wear my amulet."
After receiving the amulets, the magic within the group had something to manifest in. So far, there hasn't been a burst of magic without them wearing their amulets.
"Let's all meet together and discuss it in private. Have you heard of Twilight? I tried calling and she didn't answer."
"Sorry, Sunset. I called her, but she didn't answer either. Her folks said she locked herself into the basement and even they don't know what she's doing down there."
"Okay, I'm gonna try it again later. If I can't reach her, let's meet at Twilight's house at 8 pm. Bring your pyjama. It could be a long night."
Sunset wasn't able to contact Twilight, so all 6 of them met at Twilight's front door, sleepover gear ready to be used.
rrrrrrinnnnggg
"Hello, Mr Night Light", they said to Twilight's father as be opend the door to greet them.
"Why hello girls. Nice to see you."
"Likewise, but it's kind of an emergency. We need to talk to Twilight."
"Be my guest. If you can get her out of her lab that is. You can spend the night if you want. I'm just heading out for the night shift." Then he let them into the house. Before leaving, though, he left them a final warning. "And don't raid the bar again. Snacks as well as alcohol." He was looking at Sunset, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie in particular.
"Okay, let's get Twilight outta there", Rainbow said, lunching her fists together to motivate herself.
First a knock on the door, followed by calling her name and finally, trying the door knob. The latter proved to be the most effective option. The door wasn't even locked.
All 6 of them made their way down the wooden staircase, again trying to call her name. The wood ached and creaked under their feet.
Once they reached the bottom, they looked at a dimly lit room in which scrap metal and machinery were scattered everywhere. And 6 ball lightnings were running amok.
What's this?
Intruders?
Spies?
Thieves?
Or maybe assasins?
Maybe they're friends.
Friends?
I saw them on her phone.
Then maybe they know her.
Probably.
Likely.
Possibly.
Applejack and Rarity were absolutely stunned by this display, but Sunset, Rainbow and Fluttershy had seen stranger things that day. Though it was still weird to hear Twilight's squeaky voice out of 6 little balls of electricity.
"Alright, I've got another one", they heard Twilight call out from the top of the stairs. She was a coffee can in her hands. "Time to get... What are you doing here girls?" She was pleasantly surprised to see her friends and skipped down the stairs to greet them, hugging each of them separately.
"Uh, Twilight?", Applejack chimed in. "Everythin' alright with ya?"
"I can't remember when I've been better. I've been researching and experimenting all day without end. All these ideas and possibilities - now I know how you feel, Rarity, when you get the inspiration for a new line", she said before placing the can down on her workbench. Next to 17 used mugs and cups.
Now that she was in a better light, the gang saw how messy Sci-Twi looked. Her hair was messed up, her lab coat was hanging down one shoulder and her glasses weren't even straight.
"And who might I ask were you talking to earlier?" Twilight was taken aback by Rarity's question. How was she going to explain what happened to her?
"It's okay, Twi", Rainbow followed. "I think the same thing happened to us."
Rainbow, Sunset and Fluttershy each called their respective "ghost-thingies".
"Oh good. I didn't know how to explain it without sounding crazy."
You know them, boss?
"They are my friends, Boogaloo", she told the little balls, sounding a little annoyed.
I knew it.
No, I did.
I did.
You didn't.
"Can you please just drink your coffee and shut up?"
COFFEEEEEE!
Let's talk upstairs.
After that, they went into Twilight's living room and discussed the events of the day to tea and cocoa.
"I see. After what you've told me, I'm certain these ghosts are called "Stands". Because they stand at your side, y'know."
"Oh no", Pinkie said, having a bad feeling about this.
"Boogaloo manifested yesterday evening, so I did some research and after a couple of hours browsing websites about ghosts and paranormal activities, I thought I found the answer, which is now confirmed. Ghost-like creatures who are commanded by one person and have their own individual, supernatural abilities. They can only be seen by other Stand Users and follow a loose set of rules. Some sentient, some not. That's a Stand", Twilight explained.
"So let me get this straight", Pinkie chimed in. "Your answer to these weird things is from a Manga-series that's been going on since the 80s?" The group gave the hobby scientist a questioning look.
"I guess it's fair to assume the author didn't just use his imagination."
"That. Is. AWESOME." Pinkie took a break to celebrate their new powers, with confetti and everything.
"My neighbor asked me today about a weird light coming from my window yesterday", Sunset explained. "I'm sure our trip inside my head created some sort of enery that - for lack of a better word - awakened these things. I'm certain that they're not even magical, more like the manifestation of our souls. Somethink human."
"But what about me, Rarity 'n' Pinkie Pie? We don't have these Stands, so why can we see 'em?", a justified question from Applejack.
"I can only assume that you have gotten that ability, but still have to wait for it to manifest. You have to take notice of everything that might be strange or unusual."
