Recovery and Rebirth

Twilight’s lab, CPA

Date: Oct 25th time: 7:00 pm

*Twilight’s perspective*

The repaired electro-spectrograph sat in its usual spot as it collected its usual readings, but that wasn’t what Twilight was interested in. The other electro-spectrograph was still set to its altered settings. With the information she got from it, she was able to narrow down the source of that energy to the Black Forest neighborhood. That neighborhood only had houses, a few shops, an amphitheater, and Canterlot High School. It also boarded the Everfree Forest, which is how it got its name. It wasn’t too far from her own house. The device was focused on that neighborhood. If whatever that was happened again, she’d be able to tell where exactly it came from.

Her suspicions were that it came from the school. Who wouldn’t have their lab in their school? They had to be doing something interesting there. Based on that suspicion, she’d been doing research on the place. She could connect strange events spanning hundreds of years to the area. She’d known that the Everfree and the towns it surrounded were considered one of the most haunted places in America, but that place seemed to be the source of almost a fourth of the stories. The only places seemingly more haunted were the Hurricane Lighthouse and the forest itself. Those stories were bogus, of course, but interesting nonetheless.

The second electro-spectrograph went off and spat out what it recorded, but the location wasn’t the school; it was the amphitheater. That’s… weird. Twilight opened up her laptop and looked up who had reserved the theater. Canterlot High School, what were they doing there?

Twilight brought the read out over to her pin board. “There’s no doubt about it, Spike. Something’s going on at that school.” That only left the question of how to further investigate. She needed to get a closer look, but she also needed the electro-spectrograph. That thing wasn’t exactly portable. Unless I can make it portable. “What do you think, Spike? You got theories?”

As expected, Spike’s only response was a head tilt.

“I wish you could talk. I’d bet you’d make better conversation than my classmates.” Twilight picked Spike up and got on with her work.

Some dump heap

Date: same day, time: 7:00 pm

*fragment of apathy’s perspective*

It felt another wave of energy. It was the same kind of power as before, still weak, but it would take whatever it could get. It absorbed as much as it could before it dissipated. It still wasn’t enough for it to do anything, but it was a start. More power. Need more power.

Forests of Maine

Date: same day, time: 7:00 pm

*Kehinde’s perspective*

Over the past couple of weeks Kehinde had been in the US, she’d found the forests to be a suitable place to hide during the night. Though, her amber fur proved to be no help in camouflage. It wasn’t the most egregious of color contrasts, especially during the night, but humans can pick her out amongst the green. Mother and her grandmothers used to tell her stories about the humans’ wondrous vision. With the right weaponry, humans’ vision turned them from simple prey to the most dangerous creatures to ever walk. They could spot a werehyena from kilometers away and kill them before they ever got into range of the werehyena’s claws. That’s why the very idea of attacking live humans was beaten out of pups before they could even get it as one can never know if a human has one of their weapons. As it currently stood, she was staying away from any sign of humans as she wandered around the woods.

She still hasn’t found any sign of that magic. For the past couple of weeks, she’d been walking through the woods and town to town with no clear plan for finding the magic. She has amassed a sizable stash of valuables and clothes in the meantime though. So, at least she had supplies.

Kehinde reared up onto her hind legs as she felt a wave of energy hit her. It was magic, and now, she had some idea of where to go. She sprinted off, making a beeline for wherever it came from.

Swan Song Beauty Salon, Manhattan

Date: same day, time: 7:25 pm

*Maddy’s perspective*

“About ready to go home?”, Petunia asked. She had already changed out of her uniform and was dressed in her street clothes again with her purse over her shoulder.

“Almost, I still have a bit of cleanup to do.”, Maddy answered.

Petunia leaned against the counter, out of the way of Maddy’s cleaning. “So, what are ya doin’ after work?”

“I have a date.”

“Oooh, what’s his name?”

“Feather Bangs”

“Feather Bangs? Really?”, Petunia said with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, shut it. He’s pretty.” Maddy pulled out her phone and pulled up his picture to show her.

“Oh, he is pretty, but his parents did him no favors with that name.”

“Heheh” Maddy went to put her phone away but, as she did so, noticed her necklace was glowing again.

“Whoa, that’s weird.”, Petunia said in mild alarm.

“Yeah, I know.” The weird glow disappeared as quickly as the first time. “This is the second time it’s done this, and I don’t know why.”

“Where did you get it?”

“It’s a family heirloom. My mom gave it to me.”

“Your dead mom. So, you have no one to ask about it.”

“No. My mom told me it’s been passed down from mother to daughter for so long that nobody remembers where it came from.”

“Wow, that’s impressive. Maybe I can do some research on it. Where’s yer family from?”

“France”

“Okay, I’ll see what I can find.”

“Thank you” Maddy finished her cleaning then headed to the backroom to change. This was really starting to worry her now. She couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation for that, and with it happening twice, it would surely happen again. She needed answers.

Middle of nowhere, Beikoku

Date: same day, time: 7:45 pm

*Lee’s perspective*

Lee walked along a desolate road in the middle of something called a “desert”. He had no idea what this hot, dry, sandy place had to do with those sugary treats humans eat after dinner. In the last couple of weeks, he’d stolen a new bag, more folded leather currency holders, a lot of water bottles, and some nonperishable foods. Hunting for food was possible, but the bears were terrifying. They were way bigger than the bears back home and brown instead of black. At least they didn’t seem interested in him, either in human or fox form.

He felt the magic energy wave wash over him. Now, he knew for sure he was going in the right direction. He’d managed to absorb some of the magic and used it to continue marching. He had a lot of this desert to cross and a limited supply of food and water. He wasn’t sure how to hunt in a place like this. There was no telling what was safe to eat or what could hurt him.

