A Dazzling Return (#3)

by LightningStar626

Rating: everyone
Tags: Dazzlings, Other, Original Character, Equestria Girls, Spike (EqG), Comedy, Adventure, Main 7 (EqG)
Length: 35611

After failing their alliance with Dr. Devil, Adagio Dazzle and the Dazzlings, begin plotting some other way to get their revenge on the Rainbooms

An E.Q.U.E.S.T.R.I.A Spies story

After failing their alliance with Dr. Devil, Adagio Dazzle and the Dazzlings begin plotting some other way to get their revenge on the Rainbooms. Learning everything they could from their previous experiences, and new skill techniques, they believe the only way to now deal with them is with brute force. Meanwhile, the Rainbooms are about to start their training. Lightning Star and Karly Crystal are eager, however, problems begin to rise. Due to them focusing on their jobs instead of school, the girls' attendance has dropped and they have missed so many assignments, preparing them for an upcoming final exam. Their positions as students and Steven's job as their principal is now on the line, so, coming to terms, the girls have to put everything on hold so they can study in order to catch up with what they missed. Unfortunately, that’s the time where the Dazzlings decide to strike once again, and the Rainbooms cannot defend themselves, on account of magic being countered by brawl. Lightning and Karly must come to a conclusion; fail school, or lose their friends. Which will they choose?

Published 2020-07-19 16:10:00 UTC
Last updated 2020-08-08 15:27:40 UTC

Chapter 2: Too Cool for School

Chapter 2: Too Cool for School

"ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR- !"

~A steady beat on a kick drum rocked the stage of Applejack's barn. Pinkie Pie twirled her drumsticks in her hands, bouncing them in rhythm with the beat before tapping them against her drums in an adorable tune. The Rainbooms began to bop along in time with the music before singing.~

~Song: Shake your Tail- (Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks)~

Rainbooms: We've just got the day to get ready,~

And there's only so much time to lose,~

Because tonight,~

Yeah, we're here to part-ey-eyy!~

So let's think of something fun to do!~

We don't know,~ (What don't knowww~),

What's gonna happppen,~

We just know,~ (What just knowww~),~

It's gonna feel righttt,~

All our friends are here,~

And it's time to igniiii-e-ite the liiii-e-ights!~

~A mutli-coloured white aura encircled the seven Rainbooms as they played, growing more intensely. The back ends of their hairs produced a ponytail, and wings sprouted out from behind the backs of Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. They grew a set of pony ears on the sides of their heads, too. The magical aura gyrating them felt warm and tingly as they continued.~

Rainbooms: Shake your tail, 'cause we're here to have a party tonight!~

Shake your tail,~

Shake your taaa-e-il!~

Shake your tail, 'cause we're here to have a party tonight!~

Shake your tail,~

Shake your taaa-e-il!~

Rainbooms: So what you didn't get it right the first time,~

Pinkie: Laugh it off!~

No one said it is a crime!~

Rarity: Do your thing,~

You know you're an original!~

Applejack: Your ideas are so funny that they're criminal!~

Rainbooms: (Ohhhhhhhh-ohh!)

We've just got the day to get ready,~

And there's only so much time to lose,~

Because tonight,~

Yeah, we're here to part-ey-eyy!~

So let's think of something fun to do!~

We don't know,~ (What don't knowww~),

What's gonna happppen,~

We just know,~ (What just knowww~),~

It's gonna feel righttt,~

All our friends are here,~

And it's time to igniiii-e-ite the liiii-e-ights!~

Rainbooms: Shake your tail, 'cause we're here to have a party tonight!~

Shake your tail,~

Shake your taaa-e-il!~

Shake your tail, 'cause we're here to have a party tonight!~

Shake your tail,~

Shake your taaa-e-il!~

Shake your tail, 'cause we're here to have a party tonight!~

~As the ending chord fell into silence, the Rainbooms' pony ears and tails vanished in a shimmer of gold and silver dust. As they floated back down safely on the decking, smiles from their audience broke into cheers and claps.~

"Bravo, bravo!"

"Encore, encore!"

~Lightning Star and Karly Crystal were sitting on the bales of hay wedged in the corner before the band, while down in front were their trusty animal companions, Spike and Stitch. As well as that, three new but familiar faces were also in the mix in front. Before the show, Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash introduced them to Lightning and Karly- their little sisters, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, or, as the rest of the school and even themselves like to call them, the Canterlot Movie Club (A.K.A: The C.M.C's).~

Scootaloo was the first to start strong with a compliment. "That was awesome!"

"I know!" Sweetie Belle said, bustling in next. "And it always sounds so much better each time you hear it!"

"That's our sisters!"

~Applebloom clapped even harder. The three were so lively and full of energy. Especially Sweetie Belle who was constantly ruffling Stitch on the head as he curled in her lap. Now being a domesticated dog, wearing a newly purchased maroon red collar with stars stitched on the side, he got used to the loving attention so easily.~

"Well, shoot, guys. I'm glad ya liked it!" Applejack set her bass down on the stand. "Usually that song don't get much popularity."

"It's a classic, AJ. Everyone loves the classics!" Pinkie Pie giggled.

Stitch yawned and nodded. "I may 'ot be a music fan myself, but that wos killer!"

"Huh! Well, if you think that song was awesome, you should hear the rest! We have hundreds! Courtesy of our amazing song writer here, of course." Rainbow Dash said, gesturing towards Fluttershy with a wink.

The shy girl giggled. "Hehehe! Thanks, Dashie."

Applebloom made her stand, dusting off the strands of hay that stuck to her bottoms. "Welp. Best we get goin' now. The girls an' I have tickets to the latest movie in the theatre! After we've done, we're gonna post a review online!"

"Well, you certainly don't want to miss that!" said Lightning cheerfully.

The girls in turn said goodbye to each of their sisters. "See y'all later~!"

"Byyye!"

"See ya 'round."

"Take care, sugarcube." said Applejack.

"Have fun, darlinggg~!" sang Rarity.

"See ya, sport!" said Rainbow Dash.

~With that, the C.M.C's left with a bounce in their stride out of the big barn's doors. It was only when they were out of sight did Lightning stop waving.~

"I like your younger sisters. They are better than most children nowadays." she said.

"They said such the sweetest things as well." Karly said. "And they're not wrong. You girls play in such beautiful harmony."

The Rainbooms smiled, and Twilight felt her cheeks flushing bright pink at the compliment. "Thanks, but we're not all that good."

"She's right. We're AWESOME~!" Rainbow pounded the air.

"Rightfully so!" Lightning said. "You heard it yourself, Twi. You're amazing."

~Twilight's face grew so intensely hot, she thought her glasses were about to fog up. Sunset patted her back to draw the modesty behind a little.~

"I didn't even know you girls played until you spoke about it in the Battle of the Bands." Lightning went on. "But… I had no idea that playing music triggered…THAT!"

Sunset laughed softly as she put down her guitar. "Trust me, we were all speechless."

Karly agreed. "I was just waiting for you to finish… I- I have questions."

"How many exactly?"

"Like a million! All the questions!" Lightning said then began babbling on, question after question, without yet receiving answers. "How does it work? Why music of all things? Have you ever tried scientifically experimenting on yourselves to see what would happen? How did it start? I- "

"There's still a lot we need to answer for ourselves," Sunset interrupted politely. "But right now, we're sticking with what we got."

"Ahh."

"I was the first to discover it, to answer your last question." Rainbow Dash grinned. "I don't know how it happened, but, one second, I'm on the ground, playing my guitar, giving it my all against Trixie, then, next thing I know- KAA-BLAM! I'm flying in the air with wings coming out of my back! It was sooo awesome!"

"Riiiight?!" Pinkie Pie squealed. "Back when I turned into a magical pony girl, I was ecstatic! There were rainbows, and confetti! CONFETTI EVERYWHEREEEEE!"

That got Lightning speculating. "Hmm, that's interesting then. If Karly and I have the same powers and abilities as you to pony up at the sight of our friendship element, do you think music will also do the same?"

"I don't see why it wouldn't." Sunset shrugged.

"We should put that to the test." Twilight suggested.

Pinkie gasped excitedly. "Ohmygosh-ohmygosh-ohmygosh- YES! THEN, you girls can join our band!"

"Join the b-b-band!?"

~A shade of deep pink spread all over Karly's face, and Lightning fell into surprise, needing to double check she heard Pinkie Pie correctly.~

"What's wrong?" Sunset asked.

"Wh-what? Oh! Nothing! Nothing at all! I'm sorry. Please, don't get the wrong idea. It's just that…umm…?" Karly spoke but lost her voice mid-sentence.

Lightning took over. "We've never performed in the arts of music before. At least, not for a while."

"Well, that's all right. Singin' will do ya just fine. It's what Princess Twilight did, after all." said Applejack.

Lightning took that into consideration. She did like singing. "Yeah, I say I have a pretty decent voice."

"I would think so! We've heard you sing before." Twilight reminded.

"You have?"

"Yeahhhh- back in the forest." Rainbow recounted.

"And it was lovely." added Rarity.

"How about you, Karly?" asked Fluttershy.

Karly stiffened again. "UHM-"

"Oh, Karly can definitely sing!" Lightning came in again. "She just has a hard time singing in front of a crowd."

"I have stage fright." the shy spy explained. "Everytime I go up on a stage, my chest starts to tighten and my anxiety builds up until I turn red and feel the need to faint."

"I know how that feels." Fluttershy said meekly.

Sunset smiled at them both before making another suggestion. "What about playing an instrument then? If you don't feel like singing and drawing attention to yourself."

"This is, if you can." Rainbow pointed out.

Lightning scratched the back of her head. "I took guitar lessons when I was nine?- maybe ten- but I was never really good at it," she said. "My grandmother also taught me a little bit of piano, but I rarely play that too."

"That explains why you made the key to the hideout entrance a tune on the piano." Spike said.

"And you, Karly?" Applejack asked.

"No, I haven't played any instrument of any kind." Karly said, finally having an answer at the ready.

"Perhaps we can teach you," Rarity offered. "If you'd like."

"Thanks for the offer, girls, but I think I will just stick with being a secret agent rather than a rock star. I don't want too much on my shoulders." Karly said.

"Fair enough. We understand if you're not comfortable."

"As for me, I'll consider it." Lightning said. "It would be nice to have another little hobby and get back into the swing of music again."

"Well, we can start now." Sunset said., "Since you're about to teach us how to be a spy like you, the best thing we can do to repay you, is teach you how to be a musician like us. Here, let's start off with a guitar lesson."

~Sunset picked up her guitar again and thrust it into Lightning's hands. She held it with sincerity but felt her hands shaking like jelly. Guess it has been a while since she held an instrument. She lifted her eyes. Her expression wasn't a smile, but neither was it a challenge; it was a curious connection. The Rainbooms gathered around her.~

"You really think I can do it?" asked Lightning.

"Absolutely."

"Welp. I suppose I can give it a try."

~But before Lightning could so much as even tickle a string, a vibration caught on her right wrist. A familiar name glowed on screen- Steven. She noticed the messages he left, but decided to skip right to the call instead of reading anything first.~

She placed the watch close to her lips. "Hey, Chief. What's up- ?"

"Girls, where are you? I've been trying to call you all afternoon!"

"N-nowhere far, Mr. Secret." Fluttershy explained, oblivious to his tone. "We're around Applejack's house."

"Yup! Just chillin' at ma farm."

"What's the occasion?" Rarity asked.

But Steven was much too fidgety to talk anymore over the phone. He had to make it quick. "It's an emergency- I need the nine of you to get over here to CHS as soon as possible. I bring news. Bad news, and worst news."

The girls were still for a moment. "What? What do you mean?" Rarity asked again.

"I'll explain when you get here. Just hurry." he said more calmly.

Lightning breathed out. "Well…all right. We'll just pack up our stuff and meet you there outside the- "

"No," said Steven. "You cannot walk your way over there and meet me outside. You cannot even show yourselves outside. Just have Karly teleport you over here into the hideout. Now."

Karly peeked anxiously over Lightning's shoulder. "But, Uncle, I've never teleported that far before. And you remember what I told you last time I teleported all nine of us at the same time- "

"Just teleport yourself, AND the girls over here, RIGHT NOW."

"... R-right away, Uncle."

~There was no time to argue. Everyone's cheery mood quickly transposed to dreaded curiosity upon hearing Steven's great temper. Karly especially. She'd never heard her uncle so agitated before. Whatever his news is must seriously be bad. As the gang got into position to be teleported, Karly felt a horrible shiver flow through her spine and arms. Thing is, this time, it wasn't just nine people she had to teleport. There was Stitch and Spike too. That made eleven. What is going to happen then?~

Lightning clenched Karly's hand tightly. "You sure you're gonna be okay?"

She shrugged. "Won't know until I try."

~As Stitch sprang into Lightning's free arm, and Spike into Twilight's, Karly's spell began to plot its course to CHS. Her breathing followed by the pink sparkling around them grew heavier and heavier by the second. Then, they were gone.~

~A faint light grew intensely into Karly's eyes and as planned, she found herself and the others in a shaft of white that soon blinked into black for her eyes only. When she came too, her vision turned to a fuzzy image, with Lightning laying over her, her cold hand pressed on her forehead. Steven then emerged in her range of sight too, and she found herself lying on the colour tables on the ground floor of the E.Q.U.E.S.T.R.I.A hideaway. She had done it. Karly felt like she needed to faint again, but strangely, her force had energised itself back onto her two feet, and her vision returned to normal. Lightning and the Rainbooms smiled in relief. After that, they all gathered around the tables, seated, and pitched together to hear what Steven had to say.~

"I apologise for shouting at you." he started, "I- I've just been a bit on edge lately. I was afraid they had gotten you or something, or-"

"What? Who would've got us?" Lightning interrupted.

"The Dazzlings."

"The… Dazzlings?!" The girls emerged from their seats at once.

Applejack furrowed her brow. "They're- They're back?!"

"Yes, and quite so soon." Steven said in response. "They attacked me outside the school, you see- ."

"A-attacked!? Are you okay?!" Karly exclaimed worriedly.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, Karly. Perhaps a little shaken, and my pride has been hurt severely, but I'm fine. Anyways, the Dazzlings have returned, and have learnt… new skills. I want to believe that Devil not only told them things, but taught them things. They are now capable of using our techniques- ones that only a spy would know. And it'll be impossible to fight back without also knowing the skills yourself."

"So that's why you didn't want us to walk over." Lightning Star spoke. A long thought praised into her mind. "Okayyy, well, this isn't so much of a problem. We've beaten the Dazzlings before, we can do it again. In fact, if they're still out there, why don't we just go right now and bust their kneecaps? We got magic, pretty sure spy techniques can't compare that! Then, once they're cleared off, we can finally give the Rainbooms those spy lessons on Monday!"

"I'm sorry to say this, Lightning but, that's where the other bad news comes in." Steven waved the files he held in his hand. "I was going through our school's files to catch up on what we've missed. Now, let me ask you something, Karly and Lightning. Do you remember the last time you two went to school?"

The said two girls glanced at each other at quite a quick pace. "Ohh… Must've been about three weeks ago?- " Karly said.

"Uh-huh. Three. Weeks. Ago. And for how long? Only an hour. That's not good on your records, girls."

~The chief gave his voice a rest for a while and let everything catch up in everyone's brains.~

He carried on afterwards. "Do not take full responsibility for your forgetfulness, I blame myself too. I never took into account that your attendance turned low. And with final exams coming up, it makes the whole situation worse and even more stressful."

Karly gasped abruptly. "Oh my goodness- Our exams are coming up soon- of course! It's almost the end of June!"

"Right you are, Karly. Vice Principal Shelly informed me about that. So, here's the thing. We all need to be back at school by early Monday morning to start what we have missed."

"B-but…we were meant to start our training on Monday!" Lightning exclaimed. "It was already put on halt last time, I don't want to have to do it again! Urghhh! And JUST when my eye had finished healing!"

"Is there a way for it to be possibly postponed?" the dog Spike suggested.

"Yeah! I mean, I already know what I am going to do when I am older. Exams are just an obstacle."

"Be that as it may, Agent Star, you're still young, and you still need a proper, required education," Steven shook his head. "Talking as your chief and principal, it's important. Besides, the vice already gave me an ultimatum. Either we meet these expectations, or be sacked and expelled."

"EXPELLED?!" Lightning and Karly immediately showed distress.

"Then, wh-what are we supposed to do? About the Dazzlings? If you have to go back to school, we'll have to fight them without you." said Twilight.

"Yeah! And if they're outside, plotting to invade and trying to find us again, nobody is safe!" Rainbow added.

"Not us, nor the school…" Fluttershy said.

"And if they've gotten stronger, learning your techniques, as you say, while we haven't, this'll be even more trouble for us." Sunset added.

"What do you propose we all DO?!" the nine girls then chorused at their guardian.

Steven lowered his head. "...I don't know."

~Peering cautiously through every window of CHS, the Rainbooms surveyed the area to check if the Dazzlings were still outside, but they had vanished. Probably to go and find Steven, believing he went off into the city to escape them. But the girls knew they would be back. In the meantime, all they could do was settle down in their music room and twiddle their thumbs anxiously, thinking of how they could resolve this. It was hard. Not even the comforting licks and nuzzles from Stitch and Spike could help. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie even felt a little bit of guilt rising up inside themselves, since they were the ones responsible for the portal-opening, student-raining, villain-thwarting calamity, which caused Lightning and Karly to be apart from their school. Though Lightning assured them it wasn't their fault. If anything, she blamed herself for not noticing the whole thing. All she wanted to do was fly right into the sun.~

"I'm scared, girls," Fluttershy said, stifling a whimper. "I didn't think we'd be facing horrible danger again so soon."

"None of us did," said Sunset. "And I fear this is going to be they're toughest breakthrough yet."

The girls sighed in agreement until Rainbow Dash spoke. "W-well, maybe we'll be fine! Like Lightning said, we still have magic while the Dazzlings don't. ANNND they don't know anything about our awesome new hideaway underneath us!"

"True, but, it's only a matter of time before they do," Karly replied. "Because they know how to move like a spy, think like a spy, and learn like a spy… Well, given the details my uncle just shared with me."

~Tapping her foot rapidly against the floor, Lightning shook her body, lost in thought… They must be something they can do. She looked down towards her foot again. Tap, tap tap, tap. Her body would not let her stop, and she didn't feel upset anymore. She eyed the many musical instruments surrounding them, specifically three, and instead, decided to cheer the girls (and herself) up.~

~Song: Wii Music Theme- (Wii Music)~

~The sudden introduction of a beat caused the Rainbooms to perk up. With a drum below one foot, a saxophone in one hand, and a keyboard next to the other, they realised it was Lightning. She hit six notes on the keyboard in a charming tune, then started to play the saxophone in four. She repeated it again, but added one more note. It was like her fingers had a mind of its own, and she let herself continue on the keyboard for a while. The tune that she was producing sounded boppy and lively, a tune that the girls couldn't help but immediately dance along to. Lightning smiled too and bopped her head. Then, she exploded into a rhythm, adding a bass into the mix, and created a beautiful piece of music that sounded nostalgic and happy.~

~The tune echoed through the school's speaker, having been connected, so everyone at CHS could hear her. They all had the same thought in their minds; 'Where is that funky sound coming from?' They traced it back to the music room, crowding through the door's windows to watch. Lightning carried on, unaware of the new audience. After another minute's long of playing, she came to a close, and was showered with applause the moment she stopped by every CHS student in the room.~

Sunset could not think of a word to describe what she heard. "Lightning, that was…that was…"

"AWESOME!" Rainbow said instead.

"Wow, Lightning! I had no idea you could play like that!" Twilight exclaimed.

"I suppose the skill truly stuck with me." Lightning shrugged. "I kinda got that feeling of nostalgia too, you know?"

"What exactly did you play?"

"Not sure. I can't remember. It was just something I thought of at the top of my head."

"Well, whatever it was, we could form that into a song! And then- form more!" Rainbow yelled excitedly, all the ideas and possibilities coming into her head. "That's it! You are TOTALLY joining my band!"

"Our band." Applejack corrected.

"Whatever!"

The Rainbooms pounced on Lightning at all ends, feeling so much better. Lightning smiled. "Soooo, does this mean you can pony-up when playing music now!?" Pinkie asked.

~Lightning played the tune again just to see. Once she ended with the last chord, she looked down at herself. Nothing.~

"Gonna take that as a no." Rainbow said.

"I haven't played a musical instrument for years. I just need to find my muse again." said Lightning.

"That was… very entertaining, Agent Star."

~The girls looked up to notice Steven coming up from underneath the piano, his expression also a smile but a weak one. They figured he must've heard the music too, and enjoyed it, because his jumper hadn't stopped shaking.~

"Wow, Mr. Secret. I know what Lightnin' played sounded great an' all, but I didn't think that's all it took to cheer ya up." Applejack giggled. Steven shrugged but said nothing.

Lightning lowered the bass in her hands, suddenly feeling shy. "Chief," she said, "I understand why we are needing to return to school and such, but you know what? I don't give a darn. Friendship is more important, AS well as the Rainbooms' and this world's safety. It's in our hands. But, I have an idea. Thanks to playing music, it has calmed me down, and it got me thinking. Why don't we get the Rainbooms into the quick beginnings of our training today and tomorrow?"

"T-today? Like, right now?" Rarity blathered.

"What about us needing to prepare and going back to school?" Karly asked quizzically.

Lightning knew exactly what to say. "Vice Principal Shelly said we needed to be back by Monday. She never said anything about today or Sunday. Right, Steven?"

"That's…correct."

"Sooooo…we can start the training now instead, then afterwards try to work our ways around our schedules for more time."

Steven was slightly uneasy about that idea, but understood the logic. He hummed. "Hmm… Still a little risky, as there is so much to catch up on. The vice told me to make sure you guys are at school for more than seven hours. Besides, we are quite late in the day already to prepare the projects now."

"Please, chief, just give us a chance. The Rainbooms have to learn at least SOMETHING."

~Steven glanced at the Rainbooms for their judgements, yet they remained silent and objective. Who knows when those dangerous Dazzlings will strike them? Any idea will do, they'll just go to with flow, as long as it was quick.~

So, with another best smile, he agreed. "Alright…let's do it. But JUST the presentation project, okay?"

"All right!" Lightning punched the air then faced the seven with confidence. "Look alive, Rainbooms! Your training begins… NOW!"

Chapter 4: The Bodyguard

Chapter 4: The Bodyguard.

~The next day, Sunset was chilling in her apartment. The bright spring sun beamed down through the window and on her and she happily closed her eyes and enjoyed it. The air felt as fresh and sweet as clean laundry. It was the sort of day that made you feel good to be alive.~

Sunset sighed. "I sure hope The Dazzlings won't bother us anytime soon. We have loads of things to do…!" She takes a seat on her chair and checks her phone. "I got a message from the Chief?"

