How did the old saying go? Bad things come in threes?
Yeah, that sounds about right.

As Sunset stood there in the engineering lab, marveling over the damaged remains of Twilight's Tele-Something, she couldn't help wondering just how often that unpleasant adage proved to be accurate. She also started dreading whatever the third issue of today might end up being, considering how awful the first two already were. What in the world could possibly top off a trifecta like this?

It's actually amazing just how quickly things went downhill, especially since the day itself started off relatively fine. Sure the skies were cloudier than anyone had anticipated, but that did little to dampen spirits around here too much. After all, the school-week was already almost halfway over, and Rarity's imminent return—as well as the cavalcade of celebrations that would follow shortly behind it—promised to make this weekend an absolute blast!
There were also the mounting rumors that Principal Celestia would soon be announcing plans for the Fall Formal, which coincided nicely with news about the Rainbooms's CD having almost completely sold out. Between all of that, Sunset had plenty to keep her enthusiasm burning brightly as another Wednesday at Canterlot High rolled on through. Sadly, the flames of that exuberance had almost completely flickered out by lunchtime, when the second misfortune reared its ugly head. And to think, the girls initially gathered in the engineering lab expecting a piece of good news.

Now, it was almost like stumbling in on a crime scene around here, complete with a heavy rain outside just to accentuate the dreary mood of it all. And among this little investigation, everyone served a different role then.
In the corner was Rainbow Dash aimlessly examining broken pieces of the mechanical corpse that was the Tele-Something. Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, was combing over the area, searching for any wayward parts that might've gone flying whenever the device blew open. Then there were Fluttershy and Twilight, the latter of whom was busy having a miniature meltdown while the former was trying to console her over at one of the other workbenches. And Applejack was...yet again nowhere to be found...

Poor Twilight...
In the span of five minutes, she had already cycled through the five stages of grief twice over, as well as added a few new ones to that list. Quietly cackling like a maniac to herself was currently on display, but at least that was a step up from loudly sobbing into her own arms. Nobody could blame her for being so upset, though, especially since this came out of practically nowhere.
It was just supposed to be a routine trial. The plan was to leave the Telemeter up and running by itself for a full 24 hours—from lunchtime on Tuesday to the same on Wednesday. Not much of a task, granted, but it was a necessary test-run nevertheless. After all, if this thing was ultimately meant to be a constant vigilance for Equestrian magic, then it needed to actually live up to the “constant” part of that job description. Handling this kind of workload fully unattended would've been an important measurement of that functionality, and it should've been a flawless success.

But when it was time to check in on Wednesday, Twilight and her friends found only a half-broken machine on the workbench. It's circuits were at least partially fried, segments of it were blown off, and the entire room reeked of smoke from it. It was such a dismal sight, and it raised so many questions.

“I just don't get it,” Sunset said, picking up another piece of the casing. “Your inventions never break. They may go a little buggy every now and then, but...not like this...”

“You sure everything was set up right with it?” Rainbow asked.

“Am I sure?” Twilight snapped between giggles. “Sure I'm sure, at least I was sure, I'm always sure, I triple checked everything, I was as sure as sure can be, SURELY, hee hee hee!”

“Shhhhh,” Fluttershy replied gently, patting her friend on the head. “It's alright, Twilight. There's no need to raise our voi—”

“AH HA!” Pinkie Pie shouted out of nowhere. In her hand was a wrapper of some kind, which she held triumphantly upward for everyone to see.
“It's just as I thought! Somebody must've been in here to SABOTAGE the Microwave-Thingy! They even left a telltale clue!”

Everyone exchanged a puzzled look for a moment, before Sunset decided to inquire.
“...A gum wrapper?”

“THIS isn't just any ordinary wrapper, my dear Sunset!”
She sniffed the inside of the...not ordinary wrapper...before elaborating any further.

