Subterra Shiver ran a hand along the walls of TWI’s headquarter’s entrance, next to a set of two elevators that led to the various rooms her facility had to offer, like a gym, a pool and even a showers, all the way up to her penthouse.

“I remember these elevators well…” Subterra looked at the small red button that called it down. “I took this from the barracks to the arena a lot.”

“Right. So straight up to TWI?” Josher pressed the button, breaking her out of her thoughts. “Seems simple enough. There has to be a catch.”

Subterra shook her head. “These elevators will take us up to her room. You don’t even need a special keycard or anything. I guess no one ever dared to challenge her.”

“That hubris is her big mistake.” Shiho folded her arms after putting some gum in her mouth. Her clothes and skin were patchy and black from her battle with Chrysalis, but without Ocellus now, there was no immediate healing for their injuries. “We’re taking the fight to her and there’s nothing she can do to stop us from beating the crap out of her, especially after what they did to Ocellus.”

The team was still a little sore from losing Ocellus and the mention of her name always brought silence to the room.

“This isn’t the end, Subterra Shiver. Stop mulling over useless things.” Crafteon’s voice in her head broke the silence. “There’s nothing more you can do. Move on. All living beings die. Even you will die one day.”

“But she was my friend,” Subterra whispered.

“Think what you will, but do not let it stop you. Do not let it control you.”

“This elevator sure is taking its time…” Josher tapped a foot on the floor repeatedly before pulling out his pack of cards. “Just how high is TWI’s room, anyway?”

Subterra shrugged as Crafteon vanished. “I’ve never been up there. But it should be right above the volcano. At the very top.”

“She’ll be waiting. Are we all ready to face her?” Calypso asked, pulling at her vest corners. “If she’s already used the geode, it’s not going to be an easy fight.”

Shiho shook her head. “Nothing we’ve done on this whole journey has been easy. But we’ve outsmarted the enemy at every turn. Together, we’ll outsmart TWI as well.”

Josher smiled and wagged a finger. “Your next words are, ‘We fight as a team.’”

“We fight as a team. We will-” Shiho cracked a smile, surprising Subterra. “I see you’re still good at that trick.”

Josher flicked a card that traveled around his back to his other hand. “I’m pretty good with magic tricks. Always will be.”

“H-How did you do that?” Subterra couldn’t help but ask.

“An old trick passed down through my family for generations.” Josher winked at her. “My dad wasn’t great at it, but I picked it up pretty quickly. I’ll show you once we’re done with this whole TWI thing.”

There was a buzzing sound, followed by the laughter of someone on a speaker system around their hallway. “Too bad you’ll never be done with this TWI thing.”

“Great, someone else…” Shiho rolled her eyes. “Whoever you are, give up. We’ve defeated all your Equestrian prisoners. You’ll be no different.”

“Ah ah, that’s where you’re wrong,” the voice said playfully. It was a woman’s voice. “You see, I’m no ordinary person. I’m the one that’s been keeping the prisoners in line. I make sure they do as they’re told and they don’t try anything stupid.”

“Just shut up and come face us face to face.” Shiho pointed a finger at the nearest speaker. “I’m ready to beat the crap out of you.”

Laughter rang out on the speakers. “I’m not falling for that trick. But I will come out. Just give me a second while I play you something on the radio. An Island Song.”

All of a sudden, a soft singing voice came on the speakers, soothing and gentle, flowing through their ears like water down a slide.

“Nice voice she has,” Josher joked. “She should go sign up for a talent show with this.”

“Why is she even singing? Has she gone cuckoo?” Calypso spun a finger at the side of her head. “That’s a strange… A strange… huh…”

She closed her eyes and dropped to the floor. Everyone else followed suit.

Subterra was the first to stir awake, rubbing at her eyes as she sat herself back up, resting against the elevator doors. “W-What happened? I remember singing…”

Her rise had woken up Leilani, who pushed herself off the ground as she let out a big yawn. “Subterra…? What was that? Did I fall asleep?”

“I think we all did…” Subterra blinked the sleepiness from her eyes.

“The enemy, she must be able to put us to sleep somehow.” Leilani began shaking the others from their slumber. “But she didn’t do anything to us during that time?”

Subterra looked at her body before running her hands down from her head to her toes. “No, I don’t feel any different. Just tired.”

Laughter came up on the speakers again. “Fools! I timed you. It took you about seven minutes to wake up. Faster than Tirek and the others, but much too slow. Imagine what I can do while you’re asleep.”

“Well, why didn’t you… do anything, then?” Josher yawned and got up. “You’re playing with us.”

“Boy, how long did it take you to figure out that one?”

“If you want us to come find you, I’ll come find you.” Shiho slammed Curtain Call’s fist into the wall, creating a sizable hole in it to the dirt mound behind.

“Why are you even against Aunt TWI? You know she’s trying to help your world, right? If she doesn’t help out, your world’s going to end pretty soon.”

“Because she’s no better than any of those crazy terrorists who want to eliminate the brass on top.” Shiho looked at one of the speakers. “We can’t do this to these innocent people.”

“Innocent? Ha! If only! I’ve seen it for myself, you know? I’ve been out in your world. I’ve seen greed, the way humans only care about themselves. As long as those people remain in power instead of TWI, the world’s effort to save itself will never succeed. You can’t-”

Shiho smashed the speaker into bits with Curtain Call’s fist. “I’ve had enough of your pathetic insinuations. There are better ways to deal with them than to kill them.”

“Just like how you’ve killed your way to TWI?”

Shiho whipped around and whacked another speaker. Her friends began to get the idea and started smashing every speaker they could see. Each one was attached to a corner of the wall, small and black in the shape of a box of mints.