He heard one of those “cars” pull up behind him and stop. “Hey man, ya need a ride?”, the occupant asked. Lee looked at him. He had the same skin as Chuck but was also much skinnier. He also stunk. Lee couldn’t place the smell, but it wasn’t body odor. This human wasn’t likely a threat.

“Sure”

“Where are ya heading?” There was a click sound, and Lee took that as an invitation to climb in.

“In that direction.”, Lee said as he sat down.

“Vague but okay. Jus’ gotta put your seatbelt on.”

“My what?”

The human tugged at the strap that sat across his chest. “This thing. It’s for safety.”

Lee looked around and found his “seatbelt” thing. He examined how the human had his and mimicked it. The human nodded then made the “car” move again.

Pinkie’s house

Date: Oct 26th, time: 7:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

The clamoring of six pairs of feet stirred Sunset from her sleep. She was previously envious of this whole “sleepover” thing, but getting woken up two days in a row was making her rethink her stance. She crawled out of her sleeping bag and began her morning routine, like the rest of the girls. How four girls were able to share a single bathroom baffled her. She and Spitfire had regular squabbles regarding their shared bathroom, and it was just the two of them. Each of them took turns cleaning themselves before getting dressed and heading downstairs. Pinkie Pie’s mom was cooking breakfast, and all the girls, including Pinkie’s sisters, took their seats and waited for their food.

“Hey, Pinkie, where’s your dad?”, Sunset asked.

“He’s taking care of my grandpa’s grave. He was very smart and always questioned everything, especially what the church said. So when he died, the church declared him a heretic, and they refused to take care of his grave. My dad and his brothers go over there every few months to mow and clean the grave and seed bomb the rest of the graveyard.”

“I had no idea Pies could be so petty.”

“Yeah, we can be.”, Pinkie said with a smile then her face shifted and she gave Sunset a weird look as Mrs. Pie placed a couple large stacks of pancakes on the table. “I’m guessing this sorta stuff isn’t new to you?”

Sunset shook her head. “Let’s just say the graveyard where my grandfather and others like him are buried has a lot more security than a normal military graveyard.”

“Your thestral grandfather?”, RD asked.

“Thestral?”, Limestone asked.

“Long story, has nothing to do with Heritage Poltimer.”, Sunset said.

“Well, I’m glad to hear the government is doing something.”, Rarity said.

“Luckily, graveyard management is handled by the crown itself, and at least they understand it’s important to not piss off the military caste.”

The rest of the Pies looked confused, and Twilight looked uncomfortable, as everyone took their shares from the stacks and began digging in.

“So, what now?”, AJ asked. “In tha span of a couple months, we’ve fought off two supernatural attacks and gained magic of our own. What does this mean for us goin’ forward?”

“That depends on a few factors, but the main one is whether or not you’re generating magic.”, Sunset said.

“What do you mean?”, Fluttershy asked. Everyone around the table were looking at Sunset with interest, even Twilight.

“Humans seem to be particularly good at storing other creatures’ magic. To put it in simpler terms, we can all either be batteries or generators. A battery can store magic, but once the magic’s used up, it can’t fill itself back up.”

“So, you’re saying that this might just be a holdover and we’ll run out of magic eventually.”, Rarity said.

“That’s one possibility. The second possibility is that you can now generate magic, and even if we run out, we’ll be able to recover it with some food and rest. If we are just batteries, we’ll just run out one day, or the magic will die with us. If we are generators, that would mean permanent changes have been done to our bodies and we might pass those changes, mutations, down to our children. We’ll be… a new breed of human.”

Everyone sat in silence for several seconds as they processed the information. Given Mom’s reaction to learning she wasn’t human, they seem to be taking this remarkably well.

“I can still feel my wings tucked into my back. I think these changes are permanent.”, RD said.

Sunset nodded her head. “That does definitely lean the evidence towards the latter, but I’m still not one hundred percent sure. I’m going to see if I can run some tests, but that will take time.”

Twilight’s quizzical look faltered and sadness crept onto her face. “I’m sorry, girls. If I knew this could happen, I never would’ve let the magic bond to you.”

“None of us have determined if this is a good or a bad thing yet. You have nothing to apologize for, darling.”, Rarity said. “If it does turn out to be a bad thing, then you can start apologizing.”

“Yeah, this is weird, but it’s not like you turned us into horrid abominations.”, Pinkie said. “We’ll adapt. That’s what humans do best.”

“To be honest, Ah like the strength increase. Makes ma work much either.”, AJ said.

“I second that. Having wings is cool.”, RD said.

Already having weird powers must make this easier for them.

“I… Thank you.”, Twilight said. The seven of them finished their breakfast, Sunset grabbed her bag, and the Earth residents escorted Twilight to the portal. After some goodbye pleasantries, Twilight passed back through the portal, leaving the six Earthlings.

Sunset watched the surface of the portal settle back into its solid visage. She now had the ability to travel between the world as she wished, and so did anyone else. Celestia could send the guard through without any fear that they would be trapped on this side. There would still be a lot of issues relating to them effectively operating on this side, but she now had the option. The big question was, would she do it. Sunset was effectively banished, but she still had all her sensitive knowledge and was supposed to be locked up. Hopefully, Celestia didn’t think she was a big enough threat to warrant such actions, or Twilight’s able to convince her as such. In all likelihood, she shouldn’t be expecting guards to come a-knocking. However, the rest of the Rainbooms were now also at risk, and it was something none of them had any control over. Her pack was in danger… and the faoladh was starting to talk and get mad.