When Pinkie finally calmed down, she reached into her hair to pull out a fizzy drink. That gave Sunset an idea.
"That's it. Pinkie's hair. How else do you explain how she can keep so much inside there?" Pinkie never thought much about it. It was just a natural thing for her. Something she could do for as long as she could remember.
"That's right. Stands can manifest in objects and at an early age. Boogaloo told me about it", Twilight said in fascination.
"I've had a Stand my whole life and didn't even notice", she said with a stupidly huge grin on her face.
"Meh, we've been getting powers left and right for the pat year", Rainbow Dash commented. "I guess this isn't too far-fetched."
"Okay, ladies, I think that's enough for one day. This is supposed to be a sleepover. Let's get dressed for one!", Rarity said.
After the crazy day most of them had, they were more than happy to relax and have fun with their group. They ordered pizza and Pinkie put on the show she knew Stands from. Most of them liked the mix of cheesyness and badassery. It was almost time for the night-time news, when...
"You know what?", Rainbow Dash started. "We should give them names."
"Why?"
"Because it would be awesome. Come on, I have an idea. We'll try to summon them in the coolest way possible. Poses, names and everything. Just do what feels natural to you."
"What about Applejack and Rarity?"
"We're fine."
"We'll just do it once they appear", Applejack and Rarity assured.
"Then what are we waiting for? It was your idea Rainbow so you go first."
"Alright, here goes nothing." Rainbow Dash breathed in and out a couple of seconds, meditating to come up with something good.
"[CRYSTAL SKULL] "
"How'd you think o' that name?"
"I dunno. Just sorta felt natural." Next was Sunset.
[Order of the Pheonix!]
The group cheered and laughed at her display. Sunset herself broke down on the ground laughing.
"Sexy Pheonix-Harpy for the win. Bahahahaha." Sunset got 53 out of 60.
"Come on, Fluttershy. You're next." At the beginning, Fluttershy was a bit scared to show off, but the hearty laugh she shared with her friends she was more than ready to participate.
[Farthing Wood ]
"Whoohoo, theatricality."
"Okay, now it's my-", Twilight started before being interrupted by the ringing of her phone. "Who in their right mind is calling at this hour?"
"Maybe it's like in that movie The Ring."
"Seven Days ", Pinkie said in her ghost voice.
"Guys, seriously, nobody should be calling at this hour", Applejack pointed out.
"You should pick up anyways. What if it's an emergency", Sunset reaffirmed Twilight.
The purple girl hesitantly reached for the earpiece. "Hello?"
"TURN ON THE TV, NOW!", a male voice shouted from the other side of the line. So loud the other girld could also understand him.
"Was that Silver Screen?"
Silver Screen was a friend of Pinkie Pie's. She invited him to spend the day with the others in Sunset's head, because they needed an eighth person and she wanted to get him to socialize.
Taking pity on his self-loathing self, Twilight agreed to teach him in the ways of social awareness and interaction. He was also present when the explosion happened. Did he gain a Stand too?
"What do you want?", Twilight asked annoyed. She wasn't particularly fond of him. "We're having a sleepover and-"
"The others are there too? No time to explain, just switch to the news on Channel 5!"
Twilight complied and switched the channels to watch the news. They had just reached the story that made Twilight drop the remote.
The Canterlot City Mall was attacked today. After closing hours several suspects wearing hoods entered the mall and attacked various stores inside. The shops attacked are as follows:
Mistmane's Sushi Bar
The 7 girls went pale. They knew the names of those places all too well. Each of the girls worked at one of them. The news station switched to show footage of the vandalism.
It showed several people dressed in hoods, destroying the places window by window, chair by chair. Some used something as simple as baseball bats, others tore entire holes into the fassades, made windows explode with what they could only assume are also Stand powers.
The police is currently investigating the case. It is yet unknown how these criminals got access to the building, or what their motives were."
That's where they ended. The girls stood and sat there in shock. This wasn't just a random act of vandalism. This wasn't just a test run to try out new powers.
Silver Screen spoke through the phone again. " Get some rest. Let's meet tomorrow in front of the school. 7 am. klink "
A long and deafening silence fell over the room. Nobody dared to speak or even move a muscle.
"Girls, I think someone just declared war on us."
The midnight train was just rolling into the Canterlot City train station as its last stop for the day. When everybody left their compartments, the conductor was only making a last round to see if everyone got off.
He found someone sleeping in the third one he checked. Using his key, he opened the door and woke the gentleman up.
The man's chapeau was drawn over his eyes and his long brown coat functioned as a blanket. Underneath, he wore a royal blue suit and mint green tie. He kindly thanked the conductor and apologized for the inconvenience.
As he was standing on the curbstone outside, a leather suitcase in his hand, he used the other to puck up his phone and call his boss.
""Hello?"