“It still smells super sweet, meaning that the culprit must've unwrapped it not too long ago. And it was tossed next to the trashcan—not in it. Our perp clearly was in a rush when they indulged in their sweet tooth, probably to flee the scene before anyone noticed their dastardly deed! AND this gum is a brand that Twilight never chews! This all proves, idubidoubly so, that someone broke in to wreck Twilight's invention!”

Again, everyone exchanged a puzzled look. And again, Sunset was the first to inquire further.
“Uh, Pinkie? Why would anyone break in here just to wreck it? Not many people even knew what it did.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow added, walking over to get a closer look at the wrapper in question. “Also, I'm pretty sure that's from the gum YOU just gave me right before we came in here.”
She finished her statement by blowing a neon-green bubble, which popped just as fast as Pinkie's theory in the face of such questioning.

“Oh,” the pink-haired Holmes said sheepishly. “Well...you should really be more careful with your littering, Rainbow Dash! Buuut...since this is your first misdemeanor, I'll let it slide.”
With that sentencing out of the way, she pulled out a couple more sticks of gum and popped them into her mouth.

“Case closed!” she muttered between chews. At least Rarity wasn't around to investigate this as well. With her whole Shadow Spade obsession, she and Pinkie might've turned this entire thing into “The Case of the Blind Leading the Blind...”

“Wait!” Twilight declared manically. “Maybe that's what it was! Maybe the casing wasn't sufficient enough to allow for proper ventilation and cooling of the circuitry!”

The young inventor rose from her seat and rushed over to a nearby pile of printouts. She had been keeping every piece of data that the Telemeter produced since its first test-run, just in case the need ever arose to review or compare prior results.

“Twilight, what are you looking for?” Sunset asked.

“Maybe it was that silicon thermal paste! I knew I should've splurged and gotten the ceramic kind! I need to check what the internal temperatures were over the last few months!”

“...Um, okay... Well, aside from that... Is there anything else that could've done this? Something besides paste or...sabotage?”

It took a moment to respond, but at least Twilight was calmer now that she was investigating something herself. Familiarity could be comforting, after all.

“Well... It could've been improper conductance, or possibly faulty connectors—ooh, I'll have to check for those too! And then, of course...it could also be...”
She trailed off and started mumbling to herself, all the while scouring through even more of the printouts. Odds were good that she was probably just listing off technical jargon that would go over her friends' heads, but still...

“Um...Twi?” Rainbow interrupted.

“Oh! Sorry! Umm, outside of internal factors, there might've been an external cause. A massive electrical surge could've done it, or a considerable spike in magical energy, or even—”

Suddenly, and from out of nowhere, an explosion rattled the entire lab and startled the girls out of their theorizing. Whatever had happened, the resultant boom was loud enough to make their ears ring, and strong enough to blow their hair out of place. Following that little shock, the girls were suddenly treated to a light snowstorm of what appeared to be shredded paper, the flecks of which fell like confetti all over the lab.
As the flurry of parchment started to settled, everyone looked around to identify whatever had caused all of this. Fluttershy was the first to speak up.

“Oh, Pinkie! Are... Are you alright!?”

They all looked over to spot their joyful friend, who at the moment seemed more shocked than anything else. She certainly took the brunt of whatever had just occurred. Her hair was completely frozen in disorderliness, and she was practically coated in paper scraps. Of course, she shook all of that off pretty quickly, and returned to her usual look in a matter of seconds.

“Yup! I swallowed my gum, though...”

“What happened!?”

“Not sure. I was just tossing away all my gum wrappers. Then I turn around and—next thing I know—BOOM!”
She gestured towards the massive bin that stood behind her. Its lid had been completely blown off, and there were thin wisps of smoke rising out from within it.

“The trashcan blew up?”

“Ugh!” Rainbow yelped in disgust, desperately trying to shake off all the debris that she was covered in. “Are you telling me we've got garbage all over us!? Pleh! I think I swallowed some of it...”

“Actually, that bin was just for papers that needed shredding.” Twilight brushed off a few of the flecks from her head. “Guess that job's been taken care of now...”