~Sunset clicked on the letter icon on her phone and it popped up an email sent by the Chief. It was a voice recording, along with entire written paragraphs of details that everyone needed to know. Sunset read the paragraphs in shock before clicking on the play button for the voice recording.~

"Good morning, Agent Sparkle, Agent Shimmer, Agent Dash, Agent Applejack, Agent Shy, Agent Rarity and Agent Pie." Steven voice's came out from the phone. "I hope everything's going ok. Today you start your independent training. I have included a message from Agent Star that has all the techniques you need to learn by next week. She also says you cannot use your magic to assist you when learning these techniques. You need to challenge yourself and be able to do them if you don't have access to your magic. When you will be training with your magic, she didn't write down, but I guarantee it will be soon. For now, practice fighting. I'll see you all this afternoon." The recording stops.

Sunset sighs. "Where do I even start?"

~Sunset scans the email again and sees that Steven and Lightning have written down lots of fighting techniques she and the others need to learn. Sunset's eyes widen a little from the long list of skills.~

"Okay…" Sunset sighs harder. "I guess I can start here."

~As Sunset gets up, Adagio peers in the window into the apartment, just Adagio though. Aria and Sonata were nowhere to be seen. Adagio watched silently as Sunset stood up and continued to look through her phone. Then, without wasting any more time, Adagio broke the window, leapt through it and pounced on Sunset and rammed the phone out of her hand and over her head.~

"Adagio!"

"Sorry, Sunset Shimmer. Am I interrupting something?" Adagio chuckled.

Sunset struggles and looks up to see her phone and one of the fighting techniques on the screen. "Stomach Kick: If you have been pinned to the floor, here's what you should do:" It read. "Use your feet or heels and press up on your attacker's stomach or legs."

~Sunset looked back at Adagio then down to her feet and kicked upwards. Her foot nailed into Adagio's stomach and made her flinch. This gave Sunset the opportunity to push her attacker off, and whistle for Lightning. She blew in between her teeth and while Adagio was getting up and getting ready to charge at her, an arm and fist appeared between them. Adagio's chest hits the arm and she falls to the floor on her back. Lightning helps Adagio stand up by grabbing the middle of the shirt and pulling it up. She also pressed her foot down on her toes. They stared and glared at each other before Lightning walked Adagio back to the window she crashed into and threw her out of it. Lightning slapped her hands together as Sunset walked towards her to look out the window.~

"Thanks, Lightning." Sunset gasped in relief.

"Just doing my job." she smiled.

"I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

"What, interrupt any work? No…! I was taking a break anyway! Don't worry about it!"

Sunset leaned further out the window. "I hope Adagio won't come back, especially from that."

"I'm sure she won't." Lightning assured her. "I mean, I didn't completely maim her or anything. Just a simple toss out of the window. And your room isn't, like, 7 stories high. So, she didn't get too hurt, but she might come back-Oh, never mind, I see her running away. You're fine." Lightning put her knuckles on her hips. "Anyways, I should be getting back to school work, and you should be getting back to learning how to fight and defend."

"Yes...I have already learnt 1 out of the 18 skills." Sunset stated.

"Really? Nice! Maybe this will turn out better than I expected. Okay, Sunset. I gotta get back now. You know what to do if Adagio or any other Dazzling comes back. Juuuussst Whistle. See ya!"

~With that, Lightning activated her power, got her raccoon ears and tail and flew out of the broken window. Sunset waved, then realised her broken window. She groans.~

"Great. The window. Repairs are not going to be cheap. You owe me, Lightning."

~At Rarity's house, Rarity was in her room, working on some clothing. Her phone suddenly bleeps and she pauses to check it. It was the same email Sunset received. Rarity read through it with open eyes and low ears, she listened to the recording too. After the recording was finished, she placed the phone down.~

"Goodness…" She said. "I never thought secret agents had so much to work on! I suppose that's to be expected. Lightning and Karly did look like they have a lot of stress on their minds, focusing on us and school. The poor darlings must be completely shattered. Well, the least I can do is get started on this so they don't have to worry alot about teaching it later."

~Rarity stood up from her seat and stepped a few feet forwards so she was in the centre of her room. Reading the email and the techniques again, she felt the same feeling as Sunset did. She sighed deeply and rubbed the sides of her head. She tried not to pressure herself too much, but it wasn't working. She was about to have a mental breakdown, but someone loudly knocked on her door.~

"Oh, who could that be?" Rarity wondered. "I didn't order anything, did I?"

~The knock didn't sound very friendly, but curiosity got to the best of Rarity. She tugged her arm close to her chest before cautiously making her way over to the door to open it. However, before she could touch the handle, the door flew open and smashed onto the wall. Aria Blaze was shown behind the door, glaring deep into Rarity's startled face. She was about to step into the room, but Rarity threw the door into her face and shut it using her diamond shield.~

"Aria's here!" She exclaimed. "But...I don't want to disturb Lightning or Karly."

~The door flew open again, but this time, it broke off the wall completely. Aria stepped in and Rarity prepared for the worst.~

"I can't believe Adagio is making me do this…" Aria murmured under her breath. "Come with me, if you don't want to get hurt."

"If you even think about harming a single hair on this head…" Rarity threatened. "You will have another thing coming…"

"Suit yourself."

~Aria leaps to attack and Rarity casts her diamond shield to block it. Aria hits the centre of the shield and firmy places both hands onto it and starts to push. Rarity tried to push back, but somehow Aria had more strength, but she kept trying to push. Suddenly, her elbows pressed against the wall and she had nowhere to go. Rarity thought Aria would stop pushing since she had her backed into the wall, but no, she kept going. Rarity tried to look for a way out but couldn't see anything, until she looked at her phone.~

"Wall Spin/Duck: If you have been backed into the wall, here's what you should do: Rotate or spin to the side. If there's more than one person surrounding you, or you have been backed into a corner, quickly duck down and slip under your attacker's legs."

~Rarity looked back at Aria, then as quickly as possible, she deactivated her diamond shield and spun to the left, still keeping herself against the wall. Aria was taken by surprise and she did bang her head on the wall, but she recovered rather quickly and charged again. The shield was put back up and Rarity was back in the same situation, she desperately needed help this time so whistled. Aria grinned but her smile disappeared when a glowing object hit her in the back of the head. She fell down to the floor unconscious and Rarity looked up to see Lightning aiming a blaster at her. Ducking low, Rarity slipped from her diamond shield and the wall and fell to the floor. Lightning glanced down at her. Rarity was slowly regaining her breath but she looked as white as a sheet. Seeing that the coast looked clear, Lightning motioned her to her feet.~

"Uh, are you alright, Rarity?"

"I will be…" Rarity responded, keeping her voice still.

"Really? Cause it looks like you're about to have a meltdown."

"I am not having a meltdown!"

"Whoa...okay. Breath, girl. Breath."

~Lightning slowly builds up air in her chest, then lets it all out. Rarity copies her and calms down from the ambush she had endured.~

"Stressed about learning the techniques?" Lightning asked.

"You could say that…"

"I get it. I can see you're the type of girl that doesn't do this kind of thing regularly, you just joined for your friends...and that's very noble of you. But, don't worry, hopefully, you will get the hang of this. I believe you will."

"Thank you, Lightning, darling." Rarity smiled but then she turned to Aria's body. "Um...how long is Aria going to be knocked out for…?"

Lightning looks down at Aria too. "About an hour or two. Depends how hard it hit. I'll just dump her outside, her sisters, Adagio and Sonata can pick her up out there."

"Oh. Alright…" Rarity murmured.

"How was the training going along then, you know, before it was rudely interrupted by Aria?"

"Hmm-I didn't get anywhere...I only just started, and all I've learnt is one technique-"

"Ok! In the same boat as Sunset, we're getting there! Yeah, keep it up, Rares. I...am going to go back to studying. And remember, just whistle." Lightning raced out the door and waved goodbye.

Rarity nodded slowly.

"Hi-yah!"

~Pinkie Pie chucked a pillow at her window in an instant. She then turned her head around dramatically to more pillows lying on her bed and tossed them around for seemingly no reason. She punched, kicked, spun around and threw to the ground mostly every pillow she could get her hands on. After a while, she smiles and breathes.~

"Phew! Well, I think I've mastered the first five techniques pretty well, if I do say so myself." She states, pretending to brush something off her arm.

A shy voice laughed. "Yes, good job...You practically just beat that pile of pillows to death."

~Pinkie turned around to see Karly.~

"Now, tell me, what exactly did those pillows ever do to you?" Karly chuckled.

"Oh, hey Karly!" Pinkie waved. "I didn't have any training dummies, so pillows were the best I could find…"

"Oh right, I see. Lightning would practise fighting with her pillows if she didn't have any dummies to work with."

"Really?"

"Of course."

Pinkie snickered. "So, what are you doing here?"

"I finished my work early so I decided to come and check on you." Karly explained. "I went over to Fluttershy's first and she was doing alright. I heard from Lightning that Sunset and Rarity were attacked by Adagio and Aria."

"WHAT?!" Pinkie gasped. "Are they ok?!"

"Yeah-yeah, they're fine. Lightning protected them. But, she is getting a little worried over your safety, and your friends too. I don't blame her…" Karly whispered.

"Yeah…" Pinkie sighed. "Why did the Dazzlings have to attack us now?! Why could it have been never?!"

"Exactly...I take...I take it you read the email you got from my uncle?"

"Yep! Already learnt 5 out of the 18 techniques!" Pinkie smiled.

"That's great!" Karly exclaimed. "How on earth did you learn the first five so fast…?"

"It was easy! First, I read the email and the techniques. Then, I put my pillow in place and began punching in different ways. Dodging and deflecting them was a cinch too!"

"I mean, you can magically appear from one place to another, and, somehow, you can stand on the ceiling and walls and ignore gravity."

"Like this?"

~Pinkie suddenly comes down from the ceiling and stares at Karly from an upside-down angle. Karly yelps and nearly trips over herself from the startle, but she reassures herself. Pinkie warps from the ceiling and returns to the floor instantly afterwards.~

"Ahh! Oh, uh, yes, exactly like that. That's pretty amazing, honestly." Karly sighed.

"Thanks!"

"How do you even do it?"

"Don't...question it." Pinkie whispered in a mysterious tone.

"Alright…" Karly replied in the same tone.

"Let's move on to the 6th technique now then, shall we?" Pinkie then smiled.

"Oh, of course. Let's go outside for this one."

"Okay!"

~Pinkie bounded across the floor while Karly trotted to the back garden of Pinkie's house. They didn't see Sonata spying on them from the window. She smiled and raised an eyebrow before ducking down and walking briskly to the back of the house, still keeping her head down. She watched Karly and Pinkie enter the garden and firstly admire the scenery and the sun before getting on with more training.~

Karly read the next skill on Pinkie's phone. "Alright, the next technique is the 'Orbital Jump?' Hmm...I have never heard of that move. Did Lightning write down any other moves I don't know? Because if so, I could learn them too, and then ask Lightning why she hasn't told me about these moves."

"Maybe they're new?" Pinkie shrugged.

"Maybe...There are some I do know and have mastered, but hmm, there are some I do not know. Like…the 'Orbital Jump' and 'Thrill Jump' and the 'Saddle Deflect?'-Are we sure she is not making these up?"

Sonata comes up behind her. "Oh no, they're real. Dr. Devil showed us how to use that move on a watermelon."

"Oh right-What the-"

~Karly rotated her head round to see Sonata almost shoulder to shoulder with her. She stumbled back and over when she turned but then immediately scrambled back onto her feet afterwards and faced her in concern. She had no clue what to say to her. Pinkie stood beside Karly and put her hands on her hips in a sassy way.~

"Sonata!" Pinkie gasped.

"Hello, um, sorry for startling you and sorry for stalking you, but, Adagio wanted me to find you and take you to her." Sonata smiled.

"So you can use her magic for evil? Not going to happen." Karly replied, putting on a brave face.

"Then, it looks like we're going to fight and do it by force!" She happily shrugged.

~Without wasting anymore time, Sonata leapt to attack. Pinkie avoided the attack by swiftly turning to the side, however, Karly wasn't quick enough. Sonata pounded into Karly and threw herself and her on the ground. Karly was thrown off guard a little, but she pulled her weight and head together and kicked Sonata off. Pinkie had to help so she stepped forward and began to brawl with Sonata. Both did an extremely good job at attacking and dodging one another's moves.~

"Wow, you're pretty good at this…" Pinkie panted.

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself." Sonata smiled

"Um...Pinkie? I don't think it's best to compliment the enemy…" Karly frowned.

~The two looked at Karly sheepishly before continuing to fight. Sonata shoved Pinkie into the wall of her house then went for a punch, but thankfully, Pinkie wall spinned out of the way, ducked and ran to the other side of the garden. Sonata followed. Pinkie tried to escape but couldn't look and find an exit, until she remembered the next skill.~

"Orbital Jump: If you are fighting somewhere that has lots of room or somewhere high up, here's what you should do: Jump as high as you can and maybe jump onto a balcony or a tall object. Being higher than your opponent gives you the high ground and advantage to take them down easier."

~Pinkie nodded bravely then bounced upwards. Sonata suddenly stopped in shock but shook it off and continued to follow Pinkie. The party girl kept leaping high and over Sonata until she began to feel dizzy. Pinkie began laughing because she was having fun. But then, suddenly, she started to actually get a little tired from all the running, jumping and dodging she was doing, not to mention all the training she previously just did too, trying her best to master the techniques to make Steven, Lightning and Karly proud. She slipped and slithered, stumbled, fell, and struggled to get back up. This was Sonata's chance now! She looked over Pinkie and was about to finish her but Karly quickly staggered to her feet again and teleported in between her and Pinkie. She clenched her fists and charged at Sonata. Once again, Karly fumbled to the ground, dragging Sonata down with her too.~

"Pinkie, whistle for Lightning!" Karly gasped as she wrestled with the siren.

"O-Ok!"

~With her legs buckling, Pinkie rose to her feet and clutched on the fence. She reached into her hair, brought out a kazoo and blew into it. Within seconds, she saw something high in the sky flying over her house, it suddenly dived down and crashed right in front of her. Lightning Star gazed up and smiled at Pinkie to reassure her.~

"Mind if I drop in?" Lightning said, half to Sonata, half to Karly.

Karly sat up on the ground and eyebrowed Lightning. "Yes, please, that would be very helpful. My arms feel like they're about to fall off."

"Yeah! Get her, Lightning!" Pinkie cheered.

"Happy too."

~Lightning got into position and prepared for battle. Sonata's mind went completely blank. What should she do? Charge at Lightning and show no fear? Adagio would be disappointed if she didn't. Sonata showed an evil smile across her face before she made up her mind and charged in. Lightning narrowed her eyes before stretching her hand out and catching Sonata by the shoulder. She then lightly pushed her and she fell helplessly to the ground and lay still. Lightning bent down and stared at Sonata with a smug grin, then she silently told her and go on and get. She immediately stood up and did just that.~

"Goodbye. Have a great time!" Lightning waved.

"Whoo...that...was a lot on my shoulders…" Karly sighed in relief.

"Are you alright, Karly?" asked Pinkie.

"No...I think my arm is bruised." She replied.

Lightning looked down at it. "It doesn't look that bad. I think you just pulled a muscle."

"A muscle strain? Ohh...Great. How is it that you defeated her so easily, while for us, she practically went all king kong on us?"

"Maybe, she was afraid...I don't know, actually. Oh well, I defeated her and she's gone, so nothing to worry about. Pinkie, how was the training going?"

"It's going well. I already have 6 of the techniques down and out!" She smiled brightly.

Lightning raised her brows in shock. "Alright! Nicely done, then!" She turned to her partner. "Did you help her out with some?"

"No, actually. She already mastered them by the time I got here to check on her. By the way, Fluttershy is also doing alright. Surprisingly, she also has learned the first five skills and more as we speak, maybe."

"Really? Great! Ok! Well, we should get back to...studying." Lightning said with an eye roll. "If Sonata comes back, Pinkie, remember to whistle."

"Okie Dokie Lokie, Lightning!"

~Lightning winked then took off to the skies again.~

Karly waved then turned to Pinkie and whispered. "I actually helped Fluttershy with the skills. Come on, she needed it."

"I thought so." Pinkie grinned. "You sure she will be okay, now?"

"Yeah. I think I helped her enough."

Chapter 5: Playing and Training

Chapter 5: Playing and Training.

~Rainbow Dash stretched out a hand and laid gently upon the table. She looked quite exhausted and had no absolute strength to get up. After a few more seconds, she eventually got up because she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She cocked open one eye and saw Twilight and Sunset entering the hideout. Twilight drew in her breath with a long shuddering sigh.~

"Hey, Twilight! Sunset! How did the training go?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight whimpers in despair. "I didn't even get close to finishing the first technique! I can't believe I'm saying this, but...This is difficult! It's like studying for a test, the only problem is, I don't know what to do." Her eyes shrink down in worry. "I'm going to freak out!" She begins hyperventilating.

"Breathe, Twilight, breathe." Sunset consoled. "You're not the only one having trouble with this. Our friends and I are too. Rainbow, how did the training go?"

"Pfft! It was a cinch! I learnt the techniques in 10 seconds flat!

"You've learnt all 18 of them already?"

"What, no. Only 7 of them. I stopped on the 8th one because it was too difficult for me." Rainbow shrugged.

Pinkie jumps down from the ceiling. "Ah, Come on, Dashie! It wasn't that hard!"

"Maybe for you it wasn't. You can handle a lot of spinning, I can't."

~Pinkie slid beside Rainbow on the table and giggled. Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity shortly arrived and joined their friends at the table while they waited for the Chief.~

"Do any o' y'all know what the Chief called us here for?" asked Applejack.

"Not a clue." Twilight replied. "But, I already feel unprepared for what he has in store for us."

"Me too…" Fluttershy sighed. "I feel completely worn out from this morning...and I'm feeling a lot of anxiety coming!" She whimpered softly.

Rainbow agreed. "Yeah, I feel completely exhausted too…"

"Let's just hope Steven takes things slow on us…" said Sunset.

~Suddenly, the seven heard footsteps coming down the stairs and assumed it was Steven. They all stood up and awaited his arrival, but were cut off and surprised when they saw not Steven, but Lightning and Karly.~

"Good Afternoon, E.Q.U.E.S.T.R.I.A!" Lightning smiled brightly.

"Lightning?! Karly?!" The Rainbooms exclaimed in shock.

"Aren't you two supposed to be studying for school?" Twilight asked.

"We have done a good old 5 hours of studying." Lightning answered hastily. "So, we decided to take a break and dedicate this time off to help you girls train, plus we need to give you a couple of extra things. That's why I told you to come here this afternoon."

Sunset was confused. "But, we got an email from Steven. How did you…?"

"I might have snuck into the Chief's office and added that 'Meet me here this afternoon' thing. Plus, that little recording." Lightning interjected. "I have a pretty good Chief impression, huh?"

~The Rainbooms pulled an unforeseen look at Lightning and said nothing.~

"Yeah, that's the exact same face I pulled when Lightning told me about this…" Karly said.

"Hey, It's a darn good thing I did that! I knew the Dazzlings would attack you again and they did. Sunset, Rarity and Pinkie were almost taken and I'm worried it'll happen again!"

~The girls continued to stare.~

"We won't train that long! Only for this afternoon, alright. Then, Karly and I will go back home to study at 6 o'clock. How about that? Pinkie. Promise."

~As Lightning and Karly crossed their hearts and pretended to stick cupcakes in their eyes, the Rainbooms grew increasingly apprehensive. Of course they feared for their own safety, but now they also feared for Lightning and Karly failing because they are helping them instead of working. Twilight, especially, felt more worried. She knows how important school is and how it roles a good part in getting into a good college.~

"Lightning...Karly, I...we...I still don't think…you should procrastinate. School is important to everyone and you."

"I don't believe it's a good idea either, Twilight." Sunset interrupted. "But, I feel like we need this."

Rainbow agreed. "Yeah...the Dazzlings will take our magic and take over the world if we don't learn these skills. Give them a chance!"

~Twilight looked up at Lightning.~

"We have this evening and all day tomorrow to study. Plenty of time. We have this under control. Trust me." said Lightning.

Twilight sighed. "Can I give you two a test after this? Just to see how you're doing?"

Lightning frowned a little. "Yeah, Alright, Miss Sparkle." She rolled her eyes.

~The others nodded their heads in agreement and glanced at each other with a smile. Twilight darted her eyes left, right, then forward to Lightning and firmly nodded.~

"Okay then."

"Then let's get to the arena and teach ya the 8th technique! And the other techniques too…"

~Lightning hurriedly walked to the door of the training arena with the others following her closely. Once in the room, the Rainbooms settled down and looked up and face Lightning and Karly so they can begin the teaching.~

Karly started. "Alright, my fellow E.Q.U.E.S.T.R.I.A Agents, hold on to your hats! Uh, those of you that are not wearing hats, just roll with it. Lightning and I give to you...The Windmill Punch!"

"You punch, but you also have to spin in a circle." Lightning demonstrates the skill and spins in a circle. "This helps if you are surrounded by enemies."

"See, this is hard for me! How can you do that without becoming dizzy?" Rainbow asked.

"Or even, getting caught off guard?" Twilight added.

"You have to get used to spinning." Lightning replied. "There is another version of the Windmill Punch, this one requires no spinning. You just punch up, down, left and right, or whenever your enemies may be in rapid movement. Try it."

"Ok, but we are still very exhausted from this morning, so can we take our time…?"

"Certainly."

~Sometime later, a large patchwork training dummy was seen in the middle of the hideout. It was made of rubber and had a smiley face painted on its head. It tilted from side to side and from down below, The Rainbooms are seen fighting it. Rainbow and Sunset were punching the dummy as hard as they could. Pinkie tried to blow it up with her confetti, even though Lightning said not to do that because it was the only dummy she had not broken yet. Rarity didn't fight back, but was able to block the dummy every time it tilted towards her. Twilight and Applejack defended themselves against the dummy attacks, but were struggling a little. And, Fluttershy, was having a little bit of trouble fighting back. Luckily, Lightning and the others were there to give her a little push. She smiled and meekly hit the dummy and it shook. The girls jumped all over the place and around the dummy until Rainbow smacked it in the face and it tilted to the ground.~

"Done and Done." Rainbow smiled.

~Rainbow gives Lightning a bow, not knowing the dummy was tilting back in her direction at full speed. Lightning saw it and jumped a few feet to the right. However, The Rainbooms weren't so lucky. The dummy smacks the seven girls and throws them to the ground. It immediately tilted back upright afterwards, leaving the girls on the floor as flat as a pancake.~

"Oww…" The girls all groaned and grunted.

"Yes, you see, a real secret agent would have seen that coming..." Lightning explained, jumping back into the scene.

"Couldn't you have given us a warning?" Rainbow frowned.

"Well, I didn't have time. We need to work on getting your reflexes as quick as a hedgehog." Lightning replied.

"Hedgehogs aren't quick." Twilight noted.

"Tell that to Sonic. Let's move on."

~The girls moved back to the ordinary patchwork dummies and practised a couple more new moves on them. Lightning proudly smiled at the girls' training and slowly nodded to herself. She suddenly heard the door creak open and hear gruff woofy sort of voices coming towards her.~

"Master! Master!"