"Good evening Mr Steamwagon. Chalking up a few extra hours, I see. How does that work exactly? Are you going to pay yourself more?", the man joked.
""I was just having another look and the information we have about this town. It's late, Doctor, get some rest. The girls will still be there tomorrow. " The man's boss spoke with a thick accent, Cockney, to be precise.
By the way the good Doctor himself pronounced his A's and rolled his R's, one could make out that he was Scottish.
" We've booked you a room in the Canterlot Grand Hotel. Just tell them you work for us."
"I assume all expenses are paid", he joked again. "Good night, sir."
Author's Note
Canterlot City's Bizarre Summer
The First Encounter - The Enemy Appears
Author's Note
I should probably talk about clothes.
Sunset is wearing the stuff from the Forgotten Friendship promo. Black top with half her Cutie Mark on it and that yellow and red skirt-thingie.
Twilight wears a dark purple goth lolita dress and black and purple striped thigh-highs (Rarity's recommendation; I love Goth-Twi)
Rarity is wearing an Azure top and purple pleated skirt and black sandals.
Pinkie Pie is wearing a white t-shirt, short pink dungerees and white and blue striped thigh-highs.
Rainbow Dask wears a dark blue college jacket over a black tanktop with her cutie mark on it, her rainbow lightning leggings and sneakers.
Applejack is wearing tight, light blue, vintage jeans and a flannel shirt.
Fluttershy wears a green sundress and brown sandals with flowers on them.
The First Encounter - The Enemy Appears
The mood was gloomy the rest of the evening. Fear and anger crept into their hearts. The girls agreed to go to sleep immediately after watching the news and barely talked to each other afterwards.
The next morning was not entirely different. Even though they got up extra early to think things over again, before meeting with Silver Screen in front of the school, none of them seemed to be in the mood to talk. At least not about the night before.
"Twilight darling, you really must clean up more often. I'm practically covered in spider webs.", Rarity said as she plucked the silky strings from her arm.
"Well that can't be right. Dad cleaned up just two days ago." Twilight knew that Rarity just wanted to talk about anything else than the elephant in the room.
"Not to address the elephant in the room, but are we sure we can handle this?", Fluttershy asked.
"sigh Nope", Sunset answered her plainly. "These guys are organized. No power-crazy lunatic in over her head this time."
"Even so, we have to try", Rainbow Dash added. "If we don't, they'll just hunt us down."
In Twilight 's ears rang the words of her newly found student. She took off her glasses to rub her eyes.
"Being a hero means inspiring others. It means having someone who trusts you to help them whenever they need you. And giving them the confidence to move on through every obstacle."
Since he had said that to her two days before, she had thought about these words long and hard. The last time there were people in need of saving, she was helplessly trapped with them in a mirror. The time before, she was so insecure that the others did most of the job. And the time before that, SHE was the problem. Was it true what he said? Are people really looking up to her? Looking for her to save them? Probably just because of her interdimensional counterpart.
When she put her glasses back on, she could almost see the sun starting to rise over the horizon. Her light illuminated the town even though it was still almost an hour until one could see her ascending from the horizon.
"Let's go."
The gang used different methods to get to get to their destination, the statue in front of Canterlot High. Applejack took Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie with her family's truck, Sci-Twi rode along on Sunset's motor cycle and Rainbow Dash used her amulet to pony-up and fly there.
When they arrived, Silver Screen was already there, next to his bicycle. His harlequin-green hair peeked out from under the bucket hat he chose to wear that day. His tinted goggles hung from his neck and he was wearing a yellow t-shirt under a navy blue vest. The braided belt around his grey cargo shorts was tied into a knot. His face was pretty expressionless as pretty much always. The only thing that ruined his casual look was a pair of dress shoes. Of course Rarity was the one to notice that.
"Good morning, ladies", he greeted them, complete with bow and they greeted him back.
"Okay, first lesson. When you greet somebody, try to smile a little."
"But I'm tired and not in the mood. Wouldn't that be disingenuous?" Twilight already suspected that he'd be a tough case. He took her other tip however, that the bow may be a bit too much.
"Enough with the formalities", Applejack demanded. "We're here to talk about what happened at the mall. First off, why did you want to meet us?"
"I value your scepticism. You really can't know whom to trust right now." He really was a straightforward guy. "But I have spent much time with you the last few days and they might just target me as well.
His reasoning was logical, so Sunset went on to the next question.
"Did you, you know, get one too?"
"Yes, I drew it out yesterday afternoon. Pinkie and I already talked about it."
"Dude, you know what that means, right?", the mentioned individual walked up to him.
"Oh yeah." The two of them stared each other down. You could slice the intensity in the air with a butter knife.
"I GOT SUPERPOWERS! I GOT SUPERPOWERS!"
Out of the blue, the two of them started chanting and dancing, breaking Silver's serious and apathetic attitude.