Uh oh!” Pinkie gasped. “You don't think it's cause I threw the wrong kind of trash in there, do you!?”

“...No,” Sunset replied, her face suddenly as serious as could be. “It's us...”
She turned toward Rainbow, with a brow raised to highlight her accusing glare.

“Still think it was just a fluke!?”

The athlete stood there frozen, her eyes widening as the gravity of what Sunset implied took full effect. Sadly, whatever unspoken realization they were sharing in was completely lost on everyone else.

“Wait,” Fluttershy said. “...What was a fluke?”

And there it was—the first bad thing to kick off the day, now officially a problem after hours of debate and denial.
It had already been obvious to Sunset all morning long, but Rainbow didn't want to believe it. Of course she didn't. That would imply some kind of fault on her end for it happening. So, when she suddenly sprinted into a wall earlier, she blamed it on a hitherto unseen puddle. The second time that it happened, it must've been due to a sudden gust of wind at her back. And the third time, she just didn't know the strength of her own legs, apparently.

Oh, but the coincidences didn't just stop with her.
Spotting Fluttershy being unknowingly trailed by a couple of animals? It was probably just because she was carrying some alluring treats.
Swearing that Twilight's bike lifted off the ground by an inch without her noticing? It must've been Sunset's eyes playing tricks on her.

The entire morning, Rainbow dismissed all of it. Even the moments that she couldn't properly explain were apparently just a series of unfortunate coincidences.
“I'm telling you, it's all just a fluke!” she stubbornly insisted.

But Sunset didn't believe that, just like she didn't believe the trashcan magically exploded on its own just then. Magic was involved, yes—but it was theirs, and an uncontrolled detonation courtesy of their unsuspecting friend was the final straw. It was just as she had feared.

Their Geodes were growing supercharged, and their powers were starting to go haywire again.

“Wait, wait! Just hold on a sec!” Rainbow pleaded, desperately searching for any other possible explanation.
“What about our Geodes!? They're not glowing or anything!”

“They didn't start glowing the last time either!” Sunset replied. “Not till things got way out of hand! And ever since, we were supposed to be more careful with our powers!”

“Oh, come on!” she said, pointing to the tower of printouts. “It's not like I'm the only one whose been using magic lately! At least half of those readings came from someone other than me!.......Right?”

Twilight really didn't want to answer that. The good news was that she didn't have to. The bad news was because her train of thought was just derailed by a disturbing possibility.

“Maybe...that really was it...”

“Huh?”

“If... If our magic really is starting to surge again...then it's possible that the Telemeter just couldn't handle it.”

“Wait,” Rainbow said, “...Y-You're joking, right?”

“You really think our magic could do this?” Sunset asked.

“I don't know... I never accounted for something like this happening. But...the sensors weren't calibrated to handle massive spikes in magic yet...”

“So,” Fluttershy added, “...we might've caused this?...”

Everyone exchanged worried looks over the thought of that notion being true, but Sunset wasn't entirely convinced. Firstly, this surge in their powers was nowhere near as bad as it could get. But even if things were totally out of control on that front, it was difficult believing that something as...nebulous as their magical resonance could cause such a durable piece of hardware to break. After all, they had witnessed far more focused amounts of magic imbued in a cellphone, not to mention something as fragile as a mirror! Those two objects withstood enchantment perfectly fine, and yet the Tele-Something—which was built specifically for this sort of thing—could not? If anything, it should've taken a massive amount of magic to even...

As that train of thought reached its conclusion, a nameless fear awoke within Sunset. She caught herself staring at the broken machine, unable to silence the foreboding possibilities swimming around in her mind.

Was it really happening now?
Could something like that have done this?
Part of her just wanted to waive aside the whole idea, to dismiss it as nothing more than paranoia. Sadly, she couldn't tell whether or not that was her logical side speaking up.

And since when did Equestrian magic follow any form of logic, anyway?