"Stitch?"

Stitch and Spike race over to Lightning's feet. "Is it alright for me to call you 'Master'? Since you kinda are?" Stitch barked.

"Um, sure, whatever. What's up, Stitch?"

"Me and Spike were wondering...if…"

"You can teach us some moves…!" Spike smiled, wagging his tail.

"What?"

"We want to be of some help to you. We know dogs like us can't do that kind of stuff...but, we could try."

"We could bite the enemies! Or maybe scare them, we can be scary! We are not just a pair of dumb, silly dogs." Stitch proudly curves upwards with his head held up high.

"Yeah, This is coming from the dogs that sang 'Baby Shark' in their room a couple of days ago." Lightning shrugged.

Stitch suddenly blushed. "You heard that?" he woofed.

"Everyone heard it."

"Oh…"

"Maybe we are a little silly…" Spike admitted.

Lightning kneeled down and ruffled the dogs' heads. "You are silly and crazy, but that's what I like about you. I'll see what I can do about you learning something then."

"Really? Thank you, Master. Me won't let you down!"

"I won't either!" Spike barked.

~Stitch and Spike's hackles rose and they charged into the field of training dummies. They crouched low and growling menacingly and pretended that the dummies were petrified enemies. Every sinew in their bodies tensed for action. Fluttershy stopped and stared down at them. She giggled a little before continuing to train.~

"Hey, Lightnin', little question, since this is a job thin', do we earn money for doin' this?" Applejack asked, wiping her forehead from the training.

"Oh, yeah! Me and Karly do this, of course, for a living." Lightning explained proudly. "I had been ever since I was 8. Karly has been since she was 11, but-blaa! Yes. We earn money!"

"How much?"

"Like, 9 pounds/dollars an hour."

"WHOO!" The Rainbooms' eyes widen.

"I know, right?!" Lightning smiled so hard, her teeth showed. "So, you want that money, work up! Work. Up!"

"Hey, Lightning! One of the techniques is called 'The Diamond Deflect.' How do we do that one?" asked Rainbow.

Lightning stared at Rainbow while picking up a nearby football in her room. "Oh. Right. Well, I actually made that technique up last second. It's really for Rarity."

Rarity heard her name so she stopped and turned. "Me? Why?"

"This is why. Rarity, think fast!"

~In the blink of an eye, Lightning fired the football in her hands straight forward and into Rarity's direction. It was travelling so fast, no one could keep their eyes on it. Rarity screamed, shut her eyes tightly in fear and held up her hands and her diamond shield. The ball made contact with the diamond and bounced back to Lightning. She caught it instantly.~

"That's what I'm talking about!"

Rarity opened her eyes and panted. "Phew…"

"Your reflexes are getting better, Rarity. We just need the rest of you to get there. So, let's play dodgeball! It'll help, I swear!"

~6 soft balls about the size of a basketball were laid out in a line in the center of the arena. Karly Crystal set them up perfectly. Lightning motioned the Rainbooms to the balls.~

"You all know the five D's to dodgeball, don't you? Well, now's the time you use it for the greater good! Karly, Rainbow, Fluttershy and Sunset vs Twilight, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie! Go, go, go!"

"Okay! Break Time!" Pinkie shrieked.

"Break Time?" Lightning inquired curiously.

"Yeah! Come on, Lightning. A little 10 minutes of relaxing won't hurt anyone." Rainbow ventured through the door.

"I guess. Alright."

~The nine girls climbed up the stairs and into the music room to settle down in. Lightning and Twilight together reached the top first and looked around aimlessly.~

"Why don't you study during this time?" Twilight suggested.

Lightning pouted her lip quizzically. "Uh, Yeah, I suppose I could."

"We could! I just happened to have brought my maths revision book." Karly swiped a book out of thin air and began to scan it.

~Lightning was also about to reach for her backpack, but Rainbow called out to her which made her stop and turn in the direction she heard her voice come from.~

"Hey, Lightning! Since you can play really good on the saxophone, violin, bass and keytar…"

"Whatcha got on the drums?" Pinkie asked, finishing the sentence.

"Oh, well…"

~Lightning walked past Twilight, who had her mouth gaping, and sat down on the leather seat besides Pinkie's drum set. Pinkie lent Lightning a pair of wooden drumsticks.~

"I have never played drums in my life, but I take it it's easy." Lightning gave a worried but happy face.

"It is. Show us what you have got!" Pinkie prompted and grinned impatiently.

~Lightning's mood changed at once. She grinned and began to ferociously beat down on the drums and cymbals, she began to sing a little too.~

~Song: In the Air Tonight- (Phil Collins)~

~Lightning smashed the drums one more time and ended the song. Pinkie's heart leapt.~

"Wow!"

"Good?"

"Awesome!" Rainbow punched in the air.

"Play something else!" Pinkie gushed.

~Lightning stepped off the drums and headed for the saxophone on the ground and tuned it before playing a jazzy beat. Rainbow and Pinkie tapped their feet and clapped/clicked their hands to the beat. Twilight disappointedly stared at Lightning and sat down beside Karly. Karly looked up at Twilight worriedly before darting her eyes and nose back into her revision book.~

"Alright, girls, This thing I'm about to give you is important, do not take it off or lose it, ok?"

~They all nod. Lightning slowly looks up and smolders. Sometime later, Lightning reveals seven coloured watches. Red, Green, Yellow, Purple, Pink, White and Black. The Rainbooms take the one that resembles their colour and clips it on their wrist. Twilight got purple, Sunset got black, Rainbow got red, Applejack got green, Fluttershy got yellow, Rarity got white and Pinkie got pink. Lightning already had the blue one and Karly had the magenta one.~

"So, what's this for?" Rainbow asked, pointing at the watch on her wrist.

"This...is how we will contact each other. If whistling eventually doesn't do much anymore." Lightning said.

"Couldn't we just text or call on our phones?" Rarity suggested.

"Wrist calms are quicker. Right, Agents, listen closely. The wrist calm flashes."

"It flashes." Sunset repeated.

"A triple flashing light means emergency, like major stuff going down so everyone has to get here fast."

"Easy enough!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"A double flash is kinda important, but not so much…" Karly continued.

"Annnd...What about a single flashing light?" Pinkie asked happily.

"Just send me a text of whatever."

"Ok…" Sunset softly nodded.

"Ok, Now, that's we're covered the fighting and wrist calms, let's cover something else."

"Oh god…" Karly clenched her teeth in worry, she knew what Lightning was on about.

"What else do we have to learn?" Sunset inquired.

"Escaping. If you have been taken prisoner by a villain, I need to show you a trick or two about escaping their grasp."

~Lightning walked a few feet back and motioned everyone minus Karly to sit down and listen closely.~

"If you're caught, things could get pretty ugly for us, and a lot worse for you."

Karly shut her eyes, lifted her eyebrows and folded her arms. "Of course…"

"So, listen up. Usually, if you're tied up, you're going to have three problems…" Lightning began walking back and forth. "Your arms and legs will be bound, and you'll probably be gagged as well for good measure."

"Obviously…" Karly sighed. "Sorry, this is my least favourite thing to learn, knowing that this might happen."

"I would just like to also point out that we won't be able to use our geodes to get out of the situation since we won't be able to touch and activate them." Twilight noted.

"So, we're by ourselves on this one, no matter what." Sunset said.

Lightning nodded. "Getting your arms free is the hardest thing to do, since that gets the most attention, but, if you can do that, you're as good as free."

"The legs aren't usually difficult. If you get those untied first, you might be able to move around and look for an easier way to get free." Karly explained.

Lightning continued. "As for the gag...well, you get that loose, you might be able to call the guards. You could convince them to let you go? Failing that, you could trick them somehow, or bargain with them or you could just call for help, just make sure they don't gag you again."

~Everyone slowly but unsurely nodded.~

"I would recommend keeping a pocket knife or something sharp and handy on you at all times. Put it somewhere where people won't expect it, like inside your boot. Or under your hat." She addressed Applejack. "Or wherever else. Trust me. It will save your life."

"Now, I also gave everyone a code colour."

"Code colour?" Twilight questioned.

"If you're in danger, you click on your colour on your wrist calm. It will flash that colour on everyone else's wrist calm and will trace a signal to say that you're in danger. For example, my colour is light blue. So, when I click light blue…"

~Lightning clicks on the light blue colour and soon enough, everyone's wrists began glowing light blue.~

"Oh!" Pinkie smiled.

"Now, you all would know I'm in trouble. Well, not really, it's just a demonstration. So, Karly is magenta, Twilight is purple, Sunset is red, Rainbow is dark blue, Applejack is orange, Fluttershy is yellow, Rarity is white, Pinkie is pink and If everyone is in danger, the colour is black."

"Sounds good." Twilight slowly nodded.

"Annnd that's everything."

"Yep. And the clock should chime 6 right about...Now!"

~Karly points at the clock hanging off the wall and it chimes six times.~

"Wow. 6 already?!" Rainbow inquired.

"That was fast." Applejack said.

"Well, time flies when you're having fun…"

"This was fun?" Karly raised a brow at Lightning.

"Kinda." She replied. "Anyways, we should probably get back home…"

"And study." Twilight hissed.

"Uh-huh. Yeah. That."

"But first, Let's do the test."

"Right, Have a good evening, girls." Lightning and Karly follow Twilight in her room.

Author's Note

I apologise that the full story isn't released. I have alot of college work to catch up on and I have been sick for a while lately. Hopefully, I shall have the rest of this story finished and published by 1st August. Thank you for understanding.

Chapter 6: Wives and Fathers

Chapter 6: Wives and Fathers.

~Sunday morning rolled around pretty quickly. Twilight Sparkle spent the night in her room in the hideout so she could mark the test she gave Lightning and Karly. The clock chimed 7am. She woke at once and rushed to her desk to where the papers were. She was shocked when she got the results.~

"Lightning and Karly...actually did remarkably well. They are spot-on in all of her subjects...Even speaking fluent Spanish. That's weird...I thought they needed so much help. They missed 3 weeks of school! I guess I was wrong. They're actually doing fine. I better inform this to Steven. Maybe I can convince him to let Lightning and Karly continue training us since they are already doing well. All they have to do is appear at school tomorrow."

~Twilight ventured through the door and saw Steven by the tables. She was about to walk up to him, until she saw that he wasn't alone. There beside him stood a light-skinned woman of middle age, dressed in a buttoned up, cerise pink blouse and skirt. She had brown glossy hair, keen blue eyes and a pure smile. She and the Chief were too focused on the files and themselves, neither of them noticed Twilight standing behind them.~

"So, Lightning and Karly have been off school for 3 weeks?" The woman said to Steven.

"Yes." He replied. "And I don't think they're studying as much as they should. So, I want you to keep an eye on them and they're studying until tomorrow."

"Of course, Steven, my dear, you just get your work done and don't worry about a thing! I'll make sure Lightning and Karly know everything."

~The woman gave Steven a little kiss on the cheek and he happily looked at the files in front of him. Twilight was a little confused. Who is that woman? Where did she come from? Her thoughts were put on a halt when Lightning came down the stairs, with irritation on her face. She cheered up a little though when she saw Twilight.~

"Oh, hey, Twilight, how did I do in the te-" Lightning stopped in mid-sentence as her eyes alighted upon the woman with Steven. "Is that...Katherine Secret?!" She asked quietly.

"I don't know." Twilight answered. "Maybe. Do you know her?"

~Lightning ignored Twilight's question and turned to her wrist calm. She clicked a button three times and waited. Twilight's wrist calm began flashing and beeping three times without stopping, this also meant everyone's wrist calm was too flashing and beeping. In a matter of seconds, a rainbow bolt sped down the stairs and in front of Lightning.~

"I got the triple flash, Lightning! What's the emergency?!" It was Rainbow Dash.

"This is very bad! Wait for the others to get here, and I'll explain then."

"Lightning, I don't understand. Who is that?!"

~Lightning, once again, ignored Twilight and continued to wait impatiently for the other to get here. However, Steven noticed the three girls and called out to them. Lightning went pale when she heard him call out her name.~

"Ah! Agent Star! You're here! Have you been studying…?"

She turned around to face him and frowned. "Yes! Every hour!" She then brought hers and his attention to the women. "-What is she doing here?!"

"Katherine...is going to be your tutor, I don't believe you're studying hard enough, so I've brought her here to lend a helping hand." He explained.

"If I may, Chief…" Twilight budged in between him and Lightning. "I can confirm that Lightning and Karly have been studying. Very well, in fact. I gave them a test yesterday, and their results are almost perfect. There's no sights that they are behind on any of their subjects. So, can they-"

Steven raised a hand. "Agent Sparkle…I get it. You want Lightning and Karly to help you fight against the Dazzlings, but covering for them isn't going to help. They need to study and be back at school tomorrow so they can do their exams. And if they don't, they will fail and be kicked out."

"Um…"

"So, just continue training by yourselves and don't think about anything else." He walked back over to the tables.

"But-"

"Thank you for trying, Twilight...but nothing is going to make Chief change his mind on anything." Lightning shrugged slowly.

"Now, now, Lightning. My husband is only doing what's best for you. It's his job as a principal." Katherine said sweetly.

"Oh, quit the sweet talk, Katherine!" Lightning jabbed. "You are going to make this much harder as it already needs to be!"

"Auntie Katherine?!" A voice exclaimed.

~Everyone turned and saw Karly and the rest of the Rainbooms standing a metre behind them. Their eyes stared in dismay.~

"What are you doing here?!" Karly stammered.

"Hello, Karly, my dear. I'm here to help you and your friend get top marks in your exams." Katherine smiled.

"Really?"

"Yes, Of course." She petted Karly's head like she was a dog. "Don't you worry you're precious little head about a thing. I'll help until the end."

~Lightning lets out a disgusted noise and jolts her head to the right.~

"Is this the emergency, Lightning?" asked Rainbow.

"Yes!" She sighs deeply. "Ok, this here is Katherine Secret, The Chief's wife, also Karly's auntie. Don't let her jolly nature fool you though, she is cruel. She's like an evil stepmother in movies. The minute the Chief is out of her sight, she blows up in our faces." Lightning warned.

Steven sighs in relief. "Right, I should begin my work, then. You guys take care!"

"Alright, honey!"

~The Chief smiles and heads down into his office. And after he went inside and closed the door, a flicker of anger flashed across Katherine's face and she blew up in Lightning and Karly's faces.~

"You wanted me to quit the sweet talk, Lightning, well here you go! And just like you said, I am making this much harder as it needs to be! Now, go get your textbooks and get to work immediately!"

~Katherine snarled with rage and with a spitting, she stomped to the tables and sat down. Lightning and Karly gave each other intense faces before glumily walking into their rooms to retrieve their books. While they were doing so, The Rainbooms took another glance at Katherine. Her eyes had now completely changed since the last time they saw them. She was fiddling with her nails, but then she noticed the seven staring at her.~

"What do you girls want?!"

"Nothin'." Applejack replied hastily.

Twilight shrugged. "It's just that…"

"I don't think you should be talking to Lightning and Karly like that…" said Fluttershy.

"I'll treat whoever I want in any kind of way as I darn well please!" Katherine shouted. "Hmm…"

~Katherine scratched the tip top of her forehead with her sharpest nail. She was thinking of something, most likely something malicious, and the Rainbooms did not like it one bit.~

"So, you're the new agents my husband can't stop blabbering about? You're training and learning all the skills, aren't you?"

"Yeah, so?" Rainbow ventured.

She gave a twisted smile. "Well...being a part of this agency and training here requires cleaning…"

"Cl-Cleaning?" Rarity said.

"Yes. Cleaning." Katherine grinned.

~Katherine points her sharp nail over to a closet on the opposite wall to where everyone was. She angrily motioned Applejack to go over and open it. The cowgirl reluctantly did, and when she did, a load of cleaning supplies came out of it and scattered the ground. Katherine ambles to the supplies and forcefully handed the girls a mop, sponge or cloth each.~

"You girls will be a big help in cleaning the hideout."

"The Chief nor Lightning didn't say cleaning was a part of the training." Sunset retaliated.

"They did now! Scrub the floors, will you? My niece and her friend have already cluttered up the place!" Katherine demanded.

"Hey! We are not here to clean up after anyone!" Rainbow glared.

"And we certainly aren't here to take orders from you!" Pinkie added.

Katherine grew mad. "How dare you say that to me?! Just because you are friends with my niece, doesn't mean you're allowed to bother me and my family whenever you feel like it! I do not tolerate such behaviour."

~The woman's eyes narrowed and she shrugged with indifference.~

"You better not put a bad influence on my niece and cause trouble and force Karly to follow…"

Rarity scoffed. "Well, some trouble you speak of, might not even be our fault-"

Katherine ignores the girl and grumbles. "I can see people like you know nothing about respect. Of course Karly and Lightning would find such stupid friends, I shouldn't even be surprised…"

~The Rainbooms (Even Fluttershy) glowered.~

"That's all I have to say to you, agents. You can get to cleaning now." Katherine frowned.

~The Rainbooms were completely nonplussed, but did as they were told, since they feared what would happen if they did not. The day went by very roughly. Lightning and Karly had their heads on the tables, and the Mane 7 worked their hats off to make the hideout fresh and spiffy. Finally, Katherine's tutoring was done and she went home. Everybody breathed in relief the moment she walked up those stairs.~

"Wow, she's controlling…" Sunset said, dropping the mop to the ground.

"Yeah, Katherine is as cold as you can make them!" Lightning shrugged.

"How could she have married someone as kind as Steven?" Fluttershy asked.

"I don't know, families are weird sometimes…" Lightning simply said.

"And, speaking of families, Lightning…"

~Steven appears out of nowhere and approaches the girls. Lightning and Karly rose from their seats expectantly, while the Rainbooms stopped mopping.~

"Your father is coming to visit." Steven said.

"My father?!" Lightning exclaimed.

"Yes. I have told him everything and alerted him about your...issue, regarding school, so he's coming over here to see you and talk about somethings."

"Oh boy, he is not going to be happy…"

"I'll leave you to think for a while."

~The Chief slowly returns to his office.~

"Should we tell Steven that Katherine is abusing us?" asked Fluttershy.

"We tried to tell him ages ago…" Karly explained.

"But, he didn't believe us." Lightning sighed. "It's a cliche world, mates. You're going to have to get used to it! Don't worry, I will get Katherine one day." She raised her finger. "ONE day! She will pay!"

"One day…" Karly nodded. "But, enough about Katherine now, We have another problem. Your dad, Lightning…"

She groaned. "What am I going to do? What am I going to say? What's he going to do and say?"

"He's not the violent type, Lightning, so, calm down..." Karly assured.

"Are you going to tell him about our magic?" Fluttershy inquired.

Lightning nodded. "I am going to have to. I just wonder how he's going to take it…"

"I guess...we'll have to find out." Twilight said.

~A loud ringing sound suddenly echoed in the hideout, and the ringing kinda sounded like a doorbell. Steven went up the stairs to answer the ringing while everyone looked up beyond the stairs and the ceiling. Lightning knew right away that it was her father at the door. Who else could it be? Her breathing grew heavy and her eyebrows fell down.~

"That must be him." Lightning sighed.

"Hello, Mr. Star. She's downstairs." They heard Steven say.

~The Chief wandered back downstairs with a tall, bright man close behind him. His particularly spiky hair was orange-brown, except the tips, which were white. He had short, stiff hairs growing on his chin and lower cheeks and his wide smile and blue eyes were very similar to Lightning's. He had his hands tightly tucked in the pockets of his brown pilot jacket and he straightened up his running sneakers. Lightning nervously but warmly opened her arms out.~

"Daaad! What a nice surprise! Everyone, this is my dad, Nimbus Star."

"Hello, Lightning…" He chucked in a low, kind voice. "How are you?"

"Fine, dad. All is well here...You?"

"I'm well, thank you. And I'm glad that my little princess and her secret agency is doing well." He began to pinch Lightning's cheek.

"Yes, It's-It's going fine! As you can see…" Lightning playfully shakes his hand off.

"I can. Hello, Karly." Nimbus nodded in Karly's direction.

"Mr. Star, sir…" Karly softly smiled.

"Howdy, Mr. Star!" Applejack spoke up. "We're Lightnin's new friends and agents to her agency."

"Really? Well, good to have you on the team of high class, super secret agents."

"Thank you, sir." said Sunset.

"You're welcome. Anyways...Lightning…"

~Nimbus Star bent his back down so his head was at level with Lightning's. Her happy smile suddenly cracked.~

"Yes…?" She asked.

"We need to talk." He said firmly.

"I know. Can we do it...in my room?"

"Yes."

~Nimbus smiles and retracts his hands and back to head off into Lightning's room. Lightning sighed one last time before turning to her friends comfortably.~

"I'll be back."

~Lightning jumps and scurries away to her room where her father is waiting. Karly wishes her for the best while the Mane 7 nod in understanding.~

"Good luck."

"Can we get back to training?" Pinkie suddenly asked.

"Yeah...of course. The 11th technique, isn't it?"

~While Karly and the Rainbooms went into the training room to train some more, Lightning and Nimbus sat down on the bed in the room. Lightning twiddled her thumbs while Nimbus looked at her.~

"So, you have been missing school-"

"I have a reason!" Lightning interrupted, raising her finger.

"Hey...no need to yell, I'm not yelling back at you, am I?" Nimbus asked calmly.

"No…" Lightning looked down.

"Exactly. Right, what is your reason?"

"I have been keeping the world safe. And my new friends who want to be agents need to learn the skills, so Karly and I need to train them." Lightning explained.

"But, do you have to train them right now?"

"Yes!" She yelled.

"What did I say about yelling?" Nimbus prompted.

Lightning took a deep breath in. "Yes...Because, there are some evil girls after them. And they know the fighting moves and everything. The Rainbooms can't defend themselves…"

"Rainbooms?"

"The seven rainbow girls, they call themselves the Rainbooms, it's their band name too-" Lightning quickly explained. "So, I need to protect them and train them so they don't get their mag-"

~Lightning quickly shut herself up, but then she realised, she has to tell her dad about the magic she has got and all about the different worlds.~

"Magic taken." She finished. "Or the evil girls will invade the world. You understand, don't you, dad?"

~Nimbus sat in silence. He thought for a moment then he stood up and placed his strong hands on Lightning's shoulders.~

"You would rather fail school than lose your friends…?"

"I guess…"

"Well,...for that I must say that I'm proud of you, sweetie."

"I-You are?"

He nodded. "I'm proud that you learnt to care and cherish people so much, you would risk not getting a good future for yourself. You remind me exactly of myself when I was younger and how I'd do anything for your mother. I still miss her everyday…"

~Father and daughter hugged each other, tears of sadness pouring down both their faces.~

"Me too. And my sister." Lightning sniffed.

"But, if you are sure that those girls are ones to keep and share memorable memories with, then of course, I understand. But just promise me you will go to school from now on. I don't want to find a new one for you."

"Ok. Thank you so much, dad."

"There is one thing I don't understand though…"

"Really? What?"

"What do you mean by 'Their magic'?"