“That’s right, if we take down the speakers, then she can’t sing to us!” Calypso grinned as she had Soldier Poet King whip another speaker off the wall.

“Enough, this stops here!”

The singing started again and immediately, Josher fell to his knees and stopped smashing speakers. “Oh great, here we go again…”

And they all dipped into slumber once more.

Back in the security room, Flurry Heart laughed to herself as she kicked up her legs onto the table and leaned the chair back. “Too easy. It’s really too easy. It won’t be any fun to just eliminate them all right now. I think I’ll toy with them a little longer, and then…”

She spun the chair around and looked at her weapon rack where her prized shotgun sat. She had painted it pink, like her skin and on it was its name written in black, ‘Flurrypuffy’. She grinned and spun back to the cameras. “My Flurrypuffy can wait. Let’s first sing them another song.”

Flurry watched them and waited until they began to stir again. As soon as the crew got back on their feet, she conjured her Stand again, an equine-like being with round speakers for hands. Its two antennas on top of its head wiggled on the spot before it pointed its speakers towards the console.

She opened her mouth and began singing again, and she watched with glee as the Sushi group wobbled on the spot and collapsed once more.

“Ha!” Flurry unholstered her pistol at her side and fired it into the air twice. The gunshots rang around the room, echoing around the space as the air filled her nose with gunpowder. “This just builds up my anticipation before I finally get to use these!”

Ever since coming to this world, Flurry Heart had picked up two interests: stereo players and guns. Equestria didn’t have any devices that could play and replicate music, which was one of her favorite pastimes, and guns were just so amazing, containing such lethal power in such a small size.

“Such small things could end entire armies…” Flurry ran a finger along her pistol’s barrel. “Whoever built these deserves great awards. I know humans have a long and extensive history of wars. These weapons have evolved so much over time. Once we’re done here and we get back to Equestria, I’m taking my prized guns with me. My friends would be so jealous! Oh, look, they’re waking up again. Island Song!”

Flurry sang into the mic in front of her face again and like clockwork, the Sushi team dropped back to the ground.

“Ahhh, too easy. I think I’ll let them speak up the next time they get up.” She giggled. “When I had first unlocked my Stand power, I had no idea I would be this strong.”

She figured because her powers were so strong, they could only affect her targets for a short time. It was always under eight minutes, but even a minute was more than enough to do what needed to be done. And that was another reason she loved her guns. Once her targets were asleep, there was nothing they could do when she offed them.

Eventually, the party began to stir again and Flurry leaned down close to the mic with a smile plastered on her face. “Here we go again. I must say, it feels really good to watch you wake up over and over and over again. And I do wonder, just what are you going to try next?”

“I’ll show you…” Shiho grunted and smashed another speaker, before taking out one of the cameras as well.

“Aw, you’re all no fun. If you break them all, I’m going to have to come out and end this…” Flurry licked her lips as she ran three fingers down her sidearm. “And you don’t want that.”

“Trust me. I do.” Shiho glared into one of the cameras before her Stand destroyed it too.

“Is that what you really want?” Flurry Heart sighed and got up. “Very well. You leave me no choice. The games end now. Here I come.”

Flurry Heart walked to the rack and grabbed Flurrypuffy from it, holding it in both hands as she examined it in closer detail. She had wrapped some blue tape around the handle, making sure she would have a good grip on it even in the wettest of situations.

She slung the shotgun around her shoulders and marched out the door, swinging it open with a bang as she walked down an ‘L’ shaped corridor to stand before the Sushi team.

“There you are.” Shiho was the first to see her. “Had enough hiding within your security room?”

“Please.” Flurry Heart fanned her face with a hand. “You think I was hiding from you? Now that I’m here, you’d wish I was still in my room. Island Song and I will see to it that you will never disturb TWI.”

“We’ll see about that.” Shiho cracked her knuckles and then the kinks of her neck. “Curtain Call!”

“Ah ah, just watch as I, niece of TWI, Flurry Heart, take you down once again with my Stand, Island Song!” She raised both hands to the air as her Stand popped up beside her, speakers at the ready. “You’re never getting to her!”

“Wait, Flurry Heart?” Shiho stopped her Stand in its tracks. “I already killed you. You’re not her.”

Flurry gave them a bow. “Well, I’m here, very much alive. I’ll show you by putting you to sleep once again!”

With her Stand’s arms up, Flurry Heart began singing again. Shiho and her friends only had enough time to cup their hands over their ears, but it wasn’t good enough. They could still hear the song and they all swayed before dropping back to the ground, asleep. Josher was even already snoring.

“Too easy.” Flurry’s expression suddenly turned darker as she unslung her shotgun. She gave its barrel a pump, then spun it in the air before holding it under one arm. “Now, time to start picking you off. One at a time.”

She decided to take out Shiho first, seeing as she was the one who had put her aunt in such dire straits all those years ago, before she returned to Equestria for help. She couldn’t believe a little girl like her had taken down her aunt, plus she had also killed her aunt’s very favorite companion, Spike, whom Flurry had also loved like an uncle.

“I miss Spike. It’s because of you, Shiho Sunfast. You and your whole family line.” Flurry wrapped a finger around the trigger. “If it were up to me, I’d kill your grandmother as well. But since Aunt TWI wants her around, I respect her wish. You, on the other hand, she doesn’t care what I do to you. That means I can pump you full of lead with Flurrypuffy. Trust me when I say, I’m going to enjoy this. Very much.”

She pressed down on the trigger and a loud bang echoed around the room.

• To be Continued...-

Author's Note

Stand chart of Island Song here!