“Girls”, Sunset said in a serious tone that grabbed all their attention immediately. They all turned to look at her with worried and slightly alarmed looks on their faces. “I don’t want to scare you, but for all of our safety, you need to know this. This especially applies to us, Rainbow.”

“What’s going on?”, Rainbow asked in a fearful tone.

“In Equestria, certain magics are illegal to practice, and some of our psychic abilities resemble these magics. Specifically, our spirit related abilities resemble soul magic. I don’t believe that Twilight would rat us out, at least not intentionally, but I don’t want to take any chances. I’m already on thin ice with Equestrian law, and those order priests can be quite the zealots. The last thing I want is for any of us to be captured and have our powers sealed away. What that does to ponies is already… unpleasant. There’s no telling what it would do to a human mind.”

That seemed to effectively get her point across as many of them looked terrified and a couple were mouthing ‘what the fuck?’. “You’re saying a bunch a’ crazy old guys want to do something to me because of something I was born with?” RD rolled her eyes. “Typical”

“What do you want us to do, lie to her?”, AJ asked. She was upset, but Sunset couldn’t tell what exactly at.

“Just… don’t bring it up. It’s not like we’re shouting about these powers from the rooftops, so just keep it like that. Twilight’s young and likely doesn’t fully understand what kind of danger we would be in over there. If those zealots learned how common it is for humans to have these abilities, I have no doubts they would attempt to cross over and “cleanse” our entire species. Given that, it’s better to keep that knowledge on this side of the portal. If we have to tell her, it’d be best for me ta do it.”

The other girls all looked at each other, trying to make sense of it all. Fear, confusion, anger, and many other emotions swirled within them. Another power Sunset could get sealed for.

“Okay, we’ll keep this quiet.”, Fluttershy said. Sunset nodded her acknowledgement.

“Did ya have ta hide yer abilities over there?”, AJ asked.

Sunset shook her head. “No, I only developed them after I came to Earth. I gotta get home. My mom’s waiting for me.”

The girls exchanged waves as Sunset began the walk home. Once she got home, she dropped her bag off in her room, exchanging it for her backpack, before heading upstairs to find her mother. She found her in her office, reading a book.

“Hey, Mom, I’m ready to go.”

Brigid looked up and smiled. “Okay, let’s go.” She grabbed her bag, and they headed out. They hopped into the car, and Brigid began driving in the direction of the College. “So, did ya enjoy yerself?”

“I’m starting ta think sleepovers are overrated. I don’t like bein’ woken up on the weekends.”

“Give it anothe’ try. Ya might change yer mind when havin’ ta save da world isn’t in da equation.”

“Fine, for the sake of empirical data, I’ll try again.”

“Atta girl. Now, wha’ did da sirens look like?”

“Untransformed, they look like humans, but once they had enough emotional energy, they were able to take a form similar to our hybrid forms but with semi-translucent wings. I suspect that form was influenced by the magic they absorbed from us. On a similar note, given Star Swirl had so little knowledge about Earth that he couldn’t recognize its magic, I have my doubts he knew the sirens would need to take on Earthling forms in order to survive. I have no way to prove this, but I suspect they’re shapeshifters that could take on the needed form on their own with enough magic. It would also explain the shift in sirens’ depiction in art that you’ve mentioned. Their original forms are that of corrupted mermares.”

“Of course pony mermaids exist. Yer hypothesis does make sense. Any idea as to where dey are now?”

“No clue, but they don’t have their magic pendants anymore. They seem to have been their only connection to Equestrian magic, and now, they can’t use their powers; they tried.”

Brigid nodded and seemed to be contemplating. The remaining ride to the college was short, and they headed to the mythology department. The college was closed on the weekends, but the mythology department’s in the same building as anthropology, so Brigid could get in whenever she wanted. Brigid led Sunset to a library looking room. It was filled with many shelves of books. They went inside, and Brigid took Sunset over to a specific section. The shelves all had plaques, and these ones read ‘History & Mythology’.

“Dese books are organized by century. Start at one thousand AD.”

Sunset nodded, and they got to reading. A book called Evolution of Monsters: Europe proved to be the most helpful. It contained hypotheses as to the origins of many monster stories and how those stories changed and evolved with retellings and societal changes, werewolves went from being male only to both male and female; the vampires people know today started off as loosely similar folktales before being solidified by books like Dracula and movies like Nosferatu, the latter of which is responsible for vampires being destroyed by sunlight, and many more. As explained by the book, 1,000 years ago, sirens looked as they were depicted in Homer's Odyssey and had both male and female members, but during the 1200s, they began being depicted as either a human/bird hybrid, human/fish hybrid, or human/bird/fish hybrid. By the time of the late 1300s, the idea of a siren was standardized as a fish-tailed female-only-species with a hypnotic voice, and the words ‘siren’ and ‘mermaid’ became interchangeable.

“If dey're da cause a’ da change, dey'd have ta be shapeshifte's.”

“I’ll see what tests I can run on the gem shards.”

Brigid nodded, then grabbed a few of the books she was reading, which included the rest of the Evolution of Monsters books, North America; South America; Africa; Northern, Southeastern, and Western Asia; and Australia and the Pacific Islands. “Let’s get goin’ den.”

Sunset stashed the Evolution of Monsters: Europe book in her backpack and followed Brigid out. As they headed back to the car, she looked out over the campus. In all likelihood, a place like this would be what’s next for her. Maybe Twilight could put in a good word for her, but the chances of her being able to return to Equestria weren’t good. She’d likely live out her days on Earth. And that doesn’t seem like such a bad thing. I can resume my studies with those girls. I just need to build the proper equipment.

