Stuck in my own Fanfic

by AntiBronyBenSwolo

Rating: teen
Tags: Romance, Comedy, Self Insert, Random, Equestria Girls, Dazzlings, Alternate Universe, Human
Length: 14666

The Dazzlings come across a fanfic author who banished himself into the human world. Unfortunately, that author is me.

The Dazzlings come across a fanfic author who banished himself into the human world. Unfortunately, that author is me.

This may or may not be a cheap trick for me to vent out my problems to the world.

Published 2019-06-28 01:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-07-09 14:44:12 UTC

The Author

It was a bright and sunny day in Canterlot, but not so much for the Dazzlings. It was the week after the Battle of the Bands, and Adagio managed to muster what charisma she had left to get herself and her fellow sirens an apartment, albeit a shabby one. The three girls were settling into their new home, though Adagio wishes she could have gotten them a better one. The walls and ceiling appear very old, the atmosphere in the room smells lived in and gross, and they only had two beds. Things could not have been worse for the Dazzlings.

"So, what are we gonna do about the beds?" Aria asked as Adagio was thinking. She noticed that despite that the room for two people, they could use the couch and make it for three.

"Sonata, do you mind if you sleep on the couch? We got no other options." Adagio asked Sonata.

"I mean, sure," Sonata reluctantly said as she sat right down and grabbed the remote to turn on the television. Unfortunately, the television didn't appear to be working, so it just showed Sonata a blank screen.

"Are you sure this is the best apartment for us?" Aria asked Adagio, concerned if this is where they would live for the rest of their lives.

"I sure hope not," Adagio responded as Sonata admitted defeat against the TV and laid down onto the couch.

"So, what are we gonna do about jobs?" Adagio asked Sonata and Aria, bored out of their minds. After a few minutes of silence, Aria spoke up.

"Well, there's the coffee shop downtown. I suppose I could get a job there." Aria thought of.

"And I was thinking of getting a job at the Mexican restaurant around the corner," Sonata followed, sheepish at Adagio and Aria's responses.

"Y'know, at a time like this, I don't think we have any other choice, so...I guess Tomorrow, we'll apply for those jobs." Adagio announced, somewhat giving them hope.

Later that night, when the whole apartment building was asleep, Adagio heard a loud crash in the nearby alleyway. Hoping it was just a stray cat, Adagio went back to sleep, until she heard another large crash nearby. Unable to get enough sleep, Adagio got up and headed down to the alleyway. As she descended, she saw a young man banging a trash can with a baseball bat at the corner of her eye. The young man looked up and saw Adagio looking back at him.

"Could you keep it down, whatever you're doing? We're trying to get some sleep," Adagio explained as the young man put down the bat.

"Ah, I've been expecting you, Adagio," The young man said, picking up an old notebook and pen laying beside him.

"Who are you exactly?" Adagio asked as the young man jotted down something in the notes.

"I go by many names, I go by AntiBronyBenSwolo, and I am the author of this here fanfiction," The young man explained, checking everything he has written.

"And this is the point where I switch from the third person to the first person." I murmured to myself as I jotted away at my notebook.

"Fanfiction? What are you talking about?" Adagio asked me as she walked up to me, curious about the notebook.

"Long story short, I started writing this fanfiction, and I put myself in it to kind of solve some problems I had," I explained as Adagio swiped the notebook from my hand. She opened it up to the first page and began reading.

It was a bright and sunny day in Canterlot, but not so much
for the Dazzlings. It was the week after the Battle of the
Bands, and...

"Are you stalking us?" Adagio asked, shocked at what she was reading. If she wasn't careful, she could have gotten to where we are now in time and space, and that would not have been pleasant.

"No, I'm just setting the stage," I explained, swiping my notebook back and writing these interactions in.

"Then how do you know all of this?" Adagio asked, backing off, as if in the presence of a mighty wizard.

"I told you, I'm a fanfiction writer, and I quite literally placed myself into my own fanfic," I explained. Before Adagio could comprehend how this is even happening, a few ideas clicked into her head (mainly because I wanted to progress the story and NOT focus on Adagio's confusion).

"So...you know what happened to us at the Battle of the Bands, correct?" Adagio asked, while I just nodded.

"And you know the situation the Dazzlings and I are in?" Adagio asked again. Once again, I nodded.

"So, you can manipulate any outcome?" Adagio asked, once more hoping I would confirm this.

"Well, I do hate to brag, but yes. For this universe and timeline, at least," I explained. At the moment, Adagio didn't care about any interdimensional madness I had going on in my head.

"OK, so Aria and Sonata are gonna go get Job Interviews tomorrow so we could pay the rent for our shabby apartment," Adagio explains as if I wasn't aware of this.

"So, could you help us get those jobs?" Adagio asked, smirking wickedly as I smiled smugly back.

"Sure. I just need to crash by your place while I stay in this fanfic," I bargained as the two of us headed up to the apartment, where Aria and Sonata still laid asleep in their beds.

"OK, so you're just gonna have to sleep on the floor until we can figure something out, OK?" Adagio whispered as she climbed back into bed. I nodded and snapped my fingers quietly. To my surprise, nothing quite happened until I got to the fridge, where I opened the freezer door and got out a nice cozy sleeping bag and pillow. I laid the stuff down on the floor behind the couch so Sonata doesn't see me, and I got a good night to rest with my new roommates. Boy, were they in for a surprise.

Who's the Weirdo?

The sun shone brightly the following morning. Eggs and Bacon were cooking on the stove as the Dazzlings were sound asleep. But not me, oh no. I thought it'd be nice for me to cook breakfast for my new roomies. Especially since I owe Adagio a little favor. Does that make me a minion of the Dazzlings or something? I'd rather not think about it at the moment. This is my fanfic, so I have to put up with whatever I make the four of us put up with. I cooked away at the breakfast when Adagio was the first siren up for the morning.

"Good morning Adagio." I greeted Adagio in a cheery tone.

"Good morning Mr. BenSwolo. Or whatever you're making us call you," Adagio remarked in a groggy tone. The orange dazzling yawned as she opened up the fridge only to find it empty. Then Adagio stared back at me cooking the bacon and eggs.

"Uh...where did you get the breakfast?" Adagio asked as I flipped an egg.

"I narrated it into existence," I confessed as I placed some of the bacon and eggs on a plate. Adagio was going to ask how but just thought best not to question it. At this rate, she'd think I was Discord's kid or something. I passed her a plate as I placed some more bacon and eggs on three more plates. One for Aria, one for Sonata, and one for me.

"Hey, could you use whatever powers you have to create Orange Juice? You can't have a breakfast like this without it," Adagio remarked. After looking back at the breakfast I made, I hate to admit that she was right. I guess I completely forgot about it when it came to making Breakfast.

"OK then, first I'll need some Oranges," I said, as I reached into Adagio's hair to pull a good bunch of oranges out. Up to 10 of them, if I recall correctly. Anyways, Adagio looked back at me as if I was a demon that violated her of sorts. She checked her hair for more fruits but found none. She's not gonna be used to this whole thing, I can tell. I clapped my hands and opened a drawer revealing a juicer and a pint, and I squeezed the oranges into the pint with all the juice I could muster with the oranges I had. I wasn't willing to freak Adagio out with my little magic trick again. As I squeezed the oranges, the two of us heard yawning from the couch as Sonata got up from the couch and headed over to our direction.

"Hey, Adagio. Who's the Weirdo?" Sonata asked as I passed her a plate of breakfast and a glass of OJ.

"It's...hard to explain," Adagio said, as she poured herself a glass of juice as the two girls headed over to the table. Sooner or later, Aria got up from her bed and Adagio passed a plate of breakfast and glass of juice to her as well. I poured myself a glass and took my plate and headed over to a quiet space so the Dazzlings could have their private discussion.

"So...who's that guy over there?" Aria asked Adagio, as Sonata gave a concerning glance at Adagio.

"He claims to be a fanfiction writer, and he's writing everything that's going on. He knows who we are, he knows what we're doing, and he's willing to help us out." Adagio explained.

"So...is this guy a diety of sorts?" Sonata asked. Adagio was about to say no, but she wasn't quite sure. She saw me pull oranges out of her hair, so to her, I very well could be. I wish I could just explain I wasn't, but I wanted to see where this plot thread went. Anyways, silence filled the conversation as Sonata's question remained unanswered.

"Do you think this guy could help with our job interviews?" Aria asked, placing her elbow on the fragile table.

"That's what he agreed to," Adagio said, taking a sip of the juice.

"Then shouldn't we get going?" Sonata asked, pointing at the clock. It wasn't time for the job interviews yet, but it's better to come prepared early than late.