"Could you to please tone it down a bit. Some people are still trying to sleep at this hour", Sunset said, trying to calm them down.
"I'm sorry, but-", he began before pausing to wipe away his tears of joy. "But you have no idea how long I've dreamed about this. How long I've watched Anime and studied eastern philosophy, just hoping I could one day manipulate my ki. How much time I've spent analyzing different powers and abilities, hoping I would somehow get my own."
Twilight finally realized why he's not so good with other people. And where his cynical outlook on life came from. He has spent so much time idolizing fiction, that he has become alienated from reality.
Or the other way round. That he didn't feel accepted in the real world and fled to fiction. Either way, despite seeing his happiness in the end, she pitied him. It reminded her of the hours upon hours she had spent alone in her lab.
"I thank you. All of you", he said as he dropped to his knees like a knight before his queen. "I'll help you in any way that I can to deal with this threat. My life is yours to command."
"First, of all, sweetie", Sunset told him as she crouched down. She grabbed him by the chin and pulled his head up so he would face them. "You really don't need to kneel before us. But we'll kindly take your offer."
"Of course, my Queen", he yelled. The others couldn't believe just how much he was wrapped around Sunset's finger. They could almost see his eyes change into purple hearts.
But suddenly...
*wroom wroom*
They heard the sound of motorcycles. Not something you'd expect to hear on a quiet Sunday morning, when not even the sun has risen yet. And soon after, they could see the source.
From around the corner came three figures. All of them wearing black helmets and leather vests. One of them on a 4-wheeler. A taller one on a motorcycle and the third, smaller one in the sidecar of the motorcycle. Their helmets and vehicles all having the same symbol on them, a bulldog wearing a diamond-embedded collar.
"Ain't that a coincidence", Applejack said sarcastically as they all eyed the fast approaching characters. They tensed their muscles in order to strike as soon as they try something funny.
With a harsh braking maneuver that tore up the school's lawn, they finally came to a hault.
"Well, well. Aren't we the lucky ones?" They could not understand the one on the 4-wheeler with his helmet on.
"WHAT?"
"I said", Now that he had taken off the helmet, our heroes could finally recognize the trio. Rover, Fido and Spot, affectionately called "The Diamond Dogs".
"I said: Aren't we the lucky ones? We just had orders to get the freak, but who knew he was meating up with all of you?"
The gang looked at Silver Screen. He was right, they were gonna target him.
"What do you want, Rover? I thought you and your mutts were still in the pound", Rainbow Dash called them out.
A few months ago, Rover and his gang had the brilliant idea to rob a convenience store and got jailed for it.
"We got orders from our boss to make a break for it and take that leek stick hostage", Spot answered. The sadistic chuckle that followed sent shivers down their spines.
"What does your boss want from him? - And us?", Sunset yelled at them while protectively standing in front of Silver Screen. Twilight did the same thing.
"Hell, if we know", Fido continued. "We just got orders to get him. Our boss looked after us while we were behind bars, so we'll do everything she wants. And with the power that arrow gave me, it won't be a problem."
"Arrow? Boss? ", they collectively thought. These guys gave them more questions with every one he answered.
"Ah take it that you and your boss got yourselves Stands as well", Applejack investigated. She did her best to keep a straight face, but the whole situation stressed her out.
The feeling of not knowing about what they should even prepare for rested heavily on each of their shoulders.
"Stands?", the boy asked, visibly confused by their choice of words. "You mean those ghost thingies we can order around?"
"No, we mean that ladybug on your shoulder", Rarity answered sarcastically. Much to her dismay, he actually checked his shoulder for a bug infestation. "Oh for crying out loud, YES, you creaton."
By this point, the group had formed a circle around Silver Screen. At least they now knew that they were dealing with a Stand power.
"If only we knew what he's gonna do", Fluttershy commented.
"We have three options now", Sunset started to explain their strategic opinions, nervous sweat starting to form on her forehead.
"One: We wait for him to attack. We observe his abilities and come up with a plan. Of course, we can't be sure that he won't get us at first try.
Two: One of us distracts him as the others hightail it outta here. But then, we would have to leave someone behind
Three: One of us attacks and the others are on standby."
"Makes sense to me", Silver said as he wedged his way out of his circle.
"What the hell, dude? We are trying to protect you", Rainbow shouted confused.
"Apologies, but you seem to have forgotten what I said earlier. I will help you any way that I can."
The girls were stumped by his statement. This wasn't the time for chivalry.
"We are now merely figures on a giant chess board. Please, let me be your pawn!"
The girls had a bad feeling about this, but ultimately let him test the waters. Sunset on the other hand, had the feeling this was oddly personal to him.
"Would you look at that, boys. The lamb is coming to the wolves. HaHaHa" The three of them shared a dirty laugh.