Pinkie’s house

Date: same day, time: 9:00 am

*Rarity’s perspective*

The five remaining girls, minus Pinkie, packed up their bags. Fluttershy walked home, and one by one, the rest of them were picked up. When Rarity was picked up, her parents looked no worse for wear considering what they went through last night, but something about them seemed off. “Hey, are you okay?”, Rarity asked.

“Oh, we’re fine.”, Mom said. She’s lying.

“Really? Because I saw a battle between ethereal horse creatures in the sky, and that was the least weird part of the night.”

Mom and Dad looked uncomfortable, but they didn’t say anything.

“This is what I was talking about. Everything you saw and experienced was real. Magic is real, and my friends and I all have it. There are also other magical creatures that mean humans harm.”

They were quiet for a moment before Dad spoke. “You have a creative imagination, Rarity.”

Rarity glared at her father in the mirror. “I’m not making this up. You were both there. Didn’t you see any of it?”, she asked indignantly.

“Probably just laser effects. Rarity, magic’s not real.”

“Are you… you know what, fine, don’t believe me.”, Rarity said as she crossed her arms. “It doesn’t change what happened.”

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, and Rarity kept her arms crossed the whole time.

Halls of CHS

Date: Oct 27th, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

The Rainbooms, now including Sunset, walked down the halls, frequently looking at each other to gauge the others' reactions and receiving weird looks from the other students. The moment after the final bell rang, they’d each been ingloriously summoned to the principal’s office. The reason for their summoning was no mystery to them. They’ve discussed what they’d do when this time came, during lunch that day. Sunset, being the most knowledgeable, would do most of the talking and be the ringleader of their circus. However the conversation unfolded, it was going to be interesting.

The six of them reached Celestia’s door and went inside. Celestia and Luna were waiting for them the same way they waited for Sunset and her family after the Fall Formal. There were six chairs waiting for them, and they all sat down.

“Hello, girls.”, Celestia said in a disarming tone. “Do you know why we’ve called you in here?”

“We do.”, Sunset said. “This is something we’ve been talking about amongst ourselves about. In the span of two months, this school has experienced two large scale magical events, and you want explanations.”

Celestia nodded. “You might want to start with yourself. There’s something different about you, something alien. I sensed that same feeling from Twilight.”

She’s not reacting to this like someone that’s a complete stranger to the situation. Sunset examined Celestia and the way she looked at them. Her eyes looked like they were looking straight through them all, similar yet different to Princess Celestia. The princess developed her ability to read creatures over hundreds of years of politicking. This Celestia looked at them as if it was an innate ability of hers. Where the princess would examine a creature’s whole body and face for subconscious movements or signals, this Celestia stared straight into their eyes and got the same information. It was intimidating. There was also a great but controlled darkness behind her eyes, a powerful weapon.

“Let me start off by asking a question of my own. Do you know who built the statue in the courtyard, specifically the base?”

Celestia turned around to look out her window, which gave her a clear view of said statue. She turned back to them and shook her head. “Unfortunately, I do not. Neither did the acting principal during my time at this school nor did my predecessor. I’ve sensed there was something unusual about it for a long time, but I could never get any answers other than it had survived the Great Fire.”

At least that gives me a latest point for its construction. “Well, it couldn’t have existed before the settlers came.”, Sunset joked. Celestia cracked a smile, and Sunset continued. “You earlier said that you sensed something alien about me and Twilight. Well, you were right on the nail with that one, and that statue houses a portal that allowed Twilight and me to come to Earth.”

“You’re an alien?”, Luna asked. She kept her stoic tone, but she couldn’t completely hide her shock.

“Yes, but things get a lot stranger from here. The two worlds are linked in a way I don’t fully understand. As a result, everyone, or maybe only some people, have doppelgangers in the opposite world. The biggest give away as to who is whose doppelganger is their symbols. No matter the differences between the doubles, their symbols are always the exact same, unless their doppelgangers are of a species that don’t have symbols. In that case, their human counterparts’ symbols are all their own.”

“Interesting”, Celestia said in a scientific tone. “So, you’re not human. Is this what you always looked like or is this a disguise?”

“I consider myself human. It’s not a disguise, but it also isn’t my original form. Equoes, my home planet, has an atmosphere of almost fifty percent oxygen. The portal transforms those that go through it into their doppelgangers in order to prevent them from suffering slow, painful deaths.”

Celestia was doing that thing Brigid does when she’s processing new information. Despite all she said, neither sister seemed too put off. Sunset examined Luna. She observed them with interest but not the same, scientific interest her sister did. She knew so little about her or her counterpart, and Luna kept her aura wrapped tight, difficult to read. She almost seemed invisible. She also had the same controlled darkness behind her eyes.

“Why did you come here?”, Luna asked bluntly. Celestia gave her the side-eye, but she didn’t care.

“That… I got into an altercation with the other Celestia, and I jumped through the portal to escape. The portal, up until recently, was only open for three days every two and a half years, and I jumped through during the tail end of that period and, thus, became trapped. Since then, I’ve formed emotional attachments that keep me from returning.”

“And you stole the crown.”, Pinkie chimed in.

Sunset’s neutral expression turned to more of a “bulldog face”, best she could describe it.

“Ah yes, the crown, I believe that’s our next topic of discussion.”, Celestia said. “You’ve previously said that it was never meant to enter the school.”