“...Are you alright, Sunset?” Fluttershy asked, concerned over how grave her friend suddenly looked. She wasn't the only person to notice that, either. Everyone could see the shift in mood, and they all waited for an explanation as to what was wrong.

“...Has anyone seen AJ?” Sunset finally asked.

“Uh, not since class,” Rainbow said, “and I couldn't even get her attention then. She's really been out there lately.”

“I need to go find her. Can you guys handle this mess till I get back?”

“Sure,” Twilight said, “but, what's the matter?”

“Nothing... It's just... Applejack may not be very tech savvy, but she is a great mechanic. Maybe with her help and your notes, we could get your machine back up and running again.”

“Sunset... I mean, I appreciate the offer, but... The Telemeter is so damaged. I don't know if anything can even be salvaged...”

“Besides,” Rainbow said, “are you sure it's okay to be messing with it right now? I thought our magic might've caused this... And I...I don't wanna ruin Twilight's work again...”

It was rare to see her self-confident friend looking so reserved, but everyone seemed to be sharing in those melancholy doubts. Sunset wanted to tell them about her fears then, and how she believed it wasn't anyone's fault at all that this had happened. But she couldn't—not when she wasn't even sure if her theory had any real credence to it in the first place. It would just add pressure to an already stressful situation, and that was the last thing her friends needed right now. But still...she had to reassure them somehow.

“...Even if our magic did cause this,” she said, regarding Rainbow with a smile in the process, “we can still fix it! Just because we made a mistake, doesn't mean we can't learn from it. And we can always help to make up for it. Right?”

Though she hopped her message was received, Sunset couldn't wait long enough to find out. With one foot already out the door, she shot Twilight one last concerned glance.

“That's cool with you, right?”

“...I... Of course,” she replied. "Whatever you think is best..."

And with that, Sunset departed the engineering lab to search for Applejack. Even if this was all just paranoia, she certainly wasn't going to wait around for a third misfortune to show up today. It's just unfortunate that she was about to barrel right into one, instead.

****

With a quick shuffling through her belongings and an extra-quiet shutting of the locker door, Applejack started making her way over to her next class, all the while trying to stay hidden within the ever flowing rivers of students. Of course, she was going to be extremely early—there was still 20 minutes of lunchtime remaining, after all—but that prospect sounded much better than trying to juggle both socializing and intensive worrying. Besides which, she hadn't been hungry all day...

This was such a temporary solution, and she felt like a coward for relying upon it.
Why couldn't she just wake up this morning feeling unwell? At least then there could've been a good excuse for having to quarantine herself away from everyone else. Sadly, a tummy aching with anxiety wouldn't have passed even Apple Bloom's qualifications for staying home, and there was no earthly way she was letting her family know what was going on in her mind. As much as she loved her brother, Big Mac was simply too much of an unintentional gossiper sometimes, especially when conversations got too quiet.

So here she was now, trying her best to avoid being around her friends for too long. There was no doubt in her mind that they could see something was off, and odds were good that she'd be confronted about it sooner rather than later. Avoiding them would only work for so long, and it was only going to get much harder to do so come tomorrow.
But even realizing all of that, she just...couldn't face her friends. Not right now.

Applejack?

The truth was, a part of her knew deep down that nobody would treat her differently for this. Her friends and loved ones would ultimately accept however she felt about anyone. At any other time, she'd be grateful to have that kind of long-term acceptance so readily available. However, for this situation, none of that mattered, because it was the weeks that would follow immediately afterward that were the most terrifying. After all, here she was essentially disrupting what everyone knew as one of the most stable and staple friendships around. The idea of being seen as the cause of such a disturbance just made her feel so uncomfortable. And it was a lot harder not caring about other's views when your own were just as conflicted.
But all of those opinions—from both herself and everyone else—completely paled in comparison to what her best friend's might be. Because for every person to find out about this, the odds of it reaching Rarity's ears increased drastically. And what then?