"Oh! Um...I'll explain later…" She laughed.

~Nimbus gives his daughter a light kiss on the forehead before dismantling from the hug.~

"So, what can I do to protect the Rainbooms without protecting them personally? The Dazzlings know where we hang out most of the time." Lightning said.

Nimbus stoked his chin. "I think I have an idea. Tell everyone to pack their things and meet me outside the portal."

~Nimbus smiled while Lightning pulled a confused face.~

Chapter 7: Into the Well-Known!

Chapter 7: Into the Well-Known!

~Sunset dragged her heavy suitcase to the front of the statue. It tumbled to the floor a couple of times, making it more difficult to drag, but she eventually got it under control. She saw Lightning and Nimbus chatting against the portal but Lightning stopped and raced to Sunset when she saw her.~

"Sunset! You need help with that?"

"No thanks, Lightning, I'm alright. Phew!" Sunset slumped her case down. "So, why did your dad want us to pack up a few things…?"

"I'll explain when the rest arrive."

~Both girls suddenly heard a thud and they looked over to see their friend, Rarity, and a ton of baggage around her. About 15 bags, at least. Sunset smiled and rolled her eyes at her, while Lightning was dumbfounded. She had never seen someone have that many bags before. Some were stacked on top one another and looked like they could fall at any second, and they did.~

"A little help, please?!" Rarity waved.

~Lightning raced over and caught the tower of bags before they fell down.~

"Rarity, do you really need all this?" Lightning asked shockingly.

"Of course I do!" Rarity responded dramatically. "You told me to pack the essentials!"

"But, we're only going away for a week! This looks like you're going away for a year!"

"I have a lot of essentials and I need them. All of them!"

"Ok then. Dad! Can you help please?" Lightning called.

"Coming, sweetie!"

~Nimbus jogs to Lightning and catches a falling suitcase in the process. Sunset watches them then to the portal, without knowing Applejack coming towards her. She looked at Lightning and Nimbus carrying Rarity's dozen of bags over.~

"Heh. Rarity packed her whole wardrobe again?" Applejack chuckled.

"Yep." Sunset smiled.

"Do ya know where we're goin', actually, Sunset?"

"I don't. Lightning said she'll explain when the others are here."

"I know where we're going."

~Sunset and Applejack felt something to their right and looked over to see Karly standing by them. Fluttershy, Twilight, Pinkie and Rainbow also showed up too.~

"We're going to our world."

"What?" Sunset blinked.

"Really?" Applejack added.

"Yep." Karly confirmed. "Kinda ingenious of Nimbus to think of going to our world where you will be safe. The Dazzlings won't think about this place, and if they did, they won't know where we will be."

"I guess that's true." Sunset shrugged.

"Wow!" Pinkie butted in. "Going to your world! This is going to be so much fun!"

"Don't get too excited, Pinkie, our world isn't that big of a difference compared to this one." Lightning said.

"Yeah, I mean, we still have schools, and restaurants...and a beautiful city." Karly admired.

"Oh! How wonderful!" Fluttershy smiled.

"Yes. And we are certain you girls will love it there and feel safe there." said Nimbus.

"Thank ya again, Mr. Star, we really appreciate it." Applejack said.

"Of course. As long as my daughter is happy, I'm happy."

"So, you can go to school without worrying about us, and we can train without worrying about the Dazzlings." Twilight grinned.

"Yeah." Lightning nodded.

"Then let's go! Into the Unknown!" Pinkie cheered.

~All the girls get excited and they jump into the portal along with their cases without second thinking. Lightning, Karly and Nimbus laughed and followed the Rainbooms in quickly. Unbeknownst to them behind the wall of the school, the Dazzlings had been listening to their conversation ever since Sunset arrived.~

"Did you two hear that?" Adagio asked.

"How could we not. We're right here." Aria answered obviously.

"Then you know what's going on? The Rainbooms think they can just run and hide in another world. Well, they can't. We need to follow them and get their magic."

"Do we have a plan on getting their magic?"

"I'll make one up as we go along. We just need to get them when their 'protectors' are busy or distracted."

"And how are we going to distract them?"

"I said I will make it up as we go!" Adagio yelled in annoyance. "So, let's stop wasting time and go, otherwise we'll lose them." She started walking to the portal.

"I hope their world has tacos!" Sonata's eyes lit up.

"Can you think of anything else other than tacos, Sonata?" Aria grumbled.

"Uh, yeah! I can think of Tuesday. Taco Tuesday!"

~Aria sighed and leaps into the portal with Adagio. Sonata does after she is done thinking about tacos. Over on the other side, the portal spat everyone out altogether rather quickly. They groaned in dizziness and pain as they crumpled up in a pile on the floor.~

"O-Oh my! Lightning! Karly! Are you alright?!" Nimbus asked, standing up first.

"G-Get these giants offa me!" Karly yelled from the bottom of the pile.

~Nimbus works to move everyone off of each other. Finally ending with a crumpled Karly curled up on the floor.~

"Ggghhh…" Karly suddenly hears her stomach gurgle and churn. "I-I think I'm gonna vomit…"

~Lightning and Applejack pick Karly up off the floor, only for her to pull out of their grip, run to the nearest bin, and retch.~

"O-Oh dear…" Fluttershy said uneasily.

"So, that's what going through a portal feels like. It's horrible, I wouldn't recommend it." Lightning shrugged.

"You'll get used to it, Lightning. After all, how else are we supposed to get back to the hideout?" Sunset asked.

"Hmm."

~Lightning smiled then gazed ahead at the view of her world. In front of her and the others was just a car park, but to Lightning it looked amazing. The shops in the distance of the car park were lovely to see too. It's like she had been stuck inside her house for ages, now she has finally come back out to see nature's beauty in all its glory.~

"Wow, I haven't been back home ever since we met and Devil tried to take over your world." She said to the Rainbooms.

"Yeah...it feels great…" Karly groaned, stumbling over like she was an old woman. "More or less…"

~Karly suddenly fainted because she still felt queasy from going through that portal. Lightning caught her and held her up with her arm over her shoulder. Nimbus Star smiled and stepped into the car park and over to a large indigo blue car.~

"Ok, girls. My car can only fit 8 people, so 2 of you might have to walk to my house."

"Karly and I will walk." Lightning volunteered. "I think Karly needs some fresh air still and I just want to walk. The house isn't that far, we'll be fine."

"Alright then. Hop in, girls!"

~Nimbus unlocked the car for the Rainbooms to climb in. Pinkie called shotgun, Sunset, Twilight and Applejack got in the middle seats and Fluttershy, Rainbow and Rarity flung in the back seats.~

"We'll see you guys there!" Sunset waved.

"Ok! Dad! Do not tell any embarrassing stories to them along the way!" Lightning yelled.

"I won't!" Nimbus chuckled.

~With that, the car started up and drove off leaving Lightning and Karly in the car park.~

"You gonna be ok to walk?" Lightning asked Karly as she woke up.

"Yeah, I'm feeling better now...Man, I do not want to go through that portal again."

~Together, the duo started walking along the pavement, while The Dazzlings were just coming out of the portal. Adagio regained from the rough landing so just see Lightning and Karly walk off.~

"There they go. Quick or we'll lose them." Adagio ventured.

"Alright...I'm coming…" Aria rolled her eyes.

Sonata got up from the floor, eyes spiralling. "Waiter, there's something spinning in my taco…"

"Sonata! Focus!" Aria said, snapping her out of her trance.

"Right, Sorry."

~The three sirens grinned and sneakily began to follow the girls while keeping at a distance and keeping things completely causal.~

~Meanwhile, in the car, The Mane 7 looked out the windows and the outside of this new world. However, Lightning was right, the world did have the same things as theirs did, but, it was still cool to see it all. They were star-struck at the buildings they drove by.~

"Wow...Look at that." Twilight said in awe. "Those buildings are so beguiling."

"Whoa…!" Sunset exclaimed. "Maybe we will see something that we don't have in our world, or even Equestria."

Pinkie gasped. "You guys have a Coinky-Dink World!?"

"Yes? You like that place?" Nimbus asked.

"I love it! I work there too!"

~After a few more minutes of driving, The car comes to a stop. The girls safely got out one by one and once they all did they looked up to see a large, suburban mansion in front of them. They jaw-dropped. The mansion was almost the size of CHS! Nimbus, lastly, got out of his car and smiled.~

"Well, here we are."

"Are you sure this is where you and Lightning live?!" Twilight asked.

"Yes. Didn't Lightning mention we live in a mansion?"

"Not at all!" Rarity said in shock.

Everyone spots Lightning and Karly walking towards them. "Hey, Dad! Girls! I see you made it here before us, of course-"

"Lightning, darling, why ever didn't you tell us you live...in. A. Mansion?!" Rarity interrupted.

"I wanted it to be a surprise…" She answered spontaneously.

"A surprise?! You have your own mansion and you didn't tell me-"

"Hey, hey, Rarity, calm down…" Applejack clamped her hands on Rarity's shoulders.

She calmed down. "Phew! The mansion is beautiful, darling."

"Uh-huh. Yeah. Wait til you see the inside."

~Lightning weirdly turned to the large front door and went to throw them both wide open, but they did not budge. She pushed on them again, then realised that, they were locked.~

"The door is locked, sweetie." Nimbus chuckled.

"I can see that. Key, please."

~Nimbus reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of keys. They jingled as he tossed them over to Lightning. She caught them using both hands, then immediately turned to the door to unlock. After she did, she went ahead and threw them wide open with success. Everyone stepped into the mansion and at first, the feeling was cold and gloomy, but it felt ok after a second.~

"Whoa…" The Rainbooms stared in awe.

"Alright, girls. I gotta head into my office for a few things, Lightning, give everyone a tour and help them settle into the guest room." Nimbus ordered.

"Ok, dad."

~Nimbus, with a smile on his lips, went off through the hallway of the mansion. The girls waved goodbye to him.~

"Your father is very kind and caring, Lightning." Fluttershy adored.

"I can see him in you." Sunset smiled.

Lightning felt herself blush at the compliments. "Thanks. He raised me to be just like him." She suddenly clears her throat. "Right, well, uh. Drop your bags here, we can deal with those later. There's alot to show you here."

~The girls listened to Lightning and dropped their bags at an instant. Lightning smiled and began to walk to the left of her house. The rest followed along with her.~

"That's the kitchen, filled with everything you could desire. That's the Giant TV room."

"It looks just like a movie theatre!" Pinkie said, peeking through the door of the room.

"That's the point. Always wanted a cinema." Lightning shrugged. "Oh! There's the arcade."

"Arcade?!" Sunset exclaimed.

"This place is awesome!" Rainbow gushed.

"Glad you love it. Ah, this is my old play room. I played in here all the time when I was a young child. About 5, maybe 6…"

~While Lightning was busy jabbering on about her old play room, Fluttershy let her mind explore elsewhere and she wandered the hallway and other rooms. She looked in between rooms timidly until she spotted a family portrait hanging off the wall. It looked old, but not that old. She was fascinated by it alot.~

"Aww...This is a sweet picture…"

Rainbow sped beside the shy girl to also take a look at the picture. "Hey, Lightning, what's the picture about?"

"Huh?" She looks up at the picture. "Oh right. That's an old picture of my whole family...kinda. It was our last family reunion."

~Everyone looked at the picture and the people in it. They saw a young Lightning, her father, seven men, six women, four boys, four girls, and an old sophisticated woman.~

"There sure are a lotta people there." Applejack pointed.

"Heh. Yeah, my grandfather wanted to make a big family." Lightning said.

Rainbow raised a brow. "Really, why?"

"Well, it's because my grandfather was an orphan." Lightning began to explain. "He was adopted by a secret agent and grew up without knowing where he came from or who his biological parents were. So, he made a promise to himself that he would make the family he has always dreamed of, and he ended up getting that wish. By the time he turned 23, he married the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, my grandmother, Heaven Light, and had 10 sons."

"WHAT?! 10 SONS?!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"Yep. Like I said: My grandfather wanted to make a big family."

"So, you have, like 9 uncles?!" Sunset gasped.

"Yep."

"Wait, I only see your father and 7 other men in this picture...Where are the other 2…?" Twilight asked.

"They...died while on a mission months before that picture was taken…"

"The story of that always makes me cry…" Karly sighed.

"Oh...I'm sorry for your loss…" Rarity said.

"It's ok...I mean, one of them I wasn't attached to, the other I was, but, I'm not that sad about it very much...of course my cousin was...he lost his dad, for pete's sake…!"

"Hm...Well, I'm also sorry for his loss…"

"Thanks. I'll be sure to tell him that." Lightning smiled.

Fluttershy gasped. "Um...Lightning…? Your grandfather isn't in this picture...Is he-"

"Don't worry, Flutters, he's alive. He was just on a mission. He is still in right now."

"A mission? He's got to be around 80 years old, how is he still on a mission?" Sunset asked.

"He's been on that mission for about 40 years. He's travelling around the world, visiting every single country, and once he's finished he will return back home. We know he's still alive because he always sends us letters. Also, he doesn't want to retire. He has a saying" 'Ya work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, until ya dead.' It's a little odd, but we love him."

"Aww…" Pinkie sighed.

"Um...let's continue on with the tour, and then get to bed...it's getting late."

"Ok!"

~The girls nodded and proceeded to walk across the hallway. At the same time, the Dazzlings peek through the window and grin evilly. They now knew that the Rainbooms cannot hide from them anymore.~

Chapter 8: Pixel High School

Chapter 8: Pixel High School.

~Lightning groaned in her sleep. For a while, she tossed and turned on her soft mattress. She was trying to sleep, but an annoying noise was keeping her from doing so. The noise suddenly became a voice.~

"Lightning!"

"Huh? Argh…"

"Lightning!"

~Lightning opened her eyes, then shut them again quickly. The morning light was too bright, too painful. When she tried again a few seconds later it was easier; a fuzzy, unfocused face leaned over her, shutting out the harsh glare above. It was Nimbus' face. He smiled at her.~

"I've made pancakes downstairs…"

"Oh, have you…? Ok…" Lightning rubbed her eyes.

"Have you just woken up…?" Nimbus asked.

"Yeah…?"

"Oh. Well, it's 7:20, and it's Monday. School starts in an hour. So get up and get ready…" He ordered.

"Ok, Dad."

"I gotta head to work, feel free to make more pancakes if you're still hungry. Bye, sweetie."

"Ok, bye."

~As Nimbus went out the door, Lightning snuggled deeper into her duvet covers, but suddenly she heard him yell and she threw herself out of them quickly. She rapidly got changed into a fresh, sweet-smelling long sleeved shirt and jeans and put her favourite striped sleeveless jacket on top. She snatched her backpack off the floor and raced out of her room. She reached the guest room and saw that Karly, Twilight, Sunset and the rest were still fast asleep. She frowned at them and stomped into the room, clapping her hands as loudly as she could.~

"ALRIGHT! Everyone up!"

"Eh. 5 more minutes…" Karly groaned in her sleep.

"Yeah, 5 more minutes…" Sunset added in the same tone.

"GET UP, I SAID!"

~Lightning grabs an air horn out of nowhere and blows it right in everyone's faces. Karly, Fluttershy and Pinkie scream and leap straight up to the sky. They fall back down and land on their beds. The others just yelled and awoke immediately.~

"I did not honestly ask for that wake up call, Lightning!" Karly yelled.

"Sorry, Kars, but we gotta get to school, pronto!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming...and Do not call me Kars...Lights." Karly smugged when she walked past Lightning.

"Ugh. Lights...So stupid..."

~Sometime later, the girls had gotten changed, ate the stack of pancakes on the table Nimbus left them, and went off to school. They walked across the road and to the pathway to the school. It didn't actually take as long as the girls thought it would. They arrived and gazed at the front of the school and the many, many students hanging around the area.~

"Wow…" The seven gasped.

"Girls, Welcome to Pixel High School." Lightning introduced.

Rainbow suspiciously raised a brow. "Hey! Wait! This is the building that we…"

"Yeah...it is." Lightning nodded.

"The portal back to our world is near here!" Sunset realised. "What is it? Where is it?"

"If I can remember…"

"My Uncle Steven told me it's that sign. "Karly pointed at the large marble sign that read 'Welcome to Pixel High School!'.

"Hey, it's just like our school. Both of the portals are right outside the school!" Pinkie said.

"Yeah...coincidence, huh?" Lightning tilted her head for a second.

"Hey, guys, let's not waste anymore time. The Chief wants us to meet him in his office in...5 minutes." Karly said, looking at her phone.

"Let's go in then."

~Both girls take a long breath in, before placing a hand on the front doors. Lightning swings the left door open while Karly swings open the right. They looked beyond the main hallway and began to walk in. The students in that hallway stop in their conversations and gasp once they saw them.~

"Oh my gosh!"

"Is that Lightning Star and Karly Crystal?"

"They have returned!"

"I can't believe they actually came back."

~The students all began eyeing Lightning and Karly and muttering to one another as they walked by. Karly felt a little shy and embarrassed about causing this much attention to herself and Lightning. And the Rainbooms, just didn't feel like that were a part of this.~

"Half of the school is staring at us…" Karly noted.

"I know. Just don't make eye contact."

"Why are they looking at us so angrily?" Twilight asked.

"Thing is, we are hated by half of the students in our year. We don't know why."

"Goodness…" Fluttershy said.

"Yes, our classmates are...weird."

~Lightning used her hand to shield herself from the curious students. Then, she and Karly started walking to a nearby glass case full of pictures, certificates, and trophies. Karly points over to a picture of 60 students.~

"I mean, take a look at that school photo taken last year. Most of them aren't even smiling!"

"Yeah, they look like they are getting their picture taken at the police station or something. Most of these kids are just plain awful. And scary. Look. That one had fangs, that one has fire for hair, oh that one is the worst of all." Lightning shuddered.

"Uh...There's no one in this picture." Twilight said.

"Yes there is. That kid is so spooky, he doesn't show up in photographs. They are all bullies too! I have to warn you, if you are going to be roaming their hallways...Watch out for Duko Bandit."

"Duko Bandit?" The girls said.

"He is one of the school's biggest bullies." Karly exclaimed.

Lightning nodded. "Everyone is extremely intimidated by him. Even us. And unfortunately, I'm the only one that can protect everyone from him. And all the students that hate me, are his best friends-"

~-SPLASH!* A water balloon strikes Lightning at the back of her head and makes her hair go all soggy. Applejack quickly helps Lightning back to her feet, and then everyone turns to see where the balloon came from.~

"Ahh! What the…?"

"Bullseye!"

~There, everyone saw a teenage boy, who looked like trouble. His evil smile went all the way up to his cheeks and the scar that crossed his lip. His brown hair was spiny and looked like he hadn't brushed it in years. He kept throwing a water balloon up in the air and catching it again with one hand, ready to fire it at something, or someone for that matter. No doubt this kid was the number one bully, Duko.~

"Well, well, what have we here? Lightning Star and Karly Crystal. Here. At school. I don't believe it! Honestly, I could have used another 6 months or so."

"Good to see you too, Duko." Lightning sighed sarcastically.

Duko chewed on his red jacket in anger. "It shouldn't be good at all!"

~Duko raised his arm high, then shot the water balloon in his hand at Lightning. However, Karly athletically threw herself in front of Lightning and took the water balloon to the face instead.~

"Hey!" Karly spluttered.

"Hey, what is your problem?!" Rainbow glared.

"'Ey! I was aiming for Lightning! That stupid little field mouse just got in the way. It's her fault!" Duko bellowed.

"Even if you didn't intend on hitting the right person does not mean you still hold responsible for doing it!" Rarity retaliated.

"Well, thanks for introducing me to your new friends, Lightning. Any friend of Lightning, is an enemy to me! You better stay out of my way! Cause I tend to get violent on people who stand in my way."

~Duko grins before finally leaving the girls alone and walking away from the scene. Rainbow was super unhappy with his behaviour and wanted to seriously mess him up.~

"We should pony up and shoot magically rainbow lasers at him just to make a point." Rainbow clenched her teeth.

"Don't worry, Rainbow, he won't get away with that. We have the principal on our side. Speaking of which...office."

~Lightning began to walk off but then she bumped into an object and stumbled back. Karly caught her back and helped her stand up straight again. Lightning looked up to see what she bumped into and went pale when she saw none other than Vice Principal Shelly above her.~

"Hello, girls." She greeted warmly.

"Oh, hello...Vice Principal Shelly."

"I'm glad to see you girls turned up. I better escort you to the principal's office so you can get back on track. Now."

"Oh, ok-Um-we'll see you guys at break?" Lightning waved to the Rainbooms.

"Or after school?" Karly shrugged.

"Yeah, okay!" Sunset waved.

"See you, darlings!" Rarity smiled.

~Lightning and Karly smiled and waved before running off to catch up with the Vice. The Mane 7 waved back then went back outside the school again to think about what to do next.~

"So, y'all think we should get to trainin' again?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah! Uh-huh! Certainly." They all said and nodded.

"But...where should we go?" Fluttershy asked.

"Maybe just outside in the fields won't be so bad. We'll have plenty of room and no one will notice us." Rainbow suggested.

"But, we aren't really welcome here-It'll be like we're trespassing!" Twilight answered.

"Steven is in charge here! He won't mind!"

Twilight reluctantly sighed. "Alright then."

~The Rainbooms shambled along the sandy, stone pathway then went off into the grassy fields around the school. According to the old wooden sign they just passed, it was the 'Silverrose fields.' At first it just looked like a simple field with a football area with a few park benches and picnic tables, but once over the large hill, it uncovered a whole load of beautiful dandelions, poppies, daisies and other flourishing flowers. A large oak tree was also planted right in the middle of the field too. The Rainbooms were amazed and decided to train there, there was plenty of room. They slid down the hill and settled nearby the tree.~

"So, the next technique is the 'Flip Kick.'" Twilight read from her phone. "Jump high in the sky, front or back flip and strike your opponents with your foot. You can use the walls to help you flip."

"Oh, I get it! It's like Kung Fu!" Rainbow said, backflipping and kicking the air. "Nailed it!"

"Nice one, Rainbow! My turn, my turn!" Pinkie said.

~Pinkie bounced up high and did her attempt at the Flip Kick while everyone watched her perform it perfectly.~

"Nailed it...also!"

"Well done, Pinkie! Rarity, want to go next?" Twilight asked.

"Hmm? Oh, Why not." she simply said, as she began to do the skill.

~Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Sunset saw a movement. It was the shadowy figure of a girl but she was well camouflaged. The next instant, she heard a faint hiss. It was followed by a terrible wail of pain and despair. To her horror and that of everyone else, Pinkie fell stricken to the ground. A fierce laser glowed from her arm.~

"Pinkie!" They all screamed.

"Excellent shot, Sonata!" snarled a cruel voice.

~The girls turned and stared in horror the moment they saw the shadow figure and her poofy hair in plain sight. Her companions too.~

"Adagio!" Sunset gasped.

"Aria and Sonata too!" Rarity exclaimed.

"That's right." Aria grinned.

"You...knew that we'd come here?" Sunset asked.