"Alright then, we should get ourselves washed up and ready to go." Adagio said as she headed for a closet door and found bath towels, soaps, shampoos, and new clothes prepared for the three of them. Adagio then stared back at me.

"Well, you're gonna need it," I said, as I walked off as Adagio grabbed what she needed and headed off, worried I was gonna pull off some crazy stunt or something.

"Could you do us all a favor and not narrate us taking our showers?" Adagio asked, tapping me on the shoulders as I laid down on the couch.

"You don't got a thing to worry about. I'm not that kind of fanfic writer." I explained as Adagio, confused at my meaning, headed off and took her shower.

Fifteen minutes later (See? I told you.) The Dazzlings got all dressed up and ready for their job interviews.

"So, we're taking our little genie over there, aren't we?" Aria asked Adagio, pointing at me. I was just minding my own business, writing the transpiring events. Adagio tapped my shoulder, to which I was knocked out of my trance.

"Yes?" I asked.

"You're coming with us to our interviews, capiche?" Adagio said. I wasn't really expecting her to do that, but I guess it'd be best if I cooperated.

"OK, fine," I said, as I got up and headed out with the Dazzlings to their interviews.

Aria's job interview at the coffee shop went well. They offered us free cups of coffee for Aria getting the job. Except for me. I got a Hot Cocoa. Everyone looked at me funny because of it. And despite Aria's job interview being successful, I'd say Sonata's job interview went better. I never have seen her so confident under pressure like this. Anyway, we got our complimentary tacos and headed back to our apartment. They were expected to start their jobs in the next week.

"I can't believe that went well," Aria commented as Sonata started singing a song about Tacos or something, albeit like her voice died mid-verse, but I digress.

"Well, you can thank our little ace in the hole here," Adagio said as she patted me on the back while I wrote.

"So...what now?" Adagio asked me as if I had plans for what would happen the next day.

"I don't exactly plan everything," I said as I sat back down at the couch, staring at the broken TV. Aria and Adagio looked at each other in suspicion and surprise. If I didn't know what was to come in the future (and by the time of writing this chapter, that very much is the case), then it surely would be a surprise to them.

Wake Up and Smell the Roses

"Hey, Mr. BenSwolo?" Aria nudged my sleeping body as I reluctantly woke up from my sleep. I saw Aria more worried than usual and saw Sonata and Adagio were just as worried.

"Mind telling me what you need my help with now?" I asked as I stretched my body.

"We kind of need your help to not have a bad day at school," Aria sheepishly explained. I tilted my head in confusion.

"Why? Were the other days of school before now completely terrible, and now you want me to fix that?" I asked as the three girls looked down in disappointment.

"Actually, since the Battle of the Bands, we've been too afraid to go back. We were just too worried to get ourselves bullied for taking over the school," Adagio explained. I stared at Adagio in surprise, then got to my notebook and re-read the first and second chapters of this fanfic.

"Huh. Would you look at that? I forgot to put that in there," I said, closing the notebook and keeping it closeby.

"Alright, I guess I'm fair game." I agreed. I then played the couch like a drum and headed to the bathroom, where I found a backpack full of school supplies in the bathtub. I picked the backpack on and headed out with the Dazzlings.

"Y'know, wouldn't it be easier to just snap your fingers if you needed something?" Sonata asked, as I casually shrugged at the question.

"If you want the power to do anything, you don't wanna limit yourself to a mere snap," I responded as I found a pair of sunglasses in the backpack and put them on. As the four of us headed to Canterlot High, the girls stiffened, as if they saw a ghost. I stared back at them as if I saw a cat missing the litter box. I sighed.

"Dazzlings, come on!" I said, startling them. "I'm gonna make it so nobody immediately notices you," The three of them reluctantly followed as I performed a frenzied tap dance to get everyone's attention, but gaining none.

"See? It's safe," I said as the sirens followed suit. The girls felt as if nobody recognized them.

"How are we--?" Adagio wondered as a lot of cameo faces walked by and did not bat an eye.

"Plot armor. Mighty powerful stuff," I explained as the Dazzlings walked by a familiar face; Flash Sentry.

"Wha--the Dazzlings?" Flash exclaimed as everyone suddenly turned and faced Adagio, Aria, and Sonata. They didn't notice, nor care much for me. I just slipped to the side.

"If you need me, I'll be over here," I whispered to them as the students closed in on the Dazzlings as if they were a zombie horde.

"Just what do you think you're doing back here? Came back for round two? Well, when Twilight gets here, she's gonna--" Flash Sentry yelled, as Adagio interrupted.

"Could you leave us alone? We're just trying to get to class," Adagio explained as Flash's sight engulfed like a bull's.

"I don't think we should believe you in the slightest," Flash said as one of the background students threw a wad of paper at the Dazzlings. And slowly, everyone in the circle was throwing wads of paper at the Dazzlings. Knowing this is all they could take, I stepped in and everyone stopped firing.

"What are you doing?" Flash Sentry asked.

"Well, I'm stopping you for one thing," I answered in a nonchalant tone.

"You do realize that these three tried to hypnotize us and take over the school, right?" Flash said, trying to guilt trip me.

"Yeah, and that's why I'm with them. I always appreciated villains, to be perfectly honest," I confessed, as Adagio had no idea how to react to that statement.

"Now, if you could just--give me a high five--there..." I said, moving back to the Dazzlings, hoping one would give me a high five. They didn't know what I was gonna do, but unlike everyone else, they knew I was up to something. Reluctantly, Sonata clapped my hand, and a little jingle played off in the Dazzling's ears, but not in everyone else's.

"OK, there we go," I said, getting back to writing in my notebook. Flash looked at me confused.

"And what was that was supposed to do?" Flash remarked.

"Just open your locker and you'll find out." I implored Flash to do. Everyone else soon followed though they wondered why. Flash entered his number combination and opened the door, revealing a little can full of a glowing green goo. It didn't really do much, but it had a horrendous smell, almost making everyone sick to their stomachs. Everyone covered their noses, fanned the air, and backed away from Flash's locker. I'm pretty sure one of the background students threw up even. Distracted by the stink, I got the girls up and they took a shortcut to the lockers the school gave them.

"Thanks for the help," Adagio said as the three dazzlings got to their lockers.

"You are ever so welcome," I say, bowing to Adagio as if asking for a dance. Adagio giggled and attempted to open the locker.

"Before you do that..." I said, before banging the top of the locker like a drum.

"Now you may proceed." I then said as Adagio opened her locker. Adagio gasped as she found a little bottle of perfume that had the most delightful scent. Sonata opened her locker and found a bouquet of flowers. And Aria opened hers and found a stick of deodorant for men.

"Well, at least you didn't give me anything lovey-dovey." Aria quipped. Sonata jumped to hug me.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, sooo much..." Sonata said, squeezing me so tight I couldn't breathe.

"Again, you are ever so welcome. Consider it my gift to you, and a kind of way to block out the stink." I said as a small group of students was running off from the awful smell in Flash Sentry's locker.

"You know, you've been doing nothing but helping us out since you got here," Adagio noted as the four of us headed off to class as if nobody hated the Dazzlings anymore.

"What can I say? You girls have quite the fanbase." I confessed as we walked by Sunset Shimmer, who was quietly, but more or less shocked than any other student that the Dazzlings have returned.

Get Absolutely MEMED On!!!

The four of us headed on down to gym class (mainly because I couldn't think of a better class to put this in), where the Dazzlings headed on down to the Girls Locker Room. I stood in the middle of the gym as if expecting them to say something. And lo and behold, they ask something.

"You gonna do anything?" Adagio asks as she peers her head out the door.

"No, I don't think I will," I confess, as I subtly shoo her into the locker room. Adagio raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, I appreciate you not narrating us changing..." Adagio commented.

"I said it before. I ain't that kind of fanfiction writer." I chuckled.

"But aren't you gonna change into your gym clothes?" Adagio asked as if I forgot something.

"Oh, I don't have any," I said, as Adagio kind of looked at me as if I grew a second head.

"O...kay then. Just wait here then," Adagio said as I sat down on the floor, thinking about what I want to happen next. As I waited, my shoulder was tapped by Sunset Shimmer, who just so happened to take this class (either that or my writing just made her come here).

"Hey, I'm Sunset Shimmer." Sunset introduced herself as.

"I'm perfectly aware of who you are, thank you. I am AntiBronyBenSwolo." I said, introducing myself.

"Anyway, I wanted to welcome you to our school..." Sunset explained.

"But?" I probed, betting she's gonna ask me about the Dazzlings.