"If you don't mind, I would like to start right away. Please call out your Stand." Silver Screen has now completely returned to his calm and collected self. Something that seemed to piss Rover of.
"Drop the formal crap, leek stick."
"Yeah. Our boy is gonna pound you to a pulp."
"I'm sure he will, but I'd like to start anyways. Please call out your Stand." Hearing that, a dirty grin spread on Rover's face.
"You idiot. What makes you think I haven't already?" As he said that, a gray aura appeared around him.
Silver Screen felt the ground rumble beneath him. He reacted just in time to jump out of the way. Panic filled the minds of our heroes, not that Silver had shown it.
On the plus side, Rover finally revealed his Stand. Now it was clearly visible. It looked like a bizarre hybrid between a dog and a mole. Silver couldn't see its legs as it was still halfway in the ground, but his arms and claws were as big as its entire torso.
"I see. His Stand moves through the ground and strikes from below. Since I have no way of knowing where it's going to strike from, he has pretty much control over the whole battle field", Silver analyzed the situation. "And that means my best shot... ",
The boy started running at Rover, an action that caused him to lose his hat. He was trying to avoid the Stand and attack the User directly. His team wasn't having it though.
"You think we'll let you get close to our bro?" Fido asked rhetorically.
"Fat chance, leek stick. Hihihihi."
The two thugs pulled a pair of rusty pipes out of their motorcycle and charged at Silver. They pulled back for the strike, but Silver had an ace up his sleeve. Or rather, on his feet.
"[GRRANDO BUDAPEST]!!! " As they tried to hit him in the face with their pipes, he leaned back and smoothly got into a handstand. "Party Table Kick Course!"
He swiftly spun his body around and dealt massive kicks to his two attackers, while still head over heels. Fido got a broken nose and the little guy was punted into the bushes like a football.
"You bastard", Rover shouted furiously. "How dare you lay a finger on my bros? [BASKERVILLE], turn him into dog food! "
Rover's Stand [BASKERVILLE] shot out of the ground again, but even this time, Silver dodged just as it broke though the surface. How? By jumping 10 feet into the air.
"You're too slow, you mutt." Silver, midair started doing front flips. Over and over and over again until his movemets were little more than a blurr. And then he came down and kicked [BASKERVILLE] directly on its head. "CONCASSER! "
The impact was so great Rover's was forced to eat some dirt, much to the confusion of our heroes.
"What happened? Ah don't understand", Applejack muttered and a little bit terrified. "He didn't even touch him."
"That's something I forgot to mention", Twilight started, without tearing her eyes away from the fight. "The Stands are the manifestation of our souls. A part of us. Whatever happens to them, affects us as well."
Twilight couldn't wrap her mind around what had happened. "But something's not right. Only a Stand should be able to touch another Stand. Just what kind of ability did he gain?" , Twilight thought.
"Don't think this is over, leek stick. You hear me, bastard?", Rover yelled furiously.
"Really? You drive your loud vehicles around on a peaceful and quiet Sunday morning. You sent your goons at me in, what was supposed to be, a duel between men. And worst of all, when you were still at this school, you terrorized one of the only people I care about. And I'm the bastard?"
So that's what Sunset felt earlier. He had a history with these goons.
"You are no man, but a mere dog in need of training." He reached inside his vest and pulled out a Nintendo 3DS.
"Manners maketh man. Do you know what that means?"
Everyone present was stunned as a white glove, like the ones in cartoons, materialized on his left hand and he actually reached inside his portable gaming console. When he pulled his arm out, the glove was gone. Instead, there was a spherical, red and white capsule in his hand.
"Then let me teach you a lesson."
Next Time:
[GRAND BUDAPEST] vs [BASKERVILLE]
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Canterlot City's Bizarre Summer
Silver's [Budapest] vs Rover's [Baskerville]
Our heroes were still baffled by what Silver Screen pulled there. Shortly after he pulled out the capsule, his dress shoes vanished and left a pair of black sneakers.
"You alright, bro?" Fido asked worried.
"I'm fine, you dunce. grunt " Rover's blood almost reached boiling point. This little shit wouldn't show him up like that.
"I gotta say. You're way more annoying to deal with a couple of years ago. That's right, I remember you little shit. You're the whiny little waste of oxygen we used to beat up."
"Silver", Twilight started, trying to get his attention. "I hope you're not doing this to get revenge on this guy." No answer. "Silver, please don't do... Are you crying?"
She saw the boy tremble before her. Heard tiny wimpers. And despite her initial suspicion, she was still shocked to see his terrified, tear-soaked face as he turned around.
"Shut up, of course I'm crying. Did you see that thing? One hit from those claws and I'd be done for."
He continued to wimper for a while. The whole thing made the HuMane 7, as well as the Diamond Dogs extremely uncomfortable.
"Dude, you maybe wanna tap out or something?", Rainbow offered him, already having her [Crystal Skull] on stand-by. Sunset did the same.