Sunset returned to a neutral expression and continued. “Correct, and why I stole it is irrelevant to this conversation and deeply personal. I will not be stating it here. The crown belongs to Twilight and is our home country’s most powerful weapon. Not much else to explain.”

“Except why it looked exactly like the original Fall Formal crown and what happened to it.”, Luna said.

“Right, remember how I said the worlds are linked? That’s why the two items looked identical. As for what happened to the original… I stole it to use as a decoy. It could either be in an evidence locker or trash can by now. Sorry”

“I spent three hours making that thing.”, Luna said through gritted teeth and with a scowl.

“And you did a very good job, sister, but we should move on.”, Celestia said.

“I’m guessing you want to hear about our magic and the Dazzlings.” Celestia nodded. Sunset pulled out the Evolution of Monsters: Europe book, which now sported several page markers, and opened it up. “The sirens are also native to Equoes, but they’ve been here longer, much longer.”

The girls all got up to look at the book, and they, Celestia, and Luna began reading it. Looks of surprise and awe colored their faces. “They really affected us that much?”, AJ asked.

“Yes, and they may not have been the only ones. The other pages marked with blue stickers are other creatures that resemble Equoesian life. My mom has the seven other books from this series that also have instances of Equoesian life.”

“What do the red, yellow, and green stickers indicate?”, Luna asked.

“Magic and magical creatures aren’t unique to Equoes, and I believe everyone in this room wouldn’t be too surprised if I said that Earth has its own, native magic. You can guess what the colors mean.”

Celestia and Luna looked between each other as the rest of the Rainbooms looked amongst themselves. Celestia closed the book and handed it back, and the rest of the girls retook their seats.

“You defeated them, but do you believe they are still a threat?”, Celestia asked.

“They had three amulets that seemed to serve as their only connection to their magic. We destroyed them, but they got away with most of the pieces. They aren’t currently a threat, but I can’t say whether or not they’ll become threats again in the future. On that note, may I have access to one of the unused labs in the basement? I might be able to conduct some tests on us and the amulet shards in my possession and give you a more satisfactory report on our magic and the future of the Dazzlings.”

Celestia opened up a drawer and pulled out a ring of keys. She took one off and handed it to Sunset. The key had some tape with ‘B12’ written on it taped to the head. “You may use the space as you need so long as you keep it clean and undamaged.”

Sunset put the key on her own keyring and nodded. “Understood”

“This only leaves the question as to what we’re going to say to the rest of the student body at tomorrow’s assembly.”

“They’re definitely going to want answers, but we’ll also need to properly portray the importance of keeping everything under wraps.”, Rarity said.

Sunset nodded. “I’ll create a speech to explain everything they need to know.”

“Are you sure you can do this?”, Luna asked.

“Let me put it this way. Before coming here, I was known as First Star General Sunset Shimmer of the Ground Guard Magical Warfare Division. I’ve done this sort of thing a lot. And, before you ask, my counterpart is fifteen, but I’m thirty and was given an expedited promotion because of my schooling and political ties.”

“Oh”, both sisters said.

“I should be heading home. I only have a few hours to write that speech.”

Celestia nodded, and the girls left. Not many students were in the halls, but Sunset delighted in the fact that none of them were glaring at her. They still looked at her warily and unassuredly as they avoided the group as a whole. She was just happy they weren’t being hostile. She had her “pack”, as her new faoladh brain is calling it. The change’s similar to when her brain was changing from pony to human but far less jarring. Even with her thestral nature, she still needed to consciously choose to fight when she was a pony. When she started truly becoming human, ‘fight’ became her default choice. How much her changing feelings towards the girls is due to her improved mental state or the faoladh magic is hard to say. Whichever it is, she’s going with it. It felt nice to have people to protect, and she could even say she was starting to love them.

As they headed outside, they had to split up with AJ, RD, and Rarity catching the bus and Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Sunset walking home. As the three walked past the middle school, they encountered Snips and Snails. The two boys froze at the sight of them. Sunset wasn’t surprised by this given the last time she’d seen them, but what did surprise her is that she wasn’t the only one they were afraid of. Some of their fear was directed towards Pinkie Pie, of all people.

The boys weren’t moving and were blocking the sidewalk, so Sunset decided to pull a little on her old self. “Ya got a problem? Scram!” The boys ran off in the other direction, and Sunset looked at Pinkie with a confused look as they continued walking. “What did you do to make them so scared of you?”

“After you left them in the gym to go after Twilight, I beat them up with my streamers.”, Pinkie said cheerfully.

She’d be a terrifying horror story villain. “That explains the state I found them in.”

“You beat them up with streamers?”, Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah, I used them like ropes.” Pinkie began doing hand gestures that Sunset guessed were meant to simulate rope movements.

“You used flimsy pieces of paper as rope?”

“Yeah, it takes a lot of practice though.”

They reached Fluttershy’s then Pinkie’s house, leaving Sunset to walk the remaining ten minutes on her own. She used that time to start formulating her speech. She would likely reference the area’s weird history. She would most definitely be bombarded with questions if she told people she was an alien. Maybe she could describe Equoes as a realm, lean away from the sci-fi and more into the fantasy of the whole mess. Maybe I could even use it to clear up my image. However she does it, it’s going to be an interesting day.

Celestia’s office

Date: same day, time: 3:30 pm

*Luna’s perspective*

The six girls left the room, leaving the sisters to evaluate the situation. Luna moved in front of Celestia’s desk to face her sister. Said sister had her hands clasped in front of her face and was making the face she does when evaluating or examining something or someone, likely mentally looking over everything that was just said. That face was enough to intimidate many a student and parent. Even five of the girls were looking uneasy as Celestia examined them, but Sunset remained unfazed the entire time. There was certainly something interesting about her. However…

“How much of that do you believe was true?”