"But why did you befriend the Dazzlings? Don't you know what they're capable of?" Sunset asked.

"I've been getting that all the time since I got here," I explained, further confusing Sunset.

"Then you know that they're gonna be terrible friends. Come with me. I can help you make better friends." Sunset said, stretching her hand out to me. I can't tell how long it's been since she was the villain herself, but I know she's bad at tempting people. So I decided to do what I do best.

"Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?" I asked Sunset. Now I just flat out stumped her.

"Dude, did you not hear what I just said? The Dazzlings are EVIL!" Sunset explained as if I was an idiot. Granted I am, but...nevermind.

"I am the Senate!!" I growled in a fake croaky voice, gaining the attention of the rest of the students in the class.

"What are you even talking about?" Sunset asked once more. At this point, she's about to have had enough of me, though I was just getting started. I'm about to end this gals whole career. I got up and glared menacingly.

"It's treason then," I said to Sunset as she backed off.

"Get MEMED ON!!!" I bellowed as I made that upside down "OK" symbol and placed it on my thigh. Sunset was bracing for impact as if a giant laser was about to hit her. But to her surprise, nothing.

"I don't get it. Was I supposed to explode, or--" Sunset asked before a bad green screen effect of an explosion went off in her face. However, Sunset's face reacted as if an explosion actually did go off. Having no idea what just happened, Sunset raised her finger at me.

"OK, I'm heading to the nurse's office now. Buh-bye." Sunset said, fed up with all this bull crud, as she headed out the door. Just as that happened, Adagio and the others finished getting changed. The Dazzlings were now wearing the same things, but with different colors. Adagio was wearing a pink T-shirt with purple shorts. Aria was wearing a forest green shirt with lime green shorts. And Sonata was wearing a purple shirt, with violet-red shorts. And might I say, they did look...what's the phrase...quite nice in these clothes.

"What was that?" Adagio asked, noticing the explosion marks on the ground.

"I'd rather not worry about it," I explained, jotting this event down in my notebook.

"So...you're just gonna go through gym class...in jeans?" Aria asked, pointing at my legwear of choice.

"I've done it before." I shrugged as I decided to head off to the edge of the room and pace around.

"Also, just a question. What are you gonna do when the Rainbooms...assuming you know who they are, that is...discover you?" Sonata asked, who decided to pace along with me.

"I'll...think of something," I said, once again, kind of shrugging. Honestly, I had no idea when I would have the other Main 6 discover me here, and I had no idea what the interactions would be. Well, maybe a few ideas, but maybe they won't be the ones I'm gonna go with. I guess there's only one way to find out though.

At the end of gym class, I once more waited outside the locker room for the Dazzlings to change back to their normal clothing (and maybe apply some deodorant. I dunno really.) and as I waited, I noticed Sunset Shimmer came back from the nurses office, and brought Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy with her. I believe they were here to confront me, but I wasn't in the mood to deal with them. So, as I jotted this down in my notebook, the Rainbooms started to notice me, but noticed they were almost late. and proceeded to move on to their next class, which wasn't with us, so we were good to go. The Dazzlings once more exited the locker room and we headed off to our next classes. But before we could do that, Adagio stopped me.

Later, at lunch, Sonata took a peek inside my notebook and stopped at where I described their gym outfits.

"Aww, you think we look cute in our gym outfits?" Sonata asked, as if she was reading Aria's secret diary. I blushed redder than Darth Maul. Adagio and Aria looked at me and tried not to snicker.

"I never said that." I said, swiping my book back. And then I realized I had to jot this scene in the fanfic.

"You didn't say that exactly, but you did say it." Sonata said, as she took a bite out of her food. I took a bite out of my sandwich as if I lost a game of chess. Adagio and Aria were looking at me the same way Sonata was.

"We're definetly having a talk about this after school." Adagio said. The way she said it sounded like if a parent was disappointed in their child. But Adagio didn't sound disappinted at all. If anything, she was pleasently surprised. If only I let that little detail out. Then again, I could, but no. I wanted to see where this was going.

The Date (Oh boi)

The school day ended, and the four of us headed down to our shabby apartment. It wasn't too shabby for us anymore, but that could have been just us getting used to it. Anyway, as I laid down on the couch, Adagio looked down at me with her seductive eyes as if I had forgotten something. To be honest, I would have hoped they would have forgotten what they saw. I let out a groan of defeat and got back up. I headed over to the table where the three of them were waiting for me as if they were gonna play good cop/bad cop with me.

"OK, let's start this from the top," Adagio said as I gulped nervously.

"Do you have a crush on any one of us?" Aria asked, as if on cue.

"No. I just view you three as very close friends ever since I got here," I said, as honest as I could be.

"Then why did you like our gym outfits?" Sonata asked, pressing her finger down on the table. To be honest, I had no real answer for that.

"It's natural. I'm just a guy, you know," I said, in an attempt to humble myself.

"Duly noted. Now let's kick it up a notch," Adagio said, pressing her eyes on me like a cat seeking her prey.

"Since you're a fanfic author, controlling our world, you have the power to make us like you. Is that correct?" Adagio asked. I was sweating harder with every question. Perhaps they're a bit too aware that they're in my fanfiction.

"Yes. I may even be influencing this entire interrogation," I confessed, though I probably think that was a bad idea.

"BenSwolo, you're dealing with sirens here. Even if you can make us not like you, we can make it so you like us." Aria explained, joining in on Adagio's hunter stare. Sonata followed suit.

"I'm afraid that's not gonna happen, girls," I said, trying to get up and out of the conversation.

"Why? Do you have a girlfriend?" Adagio asked. And boy did I wish she did not ask that. For once, the characters have beaten the author.

"No." I sighed as I sat back down. The Dazzlings looked at each other triumphantly, then looked at me back, just sitting there all sad and whatnot. Soon enough, those hunting glares turned into looks of worry and sympathy.

"Hey, you alright?" Sonata asked, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. You just kind of got me there with that last question." I confessed.

"You hate being single, don't you?" Adagio asked, with just as much sympathy.

"Yeah, it's true. It's why I came here in the first place. To forget all about those worries. Of course, it looks like they followed me here, anyway," I said as clapped my hands and pulled a lobster roll out from under the table.

"Well, just don't forget what we said earlier," Adagio said, as the three of them got up, followed by me getting up.

"Even if you can't get us to like you, we can still get you to like us," Adagio said, with her finger on my chest. I further bit into my lobster roll.

"We'll even prove it to you. The four of us at the Canterlot Mall, and we just get ourselves a grand old time. If one of us manages to make your heart flutter, we win. If not, we just have to deal with Grouchy McGrouchface here. What do you say?" Aria offered. Adagio and Sonata knew what Aria meant, and so did I. We just had different feelings about it is all. For one, it would be nice to have a girlfriend. The downside is that I would have to choose just one, and I didn't tag this story for it to be romance (yet), so it's gonna be hard to find any loopholes. It's like I can see all the cards, but they're still stacked against me. I had to breathe in to process all of this.

"For the sake of this story, I accept your challenge." I sighed. The girls congratulated themselves at somehow getting into my mind. Of course, I would somehow have to get into their minds and block the whole thing, but I couldn't think of what to do next. I guess I'm going through with this.

"We'll give you a week or three to prepare. We still need money to at least get something from the Mall after all," Adagio confessed. Maybe there was my advantage point. If there was anything I was good at, it was buying time for my stories.

Thinking of what to do to advance the plot, I left the apartment and headed out for a walk, where I just whistled to myself. Albeit very poorly. As I walked, I was writing these events into my notebook, but at the corner of my eye, I noticed Rarity at the corner of my eye, as if I had Spidey-Senses or something. Rarity noticed me as well but kept walking as if it was nothing. Sunset must have told her about me. I had to think fast. My instincts told me to head on over to a newspaper stand and examine the newspapers, all saying the same thing. Except for one of them. One of them appeared to be a large yellow-brown cloth folded and tied up to the size of these papers. I removed the string on the cloth and saw a large map of Canterlot City. I dunno why I gave myself a Treasure Map, but I hope this little story arc is just what we need for this little bet. Of course, I had to keep it as secret as possible. Unless if the Dazzlings find me anyway, in which case I have to tell them. It's a basic storytelling rule, isn't it? Anyway, I stuck the map in my pocket and headed back to the apartment, hoping none of them would notice.

Author's Note

Can I just say this chapter is the entire reason I wanted to write this story?
No?
Oh, OK.

Some lame Treasure Hunt

A few days passed, and it was the first day of Sonata and Aria's new jobs. I was still asleep, but Sonata woke me up with a creepy smile on her face as if she had a request. And knowing me, it was most likely a request. I jumped at the sight of the smile but calmed down seconds after. Rubbing my face, I sighed and decided to go on with it.