"No, I'm fine", he insisted. "Besides, I got a plan." That may have been his words, but he wasn't very convincing with his knees shivering.
"Dude", Rover chimed in. "I can hear your teeth chattering from over here. Stop mocking me and either hand yourself over, or let the ladies take this!" He grew more and more pissed off by the second. Especially after his opponent pulled a pair of ear-phones.
"Just need a little music. Okay, I'm ready", he said in a frantic high pitch. Finally, he had calmed down. "Like I said, I've got a plan. Engage Battle Aura: Green Kaiser ." With that, he threw the ball into the air. It realeased a bright light, which struck the boy, leaving the spectators momentarily blinded.
When they regained their vision, they were astounded at Silver Screen's new look. He was surrounded by an aura looking like a green, bipedal lizard with leaves growing out of its arms, yellow orbs on its back and a bush for a tail.
"This is the power I've been given. It lets me create portals into the fictional world via books and DVDs and such. Whatever I pull out will give me the skills and abilities of the character that the object belongs to. And while my actual body stays the same, I still get a small power boost. This is [Grand Budapest]."
The girls were stunned. "That looks so awesome, dude", Rainbow Dash blurted out.
"I must say, I'm impressed", Rarity said. Rover on the other hand, just laughed it off.
"So what? Am I supposed to be afraid because you have the power of Anime on your side?", he mocked him. "If that small power boost is anything like that light tap you gave me earlier, you're no match for my [Baskerville]."
"You should watch out. I know you probably don't have the capacity to process the situation, but you don't stand a chance", Silver threatened him. It was like he was a completely different person when he used his Stand. His eyes even started glowing.
"What's that supposed to mean, leek stick?"
"Was that too much for you? I said you are going to lose, because you're as dumb as a pile of dog shit. You seriously waited for me to get ready and you're are too much of an idiot to use your Stand to its full potential. Or do you really have another move than that fucking game of Whack-A-Mole?"
Most of the girls were quite taken aback by his sudden use of profanity. He wasn't really the talkative one, but now he was running his mouth like a waterfall.
They understood his tactic though, as they've seen it before. Trying to agitate his opponent into making a mistake. But was that really such a bright idea with this lunatic?
A legitimate question as Rover's blood lust increased tenfold with every insult hurled at him.
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU."
And right on queue, [Baskerville] shot out of the ground again. To no avail however, as Silver dodged it like the rest.
"See? That's what I mean. Can't even follow one simple order. Capture, not kill." And another attack was dodged. This time, his Stand attacked from behind. "Come on, get a bit creative."
Quickly circling around his attacker, Silver extended the leaves on his arms, which then formed into huge blades. He used these and his claws in a flurry of attacks, positively tearing into the back of the Stand, and the flesh of its user.
Fluttershy had to avert her eyes, but she still heard his battle cries. He hissed and screeched them out like a cat, or a gecko more likely.
"GeckGeckGeckGeckGeckGeckGeckGeck-HO"
With the last strike, he sent the enemy's Stand flying. Rover sank to his knees, the wounds on his back may not have been deep, but they still hurt like a bitch.
His friends wanted to rush to his aid, but he told them to stay back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the feet clad in green aura step in front of him.
"And you'vre ugly. I don't know what your boss had to protect you from, but I'm certain nobody wanted to tap your ass." The biker became desperate. He repeatedly smashed his fist into the ground.
"I'm gonna give you a chance. One. Take your shit. And leave."
With one last ditch effort, Rover covered his arm with his Stand's claw and flung it at the boy he used to pick on. Pointless, as Silver could easily jump back and dodge this time as well. Or was it?
"Now I've got you", Rover barked at him while he was still in the air. And Silver soon understood why.
In the instant his foot touched the surface, the ground gave way and he found himself neck deep in the dirt, unable to move a finger.
"What happened?", Rainbow screamed in concern.
"Rover used his attacks as a diversion", Twilight explained, a cold sweat running down her face. "When his Stand was underground, it destabilized it so much, that Silver would be burried."
The group watched as Silver struggled to move.
"You were right about one thing", Rover said while trying to get back on his feet. "I'm not really bright. And I'm ugly. But my boss gave me an order. I don't care about a couple o' fucked up wounds. Or if I pass out from blood loss. I'm gonna get those necklaces."
So that's what their boss was after. For whatever reason, they wanted their amulets.
"Now, toss 'em over here, so my boy can collect them. Then we'll leave and you can work on digging him up. Otherwise, [Baskerville] is gonna water what remains from the lawn with his blood."
The girls thought about his offer.
Pinkie: "We can't do this"
Rarity: "Remember what happened to Sunset when she took the crown? What if the same thing happened again?"
Rainbow Dash: "But we can defend ourselves without them now. We'll just have to get them back later.