Celestia leaned back in her chair and looked up at her sister but not in her eyes. “I believe she’s being honest but is holding back information.”

“Why she stole the crown and her “altercation” with the other you.”

“Yes, the latter of which, I find concerning. When we met with her and her family, I sensed a lot of shame and regret, and she had trouble looking at me but wasn’t by any means afraid of me. I do not believe my counterpart was the aggressor.”

“Wanna hear my guess?”

“Of course, Luna.”

“I suspect her criminal tendencies started while she was still in her home country, and your counterpart attempted to apprehend her.”

“Don’t you think that’s a bit of a leap? And if I was some sort of law enforcement and she was a criminal, wouldn’t that cause her to fear me?”

“This is your counterpart we’re talking about, and she has already committed a crime.”

“Perhaps, but again, she isn’t afraid of me but does feel ashamed and regretful about something, and I’d bet it concerns my counterpart.”

“Maybe it was the other you she stole from, and she caught her.”

Celestia shook her head. “Maybe. For now, let’s just do what we can to help her.”

“Alright, see you later.” Luna left Celestia’s office and went back to her own. At least she now knows she’s not going crazy and has ammo to make Celestia’s ‘early onset dementia’ jokes stop. Those jokes suck.

CHS gym

Date: Oct 28th, time: 8:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset peaked around the curtain of the gymnasium stage and looked out over the assembled CHS student body. The emotions on their faces varied, but needless to say, neither excitement nor happiness were amongst them. They were already unhappy, and she doubted she’d amassed enough goodwill to offset it. They might even become even more unhappy when she goes out there.

A hand was placed on her shoulder, and Sunset looked up to see Celestia. “Don’t worry. We’ll be with you, and your speech is good.” Celestia handed back her speech, and Sunset read over it herself again to prepare.

“Public speaking was never my strong suit. You always did that.”

“What was your relationship with the other me? Why did you two get into an altercation?”

Sunset fidgeted uncomfortably. Her existing nerves didn’t help the matter. “It’s very personal. I’ve already discussed this with Ms. Lance-Hart.”

“That’s okay. Did my counterpart hurt you?”

That’s an odd question. Does it have ta do with her darkness? It is very powerful. “No, she didn’t. What makes you worried that she did?”

Now, it was Celestia’s turn to look uncomfortable. She didn’t fidget, but it was clear that question was a loaded one. “I know what I’m capable of. Any version of me should be capable of the same.”

Oh, she’s done something.

It came time for the assembly to start, and Celestia walked onto the stage with Luna. The Rainbooms stayed behind the curtain as the principals gave their introduction. “Thank you all for coming.”, Celestia started. “This assembly was called concerning the events of the last couple of months. I’m sure you’re all curious about what that all was. Fortunately for us, an expert on the subject goes to our school.” Celestia turned towards the Rainbooms. “Sunset”

Celestia moved to the side as the six of them took their places on the stage. Sunset took Celestia’s previous place at the mic as the rest of them lined up next to Luna. As she feared, very few of the other kids’ moods were improved by her presence. It wasn’t outright hatred, but the amount of negative energy directed at her all at once was enough to make her freeze. As best as she tried to contain it, her fear aura began to leak out, and she began to shake. Get a grip Shimmer. You’re a general. Why is this so hard? You’ve faced worse before. Before Sunset lost her nerve, she felt a hand press against her back. She turned her head to see it was Fluttershy, and her kind presence calmed her down and allowed her to feel the presence of her friends again. My friends are here. They’re behind me. I’m okay.

Sunset turned back to the student body and began her speech as Fluttershy walked back to her spot. “I’ll be straightforward. What we experienced was magic. There is an alternate realm linked with this one, particularly in this area. No, I do not believe this connection is the cause of all the weirdness the greater Canterlot area is known for. Rather, whatever makes this place so weird is why the link is so strong here. This link allows creatures from either world to travel to the other through the use of portals. That’s how the Dazzlings came to Earth over a thousand years ago. The Dazzlings are power hungry creatures that were attracted to this school by the events of the Fall Formal.”

“So, you’re the reason they were here!”, some kid in the audience shouted.

No, the frick I’m not. Sunset glared at the kid, but they were too far away from each other for it to have an effect. “I didn’t make them come here. I didn’t make them turn this school into their playhouse. What I did that night was wrong, but I am not responsible for the Dazzlings actions. They were doing this kind of crap long before my clan was even named. I believe this is called ‘victim blaming’, and I was most certainly another one of their victims. Please keep all questions and comments for after I’m done.” You little turd. I’m gonna… no, we’re trying to be better.

Sunset looked back down at her speech to find where she was interrupted. “During the time of the Fall Formal, you likely noticed a student named ‘Twilight Sparkle’, who disappeared after that night. Twilight was also from the same realm as the Dazzlings. She came here to retrieve an item that got mistaken for the Fall Formal crown and that I came into possession of. When I tried to use the magic contained within it, the crown amplified my negative qualities to create that demon/oni thing, causing the rampage. After Twilight defeated me and took back the crown, she went back to her realm.”

Celestia walked over and took over the mic from Sunset. Sunset took a spot next to her friends as Celestia began to speak. “Now that all that has been explained, we ask you to keep all this quiet for the safety of our newly magically gifted students and the school as a whole. We don’t want government black suits poking around. Any questions?”

“Why do you guys get to have magic?”, one kid asked without raising their hand.

“Because we’re awesome!”, Rainbow shouted. The rest of the girls rolled their eyes or gave her the side-eye.