"What do you need?" I asked, still tired.

"Could you narrate my first day at work? I want it to have the best first day ever!" Sonata said, full of enthusiasm. I got up from my sleeping bag and stretched my body.

"I mean, As a writer, I'm supposed to do 'Show, don't tell', so maybe I'll put in a hint of what your day was like. The same goes for Aria too." I explained. Sonata went giddy for a second, but Aria noticed something.

"But you can't be there to cover the full shifts?" Aria asked. Just then, Sonata looked at me the same funny was Aria was.

"No, I can't. Sorry," I replied. To be honest, I was kind of bluffing, because, in a way, authors could be in two places at once to tell a story, but I just decided not to do that. I mean, I kind of said I could describe Sonata and Aria's shifts once they're done, but still, I had my own little errand to run. The Treasure Hunt. And for some stupid reason, I wanted to keep it a secret from them. I guess it was to surprise them, but I completely forgot why I was gonna do that. So I just had to roll with it.

"Alright. We'll be back soon." Aria said as she and Sonata walked out the door, leaving me and Adagio. I had to think of something so Adagio wouldn't get suspicious.

"I'll be back soon, Adagio," I said, hoping Adagio won't ask what this errand is. Hopefully, she isn't too lucky and--

"You're gonna need your little map before you go," Adagio said. Dang it! I should have seen that coming.

"OK, you caught me fair and square. I'm going out on a treasure hunt," I said, as Adagio hands the map over to me. Adagio snickered.

"And I'm coming with you," Adagio said as she brought a couple of shovels with me. I dunno how she knew, but all I knew is that she's now in on the surprise.

"Alright Samwise, come on," I jokingly remarked as we headed out for our little hunt. I opened the map and read that, where ever this treasure is, it's at the local beach. Just a few miles from here. It didn't quite say that before, but it did as I wrote this down in my notebook.

"Wait, how did it do that?" Adagio asked, noticing something...different. And boy, do I hate giving out exposition.

"It wasn't established where this map's treasure was before I clarified it. And before I clarified, it could have been anything." I explained as Adagio stroked her chin in interest. I was surprised to see she was following along and processing that information quite well. I guess she's been hanging out with me for too long.

As I admit, as the two of us headed over to the beach, I kind of lost focus of the treasure hunt. I was thinking about where I was gonna take this story. I already had several ideas and even a few suggestions, but I wasn't sure which ones to go with or not. Even as I wrote, I had no idea where to take it. Anything could happen at this moment, even. And just to snap me out of my trance, something did happen. As Adagio and I walked, we ran right into an old "friend"; Sunset Shimmer.

"Oh, hey there Adagio," Sunset said as if keeping an eye on her.

"Hey" Adagio casually replied, in the same manner.

"I see you brought whatshisname with you," Sunset remarked, pointing at me. I just sheepishly scratched the back of my head in response, not caring she basically forgot my name. My name in this world, at least.

"Why is this with you? Why is he doing your bidding? How did you even find this poor soul?" Sunset interrogated sympathetically as if trying to guilt trip her. I guessed if she couldn't get any answers from me, she might as well get them from Adagio.

"Oh, We didn't find him. AntiBronyBenSwolo here found us." Adagio explained. The two girls glared at each other as if they're waiting for the other to strike.

"Can we just get a move on?" I said as I nudged Adagio away from the conversation. Sunset then glared at the both of us and headed in the opposite direction. It was at this moment I realized I made Sunset the antagonist of this story. A heroic antagonist as well, rather than a standard villain. Quite a rare sight, if I do say so myself. Anyways, As we walked out, I could tell Adagio was ticked off. I could ask her what's the matter, but I already know what was bothering her.

"It's the Battle of the Bands, isn't it?" I asked, just trying to be a good friend. Adagio sighed as we walked.

"Yeah. I'm just so...heartbroken that we lost, you know?" Adagio explained. I put my arm around her shoulder.

"I know. I'm not exactly the guy who won everything either, you know? I mean, most of the time, I would get absolutely salty," I explained as we headed down.

"Well, did you get over them?" Adagio asked.

"Yeah, I got over it. I couldn't even remember which games and whatnot I lost or won, to be perfectly honest." I said, as I stroke my chin. Adagio giggled for a second. I can't really tell what I was doing, but I know I was doing it right.

"Well, at least you're helping us get over the Battle of the Bands," Adagio said, locking my arm with hers. I blushed a bright pink this time.

"Shouldn't you save that for our little bet?" I asked, reminding Adagio.

"Just this once before our little bet?" Adagio pleaded with, and I couldn't find any other word to describe it, dazzling eyes.

"I'm not sure, because we're already here," I said, sighing. Adagio slightly loosened her grip on my arm as we neared the beach. Adagio smiled and grabbed a shovel. I grabbed the other shovel and opened the map.

"I haven't been to Canterlot Beach for so long. We should come here next time." Adagio said while I looked at the map.

"I dunno though. It's just I don't like sand. It's coarse, and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere," I joked as Adagio looked confused.

"Anyways, Where to now?" Adagio asked, ready to dig. I examined the map more as if I couldn't read it. And don't get me wrong. I could read it just fine. I just couldn't think of what to make it say. And then I thought of at least something to start out with.

"OK, start out at the shore," I said, as a mark on the map appeared at the shore of the beach. The two of us headed there like we were the pins on the map, making our mark.

"Walk five feet, then take a left?" Adagio said. Suddenly, the map showed the path to be exactly that. Well, to me, at least. Adagio just saw the complete map, but couldn't quite make it out. The two of us headed in that direction. Fifteen minutes later, we were just walking around the beach, Adagio following me closeby, while I just randomly walked on the beach, as the map seemed to be following my steps. Suddenly, we came across where the X on the spot is on the map, relieving Adagio and myself. Honestly, I was just so tired of walking around.

We started digging and digging for another good five minutes before we hit something wooden in the ground. We uncovered the dirt and sand and revealed a slightly large trapdoor.

"I wasn't quite expecting this," Adagio said, as I dusted it off.

"OK, I guess I'm going with this idea then," I muttered to myself as I opened the large door. Inside revealed a large stone staircase, each case decorated with a defused torch. The two of us descended downward.

"You think there are any haunted pirate skeletons down there or something?" Adagio asked, following me closeby.

"I don't think so. Though I wish that were the case" I said. I mean, I could do that. I, again, just decided not to.

"Why not?" Adagio asked.

"I didn't make this an adventure," I remarked as we descended down to the bottom of the staircase, which revealed a giant cave hidden by a waterfall. The sun shone on the water causing a beautiful blue light revealing an old, yet large, battleship from the 17th century. Adagio gasped in surprise.

"How did we not find this before?" Adagio asked furiously.

"It simply did not exist until I established what we found. I could have made it so we found a treasure chest instead." I explained. And now I think I'm starting to confuse Adagio. Anyways, I walked over to the ship and climbed aboard. Adagio, still stunned by this discovery, followed shortly after. What was a shock of discovery, soon became excitement, as Adagio found the ship littered with gold, jewels, treasures, etc.

"You do realize we just hit the jackpot here! I mean, with all this, I'm pretty sure we could just move out of our dumpy apartment and get ourselves a nice mansion." Adagio suggested. As much as I'd like to picture that, I'd honestly think writing us moving into such a building would be kind of a stretch.

"I'll think about it," I said, picking up a golden chalice covered in emeralds. Adagio dug her fingers into the gold coins, each time letting the coins slip out of her hands, playing around like a child in a sandbox.

"We should get back to the others," Adagio suggested, grabbing a small bag, and filling it with gold and jewels. The two of us headed back to the apartment, where we saw Sonata and Aria outside the apartment door. Aria was banging on the door, while Sonata was whimpering like she was wounded. Adagio's concerns were raised.

"What happened?" Adagio asked, getting Aria to stop banging on the door.

"We've been evicted!" Sonata cried, holding onto Adagio's leg like a child.

"What? How?" Adagio asked.

"Apparently we've been gone for too long. We were told that since no one was home for more than five hours or something, the apartment is no longer ours." Aria explained as the landlord came up to us.

"I'll have your key as well, Ms. Dazzle," The landlord said, holding his hand out. Not wanting to start a fight, Adagio handed the key over, and the landlord headed back downstairs.

"This is bullcrud!" Adagio yelled, even startling Aria.

"I know. I think I need to come up with a better excuse," I said as I continued writing.

"AntiBronyBenSwolo, this is not the time!" Adagio said as Sonata started whimpering again.