Applejack: "Are ya nuts? Who knows what they'll try an' do with 'em?"
clink , They heard. The group turned their heads to the direction the sound came from and witnessed Twilightas she threw her amulet over to the vile boys.
"Come on, girls. Let's give them what they want. Like Rainbow said, we'll get them back later."
Sunset was the first to follow her command, throwing her necklace next to Twilight's. Reluctantly, Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack followed. Rainbow just threw her amulet, along with her pride away, as they heard the head sticking out of the ground start to sing.
"Hello my baby, hello my honey
"Please tell me he didn't just start singing. Again."
"What the hell are you doing? You should know that my [Baskerville] is already underground and just waiting for a reason."
"Oh, I know that. But if you think you're done with me and the power of [Grand Budapest], I might as well enjoy myself. You're clearly not entertaining me anymore."
"THAT'S IT! [Baskerville], cut his leg off. We'll leave him alive for now."
"NNOOOOOOO!!!", the girls screamed. The ones that had a Stand called them out to fight. But nothing happened.
Confused, everyone was looking around, for a sign of attack, but nothig came.
"You little shit. What did y-", Rover yelled, but was cut short by his neck feeling strangled.
"Do you know the pre-requisites of winning a duel?", Silver asked with a cocky grin. "First, know your opponent and his abilities. Second, know the battlefield and how to use it to your advantage. And third, know your own capabilities. And, surprise, Green Kaiser lets me control plant life."
In this moment, the ground broke open and revealed [Baskerville] wrapped in roots. Silver then proceeded to walk to the surface like no problem. Silver then followed by walking out of the ground without problem.
Rainbow Dash: "That was amazing, dude."
Rarity: "But could you please be less dramatic next time."
"I'm not done yet. [Grand Budapest] is almost out of time, so I'll just break his arms and legs for good-"
bang bang bang bang bang
Everything suddenly stopped. The sound of shots being fired from a gun. The girls ducked in response. Only to hear a voice from the statue.
"Well, well. If I haven't come at the right time..."
The voice belonged to, what looked like a metallic bird.
"An enemy Stand?"
"Boss?", Rover coughed up after the roots around his Stand's neck disappeared.
It took a couple more seconds for the team to realize what happened.
"SILVER, NO!"
The boy's aura started to fade away. He began to cough violently. He looked down on himself and stared in shock at the burgundy stains and holes in his shirt and vest.
"Fluttershy, use your Stand", shouted a horrified Twilight Sparkle.
"On it. [Farthing Wood]!" But the new challenger had other plans.
"A healer, huh. Doesn't seem very strong though." In the blink of an eye, the bird closed the gap between itself and Fluttershy's Stand and swooped it up in its claws along with the amulets. Fluttershy felt her body constrict.
"[Crystal Skull]!" Rainbow Dash called her Stand to grab the attacker, but she slipped right past her fingers.
"Later dweebs. It's time to retreat, boys. Get the hell out of here", the attacker shouted from above, out of reach from everyone. Sunset took charge.
"Applejack, you and Pinkie follow that bird. Maybe her sugar bombs will help. Rainbow Dash, take my bike and follow the Diamond Dogs. Rarity, call an ambulance. Me and Twilight will try to stop the bleeding."
Sunset laid Silver on the ground. His head resting on her lap as Twilight pressed her stockings over his wounds. His eyes were watering and he was unable to talk with blood coming out of his mouth.
Without another word, the girls headed out to their assigned jobs.
Author's Note
Canterlot City's Bizarre Summer
A Desperate Battle - [Holy Grail] Shines
The enemy had traversed quite some distance before Applejack started the truck, but she and Pinkie Pie soon took after their foe. Since Pinkie Pie could hardly do something from inside, she crouched down on the cargo area.
This being a quiet sunday morning, right at the start of summer vacation turned out to be a blessing in disguise. There were no cars on the road. Everybody wanted to sleep in and there would even still be a couple of hours until the church-goers would get up. It was easy travel throughout. Which has a necessity, for standing on the back of a pick up truck driving 50 mph.
"We'll have to get her quickly", Applejack yelled from upfront. "If she gets to the inner city, we'll lose her for sure."
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie rummaged through her hair with one hand and holding on for dear life with the other. What she was looking for was something sugary. Cupcakes would be best" , she thought. Something that would let her use her amulet's power. Something that wouldn't be deterred by air currents.
"Got something", she proclaimed and pulled out a bag of marshmallows. These would have to do.
Their enemy, of course, was aware of the pursuit. "[Birdemic] could easily leave those two dweebs in the dust. But I think I'm gonna toy with them a little. Maybe I can swipe puff ball's necklace too.
Looking down onto the truck, the enemy noticed that Pinkie Pie had acquired a slingshot and was aiming directly at her. With nothing to hold onto and the wind blowing into her face, the marshmallow lit up and the party girl fired.
