They were parked across the road at the nearest crossroad. There were police barricades set up, and both uniformed police and the FBI were in attendance.

Most of the officers were watching the building. Two of the uniformed local police noticed the new arrivals and were worriedly reaching for their belts when Fizzlepop stepped past the two of them. "Relax, these are our specialists." She targeted Limestone and walked over. "Do you have any idea what's going on in there?"

"I do," Sonata said. "Someone's using a lot of mind-control magic. They've created a feedback loop where they partially drain those controlled to build enough magic to control more. Depending on their skill as to how many they can control."

"If that magic is what I think it is," Twilight said, "then the answer is a lot. That's dark magic. I don't know if you know of him, but it's what King Sombra used. From what I know, his mind-control had no upper limit—he commanded an entire empire."

Fizzlepop had never seen a sea monster shiver in fear, but understood the gesture Sonata made to mean that. "Wish we'd known about this situation already."

"You did." Limestone walked around her car with her replacement rifle assembled, sliding a magazine home. "The FBI was notified about this situation the moment we recognized it as Type B-C. Now, with them having an army of civilians under their control, I'm going to make a field call and raise it to Type D., Agent Berrytwist. You and your agents have clearance to shoot to kill on the primary targets. Now, someone give me a sitrep?"

"Half an hour ago there was a power anomaly detected here. Local law enforcement thought someone had electrocuted themselves with grow lights or coin miners, but they had one of those magic-detecting keyrings and it was going nuts. They called us. I was just about to call you when you called me." Fizzlepop was not happy. Because she was the only field-experienced agent left in the city, the Bureau had put her back on the active list until the situation was resolved. "So it's your show now."

"Is there a P.A. system we can hook into." Limestone looked at Sonata. "If we could get you onto that line, we could have this wrapped up in a few minutes, right?"

"Maybe I could get the students away, but any being with magic of their own will resist that. And worse, any with good mind-control will just break my grip—though, it seems like this Sombra-like creature is only working one by one." Sonata flashed Limestone a smile that showed off a whole mess of predatorial teeth—teeth that seemed resigned to eating corn-wrapped meals.

"Right. Princess, you and me are going to breach and engage the targets directly while Sonata frees the students and gets them to safety. Agent Berrytwist, aid Sonata with any assets you can spare from keeping the public out.'' As she talked, Limestone noticed Twilight repeatedly sneaking glances at Fizzlepop. "Princess?"

"Right! Sorry! Just used to a different Fizzlepop in my world." Turning her attention to the school, Twilight could feel the play of magic within—but there was something else that was worrying her and she couldn't figure out what.

Limestone faced the front doors and started walking toward them. "Does anyone know their way around this place?"

"Uh, actually, I do." Twilight walked beside Limestone. "Want me to go first?"

"Sure." Checking her rifle, Limestone let out a slow, calming breath. "Let me open that for you."

"No, I've got it." Twilight aimed her horn, waited for Limestone to step back, and then blasted the locking part of the door apart, catching the pieces in a small sphere that she tossed to the side. Within, there were three odd-looking students who'd set up instruments in the main hallway of Crystal Prep High.

"What the hell is—" Limestone didn't get any further. The three masked and body-suited figures looked her way, and the one at the front held an electric violin up to her chin, aimed the neck at Twilight, and stroked her bow across the strings.

Barely getting her shield up in time, Twilight stared at the three as the walls on each side of her, the doors, and entirety of the door frame ripped free and flew past them as if an explosion had hit it. She was panting, adrenaline kicking in as another of the equine-masked women stepped forward with a bass guitar.

"What the fuck?!" Limestone crouched down, staring past the purple shield. "How are they doing that?"

"Don't shoot!" Twilight couldn't see a green glow in the three women's eyes, but she knew instinctively that they were being controlled. "Let me just—"

Vinyl DJ-Pon3 Scratch, swung her bass around and leaned forward. Her mind was awash with green fire urging her to deal with them—the ones that stood before her. Bracing the heel of her boot a quarter inch into the floor, she brought her fingers to the strings and started plucking them—sending rapid-fire waves of sonic magic lashing toward Twilight and Limestone.

Circling her shield around the pair of them, Twilight barely stopped the sonic attack that reverberated off every surface to seemingly home-in on them—even from behind. "I need to try to grab their instruments away."

"Better do it fast. I don't know if the building can take much more of this." Chunks of concrete were tumbling down only to bounce off the shield.

Sonata, having worked out how to not destroy her clothes or appear back naked, shrank back to her human-like self and approached the side of the building, letting Fizzlepop follow her. "Do you know where the office part of the building is? P.A. systems normally have their mic there."

"Right. Sure. I have no idea where that is. Let's just try getting in through a window and go from there." With that, Fizzlepop shoved her elbow through the glass window nearest them and jumped up to the sill before climbing inside.

Jumping clear through the broken window, Sonata landed beside Fizzlepop. "Okay, so we check the hallway. We're looking for offices or principal's room or something."