"What are we gonna do now?" Sonata said as Adagio and Aria tried thinking of an idea. Suddenly, I got an idea for what to write next, and Adagio got an idea for where to move. They were the same idea. The four of us headed over to Canterlot Beach, where we showed Aria and Sonata the pirate ship. The two were in just as much shock as Adagio was before.

"I was gonna write us selling the gold online and getting the money that way, but using the ship as our home is a close second idea," I said, as the four of us settled on deck. Sonata rocked herself back and forth merrily. Aria leaned up against the port railing, and Adagio leaned next to the door of the captain's cabin.

"I suppose this is thanks for saving our butts again?" Aria asked.

"Hey, I helped this time," Adagio joked.

"So, what now?" Sonata asked.

"You still working at your jobs?" Adagio asked Aria and Sonata. The two nodded with smug smiles. At least they weren't fired on the first day.

"OK, we still have a source of income, other than all this treasure," Adagio said in relief.

"And don't forget I'm still basically omnipotent," I commented, still writing. The girls smiled and huddled up in formation.

"Ladies. The Dazzlings are back in the game!" Adagio dramatically claimed, followed by Aria and Sonata cheering themselves on.

the title that's a swimming joke

I paced around on the deck of the ship the Dazzlings and I have discovered and made our home since we got evicted. So far, I pulled whatever bull crud I could think of out of thin air (or wherever, really,) and make it feel like our new home. I got us a fridge, a few game systems (with a nice TV of course), some nice beds, a bookshelf, a radio, all that jazz. I was trying to think of what I could follow up the story with. It got to the point where I was considering writing a filler chapter as a joke.

"Hey AntiBronyBenSwolo," Adagio said, draping her arms across my shoulders as if she could make my mouthful of a username sound seductive. It was clear she was up to something.

"Hey there. You need any help selling any of the treasure?" I asked, trying to get Adagio to back up at least a bit. However, she could barely budge.

"No, we're doing pretty fine," Adagio said, having me sit on the stairs to the poopdeck.

"Then, what is it you need?" I asked.

"It's not really what I need. It's more like what you need." Adagio said, as she sat down beside me and stared me down like a cat. I can tell where this is going now, and it got me to turn red...again.

"I get it. I'm single, and I'm sad because of it, and you're trying to fix that. I'm grateful, and I thank you for it. I just feel like this is all going just a bit too fast," I explained, standing up, leaning on the railing of the ship.

"Well, you are at least interested in us enough to accept our little bet, right?" Adagio asked, somewhat dropping the act. I couldn't lie, she was right. I nodded, but I was reluctant to do so. Adagio got up and leaned on the rail with me, placing her hand on mine. I blushed even harder than before. I felt like I was on fire but couldn't put it out.

"So, what are you gonna do now?" I asked as Adagio headed below deck. Her letting go of my hand caused me to relax at least a little.

"Oh, BenSwolo. I'm a siren. And I'm gonna do what sirens do best." Adagio said, closing the hatch. I feel like I knew where this was going. Then again, I probably would anyways. I waited for a few more seconds to see what Adagio was up to. And then she came back up. She was wearing a violet two-piece swimsuit with pink outlines, and red flip-flops, and it made her straight out attractive. If she asked me out in that outfit, I would have no choice but to say yes. The bright side is that it was too decorated and not revealing enough for this story to become that kind of story, or else I would be in serious hot water.

Speaking of water, Adagio leaped into the water without hesitation, leaving her sandals behind. I looked over the edge and saw Adagio swimming like a pro. I kind of forgot that if you're moving into a long lost pirate ship stuck in a cave hidden by a waterfall, Mother Nature is basically giving you a large swimming pool.

"Adagio? You OK?" I called out, as Adagio ascended from the water.

"I'm fine. Why don't you come in? The water's great." Adagio said, urging me to come in. Sudden emotions flustered my head. On one hand, I won't be so lonely. On the other hand, though, I feel like Adagio is lying, and the water is freezing cold and is just saying that to make it not sound so bad.

I reached into one of the cannons and pulled out my own swim trunks, which were a basic orange color, so nothing as fancy like Adagio's, and went below deck to change. I headed back onto the deck and...I hesitated again. Gosh darn it, I haven't gone swimming in so long I was more concerned about the swimming part than the fact a siren wants me to jump in. How did other sailors fall to their spell so easily, when I'm too nervous to take up their suggestion of swimming. Too chicken to jump in, I climbed down a rope ladder on the side of the large boat and dipped my toe in.

Yep. I was right. Adagio was lying. The water was way too freezing cold for my taste. It made the planet Hoth look like Mustafar in comparison. I let my foot soak in until it was warm enough until Adagio grabbed hold of my torso and-- A A A A H H H H H H H!!!!! Holy cow was it freezing!! How does Adagio cope with this temperature? How does ANYONE cope with this temperature? I wouldn't be surprised if I woke up 70+ years into the future and joined a superhero team, it was that cold!

Anyway, Adagio helped me ascend from the water, making sure I don't drown.

"Hey, sorry about dragging you in like that," Adagio said, blushing with embarrassment, while I was blue to the face. Oh, NOW she's concerned for my safety. As if any of her weird advances on me weren't making me uncomfortable!

"Next time, warn me!" I shiver to Adagio, as I held on to the rope ladder of the ship. After a while, my body temperature was comfortable in the water, and I was able to swim freely. Of course, that'd mean we'd be freezing once we got back on the deck, but I'm sure we'd get some towels once we get there.

"I can see you're having fun now," Adagio called out, as I was somewhat out of my shell. I grinned as I dived underwater and pulled out several colored water balloons from the sand below, and tossed one at Adagio, completely catching her off guard.

"Now I am!" I laughed, aiming to toss another one at her. Adagio dived underwater for cover and found some water balloons beside her for her to use while I aimed my next shot. Adagio ascended and opened fire--or rather water-- at me. It was like if a submarine battle could be fun. And I don't mean the board game. As the two of us ran out of balloons, the two of us climbed up on deck and dried ourselves off, wearing our towels like cloaks.

"Hey, I'm glad you had this fun time with me. It really means a lot," Adagio said, leaning her head up against my shoulder.

"Don't mention it," I said as Adagio leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. And that's the final nail in the coffin for me. My face turned so red I froze in place for a good few minutes. If the water didn't freeze me, that will.

"And now that's settled, I have yet to see how the other girls fare against me," Adagio said, somewhat stunning me. I had an idea as to where this was going, but I just had to make sure.

"What do you mean?" I asked as Adagio smirked.

"Well, Sonata, Aria, and I have all decided to...change the bet a little. We decided to have some fun with you one at a time, and whoever you thought you had the best time with will officially be your girlfriend," I was surprised. Not so much at Adagio proposing this idea to me, but because I went with it, because I had to come up with the idea for the Dazzlings to come up with it. And now I was more concerned, as more questions filled my head How would Aria and Sonata have their "little fun" with me? Will my choice sparks a rivalry between the three sirens? Will Batman escape the trap and capture the Joker? What did that last question have to do with any of this?

"I'll give you time to process all of this," Adagio said as she went below deck to change back to her normal outfit.

"You go do that," I said, still distracted by how this would turn out. One main question still flourished in my head: Will all this turn out for better or for worse?

Like Morning Follows Night

I spent most of my time pacing that night. The Dazzlings were fast asleep, but I couldn't. Not after my little swim meet with Adagio. No offense to Adagio. She was nice and had her way with me, and she knows how to be a Siren, but it was to a point where it was kind of threatening. Threatening to my pure innocence, and to keep this story PG clean. Let's just hope my time with Aria wasn't gonna be as flirty as before. I went below deck and back to bed to at least try to get some well-deserved rest, but not before writing this passage.

I awoke that morning to the bright blue light the sun was shining through our large waterfall. It was clear the Dazzlings were awake. I was the last one up. I hopped on deck and looked everywhere for them, but I couldn't. Even Aria, the one person I was supposed to spend the day with, went missing. I knew I had to go looking for her. I ran out of our little hidden hatch and headed into town, where I was sure to find Aria. The first thing that came to mind was to check the coffee shop where Aria works. After losing myself in town, I ran right into the coffee shop (thank you plot armor), and found Aria sitting by herself at one of the outside tables, sipping an iced coffee.

"There you are," I said, panting for air.

"What do you want?" Aria sighed, sipping her coffee. I could tell something was wrong.

"To find out what's wrong, first off," I said, moving my hand closer to comfort hers. But she took her hand away before I could do it.

"I just...can't," Aria said, avoiding eye contact. I can't tell where this spontaneous depression came from. She was totally fine, at least with me, before now.