Celestia looked back at Sunset with a ‘do you want to give the real answer?’ look on her face. Sunset stepped forward and retook the mic. “She’s not entirely wrong. The reason we have magic is because of the crown. My friends have certain neurological and personal qualities that allowed the magic to bind to them, and I was just loaded up with a crap ton of it that night.” Sunset rejoined her friends.

Celestia retook the mic. “Any more questions?” Nobody said anything or raised a hand, so the Rainbooms left the stage. “Alright, thank you for coming. We’ll release an official statement about what happened during the formal and musical showcase soon. This assembly is now over.” Celestia and Luna got off the stage, and everyone else began leaving and doing whatever.

The Rainbooms headed off to the back of the stage and formed a small circle. “You avoided telling them you stole the crown.”, Rarity said.

“Yeah, if I did, it would’ve raised more questions for them that I didn’t want to answer. The whole thing would’ve turned into an alien showcase.”, Sunset said.

“And it doesn’t make ya look so bad.”, AJ said.

“You guys already know what really happened, and I didn’t lie. I just don’t want to be seen as a monster more than I already am.”

The rest of the girls looked amongst each other but didn’t say anything. They headed to class and didn’t meet back up until lunch. The other kids didn’t look at Sunset with hatred but with wariness. It was much more like back when she was just the school bully. The girls sat at their usual table, but much to Sunset’s surprise, Meg sat down next to her.

Sunset waved, not sure what was going on. She avoided me for two months, and now, she just sits down next to me. What’s going on in her head?

“You really were not in control?”, Meg signed.

“More complicated, but yes.”

Meg nodded then got up and left.

Sunset was left even more confused and turned back to the other girls. “I do not understand what’s going on with her.”

“You and Meg were friends?”, Pinkie asked.

“Yeah, well, she was the closest thing I had to a friend, but she stopped talking to me after the formal. I can’t blame her for that. I wouldn’t want to hang out with me either. It’d be social suicide.”

“Yeah, that’s not why.”

“What do you mean?”

“She was your friend. Where the rest of us expected you to do something bad, not that but something, Meg didn’t expect you to hurt her. She cared about you, and she thought you cared about her. Because of that, what you did hurted her a lot more. That’s why she’s been acting the way she has.”

“I-I had no idea.” Sunset looked down and processed everything Pinkie said. “I still have a lot to learn.”

Lunch wrapped up, and they began walking to class. Due to that day’s schedule, Sunset and Rainbow suck together the longest.

“Hey, when would be a good time to start ninja training.”, Rainbow asked once it was just the two of them.

“Well, I got a whole lot of nothing to do after school, so whenever’s good for you.”

“What about after hockey?”

“Works for me. I’ll text you where I live.”

They had to eventually separate, and they didn’t get a chance to all meet up again after school. RD had to hop straight on the bus, AJ had to head home, and so on. Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Sunset talked as they walked to their houses. Once Sunset got to her house, she started on her chores, including cleaning the dog poop from the backyard. Once that was all done, she began to meditate under the cherry blossom tree. The blossoms had long since fallen, and the leaves had taken on the reds and oranges of the fall. The nature of the tree made relaxing easier.

As she meditated, she focused on the feel of her magic. It now contained Equestrian magic, giving her a place to start. The way it felt and moved within her body was still completely alien to her. She tried to move her magic using her Equestrian magic, but the Earth magic mixed in had changed its properties enough to where her old techniques weren’t doing the trick, but she was able to get it to work a little. I can use my old knowledge as a base and build on it to adapt to this new magic. Let’s hope that works.

The doorbell rang, and Sunset jumped up and ran inside to answer the door. “I got it!”, she called upstairs. She opened the door and let Rainbow in.

“Hey”

“Hey” Sunset grabbed the decon bottle and handed it to Rainbow. “Spray yourself down and take off your shoes.”

“Okay?” Rainbow put her bag next to the shoe rack and did as told then handed back the spray bottle.

“Good, follow me.” Sunset led Rainbow outside and over to the cherry blossom tree.

“Okay, what are you going to teach me first, how to climb up walls, throw shuriken and kunai?”

“We haven’t used shuriken since the invention of the gun, and kunai are digging and drilling tools, not meant for throwing. That doesn’t mean they can’t be thrown, but it’s far less expensive to throw a rock.”

“Ninjas use guns? But the 3 Ninja Boys movies said that real ninjas don’t use guns.”

“That’s utter bull-crap. We were some of the earliest adopters of guns when they first came to Japan. As my grandfather puts it, the gun is not the weapon of an honorable warrior that’s not afraid to die, but we aren’t honorable, and we don’t wanna die. The only reason he doesn’t carry a gun is because he’s a pacifist.”

“Oh, then what are you going to teach me?”

Sunset sat down beneath the tree. “I’m going to teach you how to meditate.”

“What? You said you’d teach me to be a ninja.”

“I am. The first step in becoming a ninja is developing discipline. What we do requires focus, dedication, the ability to keep a cool head while under pressure, and a will strong enough that it can be forged into a blade. If you can do this, you’ll be able to do everything else involved in becoming a ninja.”

Rainbow stayed still for a while, and Sunset expected her to leave, but much to her surprise, Rainbow plopped down in front of her. “Let’s get this done with. I want to be a ninja.”

We’ll see how long that lasts. Sunset instructed Rainbow on proper meditation techniques. For such a rambunctious person, Rainbow was doing remarkably well. She was twitching and periodically moving around, but that’s to be expected. It took a while, but Rainbow managed to settle down pretty well.