Walking to the doorway, Sonata opened it and walked out—just as the ground started to shake. A glance down the hallway—toward the front door—showed her that Twilight was struggling to get past Vinyl and Octavia. Behind them, Lemon Zest was belting on the ground with a pair of drumsticks. "The Shadowcolts?!"

"Whatever they are, can you stop them?" Fizzlepop was bracing herself in the doorway and hoping something heavy wasn't about to break above them.

"Cover your ears," Sonata said. When Fizzlepop didn't, she turned to look at the woman. "Cover your ears or what I'm about to do might cause you to go deaf, kill you, or just melt your mind so you become my slave."

When Fizzlepop did as she asked, Sonata grinned. "Now, let's see how good my aim is." Friendship, she'd learned, was more potent than anger. Lining up, she brought up a suitably high note in her throat and pushed a jet of magic along it.

Struggling to protect Limestone and fight the guitarist and violinist—with the ground shaking from the drummer—Twilight was startled to see vortex rings of sonic-magic blast down on Lemon Zest. It didn't just disrupt her playing, but Twilight could feel the mind-control magic shoved right out of the girl. "Thank Celestia. Okay, time to work."

The moment the shield went down, Limestone had a moment to brace against the twin sonic attacks—that didn't come. The last two musicians were trying to grab their instruments that floated in the air above them, surrounded with purple glow. "Right. I owe Sonata a beer for that flank. Can you tell where the two—ugh—BBEG are?"

Scanning around, Twilight picked up a location. "I visited here, mostly to make sure of a few things, around the time my local twin tried to rip a hole from here into my world. I've been around the building once, though, and I know they're this way."

Following, Limestone kept her gun aimed down and her finger off the trigger. Constantly, though, she scanned the doorways and windows into classrooms. "Where are all the students?"

"If I had to guess, either they're all with the BBEG, or they have them patrolling." Twilight paused in her walk and looked behind her. Sonata had all three of the musicians now gathered to her. "I haven't seen any patrols, though."

"And where can you fit a whole school full of students?" Limestone hated every part of what was going on. They were about to enter a target-rich environment where she couldn't afford to shoot.

"Gym. Also, the one place I didn't go." Though she hadn't been there on her previous totally not spying on her brother and Cadance mission, Twilight could follow the magic signature of all that dark magic, to say nothing of the Storm King's constant flood of magic into the sky above that Rainbow Dash was ruining. Turning a corner, she looked down the hall to a pair of closed double-doors. "In there."

"Yeah, that's not something I want to do. Charging in there will just get us mobbed. We don't want to hurt the students, and they don't care." Sparing a glance back the way they'd come, Limestone hoped Sonata could figure something out.

"No. Stop saying that." Sonata rolled her eyes at Fizzlepop. "We can fix them later, I guess."

"We don't need to be fixed," Vinyl said.

"We're perfect just the way you made us," Lemon said.

"Please, just tell us what we can do to make you happy," Octavia said.

All three now had their heads full of siren magic, and nothing their goddess could say would persuade them otherwise.

"I don't know, they seem about as sharp as most teens." Looking around the entryway, Fizzlepop pointed down the hall Limestone and Twilight didn't take. "There's a sign down there that says Office."

"Then that's where we—" Sonata paused and looked at the three fawning over her. "You three follow us and keep back, okay? I would be so upset if you got hurt." Looking at their blank, horse masked faces, Sonata smacked her forehead. "Take off the masks."

Fizzlepop followed Sonata, now realizing why Limestone had sent the siren into this situation. It surprised her when the three took their masks off and revealed tear-filled eyes. "What's wrong?"

"They're crying because they really don't want me to get angry with them. Siren magic and mind-control is all about emotions. I don't think that other one is. Here we are." Striding into the office, Sonata spotted the mic right away. "Aww yeah! Hey, girls, want to sing backup for me?"

Lemon, Octavia, and Vinyl crowded around Sonata, squirming in their stage outfits to be as close as possible.

The song didn't need background singing, but it meant Sonata could focus on the magic side of things.

"What do we sing?" Vinyl asked.

"Why don't you make up a song. Something soft, strong, but keep it non-sexual." Sonata rolled her eyes. She remembered their concert well.

Reaching for the mic, Vinyl pulled it closer and leaned over it, her eyes closed. "We want you—"

Leaning in, Octavia was so used to Vinyl's songwriting that she easily added, "… to come—"

Lemon shifted so close she was actually kissing the side of the mic. "… to your senses."

Liking the tune, Sonata started to weave her magic over their voices. The lyrics resonated with her because they represented freedom rather than the cold control that she'd found the three Shadowcolts in.

Author's Note

Big Mac: I recall you mentioned your apple was a little difference lately (something like having a shining-like meat). Have you notice anything different since then?

"Well, now you mention it, them bein' kinda rainbow-striped was a bit strange too. Taste was pretty darned good, though."

So I do this "Ask X" thing. X can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and they will definitely, hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories, and they will answer the best question in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer. Try to keep it to one question per post! They will pick one question per chapter.

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