Unfortunately, she missed. She tried again. And again and again, but considering her situation, she just couldn't aim properly.
I don't know if their magic works on Stands, but it seems I'm in little trouble", [Birdemic] thought. Suddenly, it heard the sound of sirens. The ambulance was around the next corner, probably heading for the school. "Two birds with one stone."
Applejack and Pinkie Pie stared in shock at the next action their enemy took. Nosediving from above, the one they chased raced towards the ambulance and, using its razor-sharp claws, tore up the tires and side.
The rescue vehicle spiraled out of control, until it finally flipped over.
Applejack could just barely dodge the debris, but a few scraps still made cracks in her windshield.
"Stop the car!" Unable to look away, Pinkie Pinkie Pie wanted to check on the medics, but Applejack said otherwise.
"We need to focus on our enemy. This leaves a bad taste in my mouth as well, but if we can somehow get Fluttershy's Stand back, she can fix them and Silver."
Another person was close to the area of the accident at the time. The man who was searching for the heroes of Canterlot City, the one simply called the Doctor.
He was riding along in a cab in the adjacent side street as [Birdemic] attacked the ambulance. Not that the noticed the enemy fly by or the girls that were perusing it. Shocked, he forgot about his case and told the cabby to park there.
The man ran up to the toppled vehicle and quickly pulled the driver and his colleague out.
"Are you all right?"
"We're gonna be fine", he answered. "But we were headed somewhere. Someone's been shot at Canterlot High", he forced out through the pain.
Without a second thought, he rushed back to the cab and ordered the cabby to hurry to the school. "I'll pay you double to ignore every traffic law and go as fast as you can."
The driver didn't need to be told twice, as he caused a burnout. It didn't take long until they were going well over 80 mph in this relatively rural area.
With this kind of driving, it was only a matter of minutes, until Sunset and Twilight could hear the approaching sound of the taxi's motor.
The two of them had stopped the bleeding for the most part and bandaged the now unconscious boy with bandages Sunset stole got by breaking one of the school's windows.
Their hopes of an ambulance were dashed as they saw the speeding, yellow car, but were equally surprised by the helpful individual inside.
"Get him in the cab", he commanded. His concern for the boy was briefly put aside by him trying to remember if he had seen them somewhere before, but he shoved those thoughts to the back of his head. "The ambulance had an accident, now get him in."
While the girls were carrying Silver Screen inside, the cab driver complained about the blood stains he was gonna have to clean up, but was quickly silenced by the Doctor offering him 3000 dollars if the boy made it to the hospital before it was too late.
Meanwhile, back with Pinkie Pie amd Applejack, Pinkie was slowly but surely running low on marshmallows. The fiend had managed to dodge every single one of her bombs.
But that wasn't the only thing running low. Believe it or not, Pinkie was running low on energy herself. Creating those explosions was pretty exhausting, when she had no time to replenish.
"How many marshmallows do ya got left?", Applejack asked.
"About a dozen, but that's not the real problem. I don't think my sugar bombs even do anything."
"Well, you better think of somethin'."
Pinkie started to panic a bit. Not only would their necklaces be list, but who knows what they'd do to Fluttershy?
But suddenly she got an idea. As if her Pinkie Sense was telling her how to win this. Was it also a Stand ability she was born with? No time to think about that. She had a plan.
Both sides waited a while to do their next move. [Birdemic] waited simply because the Stand was curious what they were gonna do next, but eventually it got uneasy.
"Why are they just following me? They don't think I'm going to my user, do they?"
Just as she was looking back down, she noticed another bomb coming her way. She was easily dodging it, but failed to see the next. And the next. And the next ones.
Pinkie pie used her remaining marshmallows to barrage [Birdemic]. They did nothing, however. "She has to realize this, right?"
"What's the bis idea, Pop Tart? Only Stands can even touch other Stands.[Birdemic] isn't even fazed by that", the Stand shouted.
"You're right. Stands just phase through stuff like that." Suddenly, a traffic sign appeard before their enemy. She didn't see it because of the cloud of sugar surrounding her. Out of reflex, [Birdemic] phased through it, as if it weren't there. "But our amulets can't do that." As the necklaces hit the sign, the armoured bird had no choice, but to let them go.
Panicked, it swooped down and grabbed as many as it could with its two claws, releasing [Farthing Wood] as well, which returned to its mistress immediately.
The remaining amulets dropped onto the truck. Pinkie Pie cheered excitedly that they got their job partly done. They gotRainbow's, Rarity's and Fluttershy's necklaces back and Applejack made a quick U-Turn to get back to the school as fast as possible.
That was the good news. The bad news was that [Birdemic] was now angry and about to attack.
End of Chapter
Author's Note
*[Holy Grail] Stand Graph coming soon*
Next time: [Smokey & Ol' Bandit]