The worst-case scenario? Their friendship is destroyed, and the remainder of the year would be an incredibly painful and lonely one.
The best-case? Her feelings are spurned—with the most patronizingly gentle “letting her down easy” approach imaginable—and the remainder of the year is a hollow and fruitless attempt to recapture what they once had.
Either way, it wasn't good...

Hey, Applejack!

There was one other possibility, however remote and completely impossible it may have been. She kept trying to explain away this alternative scenario, but it refused to stop popping up in her mind. After all, it was pretty obvious. Her dream spelled it all out plainly.
Rarity could always...feel the same way about—

Sakes alive, this stupid dream! Why did it have to happen like this!? Why did it have to happen at all!? This was supposed to be a year of big triumphs, momentous graduations, and unforgettable celebrations! And everything was going so well! She had just mended things with her best friend, and she was excited to see Rarity again so life could return to normal! She wanted to go back to that!
She just wanted to see Rarity normally again. And not in that bed...with those beautiful eyes gazing up at her...and that lilting voice...as she said...

Appleja—

From out of nowhere, Applejack felt someone's hand rest on her shoulder, startling her back to reality—again with that running theme in her life! Without realizing it, she must've stopped walking partway through that train of thought, and she turned around with the intention of apologizing for the lollygagging. But the one who ended up expressing regret was the person that just read her mind like an open book.

When Sunset finally found Applejack wandering the halls, she called out to her repeatedly, but to no avail. Whatever was on her mind then, it was completely distracting her from everything else. Rainbow wasn't kidding when she said that the farm girl had been out there as of late, and Sunset was tempted to get to the bottom of matters right then. But there would be plenty of time to air concerns like that later. Right now, getting the Tele-Something back up and watchful for Equestrian magic took the utmost priority.
Thankfully, when Applejack stopped for whatever reason, it gave her time to catch up and get her friend's attention. That was all she wanted when she reached forward. That was all she intended when her hand pressed against the farmer's shoulder. But she got more than just her friend's attention then. In an instant, she was treated to so much more.

Nervously checking her phone, almost afraid of receiving any more texts from Rarity...
Avoiding the hallways and usual spots where her friends might be gathered...
Rarity laying in bed, whispering “Applejack... I love you...”

Sunset's arm recoiled then, and her mind reeled from what she just saw...or rather, that she had seen anything.
Her powers had activated just then...without her intention.

“Oh no...” she whispered, looking down at her hand as if it had just betrayed her.
Of all the times in all the places in all the worlds, why did her magic have to surge then? That was the worst part about the early phases of these powers going haywire: there was no way to predict when they would flare up, with the exception that it usually occurred at the worst possible time. And this was the epitome of that awful timing, reading into her friend's mind when she was having a deeply personal—

Sunset's eyes darted up to see Applejack, who at the moment wasn't looking too fine. Her complexion had paled considerably, and her eyes were as wide as her mouth was open. She was so in shock from realizing what had just happened that it took the roar of thunder from outside to finally elicit any kind of response.

“...S-Sunset?”

“AJ...”

“What, uh... What just...happened?”

“It was an accident! I swear! I'm so, so sorry! It's all because—wait! AJ, have you noticed anything strange happening today!?”

“You mean...besides you readin' my mind?”

“That's just it! It's our powers! They're going haywire again! Pinkie, Rainbow, and Fluttershy have all been having issues with it today, too! What about you!?”

“Not that I'm aware of... Wait, so...are y'all serious!? Our powers are gettin' outta hand again!?”

“Yes! Pinkie just blew up a trashcan with some candy wrappers over in—actually, I'll explain later! We really need your help with—”

“Whoa, whoa, hang on there, Sunset... You gotta tell me what you just saw.”

“...Huh?”

“In my mind! What did y'all see when ya read my thoughts!?”

“...I...I didn't see anything.”

“Sunset!?”