"Knew. Followed. It's a fine line." Aria shrugged.

"You can run, but you can't hide." Sonata gloated. "We will always find you and never stop finding you!"

"That...do not make any sense, Sonata." Aria rolled her eyes.

"...We can take y'all. We have improved our skills from last time." Applejack said, getting into a fighting position.

"Have you?" Adagio smugged. "From what I just saw, You still don't know all the skills and their strengths and weaknesses while we do, we can still defeat you easily."

"Uh oh…"

"Give us your magic!" Adagio leaps to attack but Sunset dodges out of the way.

"RUUUUUUNNNNNNN!" Pinkie yelled.

~The Rainbooms needed no further urging. They shot off across the field like scared rabbits.~

"After them!" screamed Adagio. "Don't lose them!"

~In one of the classrooms, Karly stared at the sheet of paper in front of her and sighed.~

"I hope The Rainbooms are enjoying training as much as we are learning." She said to Lightning sarcastically.

~At that same moment, The Rainbooms ran past the window of the classroom, with Pinkie screaming her lungs out. Her screams actually caught everyone's attention to stare at them through the window. They then saw the Dazzlings run past the window. Lightning and Karly stared in horror at them, then to each other.~

"Uh, oh!" They both said in alarm.

~The Rainbooms ran for their lives. They knew that their head start would not last long against the speed of their pursuers. Indeed a swift glance across their shoulders revealed that they were already much closer than they would have liked. Rainbow glared and suddenly grabbed onto Twilight and Fluttershy. She then told the others to hold hands with each other. Once everyone was linked together, Rainbow activated her geode and sped off, leaving the Dazzlings in the dust. They zoomed out of the school grounds and into the city. Rainbow slowed down when she saw they were in the clear.~

"I think we lost them…" Rainbow puffed.

"My goodness, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity exclaimed angrily while fixing her hair. "You ruined my hair!"

"Sorry, but I wasn't going to leave you guys."

"Well, Thank you, Rainbow Dash, for gettin' us out of that mess." Applejack smiled.

"Of course."

"Um...where are we, girls?" Fluttershy asked timidly.

~The seven stopped panting and stood up properly. Beside them stood a rectangular brick building. Above the red roof had the name of the place lit up in neon orange and blue lights.~

"The Pizza Shack?" Sunset perused.

"Ooh! Pizza! I'm hungry! Can we stop here?" Pinkie asked happily.

Twilight frowned. "Pinkie, I don't think now's the time to have lunch."

"Aww…"

"So, what do we do now? We can't go back to school, the Dazzlings might still be there." Rarity panicked.

"We will just have to see if they will come looking for us, and if they do, we will sneak back to the school and find Lightning and Karly." Sunset suggested.

"Ok…" They all nodded.

"So, let's just stay here until we-"

~An explosion suddenly thunders around the corner of the building. Smoke erupts from the inside and the floor is littered with broken bricks and shards of glass. Four masked men carrying fully-automatic rifles appear out of nowhere and descend into the blown hole.~

"Everyone on your knees. This is a robbery!" One criminal yelled.

"Nobody does anything stupid, nobody has to die! So pretty, pretty please...Do something stupid!" The second criminal laughed.

"Oh...Oh no!" Fluttershy said.

Chapter 9: Rainbooms in Action!

Chapter 9: Rainbooms in Action!

~The Rainbooms peek through the massive hole in the building and see the masked men move through the restaurant, automatic weapons trained on the terrified people.~

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for attending our little charity drive this afternoon." The lead gunman bowed. "So considerate of you to bring all your money and wear your finest jewels today. Makes things easier for us."

"Oh my gosh...I can't believe this is happening, girls! What should we do?" Rarity asked.

"We should fight them." Sunset said bravely.

"But, Sunset, they have guns!" Twilight screamed.

"So?" Rainbow shrugged. "You really think they want a massacre on their hands? As soon as I get the chance, I'm beating these guys!" She hit her hand with her fist.

"Remain calm, everyone…" said the manager of the place. "We just need to cooperate, and everything will be alright."

~A few gunmen started dividing the crowd into separate groups while the others focus on the manager.~

"This group, with me! And remember what the boss said...no funny business. We don't wanna kill you...we just wanna rob you!" Criminal 2 grinned.

~The Rainbooms glare and march straight into the building altogether. The lead gunman notices the girls and whirls on them, the barrel of his rifle aimed straight at Sunset.~

"You want something, ladies?" He asked angrily.

"We want you to stop all this." Sunset answered.

"And surrender!" Rainbow added.

The man immediately bursted into laughter. "What? Surrender to you? Oh, that's adorable. Heh heh. Just stand aside so ya don't get hurt."

~Before Sunset or anyone else could say something else, the man darts his eyes and his gun back to the manager.~

"You know what to do. Give us the combination to the safe."

"No! Leave him alone!" Rainbow demanded.

"Shut up, rainbow girl."

~The manager nervously writes down the combination on a piece of paper. The gunman reaches out to snatch it, but Rainbow lunges forward.~

"Rainbow, no!" The girls shouted.

~Rainbow collides with the gunman, tackling him to the floor. His gun files out of his grip and arcs through the air.~

"Oh my goodness!" Fluttershy gasped.

~The gun flies right towards Sunset, and she catches it. As her fingers brush the handle, she begins to panic a little. She shakes it off and holds it firmly.~

The gunman was furious. "WHY YOU LITTLE-"

~The gunman goes to strike Rainbow but a force stops him. Applejack pulls Rainbow off the guy so she could pull him up and glare in his eyes.~

"What the hell?"

~Applejack makes her geode glow, then she lashes out with her fist, knocking the man across the restaurant to crunch lifelessly against the far wall.~

"Oh my god...boss!" Criminal 3 exclaimed.

~Applejack looks down at her hand in surprise. But then she looks up to see the three gunmen line up their weapons at her.~

"Say goodnight, freak!"

Fluttershy covered her eyes and whimpered. "I can't watch!"

~The men open fire and the bullets whizz towards Applejack. She flinches but suddenly the bullets penetrate a diamond shield that magically appeared in front of her. Rarity smiles and slides beside Applejack.~

"Don't worry, darling, I got you covered." Rarity said as she casted more shields.

"Thanks ya, Rarity, that was close." Applejack sighed in relief.

"We need to disarm them." Twilight said.

"On it!" Pinkie smiled.

~Pinkie reaches into her pockets and pulls out a shaker of sprinkles. She shakes a handful in her hand, lets them glow for a while, then tosses them straight to the gunman nearest to her. They explode right in his face and knocks him back into a table, his weapon is also blasted out of his hand.~

"Hey! What was that?!"

~The gun flies through the air and was about to land on a gentleman's head, but it freezes in mid-air and glows purple. The other two guns and the last men were holding also glowed. Suddenly, they were ripped out of their hands just before they realised what was going on with them. The guns levitated for a while, then they floated away from them over to where the girls were grouped up. Twilight lowered the guns down and gave one each to Pinkie, Rainbow, and herself.~

"Hey! Give those back!" Criminal 1 demanded.

"No way." Rainbow smiled, pointing the gun at him.

"It's over." Sunset glared.

"Not. Yet."

~A massive shadow falls over the girls as the lead gunman steps out again, his broad shoulders filling the hole in the wall he crashed in.~

"Let's get out of here, boss!" His henchman shouted.

"Not without a bag full of money!"

~He knocks the weapons out of the girls' hands and closes the distance between them.~

"Time to tell each other bye-bye…'cause you're dead!"

~The boss clasps both hands over his head and brings them down like a hammer to an anvil. Everyone shuts their eyes tightly, but then someone pokes the boss' eye, and he recoils in pain. He staggers to his feet, clutching his face, but before he can get his guard back up, someone lightly jabs his chest and slams him against the till, his head hits the edge with force and he falls down in defeat. He leers at the one who finished him.~

"Not bad, kid. Not bad…" He puts his head back and falls unconscious.

"Never hurt me or my friends again, you big meanie…!" It was Fluttershy, and her eyes were red.

"Whoa...Fluttershy…" Rainbow's eyes widen.

Fluttershy reverts back to normal and gasps when she saw the gunman. "Oh my goodness...did I...?"

"Yep. Ya sure did, sugarcube. I don't think he's gonna get back up after that anytime soon…" Applejack said.

"Oh my…-"

"We did it...We did it! Yes! We did it! We did it, We did it, We did it!" Pinkie cheered, pulling Fluttershy into a tight hug.

"So, what now?" Rainbow asked.

~Just then, everyone hears the wail of police sirens as squad cars pull up outside the restaurant.~

"We let the police take it from here." Twilight answered while smiling.

~Sometime later, the officers snapped handcuffs over the criminals' wrists and frogmarched them to their cars. The lead gunman frowns in despair as the seven girls watch him be taken away.~

"Well, guess you were right about me after all, Ma…" He muttered to himself. "You always said I'd end up in the slammer."

~After the policemen drive away, the manager and the employees run up to the girls.~

"You girls saved my shack!"

Fluttershy blushed. "Please, don't worry about thanking us-"

"Nonsense! We have to repay you! As manager of the shack, I declare that…" He stops in his sentence and cups his ear waiting for a name from the girls.

"The Rainbooms!" Pinkie smiled.

"The Rainbooms shall be given free pizza as long as they shall live!"

~The crowd surrounding them erupts in applause and the Mane 7 cheer excitedly, jumping up and down.~

"Thank you, sir!" Sunset said.

"No, thank you!" The manager nodded proudly.

~He and his employees walk back inside their restaurant and the crowd disappears. The Rainbooms smile, but sadly, it doesn't last long.~

"Yes, a very well done to you all." Everyone turned to see Adagio and the sirens again, gloating. "Now, where were we?

"Don't you dare come any nearer!" Rarity screamed. "You beasts!"

"And how will you stop us?" Adagio taunted. She stood a little more than two metres from where they cringed, and folded her arms. "Like I said, you can't do all the skills yet."

"And you must still be tired from all of that!" Sonata said. "So, this is going to be easy."

"Well, I'm not tired and I know all the skills." said a cheeky voice.

~The Dazzlings turn their heads to see Lightning Star and Karly Crystal directly behind them, arms folded. The Rainbooms smile while the Dazzlings snarl at them both.~

"I'm not going to be easy either." Lightning also added.

"Me too. Well, kinda." Karly shrugged ridiculously.

Sonata's face shrunk. "Um…"

"BEAT IT!"

~Lightning clicked and pointed behind her as the Dazzlings flee and sped off into the city.~

"Ugh. Dazzlings." Lightning grunted.

"You'll pay for this! You'll all pay for this!" Adagio shouted in the distance.

"Well, that was unexpected." Karly said weirdly.

"You girls alright?" Lightning asked.

"Better than alright!" Rainbow happily answered. "We just stopped some guys from robbing this place!"

The two agents were dumbfounded. "I'm sorry, what?"

"We got away from the Dazzlings, and we were about to hide when we saw some masked strangers with guns blow into this restaurant." Sunset explained.

Lightning looked up at the sign. "The Pizza Shack? This is my favourite pizza place!" She gasped. "I hardly come here though because it's so expensive! You saying it was robbed!?"

"Was 'Almost' robbed." Twilight pointed out.

"Until we stopped it! All by ourselves!" Pinkie smiled proudly.

"No way…" Lightning couldn't believe her ears. "I'm proud of you, guys! You stopped a crime without our help! We are one step closer to officially calling you super secret agents! We just need to teach you a few more techniques-"

"Tomorrow!" Twilight interrupted. "Right now, you gotta get back to school!"

"OH SHOOT, you're right! We snuck out cause we saw you being chased by the Dazzlings! Come on, Karly! I'll fly us back to school. You girls head back to the hideout in your world to train some more! We see you there later!"

~The Rainbooms nod while Lightning activated her geode, gains her raccoon ears and tail, wraps Karly up in her arms and gently pulls her up into the air.~

"Flying to school. So cool!" Karly smiled.

~As they fly off, The Rainbooms walk back to the school and to the portal by foot sneakily, just to be sure The Dazzlings aren't still close.~

Chapter 11: Help Us!

Chapter 11: Help Us!

~A dummy's head was punched clean off, the walls were scaled and magic was being blasted everywhere. Everyone was lively and ready for anything.~

"Ok, girls, now that we've warmed up, let's move on to the final 3 techniques." Twilight prompted.

"Yes!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Finally! The most awesome techniques!"

"Also, the hardest ones." Sunset reminded her.

"Right…"

"Let's quit talkin' and start practisin' then!" Applejack smiled.

"Yeah-I don't think so!" said a voice.

~The Rainbooms turned to see the Dazzlings by the stairs of the hideout, they frowned and causally stared at them.~

"Not again…" Sunset groaned.

"I'm starting to get real tired of you guys constantly showing up so you can fight us!" Rainbow rebuked.

"We have some unfinished business." Adagio folded her arms.

"We want to speed this thing along now, especially since we don't want you learning those specific skills yet." Sonata answered.

"You have nowhere to run or hide either here. And your little protectors won't be here either."

"We don't need Lightning and Karly! We got this!" Rainbow believed.

"We know 15 skills and have magic. How can't we lose this time?" Pinkie shrugged.

"We know all 18 skills and their strengths and weaknesses." Aria said.

"But...no magic." Sonata frowned.

"Not for much longer." Adagio grinned. "Don't disappoint me, girls."

"Don't worry...We won't." Rainbow randomly answered.

"I wasn't talking to you-"

"Let's get them, y'all!" Applejack yelled out.

~Rainbow Dash ran straight at Adagio, jumping over the table with one fist extended to pound her face in. But, before she could make contact, Adagio's left hand shoots up between Rainbow's fist and her face, catching it in mid-air and immediately halting her running.~

"What the?-"

"I have to say...Now, I am disappointed in you. I suppose we'd better make this quick."

~With just a flick of her wrist, Adagio generates enough force to send Rainbow flying across the room. She slammed into the wall of the hideout, cracking the stone and sliding down to rest in a crumpled heap on the floor.~

"Rainbow Dash!" Her friends exclaim.

"Wow. That felt magnificent. Devil really did help us after all. He still is an idiot though. But that excitement and thrill of fighting without using magic. I feel strangely powerful."

"You tend to get a lot stronger when you fight…" Aria grinned.

~Rainbow struggled to pick herself up off the ground, her whole body was aching.~

"You'll pay for that!"

"I'd like to see you try."

~Rainbow Dash glared then fainted. The rest of the Rainbooms stood in front of her.~

"Pinkie, Fluttershy, you two take care with Sonata. Applejack, Rarity, you deal with Aria. Twilight and I will handle Adagio." Sunset said.

~They all nodded with that plan. They all stretched their arms and beat their fists, the Dazzlings did too before they collided into battle. Applejack leaned forwards and pushed away from the ground, taking flight after Aria. Dropping down, she and Rarity cornered her. As they closed in, she reaches to her waist. She draws a blaster and levels it at Applejack's chest.~

"Good thing I kept this after our mishap with Devil."

"Oh no!" Rarity screamed.

~Applejack clasps onto the blaster and squeezes. Metal creaks as she crumples the weapon in her hand. Aria's eyes go wide as she tosses the useless lump of metal aside.~

Applejack smugged. "Now what are you going to do?"

"This."

~Her eyes suddenly crouch down and she moves her hands and arms like snakes. Then, without warning, Aria hit both Applejack and Rarity in the forehead with her palms and knocked them to the ground. Applejack and Rarity's eyes both go fuzzy and they couldn't focus properly.~

"What was that?!" Rarity exclaimed.

"That was the Corba Palm! Argh…" Applejack answered while groaning.

~Applejack and Rarity rubbed their strained eyes but then Aria knocked them both out with a single punch.~

"Three down, four to go." She smiled.

~Aria turned to see her younger sister, Sonata fight Fluttershy and Pinkie. All three stood their ground and prepared for the first attack.~

"Fluttershy, you hit her high...And I'll hit her low!" Pinkie said firmly.

"Ok...Got it…!"

~Fluttershy aims at Sonata's chest as Pinkie goes to tackle her legs. Sonata dug her heels, resisting her. Pinkie pushed, fighting to wrestle her off her feet.~

"Won't be that easy!" Sonata laughed.

~She grabs Fluttershy's wrist before she embedded her chest and yanks her arm above her head, sending her hurtling backwards into Pinkie. Then, Sonata closes in and grabs Pinkie and pulls her away from Fluttershy.~

"Hey!"

"Pinkie!" Sunset called.

~Sunset watched in fear as Sonata threw Pinkie, spun around and kicked her in the chest and into Fluttershy in rapid perfection.

"That was the Spring kick!" Twilight pointed. "A powerful kick that will make your opponents' chest sting for hours."

"Owwie…" Pinkie groaned, clutching her chest.

"Ohh...Pinkie!" Fluttershy gasped and groaned.

~Fluttershy went to take a look at Pinkie's injury, but was stopped by a blue laser to the head. She clenched her shoulders then fell to the ground unconscious. Sonata aimed her blaster at her.~

"I got two more!" Sonata waved.

"Excellent, Sonata." Adagio nodded.

"No!"

~Sunset grew mad and ran at Adagio. Twilight looked with shock. Sunset threw a punch at Adagio and made her backpedal, but it wasn't good enough. Sunset called for Twilight and she nodded and helped her swarm around Adagio.~

"Come on, Twilight, we can't lose!" Sunset struggled.

"I'm trying! But they know everything and the strengths and weaknesses while we don't!"

"Lights out, Rainbooms!" Adagio said aloud.

~Adagio wrestled free from her attackers and dispatched them with two solid uppercuts. Sunset and Twilight fell back. Twilight was able to stay on her feet, but Sunset did not. She banged her head on the wall and fell down. Her eyes began to droop and she painfully looked up. Twilight went to check on her but she was suddenly grabbed and knocked out cold with a blaster by Aria. The last thing Sunset saw and heard was Pinkie calling out to her for help and Adagio laughing.~

"Sunset….!"

"Hahahahaha!"

~Then, the whole world goes black.~

~Sunset slowly comes to in a large cage made of clean, white metal. She groaned and sat up to see the rest of her friends with her too. Twilight looked like she's about to have a nervous breakdown, Rainbow and Applejack were pounding on the bars, and Fluttershy was sitting down, head against the bars, face very frightened. Rarity and Pinkie were doing all they could to comfort her.~

"Twilight…?"

"Sunset! You're awake finally."

"Where are we?"

"Ah, you're awake...I was worried I'd knocked you out for good."

~Everyone looks up to see Adagio Dazzle smiling down at them through the bars.~

"There, that oughta hold you. Can't have you spoiling the fun when we make everyone in the world adore us."

"What are you talking about? Let us out of here!" Rainbow demanded.

"Let yourselves out." Aria grinned. "You have magic, remember?"

"Gladly."

~Rainbow was about to lay a finger on her geode but she didn't feel it on her neck. She looked down and noticed it was gone. The other girls also looked at their necks and saw they were bare too.~

"Looking for these?" Sonata asked, holding the seven geodes in her hand.

"Give those back!" Twilight demanded.

"Sorry. But we need them." Adagio laughed. "Your magic is now our magic. And there's nothing you can do about it."

"Nothing 'we' can do about it." Sunset whispered.

~Sunset threw her arms behind her back and secretly started to mess about with her wrist calm. She looked behind her and then activated a code black.~

~In one of the classes of Pixel High school, Lightning was deep in thought with her exam in front of her. She had only half time to go. She was about to answer another question and thump her head on the table when suddenly, she heard something beep three times. She looked over to where her stuff was and into her jacket pocket to see her wrist calm flashing the colour black. She gasped and immediately ran over to check it out. Vice Principal Shelly looked up from her desk to see Lightning do just that.~

"Lightning, what are you doing?" She asked.

Lightning looked at her and began to sweat. "Um...My watch bleeped. It's got irritating…I'm just gonna turn it off."

"You actually shouldn't have that on. Your watch is a smartwatch, therefore, it can give you information. Give it to me, I'll turn it off."

"Ok...I also have to leave the exam for a minute."

"Why?"

"I...have anxiety, so I need a breather outside."

"Lightning, you have been here for 5 years, not once have you had anxiety. Just continue with your exam."

~Lightning shamefully handed her wrist calm to the Vice and sat back down. She began to sweat even more, not from the embarrassment and attention she brought on herself, but the fact that the Rainbooms were in danger and she was the only one that can save them. She had to find a way to get out of the exam. She shoots her hand up.~

"Vice Principal Shelly." She waved.

"Yes?" Shelly raised a brow.

"I...have to go to the bathroom!" Lightning answered.

"Alright, but we are going to have to send a member of the staff with you and you can't go with your jacket."

"I have to go alone."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that. Ok, honestly, it doesn't look like you need to go, just sit back down and finish the exam."

~Lightning slumps on her chair once again begins to get antsy. If she doesn't leave, the world will be over. She takes a deep breath and slowly walks up to the Vice's desk.~

"Vice Principal Shelly, please. I have to leave, ok." Lightning begged.

"Why? Tell me the truth this time."

Lightning cringed a little but then sighed. "...My friends are in danger." She answered truthfully and suddenly. "They have been captured by a trio of mythical beasts called sirens from another world. And they will take over the world if I don't make it to them and my friends in time. So, please, for the sake of the world, let me go."

"Honestly, Lightning, you could at least make a believable excuse. For the last time, sit back down and finish your work."

~Lightning growled and stomped back to her desk, but once she got back down, she noticed the door wide open. Suddenly, she decided to do something unthinkable. In a flash, Lightning slammed her hands on the table and bolted out the door. It alerted everyone and the Vice got out of her seat and tried to reach the door first to block Lightning's escape, but she was much faster. Shelly poked her head around the door to see Lightning already too far away for her to catch up.~

"Huh? Lightning Star, get back here this instant!"

~She couldn't hear her. Lightning kept running and never looked back. In another room, Karly Crystal was in the middle of her exam. She looked confident and was about to jot down another answer until she heard footsteps and saw Lightning jolt past the door of the room she was in. She was at first shocked, then she crouched her brows and sensed something was up.~

Chapter 12: An Agent's Full Potential

Chapter 12: An Agent's Full Potential.

~After soaring halfway over the city, Lightning Star looks down to figure out what warehouse the Dazzlings and the Rainbooms might be. She squinted, searching the buildings and around them for a abandoned warehouse.~

"Where are they hiding…?" She asked herself.

~Lightning suddenly spots a small glow a few seconds later coming from a dinghy storage facility.~

"Bingo. Found them."

~After looking left and right, Lightning floated down to the ground slowly and made sure no one saw her. She stopped by in an alleyway between the warehouse and the building next door to it and stayed deathly quiet. She ducked down and started to lightly skulk in the alley to find a window. Suddenly, a thump sounds from around the corner. Lightning flattened herself to the wall to hide. Once she saw a shadow approaching her, she assumed it was one of the Dazzlings, so she leapt and pounced on them. She sat on top of their stomach and pinned them down. Lightning glared and was about to attack, but then she saw who it was.~

"What the…?"

"Ahh! Wait! Don't hurt me! I'm not looking for any trouble! Well, actually, I-"

"Karly, it's me!"