"You will tell me," I said, waving my hand at her. She looked at me as if I was an idiot and turned away.

"Come on. Just tell me what's wrong," I begged before Aria turned to me as if she aimed laser eyes at me. She relented and turned away.

"I just feel like everything we do goes wrong," Aria said, taking a sip from her iced coffee.

"Well, you deserved it!" a voice called out from behind. Aria and I turned around to see Rainbow Dash confronting Aria as if she committed a heinous deed. Fluttershy peered from behind as if bracing for impact.

"I gotta be honest, I was kind of expecting you two to be here for some reason," I commented so I could keep my cool.

"Nevermind that. What do you think you're doing?" Rainbow Dash interrogated.

"I don't get what you mean," Aria replied, very much stressed out.

"Why are you still here? I'm surprised us breaking your little pendants didn't run you out of town," Rainbow Dash yelled, causing streams of tears to crawl down Aria's face.

"Umm, Rainbow, don't you think that's a bit much?" Fluttershy commented.

"Don't you think what she did was a bit much?" Rainbow Dash asked, further hurting Aria. Every word, every question, every thought pierced Aria like a sharp knife.

"Could you just leave me alone?" Aria asked, holding back tears.

"Not until you and the other Dazzlings just get out of here! Face it Aria: Nobody wants you here anymore!" Rainbow Dash yelled, and that was the point I have had it with inexplicable bully Rainbow Dash.

"I can kind of forgive you forgetting that I'm here, but you're just gonna have to leave her alone," I said, trying my best to not do anything crazy to Rainbow Dash. Then again, who's gonna stop me from doing that?

"Come on Rainbow Dash. Let's just go." Fluttershy said, pulling Rainbow Dash away. I sat down to comfort Aria. As I patted Aria on the back, Rainbow Dash was starting to cool off, until she tripped over a flea of all things. I snickered at the incident and turned Aria away from the Rainbooms.

"Now you listen here Aria, do not listen to anything the Rainbooms have to say," I explain to Aria as she finally turned towards me.

"What do you mean?" Aria asked as I wiped a tear from her face.

"Have you forgotten who you are, Aria Blaze?" I asked, chuckling at her question.

"I know exactly who I am. A pathetic disgrace who got what she deserved," Aria replied, pouting.

"EEERRR!! Wrong! You are a powerful siren with the heart of a fighter. Don't let that fighting spirit die down. At least for me, OK?" I said, holding Aria tight. Aria continued streaming tears down her face but gave me a big hug.

"Thank you," Aria said, as I tried hard to breath.

"You're welcome. See this is what I meant by fighting spirit. Could you uh...let me go now?" I said as Aria loosened her grip but still kept on hugging.

"Well, close enough," I said, as I decided to give in and hug back.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy stopped by the park, where they met up with Sunset Shimmer.

"Hey girls. What happened to you?" Sunset Shimmer asked, noting a large red scrape on Rainbow Dash's knee and another on her elbow.

"She tripped over a flea," Fluttershy said, patching her friend up.

"Huh? How did that happen?" Sunset Shimmer said, sitting by the two of them.

"I was talking with Aria, and her new boyfriend or whatever stepped in, and after that, a flea came out of nowhere and I tripped over it," Rainbow Dash recapped, holding still.

"Boyfriend? You mean that new guy following the Dazzlings around?" Sunset Shimmer asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Fluttershy said, diverting her attention away

"I tried to warn you, that guy has some sort of strange Equestrian Magic and is trying to restore the Dazzlings. We got to stop him," Sunset Shimmer said, as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked at each other as if something bad is gonna happen.

"Well, how do you propose we stop him?" Rainbow Dash asked, getting up. Her arm and leg still stung from the wounds but brushed them off like many other wounds before that. Fluttershy stroked her chin as if noticing something.

"Hey, you notice how he always carry that book and pen around?" Fluttershy asked, causing Sunset to take note as well.

"Never thought about it until now. You think that's how he does it?" Sunset asked.

"Must be." Rainbow Dash said, also stroking her chin.

"We gotta inform the others," Sunset said, walking off. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash followed her while Sunset texted the other three Rainbooms, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack.

"So you're saying you were thinking of having us visit the arcade?" Aria asked as I explained to her how different these events could have been.

"Yeah, pretty much. Just goes to show how difficult writing can be," I explain, scratching the back of my head. Aria held my hand all the way back home. We got inside the cave, where we saw Sonata in a green jumpsuit and hat sword dueling Adagio in a large red coat and black hat with a feather, and holding a toy hook. The four of us gave each other an awkward look.

"This isn't what it looks like," Sonata said, dangling from a rope.

"Honestly, it kinda is," Aria giggled, as the other two got out of their getup.

"So, how was your day?" Adagio asked as I looked within our remaining treasure for a cool sword like the one Adagio found.

"It wasn't what I expected, but it was nice. Just one thing though," I said, swishing a sword that I found. It wasn't the exact kind as Adagio found, but it'll do.

"What is it?" Sonata asked, messing with her green hat.

"We have to be careful of the Rainbooms. I just narrated their suspicion," I said, showing the previous scene to the Dazzlings.

"They're gonna plan something?" Adagio asked as Sonata gasped.

"Why didn't you narrate what they're planning?" Aria asked.

"Because their plan still has to come from my ideas. And right now, I have no idea what they're gonna be planning," I explained, continuing to jot all this down in my notebook.

"We can take it," Aria said, smiling with confidence. Where was Miss 3sad5me I saw an hour ago? I smiled along with her.

"Oh? How so?" I said as if we were preparing for battle.

"We may be down from the Battle of the Bands, but we are not out for the count," Aria said, causing Adagio and Sonata to nod.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" I cheered, as Aria gave me a fist bump.

"What happens now?" Sonata asked as the four of us stood around awkwardly. A few minutes later, the four of us went swimming, because I couldn't think of a good way to end this chapter.

Author's Note

This was gonna be a totally different chapter, but I didn't think it quite work as well as the previous ones, so I had to restart and go with this. Thanks to this song here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKXhmK4SYmk) for helping me come up with ideas to make this chapter SO much better.

Dreaming Dazzlings

The sun shone bright that afternoon, as I was taking a stroll around town. The birds were filling the skies with their beautiful song. But something felt...off. Just then, I noticed nobody was around to be seen. Canterlot basically turned into a ghost town.

"Hello?" I called out, hoping to get a response. However, the results weren't that good.

"Free...me...Use...your power!" a dark eerie voice called out to me. I turned around to see who it was, but I couldn't find anybody. My heart was racing, which didn't happen often since I got here. I reached for my notebook and pen to fight back against whatever, or whoever, I'm up against. However, I realized whoever it was probably wanted me to do that. I hesitated and put my notebook back down.

"What do you want from me?" I asked whoever it was. As I stepped back, the ground cracked, revealing rainbow light from below.

"Your power...Free me..." The voice called out once more as the sky was turning a dark shade of red, blocking out the sun. The ground around me started shattering, emitting this same rainbow light. I ran as far as I could until my entire body was caught by demonic arms crawling out from the crevasses. As I tried to crawl away to safety, I was approached by a dark cloaked figure, kneeling down and stroking my face delicately.

"Why don't you reveal your full power?" The figure called out, as fear welled up inside me, causing me to burst out screaming!

I jumped out of bed in a cold sweat, realizing I just had a nightmare. I looked around to see the girls are still asleep and in their hammocks. I wiped the sweat off of my forehead and went on deck to get some time to myself. I fidgeted around with my pen as I wrote. I didn't need some wise mentor to interpret my dream for me. I knew what it meant. And I don't like it one second. I might have even foreshadowed something big coming. I continued writing until I heard light sobbing coming up from behind me?

"Hey," Sonata said, tears welling up in her eyes, and wiping one of them off. She must have had a bad dream herself. Sonata sat down beside me as I covered the both of us with a large, thin blanket.

"I take it you had a nightmare?" I asked as I wrote. Sonata nodded.

"What happened in it?" I replied, still writing.

"Well, It was the Battle of the Bands, except I was the only one performing. The Rainbooms came and destroyed my siren gem like normal, but everyone was so much meaner than I remember. The school students not only chased me out, but they also tried to hunt me down. I have never been so afraid in my life." Sonata cried as I held her close.

"To be honest, I'm in the same boat. Figuratively, not literally." I said, gaining Sonata's immediate attention.

"Oh please. What do you have to be afraid of? I bet you if Sunset came up against you, you'd turn it into Paper Mache or something. You could take over the entire universe with a snap of your fingers," Sonata yelled, wiping another tear from her eye.