“I swear!” she replied, feigning innocence about as well as a bank robber still holding the bag. “W-What could I possibly see, it's—it's not like you've got anything to hide, certainly nothing involving us or—or Rarity or anything, s-so—”

That was it.
All it took was hearing the name...and Applejack knew that her secret was out. She was already fearful of everyone discovering this, but for it to happen so suddenly and without warning? Instantly, that awful anxiety yet again started consuming her. Overwhelming her. She couldn't deal with this... She couldn't face it... Not now...not ever!

Without even another word spoken, the farm girl spun around and bolted for the exits.

“APPLEJACK, WAIT!” Sunset pleaded.

She started to give chase, and even came close to catching up with her friend when they neared the school's entryway.
But...what could she possibly say? What could she possibly do? Her magic was out of control, one friend had all of their work ruined, and another was going through more than she could possibly imagine. Realizing all of that, Sunset found herself starting to slow down. Eventually, she came to a complete stop, and watched helplessly as Applejack ran through the double doors and disappeared into the rain outside.

For the first time in who knows how long—and for the remainder of the day—she felt genuinely powerless...

How did that old saying go, again? Bad things come in threes?

That evening, Sunset leaned against her windowsill, gazing as Canterlot firmly withstood the torrential downpour going on outside. It was difficult to see, beyond a blurry film of rainwater cascading down the glass, but the streets were completely deserted, and the clouds showed no signs of clearing up anytime soon. Her rooftop rattled as large drops hammered down on it relentlessly, and her lights flickered in response to the occasional thunderclap that would momentarily deafen everything else. It was almost as if the whole city was trembling in the presence of such raw force.

Watching all of this play out, Sunset thought back to that old adage for a moment. Looking back on this day, she decided that it no longer seemed appropriate for summarizing everything that was going on. Instead, a much better phrase came to mind, and she uttered it right before flopping into her bed, and turning in for the night:

“Man... When it rains, it pours...”

****

It could feel the entire city beneath it.

As each raindrop fell, imbued with a tiny fragment of its essence, it could feel every object and creature that was blanketed by its shower. Few living beings stirred right now...and none of them were her...

But throughout the evening, it did detect quite a few presences...
Poor souls burdened by self-doubt and insecurity, and riddled with desires... Pitiful beings that could benefit from its power... Potential hosts that could help replenish it...

A gardener, solemnly toiling amongst vegetation and flora...
A performer, frustrated by everything but her own capabilities...
A farmer, conflicted and confused by her own heart...
A layabout, doing everything in his power to avoid failure...
A scientist, deeply fearful of being alone with herself...
A slew of youths, approaching their futures with mounting trepidation...

So many possibilities for it to flourish...at least until she could be located...
In the meantime, it would leave a little bit of itself to linger on each of these candidates. Not all of them were ready just yet. However, when the time was right—when their hearts were most vulnerable and in need—it would seek them out...and forge an unbreakable bond...

Actually, one of them was already quite ripe with uncertainty...
Perhaps they would make a fitting first host...

Next Time: It Begins...

Author's Note

Took a long time to get this one out, though at least it was for reasons other than good ol' fashioned procrastination this time...kinda.

There isn't much worth commenting on with this Chapter, but I do have to give a massive amount of credit where it's due to a certain inspiration.

Though it was actually one of the first scenes I planned out for this whole story, the scenario of Sunset accidentally reading Applejack's mind was not in any way an original idea of mine. Instead, it was entirely inspired by a particular piece of fan art—one of the first I ever saw regarding this subject matter.

I believe it was created by the insanely talented LooknamTCN (https://www.deviantart.com/looknamtcn), but I can't seem to find that particular piece anymore to prove it.

For what it's worth, you can see the art as a cover for this story:
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/430804/uncovered
If I'm wrong and that wasn't a LooknamTCN piece, let me know and I'll credit it appropriately. Their art actually inspires one other scene that'll be coming up much later, so look forward to that vague little hint sometime in the future, I guess.

Till then, comments, constructive critiques and suggestions are always welcomed!