"Lightning?"

~Lightning quickly stood up and let Karly breathe for a minute. She then gave her her hand and helped her get back on her feet. They looked at each other with round eyes.~

"What are you doing here?" Lightning asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." Karly replied.

"Well, I'm here to save the Rainbooms, what about you?"

"I'm also here to save the Rainbooms."

Lightning darted her eyes down and left in confusion. "Oh. But-"

"Look. I-I saw you run past my door, then I saw my wrist calm flash, so I figured the girls were in trouble." Karly said.

"So, you also snuck out?"

"Yes. I asked to go to the bathroom, then I teleported out of there."

"Ooh! Look at this rebel right here! Ditching her exam!" Lightning smiled and playfully punched Karly's arm.

"Hey! You are here too! You also ditched outta the exam!"

"I know I did. For a reason."

"Saving the Rainbooms!" Both Lightning and Karly exclaimed.

"Exactly, we can't lose our new agents and friends already." Lightning said, shaking her head.

"And let the world be shredded by the Dazzlings." Karly added while shrugging.

"So, let's go and get 'em!"

~Lightning and Karly crept up along the rocky wall until they stumbled across a shattered window. The problem was that it was pretty high up and it was tight to squeeze through without cutting themselves on the glass, but the two believed they could get through.~

"Give me a boost." Karly said to Lightning.

~Lightning gets down on her knees and bends low. Karly gently climbs onto her and coils her arms around her neck. Lightning then stands up and begins to float just feet off the ground so Karly could reach the broken window. She slaps her hands on the wall and carefully climbs in and out the window. She lands inside on her feet safely. Lightning then slips through and begins to step lightly across the warehouse rafters. Karly follows her by crawling. Below them, the three Dazzlings stare at the stolen geodes in awe.~

"Look at them, girls. Aren't they beautiful?" Adagio asked with an evil grin.

"They are." Aria nodded slowly.

"So, how do they work?" Sonata asked the Rainbooms.

"Even if we told you, they wouldn't work for you." Sunset answered.

"And why's that?"

"Because they are connected to us and only us. Meaning they can't be used by anybody else."

"Aww." Sonata frowned.

"Remember, Sonata, We don't want the powers, we just want the magic." Adagio reminded her.

"Isn't that the same thing though?" Pinkie shrugged.

~Karly glared at the Dazzlings and went to get a better look at them when suddenly the platform she stepped on creaked super loudly. Lightning pulled Karly back and covered her mouth before she made another sound.~

"Did you hear that?" Sonata asked, looking up, down, left and right.

"Uh oh…" Lightning whispered.

"Calm down, Sonata. It's a warehouse. Warehouses make noise." Aria simply shrugged.

~Lightning and Karly lied deathly still on the rafters as the conversation below them continues.~

"I'm serious! It sounded like...someone walking up there." Sonata pointed up.

"It was probably a rat. Don't worry about it."

"Rat?!" Rarity shrieked.

"Yeah. Rat. Nothing else." Aria said.

"Come on, girls, let's stop wasting time now, let's get the magic back!" Adagio smirked.

~Lightning quietly breathed a sigh of relief and released her hand from Karly's mouth.~

"Look, Lightning…" Karly pointed at the Dazzlings and the Rainbooms.

Lightning growls in anger. "Yeah, I see them. We have to stop them! And get our friends out. They are not staying another second longer in there if I can help it! So, How do you wanna play this? Go all out or play it stealthy?"

"We've got the drop on them. Let's stick to the shadows and take them out one by one."

~Lightning was about to nod and agree with Karly's choice, but it was cut off when they saw a glow. Adagio held Sunset's goede in her hand and watched as the magic went inside of her. Aria and Sonata did the same when they grasped onto the other geodes. After they gained enough, they threw them back onto the crate.~

"That's it...Give us the power!"

"No…" Sunset groaned.

"We're back, baby!" Sonata cheered.

"There's nothing that you can do to stop us now! Say goodbye, Rainbooms!"

"Nooo!" Karly screamed, running out of her hiding spot.

"So much for playing it stealthily..." Lightning frowned.

~Karly climbs on the railings then drops down behind the Dazzlings. They turn once they hear her and she stops in the middle of the room. Lightning also steps down and out of the shadows to confront the Dazzlings with Karly.~

"Lightning! Karly!" The Rainbooms exclaim.

"Let them go, Dazzlings!" Lightning demanded.

Adagio groaned. "You two? Shouldn't you be in your exam? Ugh, How many times must you come to the rescue?"

"Until you leave them alone. For good. Right, Agent Star?" Karly smirked.

She nodded. "Right, Agent Crystal. Get ready for a fight, it doesn't look like these sirens are gonna surrender peacefully.."

"I'm ready."

"Bring it." Sonata taunted.

"Guys, watch out! They've got magic again!" Rainbow warned.

~The Dazzlings begin hurling their voices at them, Karly yipes and sets off charging forward, and Lightning follows closely behind her, ducking low from the blast after blast. The two of them push forward together, approaching striking distance of the Dazzlings.~

"Now, it's time to go on offence. I'll follow your lead, Lightning!"

"Right! Grab my hand!"

~Karly gives Lightning a knowing nod and clasps her palm. She summons the strength she has and swings the full weight of Karly's body, hurling her through the air toward the Dazzlings. Karly brings her fist forward, slamming into Adagio like a missile. The impact sends Adagio falling back, skidding across the ground. Karly activates her geode and before she lands on the ground, a portal hole appears and she flies into it. Another hole appears above Aria's head and before she notices, Karly lands on top of her and brings her down. Sonata looks with shock at her, suddenly Lightning comes in and knocks her to the ground and puts her with Adagio. The three Dazzlings pile up together and groan.~

"Whoa..." Aria groaned. "They are good."

"Get up, you idiots! We are not finished yet." Adagio scolded.

~Adagio sings and unleashes a relentless torrent of sound waves so big, the girls couldn't dodge or even be shielded from it.~

"Whoa!"

"Ahh!"

~The two agents backpedal, gaining some distance. They take a second to regroup, when Karly spots the Rainbooms still locked up.~

"We have to get the Rainbooms out of here! I'll get them, you distract the Dazzlings!" Karly commanded to Lightning.

~Karly launches into a low sprint, then drops to her knees, sliding across the marble towards the cage. She clutches on the bars.~

"Girls, I'm here to help, how do I get you out?"

"Get one of our geodes!" Sunset cried.

"Which one?" Karly asked.

"Any!" Rainbow shouted.

~Karly turns and looks around until she spots the seven glistening geodes laying on top of the crate. She heads straight for them.~

"Not so fast!"

~Adagio turns and swipes at Karly. She runs underneath Adagio and narrowly avoids her grasp.~

"Hey! Don't turn your back on me, Adagio!" Lightning yelled.

~Lightning transforms to her raccoon ears and tail again, lunges forward and grabs Adagio from behind.~

"YEET!"

~She spun on her heels and hefted Adagio off her feet, flinging her several feet in the air. She hits the floor with a thud and rolls across the room and into a stack of crates, smashing them to splinters.~

"I guess 'stop, drop, and roll' doesn't always work!" Lightning said smugly.

"She is not on fire, Lights." Karly said softly.

"Yeah, but she might as well be since she's got a fiery temper."

~Adagio climbs to her feet, seething with anger.~

"That's it! Time to end this!"

"Adagio!"

"What?!"

~Sonata points behind and Adagio turns her head to see Karly making it to the crate where the geodes laid. She glares and marches toward Karly with purpose her entire body glowing bright red. Lightning activates her power and goes to warn Karly but Aria grabs around her ankle and pulls her to the ground, she whines in pain and falls on one of her knees, then on her stomach, arms underneath.~

"Karly, look out!" Lightning yelled.

"Huh?"

~Karly turns and widens her eyes to just see Adagio coming down onto her, grinning as well.~

"Whoa!"

~Karly sidesteps Adagio's attack, her fist slamming into the floor with enough force to shatter concrete. Karly pants then looks at her hand to see a geode in her hand, but she didn't have the time to look better at it to see which one it was, because Adagio was right over her. She glares then makes a run to the Rainbooms.~

"Sonata, help me get her! Aria, keep her occupied." Adagio ordered.

"Alright..." Aria said.

~Aria nodded and continued to securely hold Lightning down on the floor. Lightning's arms were pinned underneath her own body, so she couldn't lift them up. They started to gradually hurt since Aria kept pushing down on her and the floor was rough and scaly. Lightning tried to hold back a whine of pain.~

"What's the matter, Lightning? Did that beating take more of a toll on you than you thought?" Aria gloated.

"No! I just...need you to...Stop squeezing my arms down!" Lightning shouted in pain.

"Lightning!" Karly gasped.

~Karly stops in her tracks and goes to instead help her best friend. But, she stops right where she was to see Sonata lunge at her. She tried to move away, but she attacks with frightening speed. Sonata pins Karly on the ground and the geode flies out of Karly's hand in a random direction. Karly looks up and sees Sonata about to pound her head in, she shut her eyes, bracing herself, but when she opened them, she was unharmed...and a diamond shield stood before her between her and Sonata!~

"What...?"

Chapter 13: Banding Together.

Chapter 13: Banding Together.

~Everyone turned to see Rarity and her geode firmly in her hand. She panted and smiled at Karly, she smiled back.~

"Yes!" Lightning and Karly said happily.

"No!" Adagio and Aria said angrily.

"Maybe." Sonata said confusingly.

~Rarity smugged and casted four diamonds on each wall of the cage, then pushed. The diamonds made contact with the bars. With one smooth motion, she rips them free of their moorings and fling them across the room.~

"Whoa…" Lightning gasped.

"Nice…" Karly nodded.

~Rarity suddenly sways on her feet, that magic of the geode in her hand again leaves her feeling dizzy, she pitches forward onto the ground.~

"You ok, Rarity…?" Applejack asked.

"Yes, darling…I-I'm alright."

~She unsteadily gets back on her feet, still feeling slightly punchdrunk.~

"Maybe since the magic was partially taken, the geodes will need some time to recharge to full magic again." Sunset guessed.

"Well, you better stay put then until that happens." Karly suggested. "We don't want you guys to feel sick or anything."

"But we need to help!" Rainbow cried.

"We will have to without using our magic." Twilight confirmed.

"Hmm. I'll like to see you try." Adagio grinned.

~Aria got off of Lightning and joined her sisters in getting ready to fight the Rainbooms. Lightning and Karly began to worry. The Dazzlings faces the Rainbooms and all ten of them glared.~

Song: Magic in our Lives- (Made-up Song)

Lightning: You could have super speed,

If you run as fast as a car.

Karly: You could have super strength, lifting.

If you can lift at least 5 tons.

Lightning: All you do to call us,

We'll do everything we can.

You could have linguistics,

Listen to dogs, cats and rabbits around.

Karly: You could have telekinesis, thinking.

If you have an IQ of a hundred.

Both: Equestrian...Magic in our Lives!

It is just calling our names...!

Equestrian...Magic in our Lives!

It is just wanting us to answer...!

Yeah! Yeah!

Lightning: Party like nothing's wrong,

and dance like no one's watching!

Karly: Open up the presents,

And fire the cannons!

Both: Equestrian...Magic in our Lives!

It is just calling our names...!

Equestrian...Magic in our Lives!

It is just wanting us to answer...!

Lightning: Yeah! Magic...in our Lives!

It's just wanting us to answer!

Magic...Magic...Magic…

In our Lives!

~The Dazzlings spring into action, charging at the Rainbooms with a flurry of quick shadowboxing punches. The girls jump back but Pinkie, Sunset and Applejack backpedal, parrying the Dazzlings' hands as fast as they could manage. They move with the practiced precision of a boxer. Then the three charged in and did the unbelievable.~

"Hey, that's the Corba Palm! And the Spring kick! AND THE SKY UPPERCUT! You girls learnt all the moves!"

"We had some extra time on our hands." Sunset shrugged.

"And after seeing the Dazzlings do it, it kinda clicked!" Pinkie smiled.

"Heh."

"Let's see if you have extra time for this...!"

~Adagio shifts her hips, spinning her body as she leaps into a roundhouse kick. Sunset leaps back, evading Adagio's blow.~

"Let's do your favourite move, shall we?"

~Adagio slides her foot and prepares to use a sky uppercut. Sunset widens her eyes but then looks at Lightning who gave her a firm nod.~

"We never learnt how to counter them though!"

"Sunset, You can do this." She said. "Just duck down."

Lightning: Invisibility, Mind control, Shapeshifter.

Controlling Metal?

Karly: (Controlling Metal.)

Lightning: Indestructibility, Time Travel, Read memories.

Fire and Ice.

The list goes on!

Both: Equestrian...Magic in our Lives!

It is just calling our names...!

Equestrian...Magic in our Lives!

It is just wanting us to answer...!

Yeah! Yeah!

"Not this time, Adagio." Sunset smugged.

~Sunset ducks and uses both of her hands to block Adagio's fist. Then, she mashes both her hands together and shoots up at supersonic speed to deliver a flying punch straight to Adagio's jaw. Before she can recover, Sunset follows up with a flurry of body blows, finishing off with a spinning elbow to the face. Adagio falls to the ground on her back in defeat.~

"Yes, Agent Shimmer!" Lightning cheered.

~Aria lunges at Applejack with surprising speed. She catches her hands, and the two of them lock in a tense grapple.~

"Solid grip y'all 'ave got there. But it's not exactly a match for super strength!"

~Aria ducks under her arm and spins behind her, pinning her arm to her back and squeezing her into a tight wrestling hold.~

"I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve…" She grinned evilly. "Now time for the Cobra Palm!"

Applejack struggles but then Lightning calls out to her. "Applejack, flip her!"

~Applejack smiled and reached back and grabbed the back of Aria's head. She drops low and pulls her over her shoulder, flipping her onto the floor with a thunderous thud.~

"Argh…"

~As Aria struggles to get up, Applejack dives onto her, pinning her to the floor with her bodyweight.~

"Gotcha." Applejack grinned.

"Nice!" Karly cheered.

~Lastly, Pinkie and Sonata were going at it. They both exactly the same so it was hard for them to try to get the upper hand. Finally, Sonata thought of the Spring kick, and she began to do it.~

"Uh oh." Pinkie thought.

"Pinkie, catch it!" Karly called.

~After hearing Karly's words, Pinkie grabs Sonata's foot and spins her like a disc into the side of the crates, the wood splinter behind her. Pinkie then grabs Sonata by the front of her shirt and pulls her down. The two of them fall together, Pinkie landing on top of Sonata as she slams her into the marble floor below.~

"Wow…" Sonata groaned. "That was good."

"Thank you. Don't do it again." Pinkie glared happily.

"We did it, guys. The Dazzlings can't do anything now." Sunset said.

Adagio let out a mirthless laugh. "We still have your magic. So, if you do defeat us here and now, we will easily return."

~Adagio went to laugh again, but then she felt something. Her body stopped glowing and she felt a little bit weaker. And she wasn't alone. Aria and Sonata were feeling droopy too.~

"Wait...what?"

"Oh. That didn't last long, now did it?" Lightning chuckled a little.

"Looks like you only have the magic for a certain amount of time. If you want it to last, you'd keep the geode on you at all times." Karly guessed.

"Nooo!" Adagio screamed.

"How were we supposed to know that?" Aria grunted.

"That's stupid." Sonata grumped.

"Sooo, what should we do with 'em?" Applejack asked.

"Well, since they...uh...kidnapped you guys, I say we turn them over to the police." Lightning shrugged.

"Sounds good to me."

"No! Wait! I don't wanna go to prison!" Sonata begged. "How about this? We run away, and never bother you guys again."

"Sonata!" Her sisters yelled.

"Hmm. Really?"

"Yes! Promise!"

"Pinkie Promise?" Pinkie asked, raising a brow.

"Pinkie Promise."

"Well, if I've learnt something, no one ever breaks a Pinkie promise. Alright. Just run. Run away, Dazzlings, and never return." Lightning glared.

"Of course." Adagio reluctantly sighed.

~The Rainbooms quickly jumped off the Dazzlings, and then got up and ran out of the warehouse, into the darkness. Lightning put her hands on her hips and smirked at the girls.~

"Welcome to the agency!" She stretched out a hand.

"Welcome to the Rainbooms!" Sunset said, also giving out her hand.

~Lightning and Sunset both shook hands, then hugged. The rest cheered and also joined in. The hug lasted for a while, then everyone heard the beep of a car and headlights shine on them. They walked outside the warehouse to see a car pull up, and Steven Secret and Nimbus Star climb out of it.~

"Agents?"

"Lightning?"

"Chief!?" Everyone exclaimed.

"Dad?!" Lightning cried.

Chapter 14: Dazzlings Done

Chapter 14: Dazzlings Done.

~On the next day, Lightning and Karly were at school, doing their exam once again. Karly was sweating and seriously focusing on her answers while Lightning was just completely brain dead. She looked up to see Vice Principal Shelly keeping a close eye on them, much more seriously than she averagely would. Lightning darted to the fourth wall and whispered as quietly as she could.

"Hi. Hey. You're probably wondering what the Chief and my dad said, well, they told us off. Big time. But they actually weren't too mad about it. Thing is, Vice Principal Shelly told Chief about Karly and I running off, but he, of course, knew why. It was for the sake of keeping the world safe. So he explained why we had to go, then quickly erased her memories with our memory wiper. Don't worry, she's ok. She just doesn't remember anything that happened in the last 6 hours. She's just watching over us while we retake the exam, thinking this is our first time now. My dad understood everything because of what I said to him in my room those few days back, of course this time I told him everything about Equestria and the magic I and the rest possess. He was stunned at first, then learnt to live with it. He didn't punish me about running away from school either, since it was a matter of duty. It is kinda annoying that we have to retake this exam, but at least the Rainbooms are safe and the Dazzlings won't bother them anytime soon."

"Ok, your time is up, girls." Shelly called.

"Done and done." Lightning said to herself.

~Lightning closes up her exam booklet and hands it over the Vice. Karly does the same thing.~

"I'll have it back to you both by next week."

"Th-thank you, Ms. Shelly." Karly smiled softly.

"You're welcome. Go on."

~Once Lightning and Karly were out the door, they booked it down the hall.~

"Quick! To the hideout!" Lightning said.

~After racing out of the school and leaping through the portal, the girls made it into the hideout. Lightning and Karly smiled and walked down the stairs with pride and saw the Rainbooms happily talking on the tables. Sunset, Twilight and Rainbow saw them and waved.~

"Hey, girls!"

"Lightning, Karly! You're back!" Rainbow cheered.

"How did the test go?" Twilight asked.

"I...think it went rather well for me…" Lightning nodded.

"Me too. Even if maths is not my favourite thing to learn." Karly added.

"What about you? The Training?"

"All 18 techniques remembered and mastered." Sunset confirmed.

"And their strengths, weaknesses, and how to counterattack them." Fluttershy added.

"Well, I'll be the judge of that." Lightning scoffed.

"Hm?"

~Lightning walks into the arena and motioned the Rainbooms to do too. They all stand in a circle with Lightning in the middle.~

"Alright, girls! Lets see how good your combat is now. Lets see if the seven of you can try to take me down again. No using magic! Come at me!"

~The seven girls charged in at the same time. Lightning jumped to dodge but someone grabbed around her ankle and pulled her down. Lightning tried to fight them all off and did pretty well, but couldn't handle it. Rainbow and Sunset threw a surprise punch, Fluttershy a light jab, Pinkie threw a orbital jump, Applejack and Rarity a windmill punch, and finally, to finish off, Twilight leapt in and drove her fist into Lightning's chest. The impact sounds with a thunderous crunch, sending Lightning flying backwards. She slams into the wall behind her so hard, it crumbles. Lightning falls down in defeat.~

"Oooohhh…" The girls groaned in shock.

"Too much?" Twilight shrugged.

"Lightning, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.

"Wow. 7 against 1 and the 7 wins. That's a little…Amazing!"

~Lightning flips back onto her feet and smiles.~

"Alright! I'm so proud of you, girls!"

"We should celebrate!"

"Pizza! On us! At the Pizza Shack!"

"Yes!" Lightning cheered. "Come on, then!

~Sometime later, the nine girls were sitting by a secluded table, covered with dirty, crusty plates, leftover food and empty glasses. Lightning pounded on her large stomach.~

"AW. I'm stuffed! This pizza is incredible. Thanks again guys!"

"No problem. It's the least we can do." Rainbow said.

"I'm glad you liked it. So, get back to the hideout and train some more?" Twilight asked.

Lightning grinned. "More? Well, that'd be-"

~-BOOM!* An explosion ripples out from a jewellery shop across the road. People hide behind cars as shards of glass flew through the air. The Rainbooms peek out over the window and see masked figures stepping through the smoke billowing out of the destroyed shopfront.~

"Darn! The whole city might've heard that!" One robber yelled.

"The police will be here any second. C'mon!" The second robber prompted.

~The girls looked shocked, but then they looked at each other firmly and nodded. They raced out of the shack, activated their geodes and charged at the robbers.~

~The End~

Chapter 1: Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold...

E.Q.U.E.S.T.R.I.A Spies: The Return of the Sirens (#3)

Chapter 1: Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold…

~Adagio Dazzle began to stir herself awake as she felt her arms being hoisted up and over the necks of her two sisters. Her legs scraped along the concrete floor and tickled underneath the mossy grass leading down hill. The booming sounds of stone and rock being demolished were muffled for her ears only. She struggled to turn her head. The blurring figure of a blue, brown and white raccoon girl zooming beyond the blue sky and ploughing the clouds with her feet and tail caught her eye. She turned to their direction and watched for a moment of stillness and silence. Her expression was not visible for Adagio, but she knew they shared the same face.~

~It had been more than six days since the last time she was last seen awake after that. She had passed out again once they arrived out of chaos' reach, and all throughout that time of the sun and moon whizzing by as if it was like nothing, Adagio slept for a long, long time, along with her sisters, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk, occasionally. After the sun had risen on their sixth and final day, was when the former siren finally began to make her debut from her coma once again.~

"Heyyy look! Adagio's awake!" said Sonata, and she leaned towards Adagio's fluttering face.

"Oh, well, that's a relief," said Aria, her purpley deadpan sister. "I was afraid they knocked you out for good."

Adagio groaned with both annoyance and agony in her muttery voice. "I lost everything…" she grumbled. "Everything I worked hard for!"

"Are you really that surprised?" Aria spoke. "Devil betrayed us. We had the whole castle against us after that, too, and alllll you could do was sing a little song and draw so much attention for yourself!"

~But Adagio wasn't listening. Instead, she reflected back on the Rainbooms. With her eyes closed, her memories flooded to them, their necks glowing their particular colours in one round singular spot. Then, she came back to the blurring sky figure of Lightning Star, her eye pupils gone and impacted with a magical white and pink glow.~

Then, it dawned on her. "Those geodes…are the new source of their magic…and I had them in the palm of my hand."