“Hey! Stinky! Did ya lose a fight with a paint mixer!”, Emi called out.

“Ignore her.”, Sunset instructed.

Rainbow grumbled but did as instructed. “What is her problem?”

“She’s just testing you. Part of this is learning to ignore the outside world.”

They returned to meditating for a while longer. Eventually, Rainbow unfolded her legs and began stretching. “Hey, can we stop for now? Sitting still for so long is making my legs numb.”

“Sure” Sunset got up and brushed herself off, followed by Rainbow. “You lasted longer than I expected. What time are your parents picking you up?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Whenever I call.”

“Okay, want to learn some of the more practical side of being a ninja?”

“Heck yeah!”

Sunset led Rainbow inside and into the basement. “I’ve mentioned that we use guns nowadays, but there’s still some traditional equipment and techniques that we still use.” Sunset unlocked one of the cabinets and pulled out a bottle of magnesium fire starter shavings and a canister of gunpowder. “You’ve seen my shuko, those hand claws I used, but chemistry is our main weapon. With this, a container, and some sugar from the kitchen, I can make impact smoke bombs. We can also use a host of different plants that my mom grows in her greenhouse or that we can find in nature or buy at the store to make medicine or lethal poisons by extracting the active compounds from the plants.”

“Are you seriously telling me ninjas are just mega nerds?”, Rainbow said disbelievingly.

“Nerds with pointy toys. There are also some advantages we, as kunoichi, have over shinobi. The “innocent young woman” can get into way more places and away with a lot more than our male counterparts. There’s also the ‘men are stupid, especially around a pretty lady’ thing. Basically, we sleep with the boss and steal every bit of sensitive info he has, and other stuff like that.” That last bit clearly made Rainbow uncomfortable, so Sunset quickly backtracked. “Let’s go back to the general ninja stuff.”

“Ooh, maybe you can show me your ninja suit.”

“Hm, okay” Sunset put the gunpowder and magnesium away and locked up the cabinet then led Rainbow to her room.

“I like your sign.”, RD said, referring to her “no dumb area” sign.

“Thank you” She led RD to her closet then pulled out a dark blue hoodie, pants, and balaclava. “This is my standard ninja suit, but I’ll wear whatever I need to.”

“Aren’t ninja suits supposed to be black?”

“There are very few times where a black ninja suit would be practical, especially not in rural Japan. I think my dad said that misconception came from kabuki theater. Either way, no, ninjas would wear whatever helped them blend into their surroundings whether that be blue, green, brown, a costume with make-up, or civvies. A black suit might be useful if you're infiltrating a building with little light, but dark blue would work just fine in that case.”

“Hm, one sec.” Rainbow pulled out her phone and began typing. “Okay, The idea that ninjas wore all-black costumes came from prop-handlers of the Kabuki theater.”

Sunset peaked over Rainbow’s phone screen and saw she had a search engine open with that exact information presented on the screen. That would be useful.

“Is everything I know about ninjas wrong?”

“Not likely all but a lot of it, and it’s sorta meant to be like that. Every piece of faulty information the enemy has on us is an advantage we have.”

“Okay”

“Do you still want to be a ninja?”

Rainbow’s face split into a mischievous grin. “Oh, I want to be a ninja even more now.”

Interesting, very interesting. “Okay, well, my parents are going to be home soon, so ninja practice is over for today. We’ll go over survival basics next time.”

“Cool, I’ll call my dad then. Can I get some water?” Rainbow pulled out her phone and called her dad.

Sunset nodded and left to the kitchen to get her a glass. As she filled the glass, small stopping feet came down the stairs. “Emi, please don’t insult my friend. She only just started meditating today.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it. It was too good and easy.”

“If that’s what you consider “good”, you need to work on your smack.” When Sunset turned around, she noticed Emi wasn’t wearing her beanie. “Waiting until your birthday to show off your symbol?”

“Ayuh”

Rainbow came out, and Sunset handed her the water. “Thanks” She began to drink and looked at Emi with a glare. “I take it you’re the little shit.”

Emi responded with her signature fox-smile. “You’re hardly one to talk, shorty.”

Rainbow snarled at Emi, so Sunset put her arm out to prevent her from doing anything stupid. “Quit foxing around. You’re making a bad impression.”, Sunset said in Irish.

“Okay, okay,” Emi looked at RD, “what’s your name?”

“Rainbow Dash”

“Seriously?”

“I’m named after my uncle, Rainbow Blaze.”

“Is his hair rainbow-colored too?”

“He, my dad, and my abuela all have rainbow hair. It runs strong in the family.”

“So, your whole clan lost a fight with a paint mixer.”

“You little shit.”, Rainbow said with a glare.

“Emi, knock it off.”, Sunset said firmly.

Emi chuckled to herself and scampered back up the stairs.

“Your sister’s a turd.”, RD said.

Sunset shrugged. “She takes after our paternal grandmother. It’s her nature. Thank you for not bringing up her lack of hair.”

“I’m no angel and an idiot, but that’s low, even for me.”

“When do you want to schedule your training sessions?”

“I dunno. I’ll contact you when I’m in front of my planner.”

“Okay”

A little while later, a car pulled up out front, and Rainbow grabbed her bag and headed to the front door. “Bye, Sunset.”

“Bye”

Rainbow left, and Sunset put the cup in the sink. She headed upstairs and into Emi’s room. Emi was back to doing her work with Anura. They were doing something about plants.

“Hey, Emi, could you not insult my friends. Rainbow clearly didn’t like it.”

“Fine, I’ll leave insulting them to you.”

“Thank you” With that, Sunset left to go about her day.