"That's...what I'm afraid of," I explained to Sonata. "I'm afraid I'll become something else if I let all this power get to my head," I explained, looking down at my notebook. Sonata looked down, realizing my notebook is not only the source of my power but also a burden I have to keep. Sonata never had the same feelings about her Siren Gem. And she was sure the others didn't either. I scoffed at myself.

"I guess I'm going with a Temptation arc this time," I joked, still staring. I started writing all this back in. Sonata placed her hand on mine.

"Hey. I was wondering if you'd let me write a chapter or two in there," Sonata asked. I got a funny look as if she read my mind.

"Funny enough, I was wondering if I'd let you guys write your own chapters in here as well," I said, looking at my notebook like I was clueless and just discovered it. Sonata chuckled, at my remark, causing me to blush.

"Well, we should get back to bed. It's almost 1:00" Sonata said, as she got up.

"Huh. No wonder it's still dark out." I said, as I got up and followed. I resorted to tucking Sonata in myself (she wanted me to, anyway), and comforted her until she fell asleep. But not before Sonata gave me a little message.

"I love you," Sonata said, completely stunning me as she drifted off to sleep. I had no idea at all how to approach this. Did this entire night count as part of our little bet? Who am I still gonna have to choose in the end? Would this get in the way of me writing this story? Where's Perry? Okay, maybe not that last bit, but still. I went back into my hammock and went back to sleep. I just knew it was gonna be a PAIN to get up in the morning.

Later, that Saturday morning, I woke up very late and got up to get a bowl of cereal.

"Good Morning BenSwolo," Adagio greeted. I recognized that tone as the same friendly tone I greeted Adagio with on our first morning.

"Morning," I said, as I sat down with the rest of the girls.

"So, You ready to get to the mall?" Aria asked. I was in shock (again)! I completely spaced out on that. I shouldn't have, but I have.

"Yeah?" I answered nervously, as Sonata gave me a loving look. The same one she gave me before drifting off to sleep. It put me at ease. Our moment was paused as Adagio nudged my shoulder.

"Are you seriously eating cereal without milk?" Adagio asked as if I'm doing something gross.

"I don't like milk in my cereal, OK?" I said, munching away at my bowl. Aria gave the same look as Adagio, and Sonata just giggled. Next stop: The Mall.

The Choice

The Dazzlings and I trekked onward to Canterlot Hall, which was a much larger building than I anticipated. Certainly big enough for climax material for this story. I had to make every sentence count.

"So, what's the plan?" Sonata asked as I started writing all this down. Adagio looked at me as if I'd eavesdrop in, but she didn't mind. She probably thought I'd narrate the plan anyway.

"How about we split up, and Mr. BenSwolo here can check up on us one at a time? Then we meet back up for our main man to make his choice." Adagio explained.

"Sounds like a good plan," Aria said almost sinisterly, while Sonata nodded excitedly.

"You got all that?" Adagio asked me as if I was her cameraman on the news (or some YouTube channel at least).

"Yep. Got the whole thing memorized. You go on ahead." I said as the Dazzlings left to do their own thing. To be honest, I felt excited about the whole thing. They may have lost their siren gems, but I feel like I made them feel like their old selves again. And I was happy for them for that. Of course, I was still scared of picking one of them to be my "unofficial" girlfriend (Hey, I'm still a REAL person after all), but I just decided to let myself live in the moment. As I continued to jot down everything in my notebook, juggling ideas and whatnot, until guess who walked up to me? That's stinking right! Sunset stinking Shimmer!

"Alright, Mr. AntiBrony! I have come to confront you about your powers!" Sunset demanded in a hilariously dramatic tone.

"OK, let's get this confrontation scene out of the way," I said, more annoyed than anything. I had an embarrassing choice to deal with, and I'd rather take care of it now, rather than later, thanks to some hero-antagonist.

"I have come to let you know that I believe I know how to defeat you," Sunset asked, smugly proclaiming.

"And why would you want to defeat me?" I asked as if I was interviewing her.

"We can't have the Dazzlings restored to power and running amok. Especially since the Friendship games are coming up and--"

"OH, What a nimrod I am! I can't believe I forgot about that! Well, I didn't 'forget' forget about it. I was just saving it for another time," I said, cutting Sunset Shimmer off from my warning.

"Let me rephrase. We can't have Dazzlings restored to power, AND a mysterious figure somehow controlling reality with an old book, ruining the Friendship Games for everyone," Sunset explained as if I was another villain in need of "redemption" if you could call it that. I honestly thought it over a little bit.

"Well, to be honest, I would gladly ruin Friendship Games for everyone. It would be hilarious," I confessed.

"Well, soon enough, you're going to learn, just as I have once learned, that no omnipotence is a match for Friendship," Sunset said, trying to be friendly with me, again like I was someone "worth saving". I...was not impressed.

"Could you, like, not do that again?" I asked, shocking Sunset and having her back up (so I could get some space).

"Well, one way or another, you'll learn that Friendship is Magic. Obviously, it's not today," Sunset said, disappointed in my choices. To be honest, if she wasn't so focused on my power and my connection with the Dazzlings, she'd do a better job at, at least trying, to be a good friend. I looked at my bare wrist as if I had a watch, and I decided to host myself a dazzling little contest. I wandered the mall looking for Adagio, and all the while, I was getting some worried stares from younger folks. They must have heard what I did with Flash Sentry and Sunset Shimmer, and rumor spread like wildfire.

"Hey, BenSwolo, Over here!" Adagio called out. And of course, she was in the Swimsuit store. Why wouldn't she be? After our little swim date, I kind of pieced together that is gonna be her attempt at flirting. I walked inside, embarrassed to be in such a place, and just went on with it.

"Remind me, are you doing this to seduce me, or just mess with me?" I asked in a grumpy manner, causing Adagio to giggle a little.

"Well, I would say the former, but you do your best to stay oh so PG clean, at this point it's gonna be the latter," Adagio explained.

"OK then. Am I paying for these or...?" I asked as Adagio pulled out her wallet, answering my question. I decided not to finish it. The two of us started browsing, and...well, Adagio was browsing. I was just making sure I didn't embarrass myself in this kind of store.

"Ohh, how about this one?" Adagio asked, pulling up a violet one-piece swimsuit resembling a mermaid, decorated with a print of an orange gem.

"Yeah, sure, fine. Whatever," I said. I really didn't care about what she got, as long as it wasn't...wrong. Adagio looked around and got only three swimsuits, one for each Dazzling, and these ones I can actually kind of feel safe around. I guess Adagio kept her work about trying to mess with me.

"So, should I get going, or are you just gonna browse more clothes for you to mess with me with?" I asked as I headed on my way.

"Sure. Go ahead. I was gonna do that anyways. Just to surprise you, that is," Adagio said, winking at me. I headed off and got more nervous looks from the young folks, some of them I think I saw at the school. Apparently, to them, I stand out like the stink on a skunk. I didn't mind though. I didn't plan on making friend with anyone except the Dazzlings. And maybe a few other characters, but that's another story. I walked by a bright and colorful yellow store where I was dragged in by Sonata, grinning with glee.

"Found you," Sonata said, causing me to jump. I think this has been the most Sonata has seen me absolutely s h o o k. Anyway, once I got a hold of myself, I browsed around and saw hundreds of comics and movies. Most of these stories were unfamiliar to me, but only six stood out because I actually recognized them.

"Are you a fan of the Power Ponies?" Sonata asked as I continued browsing.

"If you asked me if I was a fan of superheroes in general, then I would say yes. However, since you narrowed it down to certain superheroes I'm honestly surprised you take interest in, I'm gonna have to say no," I said, as I finished browsing. Now Sonata was absolutely s h o o k.

"What? Why? Their popularity has started skyrocketing. Especially since their cinematic universe started," Sonata explained. I groaned in disappointment.

"OK, I get where you're from, they're original characters. But where I'm from, they're cheap parodies of other popular superheroes," I explained back.

"Well, at least check out their cinematic universe before you say anything else," Sonata said, one more time trying to get me to join her fandom.

"I'll check it out once they get a super-cucumber on the team," I said, looking over the comics one more time. I then stopped, realizing something, and went back to Sonata.

"You said 'Cinematic Universe', knowing I'd write a story on it to go more in depth, didn't you?" I asked Sonata.

"Uh-huh. Because Adagio said you did the same thing with some treasure map, so I thought you'd do the same for the PPCU," Sonata explained (PPCU meaning "Power Ponies Cinematic Universe"). And as much as I hated to admit it; that was clever. I sighed in defeat as she dragged me around the store for comic suggestions for the Power Ponies and whatnot. Is this what Ren deals with when hanging out with Nora?