Aria sighed, obviously seeing that her sister was not paying attention to her. "Face it, Adagio," she spoke louder. "We're never gonna get to them. Maybe it's best to just give up and find our own magic another wa- "

"I am NOT giving up!" Adagio's shrill voice rang clear through the air. "Their magic is the strongest out there in this miserable little world, and we have no hopes of finding it elsewhere. Canterlot High is the only place, and I'm going to get that magic, and take revenge, even if it kills me." She began walking down the road looking for a place to go. Any place.

Aria frowned. "She's got determination, I'll give her that."

"She's probably just hangry, you know? She has been sleeping for six days… Actually, how do humans even do that?" Sonata said.

"Hangry?" Aria questioned.

"Yeah! Hungry and angry. Lairry taught me that word."

~Adagio forced herself to stop. The mention of any old name, especially from the villains, seriously plunged her even further down into her sour mood. She wanted Sonata to shut up right then and there. But she didn't.~

"He also taught me how to do this! HI-YAH!"

~Sonata dropped and kicked the air, lifting her leg up high, before then performing a dangerous spy-like move that involved sidestepping and whirling in a circle then bringing her fist upwards into a powerful uppercut. She nailed it with amazing precision, leaving Adagio surprised. Though she did a good job at hiding her amazement, all she did was slowly raise her eyebrows, then down again. She marched all the way back where her youngest sisters were standing.~

"And Olliee taught me the basics of how to fight too- so what? I'm not interested, but I had no choice but to listen." said Aria, unamused.

Adagio flashed a look towards her. "What? What did you just say? Those miscreants taught you two how to fight?"

Sonata nodded. "Yeah!"

"Why?"

"We had to say something to keep the conversations going. In fact, Olliee informed me that's how everyone he knows fights. Including his enemies." said Aria.

"That's ridiculous. That's tempestuous. That's…perfect."

~Adagio's face contorted into her ionic sadistic grin, all the while she began scheming. It was not the reaction neither Sonata nor Aria was expecting.~

Sonata tilted her head to her side. "How is it perfect, Dagi?"

"We may not be able to use magic to take back what was ours, but, if we use good old fashioned human power, and think of certain advantages, we might stand a chance."

"Fighting regularly against magic?" Aria blurted. "I don't think that's a good idea- "

"No, it's a fabulous idea!~" Adagio's face façade transformed into something cute and her voice squeaked. It was clearly sarcastic though, as she went back to normal, miserable self and faced Aria with a cold glare. "Look, what other choice do we have? It's the only skill we have learnt. And if you teach me everything you know, who knows? You might be surprised what we can do." she turned her back on her. "We just need to be sneaky…discreet…covert. We need to get them at the worst time."

Sonata looked in between her two sisters. "Which issssss? That could be any time!"

For once, Aria agreed. "Yeah, we don't even know where they live. Also, what if they move away? Someplace safe?"

"Or go on holiday?"

"Then we'll just have to book for the next flight!~" Adagio said, putting on her sweet sarcastic voice again.

"For realsies?" Sonata said, obliviously.

"No. You idiots are so incompetent. The Rainbooms aren't going anywhere and aren't going to get any stronger than they already are."

"Tell that to their newly found friends and their powers." Aria raised her brow. "Knowing them, they'll still be around with the Rainbooms."

"You think so?" Sonata asked.

"I KNOW so."

~Adagio hated to say it, but her sister was right. While they lost their supposed 'allies', the Rainbooms still had theirs, and they were still hanging around them and the school. This gave the Dazzlings a horrible disadvantage, with their only being three of them, against nine overpowered magical girls, along with their school and their adult supervisions, i.e, the prinicpals of their schools, Principal Celestia and Steven Secret.~

~Adagio had to think hard about how they were going to play this. What is their one and only weaknesses, and how do they activate it?~

"We'll find a way," she said. "They're always a way…"

~Through the hallways of Pixel High were three lonely doors. Only one of them was valued, as that's where Principal Steven Secret's office was. It was a very small office, with only a high ceiling that made it stand out. One of the walls was hidden behind rows of bookshelves, and the one behind his desk and computer was a cupboard with two large glass doors, full of worn trophies and faded certificates. The man himself was by his desk when he glanced at the certificates and smiled. His favourite one was a certificate at the front written by Karly Crystal, his niece, reading 'BEST PRINCIPAL/UNCLE EVER' in bold marker.~

~He was scanning through some documents, catching himself up on what he missed after the incident in The Origins. Neither he, nor his girls, Lightning and Karly, had been back home ever since, as they decided to stay and build up a new spy agency along with their new friends, the Rainbooms. For the past week they have been spending time exploring the new world, and bonding with the seven girls, Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. Now, these girls were about to undergo their spy training, and it was there and only then that Steven decided to return home to prepare the spy project ready, and look back on his own school assignments. That's where he found it.~

~Under the docs there were two small files in the cabinet beside Steven's desk, and he caught the glimpse of the tabs, which read 'Lightning Star' and 'Karly Crystal'. With curiosity and wonderment as to where they were here instead of with the other student files, he opened them up, and almost choked on his coffee when he read the first, following sentence. Both Lightning and Karly attendance had dropped significantly, and they were behind on many, many assessments.~

"Holy crud!" Steven yelled and continued reading. "'Last seen at school three weeks ago, only to attend their one hour art class for a project'!" After that, all it's been work and then sorting out stuff in Canterlot. "Oh my lord, how did I not take this into account? Agent Star and Agent Crystal have missed out so much work! I guess secret agent's work really has distracted us. Honestly, being a principal of a school and a chief of an agency really tolls yourself down."

"Steven, call me crazy, but did you just say you're the chief of an agency?"

"Hmm? Oh! No, Vice Principal Shelly. I was just muttering random things to myself."

~Because Steven was so entranced in his files, he hadn't noticed Vice Principal Shelly come through the front door. She was a very sharply-dressed woman, always wearing purple, her blazer and trousers specifically, and always had them over a white light buttoned shirt and black high heels. She sleeked her long white-blonde hair back and from the window, she battered the sunlight out of her sky blue eyes, ones that Steven thought were gorgeously beautiful. They weren't in a relationship or anything, as both were already married, but they were solid business partners, doing their best to keep their school and its reputation afloat. They'd known each other for years now. However, Shelly didn't know anything about Steven's secret double life, nor about Lightning and Karly's jobs either.~

~She was just coming in with a plethora of more files to hand to Steven to look through, and immediately noticed him reading the two open ones on the desk.~

"I see you've finally noticed that Lightning and Karly have been off school for the past few weeks. Care to explain?"

Steven froze as he tried to recount what had happened in order to think of an excuse. "Things…happened." Was all he could produce, "In their defence, the girls have gone through some pretty rough times."

"Like what exactly?" Shelly asked.

"If only you knew…" Steven mumbled. "Do you remember that time when the whole school was sucked up by a wormhole and tossed into another world?"

"Of course I do. Only I, the teachers, and five single students were not taken. The entire school was a mess after that ordeal was over. You have no idea how long it took us to fix it all." Shelly said, sitting herself down and edging on her elbow on Steven's desk, letting her forehead fall into her hand. "However did you get back anyway?"

Steven froze again. "That's... a secret I must take to the grave. All you need to know is that we got back, and Devil was stopped once again from harming our lives."

"Dee-vil? That villain Devil you and the girls frequently go up against? Was he responsible for that wormhole? I swear, that man does nothing but terrorise our school and the students."

"Wellll, not exactly. But, the reason Lightning, Karly and I are staying there isssss… because we have been making sure everyone else that was lost made it home safe, so they can get their education."

"What about their own education?!" Vice Principal Shelly got up from her seat and smashed her hands on Steven's desk. "I know these two girls are special to you, but covering for them isn't going to help! This is still a school, and they are still young students attending it. They need to be back here next Monday morning so they can study in preparation for their final exams next week."

Steven's eyes bulged. "Final exams are only next week?!"

"Yes, and they need to be there. And due to how many assessments they haven't done, they will probably have to spend their break and lunchtimes studying. Even after school lessons might be in order too! We need to put that on their records now!"

~The vice principal swiped the files from under Steven's arms and immediately began jotting down what she said. She then turned her attention back to him.~

"You too, Steven." she said, "You haven't been around much taking care of your duties as a principal. I've been toiling away doing both mine and your job! It's not healthy for me, nor good for the school's reputation. So, you yourself need to be back here every day of the week, sorting out the upcoming final exams and everything else you've missed. If you are against this, or miss one more day, you will be fired, and Lightning and Karly will be expelled."

~Fired? Expelled!? The words ran through Steven's mind harshly. The thought of him and the girls being thrown out of the school was abysmal. He fell back in his chair with incredulity, all the while Shelly brought her hand to her forehead, in attempt to be understanding.~

"I'm sorry, Steven. I didn't mean to be assertive. I'm not saying this to upset you. After all, they are not my rules to follow, it's just the law. It's out of my hands. I'll give you this weekend to sort it all out. I gotta go pick up my brother now. I'll hopefully see you and the girls on Monday."

~With that, she left in silence. Steven drummed his fingers against his desk for a long time. The school was special to them, it was their sacred grounds, and for the past five years, they have been protecting it from Devil and other wanted criminals who hold a grudge towards them. What could happen if they were not there? He darted down towards his smartwatch and texted Karly first, then Lightning, both with the same wording about this future-threatening news, then silently awaited for the reply. Minutes turned to an hour and there was still nothing from the girls. Steven couldn't wait a minute longer. He had to go and find them and inform them himself- personally. So, gathering up all his 'evidential' belongings, he left his office in a huff, trudging all the way over to the gateway that led from this world to the next.~

~He didn't have to walk far. Like CHS, the book key decided to locate the portal leading to each other's world right outside the school grounds at the back behind a large marble sign that stated the school's title. The similarity was uncanny. Slipping his hand through the granite surface of the sign, making sure it was on, Steven made his transition back to Canterlot.~

~Stars and glitter merged with the background as Steven's surroundings passed through the void in between their dimensions. The feeling was odd and it hurt his head and eyes and stretched his floating body in all sorts of places. Thankfully it didn't last long, and the portal finally spat him out to the front foot of Canterlot High. He landed on his face, taking back his first memories of arriving at this place, and tumbled across the pavement. He coughed at the fresh air slowly once he stopped rolling, setting his head down from the impact. His files spluttered out into a pile next to him. Not bothering to stand up yet, he reached out for the files, when he was met with a hard purple sparkling boot that stopped his hand dead in its tracks, flattening it underneath the sole. He looked up to see the familiar siren trying to dominate over him.~

"Hello, Secret." her voice gruffed.

~Steven pulled his hand out from under the boot then pushed himself up to his feet. His head was still throbbing and dizzy from exiting the portal, but he could still make out who he was staring down at.~

"Adagio Dazzle," he spat. Adagio returned his glare with a nasty smile. "What are you doing here?"

"We're here for you, what else?" came another voice. Aria, looking bored and deadpan as usual, and Sonata who was bright-eyed and eager for action, appeared behind him.

"And magic! That's what else!"

"It was a rhetorical question, Sonata."

Steven spun around to face them. "So, all three of you escaped the castle. How did you know I'd still be here?"

"We figured you would. Come to visit your new friends or something again?" Aria guessed, crossing her arms.

"Not particularly," he answered truthfully. He focused his gaze back to Adagio over his shoulder. "What do you want?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"More power." Adagio's grin gave a 180 at Sonata's answer.

"And how do you suppose you'll accomplish that? You lost your magic."

"That may be so... But we learnt a couple of things from Devil and his annoying sons," Adagio said. "You didn't think they wouldn't tell us about you and your 'prised' girls now, did you?"

Steven's jaw fell to his chin as Aria spoke with a smirk. "That's right. We know everything now."

Sonata corrected. "Well, not 'everything' everything. Just how to fight, how to counter strike, and, where you guys live, and- "

"Sonata!" her two sisters clabbered.

"What? What did I say?"

"Sonata, you are literally the worst!" Aria mumbled.

"No, you are!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Girls," Adagio interrupted them, her voice turned sweet. "As much as I'd love to hear this conversation for the millionth time, please… shut up!"

"Sorry, Dagi."

"Whatever."

"Thank you. Now, as we already know, Secret, your girls possess similar powers, which makes us even more eager to defeat them and take back what was lost from us. And not just from the Rainbooms. In fact, we're gonna snag their magic too, it's special and powerful enough."

Sonata clapped her hands. "Ah-huh! Nine is higher than seven after all! And this time, we can share the power equally, three for each!"

~Another gasp stifled Steven's speech as the Dazzlings laughed. This day just got even worse! Now, he had to warn the girls from being expelled from school AND the Dazzlings? Not to mention the Rainbooms too. His eyes bounced in turn towards each Dazzling as they closed on him from three sides. He kept his hand firmly locked behind his back, as he waited for the right moment.~

Aria crossed her arms. "Last time, you lost to us because you didn't have your spy girls with you. We're in the same scenario. You don't stand a chance here."

"You forget one important thing though." Steven said calmly.

"And what's that?"

"I'm a spy, too."

~With that, Steven dropped a small explosive device from behind him, letting it hit the floor, and causing the entire area radius to detonate into a puff of hard-seeing heavy smoke. The Dazzlings saw it but could not move out of the way quick enough. They coughed and barked and gagged as it filled the lungs, and they were unable to see through it. That gave Steven the opportunity to escape. With the Dazzlings distracted, he scooped up as many of his important files again as quickly as he could before bolting around the school. Adagio broke into a run after him.~

"Get him!" she screamed to her sisters.

~Steven zipped through Canterlot High's garden, making his way quickly to the backside, thanks to a nearby shortcut, leading him into the car park. At first, he wanted to reach the emergency exit door to get into the school, but that'll just lead the Dazzlings inside too, putting the CHS students into risk again like last time. No, he just needed to lose them somehow, and find his way into their headquarters underneath the school without giving up its location. But how?~

~Pressing his whole body weight against the wall, Steven jerked his head in all sorts of directions. Then, he hunkered down and noticed something. Beside his feet laid a ventilation grate, leading to the shaft inside the school. What choice did he have? So, frying the bolts using his watch's laser and removing the grate, Steven shimmied his way into the tight vent. Having to scooch himself down and crawl on his elbows, he dragged himself through metres of nothing but darkness as well as dust and cobwebs, which made home in his hair and trousers. He found the situation rather embarrassing, even though there was no one around to see him. He hadn't crawled in a vent for over fifteen years, and frankly, he now saw how old he was getting at these kinds of jobs.~

~Finally, he noticed a square of light and found another vent opening, one that dropped into CHS' main hallway. He kicked the grate, and it crashed to the floor with a loud clatter. He scooted forwards, crossing the gap first, then letting his legs dangle over it. Slowy, softly, he then eased himself down but knew he was too high up, he had to drop. Steven let himself go, landing on his back. His backbone and spine ached after that, passing through his body from the top to the tailbone. Nonetheless, he forced himself up, dusting the mites off his trousers and ignoring the looks passing students were giving him, having watched the whole event after the grate fell unexpectedly.~

~Steven made his way to the Rainbooms' music room without a moment's wait. Bursting through the double doors, he made to speak, but nobody was in the room; he just immediately assumed he would find the Rainbooms, and Lightning and Karly, there. Perhaps they were down in the hideout. He entered in the key tune on the piano, and watched impatiently as its green lighting filled the flooring and before making his way down the black carpeted stairs to the elevator. Five-hundred low levels later, he was in.~

"Girls! Come quick! We have an emergency!" Steven yelled. "Actually, scratch that, we have TWO emergencies! COME OUT, NOW!"

~He got no answer. Desperate, he invaded everyone's room, searching top to bottom for any signs of the girls' presence. But there was nothing. If they were not at school, nor in the hideout…~

"Where are they?"

Chapter 3: Project E.Q.U.E.S.T.R.I.A

Chapter 3: Project E.Q.U.E.S.T.R.I.A

"Here, follow me," Steven proclaimed, leading the Rainbooms out of their music room, and down the flight of stairs and elevator back to the main area of the hideaway.

~After a little walk left, they had made it to the small room about the size of a classroom, that appeared to the left labelled 'Screening Room'.~

"Here, everyone in," Steven said, and the seven teens piled into the room.

~The walls, floor and ceiling appeared to be a very shiny white, and the room's corners were rounded. There was no furniture at all, and the floor was somewhat slippery, maybe from how polished it seemed. And indeed it was, as it looked as though nobody had stepped foot in it ever. The seven Rainbooms could even vaguely make out their reflections.~

Steven instructed them, "Stay in the centre," and they did so, until he'd shut the door, and walked off, having told them to, "Wait here."

~Immediately, they started marvelling at how perfectly cut the walls were, and trying to touch the ceiling and floor (especially Pinkie). All but Sunset, Twilight, and Fluttershy stayed in the centre, as they were the most obedient when it came to following instructions. Suddenly, the walls glowed a bright red, causing the seven to shield their eyes. A circular platform with seven seats in the centre then appeared in the middle of the room, seatbelts being fastened automatically, and with only Sunset and Twilight in their seats.~

"W-what the heck is going on?!" Rainbow Dash yelled. Fluttershy and Rarity held on to each other.

"I-I dunno!" Applejack replied, who noticed the seats, and pointed to them, "Girls, quick!"

~The five ran for their seats, but were briefly ejected into the air because of a sudden and impactful THUMP! that launched them into their seats. The sensation of descending in an elevator fell upon the girls, as the door disappeared out of view. They were indeed in some sort of elevator.~

"H-h-he didn't tell us that this was a freakin' elevator!" Sunset shouted, holding onto her seat tightly, being rocked back and forth in her seat.

~Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash held onto their seats in fear, with Rainbow trying and failing desperately to undo the seatbelt. Twilight, Rarity and Applejack attempted to slip into their seats, eventually successfully doing so just as the elevator came to a brisk stop. Pinkie fell into her seat, and the others breathed sighs of relief.~

"Wh...what the heck was that about?!" Sunset gasped.

~A few seconds later, the door opened, and Steven appeared behind it. All that was seen behind him was a low red light.~

"Quickly, now! All follow me!" he exclaimed, immediately noticing how out of breath everyone looked. "Y'all alright?" he asked, to which the seven gave a groan and a nod. "Good! Now, if you'd all follow me…"

~The seven friends stared at each other, before rising from their seats, and exiting the elevator. As Sunset, Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie stepped out of the elevator, their eyes were immediately filled with awe, and the vicinity gave off a vibe of mystery and suspense. The current room they were in was full of a dark red light that coated them, giving the feeling of a night-club. However, one giant, green light bled through the red, due to a humongous, translucent, tablet-designed screen near the centre of the room. It looked to be a screen people used to type something out. And connected to these screens, were small computers, each with its own little cubicle, and they were all wearing headphones.~

"Ooooooh…" The seven girls' eyes widened in wonder, as they gawped at every single detail in the extensive room.

"Wondrous, is it not?" Steven affirmed, and the girls nodded slowly. "Now, then. If you come with me up here…" he pointed up at the door behind the green screens, "We can get down to 'business'."

~The girls complied, and ran after Steven through the threshold. As soon as they reached the barrier, they saw several rooms shaded by lamps that emitted white glows, although the light appeared a pale red, as the low red glow was still present. They noticed other doors labelled 'Break Room', and 'Weapons Room'.~

"In here!" Steven called, beckoning the gang into the second-to rightmost door labelled 'Steven's Office'.

~The girls instantly froze on the spot as they walked into the room. This office was about twenty times larger than the one on the surface, to the point where it was practically the size of a throne room. The ceiling seemed so high up, that it felt like they were standing in a cathedral.~

"Whoaa...what the…?"

"Well, what can I say? Sometimes it's great to shoot big!"

~Steven skipped over to his desk that, compared to the size of the room, looked about the size of an anthill. It seemed miles away from the girls' perspective.~

"What are you waiting for?!" Steven called gleefully from the other end of the room, sat comfortably in his chair that seemed twice the size of the one in his smaller office, "Get over here!"

~Walking down the aisle of a hallway felt so mesmerising, mostly for Rarity, and it was all down to the magnificent view. Beautiful, colour-changing lights horizonatally dotted the walls, and a small moat of crystal-clear meandered around a long, sea blue carpet, and made its way up the vertical aisle, and circled around Steven's workspace. A small but sturdy bridge allowed entry. The entire room was engulfed in a bright orange light coming from the arch-shaped stained glass windows that stretched up most of the length of the walls. Behind the windows were likely bright spotlights that were filtered orange by the glass. The entire experience made Twilight feel like royalty. She embraced the feeling, as she slowly strode down the hall next to Sunset, who seemed equally as awestruck as Twilight felt. It was like being in Princess Celestia's castle again. Pinkie Pie had seemed to regain her composure, but, instead of simply soaking in the feeling like the other two, bolted all the way down the aisle, jumping the moat and almost rocketing straight into Steven's desk.~

"Jesus! C-calm down, Agent Pie."

~The other Rainbooms finally crossed the bridge, and stood before Steven's desk.~

"Now then, I know that I know this already, but please, to enlighten me, give me your names."

"Sunset Shimmer…" Sunset said, placing a hand on her chest, before pointing at the others, "Twilight Sparkle… Rainbow Dash… Applejack… Fluttershy… Rarity…" Sunset then pointed at the ditzy Pinkie face-planted into a soft, wine red rug, "...Pinkie Pie."

"...Right. So, now that we're in the 'main' office, I can offer you your 'job." Steven said, a slight sinister tone in his voice.

~Suddenly, the door to the office closed abruptly by itself, causing Fluttershy to jump into Rarity's arms, and Rarity into Applejack's.~

"D-does that normally happen?!" Rarity stuttered, fear overtaking her voice.

"Why, of course!" Steven replied, his finger on a blue button on his desk labelled 'Close door', "Say, what if someone leaves the door open and I don't want to waste precious time walking all the way back down there to close it? That's what this is for!" he pointed to the button.

"O-oh."

~Fluttershy and Rarity jumped back onto the floor immediately.~

"So, about our training…" Applejack went on.

"Indeed."

~Steven pressed another button, which created a magic shield around the Rainbooms. Fluttershy screamed while Pinkie stretched out a hand to touch it.~

"HEY! You don't wanna do that, Agent Pie!" Steven shouted, and Pinkie withdrew her hand, "It'll sting on contact."

"What!" Sunset grew angry. "What on earth are you trying to do?!"

"Hey, hey, calm it. I'm not going to hurt you." Steven reassured, "This is all part of the production. It is very important, Lightning's orders, so you MUST be paying close attention, understand?"

~The girls looked at each other with worry, but nevertheless nodded in capitulation.~

"Good."

~Steven pushed a button that lowered and switched on a projector that cued a short presentation onto the wall behind Steven's desk.~

"Welcome! This presentation will detail the brand new project that we shall be working on! You are probably here because you are perhaps interested in our new program! If so, please listen on!"

~A bright, high-pitched male voice sounded on the monitor, echoing the palace room of the office.~

"If you're currently unaware, this program will involve fun, mischievous and magical hijinks, but will require rigorous constant training, so make sure you're up for the job! You shouldn't worry, though! Our plethora of professional and incredibly helpful trainers and employees will help you find your footing almost immediately! As unconventional as this plan sounds, we guarantee to pay well, and maximum enjoyment is imminent the moment you join the team! Your fellow employees will welcome you with open arms! We hope you'll enjoy this project! We're calling it: The Equestria's Qualified Undercover Equestria Spies Trustful, Respectful International Agency, or E.Q.U.E.S.T.R.I.A for short! See you around!"

~The video feed cut, and the projector raised itself back into the ceiling. Steven turned back to the girls, who were staring back at him. The silence lasted several moments before Sunset broke it.~

"Magical... hijinks?!" she shouted, accidentally making contact with the magical restraint, crying out in pain.

"It's a new feature Lightning decided upon the project due to her, Karly and you all having supernatural abilities." Steven said. "According to you alot, you seem to have a habit of finding Equestrian magic and evil forces who want to use it to cause chaos and destruction. Like Devil, the Dazzlings, and many more. So, we've been experimenting with how it works to prepare for such things. Starting with this magical barrier, designed by Lightning."

"How did she manage to do that?" Twilight asked.

"Taking a little of her DNA, and using our technology, she fashioned an electromagnetic scrambling device that renders magic completely useless."

~'Wow. Impressive', the girls thought. Realising that Lightning was broadening her horizons when it came to magic, something that Sunset and Twilight could not figure out themselves, it made them all the more curious as to what she'll do with music.~

Steven went on, "But this is all we got for the 'magical' part of this settlement. As for the rest, well, this is only the beginning. There's plenty more to come."

"Like what?" asked Fluttershy.

"That's a question you will have to ask Lightning herself. I'm only in charge of giving you the whole brief of how and where to start."

"Then let's stop wasting time and get to the point of all this," Sunset said, and she stood up. "Uhm… Do you mind letting us go?"

"Huh? Oh- uh, sure!"

~Steven pressed the same button on his desk that raised the barrier, and it immediately dissipated, setting the girls free.~

"So- uh, one more question before you go; You still gonna go through with this? Right?"

"HECK YEAH!" Rainbow started.

Pinkie jumped up and nodded. "Uh-huh! Allllll the way!"

"Aaabsolutely!" Applejack agreed.

"Mmm-hmm." Fluttershy said, though the doubt still lurked in the back of her head.

"Certainly. Whatever it takes." Rarity smiled, determination over her face.

"Of course. The concept sounds so intriguing." said Twilight.

Steven and the squad turned to Sunset, who had her arms folded, with a snobbish look on her face. "Well, yeah, of course, but are you sure you'll be able to train us?"

"We are going to try." Steven said truthfully. "Go ahead and meet Lightning and Karly upstairs. They'll fill you in on what's next."

"OI! RAINBOOMS! Get your Rain-butts in here!"

~The moment the Rainbooms returned to the upper floor, their ears were met with the deafening pierce of an old whistle. It hung on a string across Lightning's neck, who stood up straight and strong in front of them, wearing an old military hat with a camouflage pattern. Karly was there too, also standing straight, but highly nervous. She instructed the girls to join her and stand in a line as Lightning trotted back and forth in front of them like a military general did with newly recruits.~

"Alright, ladies, today you come in as rookies! Maginas! Worthless worms! But, soon, you will become...the greatest agents that ever lived! You will get hurt, you will cry, and most of all, you will get salty! But, you will become true professionals! We only have this weekend to teach you as much as we can before Karly and I have to return to school. So let's get moving! Any questions? No?"

Karly slowly raised her hand. "I have a question."

"Yes, Agent Crystal?" Lightning asked.

"Can you please stop talking like a military general, literally shouting into our faces? You're making me paranoid and uncomfortable as it is- we're not in the army."

"We might as well be! There is serious work that needs to be done!"

~Lightning stamped her foot hard, alerting everyone who dozed off for a blink second (specifically Rainbow Dash). A clipboard and pen appeared in Lightning's hands.~

"Now, first things first, let's get the most simple question out of the way: How good of a fighter are you?"

"I've mastered all kinds of martial arts," Rainbow said proudly.

"And I know how to weigh in a few scraps myself." Applejack said also.

"Good, good, I figured." Lightning jotted down what was said word for word. "As for the rest of you, I can make some pretty excellent guesses. Sunset, you seem pretty proficient in your knowledge. I've seen already that you can pull off amazing skills, you just need more practice."

~Sunset watched as Lightning wrote something down, then divided the paper into seven categories. She whirled over to Pinkie Pie next.~

"Pinkie Pie, you are automatically a wild card. Always a girl to have their guard up, ready to unleash a ray of insane attacks due to your… chaotic and unpredictable nature. Though I will have to ask you to try and control that."

"Yyyes, ma'am!"

~Pinkie gave a hardy salute towards Lightning, happy with her overall result. Lightning smiled and moved on.~

"Twilight, you have an advantage in the virtue of technology and long distance. The only thing we'll need to look at is training physically."

~Twilight expected an answer related to close combat was going to be in her working category. She nodded to show she understood.~

"Rarity, you are a lady of high society. You must have taken some self-defence lessons in your life. I say both you and Fluttershy are almost the same. You both have areas of strength, but, no offence, I deem you two as the weakest. But don't worry. We are going to work on it. Come with me, everyone."

~Lightning dropped her board before leading them through a door opposite to where the entrance to the 'Screening Room' was. Her mouth curved into a smug grin while everyone else's dropped to the floor. Before them was a large, high ceiling, training arena full of weapons, training dummies, monkey bars, dangling ropes, hooks, moving platforms, spiked balls swinging back and forth, fire dispensers, and many more things resembling booby traps.~

"When was this installed?!" Karly exclaimed.

"Quite recently. I told you the hideout wasn't fully completed. I'm just glad I got my dream training arena done in time for us." Lightning seemed to have no excitement left in her voice, but the smile was still there.

"A-and are you s-sure this is… safe?" asked Twilight.

"Pffft! Of course not! You must be able to get a feel of reality once you get into the fields. Training is a very important stage in a new agent's life. Most times I prefer learning on the job, but you still have to train for it. For now, let's start with a warm up." Lightning blew her whistle. "ALLLLLL RIGHT! LET'S MOVE OUT, GIRLS! DROP AND GIMME ME TWENTY! HUP, HUP, HUP, HUP!"

~Screaming like a football coach and clapping her hands, Lightning motioned the Rainbooms to begin a press-up session to get the muscles going. They were taken aback by her sudden change in tone, reminding Rainbow Dash of her mate, Spitfire, who too had a loud yell. Next thing they knew, they were facing the floor and doing twenty press-ups on the ground.~

~Now that the Rainbooms' hearts were pumping and the adrenaline was flowing in their veins, Lightning led them into a boxing-like ring on the other side of the arena. Karly instantly saw where this was going and stepped to the side, deciding to be a referee.~

"Alright, girls, I'd like to see what combat techniques you know. So, let's see if the seven of you can try to take me down. No using magic!"

"A-all at once?" Fluttershy said.

"Up to you. Have at it!"

Hesitation held the Rainbooms back, but Rainbow noticed the easy advantage. "Come on, you guyyys. She's outnumbered. We can take her. It's seven against one!"

Lightning's eyes flared up with wildfire and she hid her evil grin. "I like those odds."

~Pinkie Pie decided to step up first. Without warning, she lunged for Lightning's waist and roared, but Lightning slid out of the way, causing Pinkie to slam into the soft ropes behind her. She bounced right back up though and tried again. Same result. She then tried a third time, then a fourth, then a fifth. Pinkie certainly had fast reflexes, something Lightning took into account, but she kept to Pinkie's rhythm perfectly and dodged every attempt she made to grab her, with her shoulder just skimming against hers every time. It was almost like they were dancing in the eyes of the other girls watching, and they had no idea how to jump in to help her. Finally, after alot of boxing and spinning, Lightning took hold of Pinkie Pie's shoulders, keeping her in place, then kicked down at her knees, taking them out and forcing her to give way and collapse hard. Pain shot up in her feet. Lightning narrowed her eyes.~

~Applejack charged forth next. As Lightning whirled back around, Applejack went in for a strong punch, aiming specifically at the chest. She came in close, only for Lightning to catch her fist at the last moment and twist hard, causing AJ's whole arm to turn along with it. There was a cursory crack, which everyone heard and winced at. The cowgirl gave a low groan before trying to yank her hand back, but Lightning's grip remained firm, surprisingly strong and well-flexed. Applejack may be tough, but Lightning had good skill and coordination. She knew exactly which part of the body was the weak spot and how to hit it. Applejack fell to her knees after another squeeze, but grimaced to prevent herself from crying out. Lightning would have liked to have then gone on further, showing off another move, until someone from behind jumped and wrapped their arms around her neck.~

~It was Sunset. The two wobbled back and forth all over the place and spun around in the ring in an effort to stay afoot. Finally, Lightning twisted her whole body behind her, in a way that almost looked painful, and shoved Sunset deep down onto the floor. Lightning then pounced on top of Sunset in an instant, bracketing her in with her legs, and easily capturing her wrists, pinning her down completely. Sunset strained against her, kicking her legs out, but Lightning was unfazed, deciding next to drop her whole weight down on Sunset, making it harder to writhe beneath her.~

A cocky smirk formed on Lightning's face. "Nice try."

~Lifting her off the ground, still in a firm hold, Lightning took Sunset and folded her arms into a strange arm lock behind her back. It was difficult for Sunset to break out of without it hurting. Then, dragging her backwards slightly and winding up, Lightning flung her across the ring like a boomerang, spinning her, right to where Rarity was standing. The two crashed to the floor, with Sunset, out of the two, mainly experiencing the worst case of dizziness. Rarity looked down at her hand and screamed.~

"That's IT! I worked hard on my nails!"

~With a grasp of raging fury, Rarity suddenly threw herself into battle mode, launching a furious combo of jabs and hooks against the surprised Lightning. Lightning was dodged ever so gracefully, much more delicate than how she was dodging the others' attacks. Now THAT looked like she was dancing, and Rarity could not keep up for long. Eventually, she grew tired of throwing fists, and that gave Lightning an opening to strike, palming Rarity below the shoulder, lightly tipping her onto the ground. Like a little, but forceful, push.~

~Rainbow Dash rose up to the podium next, eager as she wanted to first. 'Now THIS was going to be a challenge', thought Lightning. To start off, Rainbow pivoted, swinging her leg up and around for a solid roundhouse, like how she would kick a football. However, Lightning easily sidestepped. Her grin turned to a smirk, basically telling Rainbow that she was too slow. 'TOO SLOW?' Rainbow aimed again, this time slightly faster and harder. But then, in a move that shocked everyone, Lightning performed a double back handspring as an intense dodging mechanism, followed by a backflip turned into a kick, hitting Rainbow in the stomach, propelling her down and across the arena.~

~Twilight was forced into the ring next, and she fought hard. She fought as hard as she could as to not allow Lightning to best her but, her hard-as-she-could was not hard enough…not even close, and soon, like Sunset, she was lying on the ground with Lightning straddled on top of her, sweating and panting. During the struggle, Twilight lost her glasses. The Rainbooms expected Lightning to kindly perhaps halt the battle in order for Twilight to retrieve them but, nope. She carried on like a heartless scoundrel who had no mercy. She told them that this was exactly how a fight would go, no matter what. It was no longer a child's game where children would randomly make up rules and create time outs or safe spots when they knew they were going to lose. When pulled up to her feet, and thrown across the ring, Twilight went back into the corner, easily accepting defeat.~

~Lastly, it was all Fluttershy. But she couldn't do anything. Her meek-mannered nature forced her to freeze on the spot with no sort of fight or flight contained in her bones. The only -ight she was thinking of was fright. Lightning clearly saw it but, with one strong fist raised to throw down… Fluttershy immediately dropped and cowarded, curling up into a ball and whimpering on the floor. Even if she knew Lightning would never intentionally harm her, the fear was just too much. She could hear a disappointed sigh come from Lightning afterwards.~

~After another go at a scuffle, this time literally all at once, it ended quickly and calmly. Lightning was the only one left standing, while all seven of the Rainbooms were lying, face down, scattered at her feet, gasping for air and trembling.~

"Wow." Lightning started. "Seven against one and the one wins. That's a little embarrassing…"

Twilight lifted her head. "Well, if I may, we are still not particularly qualified to fight a skilled fighter like you yet, Lightning…"

"True. But be patient, you'll get to my level eventually. This was… merely a test. Now, I know how you fight and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Now, how about we…" Lightning was about to suggest another exercise method but, seeing as the girls were knackered as hell, stopped. "...take a small break."

~The Rainbooms quietly ushered small muffled cheers from beneath their faces to the floor. As Lightning hopped out from the ring, she was joined by Karly.~

"I thought you said you were going to go easy on them." she said.

"Yeah, I never said I was gonna let them win!"

Chapter 10: The Dazzling Hideout

Chapter 10: The Dazzling Hideout.

~Sometime later, in the middle of the night, The Dazzlings roamed the dark roads. Adagio stomped in anger while Aria and Sonata just walked uncaringly. They were halfway across the city with nothing to do. They didn't know where they were going, but all they did know was that they need another plan.~

"Well, this afternoon went well." Aria frowned, dragging her feet along.

"Even if those two agents are at school, they still show up and ruin our chances of obtaining the magic!" Adagio growled, then sighed. "Equestrian magic is never going to be in our hands again if we don't get them."

"You said you would think of something to keep them distracted. But, you have nothing at all!" Aria said.

"I was relying on them going to school. It's not all that I found out though…"

What do you mean?" Aria asked.

"I found out that an important exam is coming up for The Rainbooms' little protectors."

"So?"

"SO, when they're in the middle of that, we can swoop...right in and take what we want."

"How do you know they won't just ditch their exam and come to the rescue...again?"

"I am certain. I've seen them worry over it."

"You were also certain that they would be too busy at their school, look how that turned out."

"There's something called patience and trying again, you know?" Adagio glared. "We will not fail this chance of getting magic!"

"Ugh." Aria rolled her eyes and went to turn to Sonata, but she wasn't where she left her. "Where did Sonata go? I know she can be annoying and stupid, but It's not like her to wander off."

"Hey, girls, Check out what I found!" Sonata called, peeking her head around a corner behind them.

~Aria raised a brow and Adagio frowned at their sister, but they begrudgingly followed her through an alleyway and out on the other side to see a decrepit warehouse hidden around the tall, modern buildings.~

"It's a warehouse." Aria clarified.

"I know."

"Sonata, why do you want us to look at this warehouse?" Adagio glared.

"I just thought, maybe, it could be our hideout!" Sonata smiled.

"What?!" Adagio bellowed.

"Hear me out. The Rainbooms have a hideout, so I don't see why we can't have one. Also, if we do actually get the magic and get away with them, where are we going to hide?" Sonata asked.

"I hate to say it, but she makes a point." Aria agreed disgustingly.

"Hmm…"

~Adagio crosses the road, takes the first step through the warehouse doors and examines the inside thoroughly. The atmosphere hit her like a car going twice the speed limit. And it was wonderful. She looked at the stacks of crates, barrels and something large in the back corner. She pulled the tarp and dust over it and it revealed to be a large, iron-barred cage. It was so big, it could fit at least 3 lions inside it. Adagio grinned.~

"Hmm. I like this place. So dark, so inconspicuous, so Negative and evil."

"Really? You like it?" Sonata asked happily.

"Yes. This will actually do nicely for us, do you think?"

"I suppose I can live with it. I guess it's a good place to hide. I'm tired of constantly running around and sleeping outdoors." Aria shrugged.

"You gotta admit, It is very well hidden. No one would ever think to look in here." Sonata said.

"Devil did say to me that all good villains need a lair." Adagio said.

Aria turned seriously after she heard 'that' name. "What else did he tell you?" She asked.

"He told me that he doesn't tolerate annoying behaviour from his underlings...!"

"Since when were we your underlings?"

"Since the beginning of time."

"She is the eldest after all, Aria." Sonata shrugged.

~Aria crossed her arms and pouted, while Adagio just rolled her eyes and ignored her. She continued to wander the large warehouse.~

"If we can bring the Rainbooms and their magic here, don't have to worry about them running off, and if we take their geodes, they will be in our hands to use and corrupt. And once they are corrupt, they will be the first victims we can test on."

Aria nodded. "Ok. Great!" Her smile suddenly turned upside down. "How are we going to get them? How are we going to find them? How do you know their super agent friends won't come to save them?"

"Their friends won't be a bother to us. They will be occupied by a little exam tomorrow, and by the time they do get out, it will be too late. How to find them? We know their every hiding spot. It won't be that hard, Aria. They cannot run or hide anymore…"

~Adagio steps from the shadows, a wry smile playing across her features and she believed this plan was full proof.~

"Well, they can run. Just, not for long." Sonata suddenly commented.

Adagio's grin disappears and she sighs. "You know what I mean. The skills we have learnt took them down before, they can do it again. So, let's become more powerful in the meantime."

"Fine, whatever. The plan better work this time. I want to get a taste of negative energy once again." Aria clenched her fists.

"Patience, Aria, patience. We need to wait for tomorrow morning. Then we shall strike." Adagio looked down and grinned one more time.

"So, Fluttershy? Where did you learn those skills? The eye poke and the light jab thing? I don't think I've seen them in the email." Rainbow asked.

"Karly taught them to me." She answered shyly. "She said they were good beginners moves for people who are uncomfortable with learning more intense moves…"

"Oh right. Well, it was awesome!"

Sunset nodded. "Yeah, Fluttershy. I didn't even know you could do that."

~The screen on Sunset's wristband suddenly beeps and glows with an image of Lightning, and her voice sounds clearly in the speaker.~

"Hey, guys!"

"Whoa! Cool." Rainbow admired.

"Hey, Lightning!"

"Hologram high five!"

~Sunset smiled and went to high five Lightning, but her hand phased through her. Lightning suddenly burst with laughter.~

"Heheheh. Gets them everytime. Sorry, I just wanted to call and see how your training is coming along?"

"Couldn't have used the phone?" Rarity asked.

"Ey! Firstly, Our school doesn't allow phones, and secondly, I wanted to see if the wrist calms work fine."

"Well, looks like they do." Rainbow said.

"The training is fine too. We only have to learn 3 more techniques." Sunset said.

"The hardest techniques yet! The Corba Palm, The Spring Kick, and the Sky uppercut. Ok, girls, I'm going to say this only once, these moves are the most dangerous. You get hit by one of those, it will hurt and mess you up. You have to be the first to use them. It's ok though, you can do it. I know you can. You girls have just handled an actual dire situation, so you can learn those 3 techniques, no magic!"

"Oh! Lightning, about that no using magic rule..." Twilight pointed up.

"Hmm?"

"I think we perform better if we do use our magic, so can we use our magic first?"

"But, what if you don't have your magic? What if a villain takes it from you and you gotta rely on yourself not using it?" Lightning asked worriedly.

"We will learn how to do it without using magic eventually, but if we do it with our magic, it will be easier to learn, then we'll challenge ourselves and not use it." Sunset spoke up.

"Well, I wanted to get the no using magic thing out of the way first and learn things the old fashioned way. All the things I just taught you, was how I was taught. Look at me! Do you think I'm a fantastic agent?"

"You are an amazing agent, Lightning! But, sometimes people have different views and ways to learn something."

She sighs. "Actually, you're right. Maybe I have been going this in my own way, not yours. I've just given you the way of Star."

"Well, I didn't say it wasn't working, it's working fine. But, we just want to add the slightest little bit of magic."

"...I understand. Ok. Learn the techniques with magic, then do them without using it.

"Right."

"Lightning, where are you?" Karly's voice called out. "Breaktime's over! We gotta be the first to arrive at our next lesson."

"I gotta go, girls. Good luck!"

~Lightning quickly hangs up in the nick of time. Karly suddenly comes around the corner urgently and runs to Lightning.~

"There you are! Come on! Exams are tomorrow and we gotta work on maths...and english..."

"And History, Spanish, Art and Catering. I'll be there."

"Ok."

~Karly runs back around the corner, while Lightning stares at her wrist calm one more time. She nods bravely, then runs off to catch up with Karly. They both stumble into a classroom where their maths teacher was waiting.~

"Lightning Star. Karly Crystal. So nice of you two to join us after so long." He said.

"Yes, good to be back, sir." Lightning smiled nervously.

"The objective is on the board so, get to it!"

~Lightning slumps on her seat, fiddled around with her paperwork before settling down comfortably and went on with the rest of the day normally. They finished up, went to the hideout, tained a little with the girls, then went home, The next day, Lightning woke up in fear. She turned to look at her calendar, and looked at today's date and the words 'Exam Day.' written in bold red marker on it.~

"Exam day….Ughhhh!"

~She flipped her pillow up over her head and groaned. She did not want to go to school today. But after a few minutes, her mind started to say to her that she has to do this exam, because if she doesn't, she would be alot of trouble. So, she begrudgingly got out of bed, got changed into clean clothes, and raced downstairs. She panted as she arrived downstairs and happened to see Sunset and Twilight in the kitchen.~

"Morning, Lightning." Sunset waved.

"Hey Sunset..."

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Final exams are today…! I'm feeling more stressed than when Karly botched her mission because of some clown!"

~Sunset and Twilight turned to Lightning weirdly.~

"Don't ask. Not to mention, The Dazzlings are still out there! And Devil has taught them everything he knows! They are kinda unstoppable!" She buried her face in her hands.

"Hey...Lightning. That's not true. Sure Devil had taught the Dazzlings everything, but you have also taught us everything too." Sunset assured.

"Well, not everything, everything. We still have 3 more techniques left to learn." Twilight pointed.

"But like I said yesterday. They are the hard ones. And if the Dazzlings use them against you, you're doomed! Say goodbye to your magic!" Lightning threw her arm over her head dramatically.

Sunset patted her back. "That's not gonna happen. I promise, Lightning, we will be ok. And if they do attack before we learn the moves, we will have our magic to use."

"Well...I don't know, I still have a lot to learn about this Equestrian Magic, but if it's that good, then I believe it'll counter attack those moves."

"We believe too." Twilight smiled. She then looked at the clock above her. "Oh my goodness! It's already 8! Quick you gotta get to school in 20 minutes!"

"Right. KARLY! LET'S GO!"

"Coming!"

"We'll see you at the hideout this afternoon!"

"Ok!"

Chapter 15: ?

Chapter 15: ?

~Later on, The girls walked down the stairs in their hideout, completely covered in smoke, scratches and bruises.~

"That went well." Lightning smiled.

"Yep. We got the job done." Sunset said. "Those criminals are now in police custody."

"And the diamonds have been returned. Yes. I'm gonna go and clean myself up now." Rarity said.

"Me too." Lightning nodded.

~Lightning pants happily and walks into her room and shuts the door. The Rainbooms and Karly happily watch her go in and sigh of relief.~

"Wow...I feel like we should do more for Lightning…" Sunset shrugged.

"Yeah!" Rainbow agreed. "She has done alot for us, we really need to make it up, but what can we do…?"

Karly looked around aimlessly while smirking. "Well, it is Lightning's birthday next month…"

Pinkie's eyes widen. "WAIT, WHAT-"