"Oh, also, I was thinking if you ended up interested enough in the Power Ponies, then I thought we could do some cosplaying together," Sonata offered up.

"Would this offer still stand, even if I didn't choose you?" I asked as Sonata giggled at the possibilities.

"Hey, I'll take what I can get. You'll still get to be my friend," Sonata said. Wow, I did not expect Sonata to take a friend-zoning with dignity like that. Even if I ended choosing her. Anyways, I headed over to look for Aria and found her in the one place I kind of expected her: The Arcade.

"Hey. I took a hint from your rough draft of our time together, and I thought we'd play some games in here," Aria explained.

"Huh. Never really thought to resurrect this idea, but I'm fair game," I said, as the two of us went inside. Aria paid for game tokens so we could try out the games we could play until we ran out of tokens. We tried arcade games, and I'm surprised they have Pac-Man in this universe. We tried rhythm games, and I can't dance for the life of me, so Aria beat me easily. And we tried shooter games. I can't describe the game because of me being PG-friendly and all that, so all I could say is, Aria liked it, and I was too terrified to play it again. No wonder Aria liked this game. I looked at my bare wrist again and headed out of the Arcade.

"I take it we're meeting up with Adagio and Sonata now?" Aria said, following closely.

"Yep," I replied as we navigated the mall. We ran into Adagio and Sonata, taking their seats at a table for the four of us to sit at. I took my seat across from the Dazzlings, while Aria took her seat at Adagio's right, while Sonata sat at her left. Adagio handed out chocolate shakes for the four of us, and the Dazzlings gave me their hunting glare again. Mental note: don't make the Dazzlings so curious about me next time.

"So, AntiBronyBenSwolo. Have you made your decision?" Adagio asked in a dramatic tone as if I was in a dark room with only one light, and the Dazzlings testing me or something. The suspense was killing me, to say the least.

"I'm not sure I have," I confessed, as the girls just looked disappointed.

"Why not? We gave you plenty of time," Sonata explained.

"I know. I'm just trying to stall for time so I could hit 2k words on this chapter," I explained, continuing to jot this down in my book.

"Just...make it quick," Adagio said, stressed out. I continued to write out my thoughts on these girls as they awaited my answer. Adagio just seemed the most patient with me, being the first to witness my abilities firsthand. Then again, maybe that's what happens when someone gets oranges pulled out of their hair. She also seems to be the most "playful" of the three, and I could use a little fun here and there. Just gotta be careful not to make the story R-rated.

Then there's Aria. I always believed she was the muscle of the group, but there is always more than meets the eye. I always though Adagio would be the most heartbroken about the Battle of the Bands, after reconsideration, I think that spot goes to Aria. She always seemed so competitive. My question is how well they fared with Sonata, the most childlike of the three. Well, I can say she lived up to that title. And especially like that in a character. Especially Sonata. And like a child, a girl like her just needs support when something terrible happens to her. And I am willing to give that to her. As well as all the Dazzlings.

My head swirled with consideration after consideration. Comparison after comparison. And I just couldn't quite make up my mind. But that just leaves me with my one final question: Who do I choose?

Author's Note

We're in the Endgame now.

Anybody wanna vote for which Dazzling you want me to "go out with"?

The Answer

The four of us sat at our table, waiting for my answer. I fiddled with my pen, thinking of what to say.

"Well?" Adagio asked, getting bored. Aria didn't care nonetheless, but the suspense was killing Sonata. I sighed and had to tell them the truth. Despite the fact, I wasn't lying, but I believe they would get the picture anyways.

"I just...don't feel like choosing a mate like this is right," I said, writing all this down in my notebook.

"What do you mean?" Aria said, taking a sip from her chocolate shake.

"I feel like it wouldn't be genuine if I had to choose between you three. It makes me feel like I'm a prince choosing a wife for political reasons rather than actual romantic reasons," I explained. For a second there, the Dazzlings actually felt remorseful for their decision to have me put up with this.

"Hey, we're sorry. We didn't know that--" Sonata pleaded.

"It's OK. It did help me get to know you three more. It's at least a start for me to build a relationship with you." I explained, at least making them feel less bad about this.

"Well, so now that's done, where do you plan to take this grand story of yours next?" Aria asked. I jotted down some ideas on a piece of paper.

"OK, I was thinking of introducing some original characters, building up to an epic battle for a climax, facing off against Sunset Shimmer. Either that or Flash Sentry--" I said, sharing at least some of my ideas with them. I still had plenty more to go. But I was cut off.

"Oh my goodness! Sunset! We completely forgot about her," Adagio said as if something bad was about to happen to them...again.

"I mean, I did have a chat with her in the last chapter, and she said she had some kind of plot to stop me," I explained, stroking my chin. I seemed to be doing that a lot.

"Well, could you narrate what Sunset's up to if she is up to something," Adagio pleaded.

"OK, fine," I said, shrugging off the urgency, and began jotting down in my notebook

Sunset was browsing the mall for notebooks and journals. Most of the books were old looking, but it turns out that was just for an aesthetic. Suddenly, an old notebook of her own started glowing. She picked it up and started reading.

Dear Sunset Shimmer,
I am shocked to hear the Dazzlings are making an encore
and this strange new friend they found has powers that
might be as powerful as Discords. Maybe even more
powerful. Unfortunately, Twilight and I cannot come to
help put a stop to this. Twilights in the middle of an
adventure of her own. Sorry about that. I sure hope
you take this guy down though.
Best of Luck,
Spike.

"Dang it," Sunset Shimmer muttered to herself as she made it to the dresses where Rarity was browsing.

"Hello Sunset, darling. Any updates with Twilight?" Rarity asked, looking at a bright lavender dress with a poofy skirt.

"I was just told Twilight can't make it. We're on our own on this one. To be honest, I'm surprised Spike can write so well. For a dog, I mean," Sunset explained, looking around as if she was being watched.

"I don't think it's a coincidence," Pinkie Pie said, hiding in one of the dress racks.

"What do you mean?" Sunset asked, as Rarity almost fainted from Pinkie's surprise.

"Don't you think maybe this writer guy could have made it so Twilight and Spike couldn't come?" Pinkie asked, putting an aluminum foil cap on her head.

"You could be right. Maybe it's to stop Twilight from interfering like she did both times before. I think AntiBronyBenSwolo might consider Twilight stronger than himself," Sunset theorized. Rarity recovered from the faint.

"Well, if that is the case, then time is of the essence. We must find a way to stop this madman," Rarity proclaimed.

"Could you three quiet down?" The cashier asked, having had enough bull crud for one day.

"Oh, sorry," Rarity said, as the three girls talked about this outside.

"Don't worry about a thing girls. I know just how to beat him," Sunset said holding up a paper booklet, and a drawing of a powerful character. The drawing itself wasn't good, but they planned to improve upon it. Rarity and Pinkie Pie smiled like they just got the upper hand. Sunset returned the smile and returned the drawing and booklet.

"Interesting..." I said to myself, as I finished writing that little scene.

"What is it?" Sonata asked. I handed the Dazzlings my book and let them read the scene for themselves.

"'a powerful character'? Why didn't you elaborate on this? Let us know what we're up against?" Adagio asked, leaving the other girls to re-read it.

"I kind of felt like we needed a bit of mystery in this story. Keep people hooked, you know?" I explained, pondering this enigma with the girls.

"So, we're gonna stop her, right?" Sonata asked as I stroked my chin.

"I could stop them right then and there, but their mystery character has caught my attention. I wanna see where this is going. And in order to do that, we gotta let them do what they're doing," I explained. Now it was the Dazzlings turn to realize we have the upper hand. Sunset may have an original character to stop me, but she wouldn't have gotten the idea if I didn't come up with it for her. And with the help of the Dazzlings, I could be unstop--

"Hey, wait a minute," Sonata called out.

"What is it?" I asked, groaning in slight frustration.

"Why is it you left the last chapter on a cliffhanger of a question, and you had an anticlimactic answer for this one?" Sonata asked, rereading the last chapter and comparing it to this one.

"Honestly, I left it to a vote on which one of you I would go out with," I explained.

"Then why'd you go with the answer we're going with?" Adagio asked, slightly peeved at my writing.

"I didn't have enough votes, OK?" I explained, shrugging aggressively. Adagio groaned.

"Maybe some more ice cream should calm us down," Aria suggested, defusing the comedic tension. Sonata's eyes lit up. The four of us then headed over and we each got one serving of hot fudge sundaes before heading back home. The Dazzlings may not have gotten what they were intentionally looking for with me, but we at least had a fun time.