CoCoBA Episode 10: Captured City

Coco’s Bizarre Adventure, Episode 10: Captured City

Canterlot, midday. The streets were bustling, but only at one point at a time, and with one patient throng. The rest was ghostly, empty, quiet. Ponies were at work maintaining the electricity, or acting as servants, or trying to scrape by. It was easier than other places - burning up the luxury eased the fall a little more than most of the higher-ups would’ve guessed. Ponies weren’t going missing here.

At least, not for the time being.

The process was easy, and they got it down pat in a couple tries: Coco knocked, they endured the reluctant stirring inside, and they had a brief, awkward conversation. The ponies at the door never made eye contact, really, all of them drawn with surprise to the ground, where one of the modest sea of foals would separate and present itself, rested and relieved. A few minor questions, nothing which seemed important to the ponies inside, and then the group set off again.

Other times it would take more work. For some of the children, their parents were still unconscious, the doors locked. The first of them panicked at that, but Scootaloo shoved the door off of its hinges to let them inside. From then on, she had to force them open without breaking them, which took a little more control and was a tedious eye-rolling chore.

“I still think we should have thrown him inside,” she said, once the parade of foals was much smaller. Not all of them were from Canterlot, but all were taken nearby.

“She’d probably just spit him out again.” Diamond said next to her. They were speaking to each other out of necessity, because both of them had to be side-by-side to lead the train along and not get lost in one of the dozen conversations in the mass behind them. She didn’t enjoy Cheese’s freedom either, but after his defeat he’d been… more agreeable.

Coco had stood over him as he returned to consciousness, and offered him a hoof up. Diamond had been on standby, monitoring him for any sign of malice, but… there didn’t seem to be one. It was like something in Cheese Sandwich had been knocked loose, or put back into place.

He was quiet, now, standing in the back of the group and away from the foals, who did their nervous best to ignore him. He hadn’t spoken a word to Scootaloo or Diamond since Coco had pulled him up. The only times he spoke were when he got the house to tromp to the city outskirts and when he trotted from the back of the crowd and sealed each foal-return with a brief, head-bowed apology.

Most times the parents would just stare at him, like they didn’t know what language he was speaking in. Other times they would try to say something, the sort of thing they would’ve rehearsed better over a dozen sleepless nights, dulled by the freshness of their wounds. The brief moment of eye contact he made was only to ensure they weren’t about to hit him, and even then it was half-hearted. When the doors wouldn’t open, he seemed to relax a fraction, and as the streets went onward and he continued his mute trudge, some of the color seemed to leave him.

There was something lost about him, disabused. It set Scootaloo on edge.

“Well, we could at least have tried,” she sad. “There’s no reason he needs to be out and walking around with us, even if he doesn’t have anything bad planned.”

“I think Coco’s trying to give him a second chance.”

Scootaloo grimaced. “She’s going to give somepony one too many of those before long.”

Diamond frowned herself, but kept talking to fill the silence. “Maybe she will. But it’s better for her to try, in a time like this.”

“No maybe about it. Even the Elements couldn’t make friends with everypony they fought. She’s being too nice.”

“Am I?” Coco asked.

They each stopped and looked up. Coco had stopped for a moment and turned to them, still smiling gently. Both of them looked at her, then at each other, and then Scootaloo spoke up.

“Yeah. You shouldn’t trust ponies even when you know you can beat ‘em. And there’s no reason why we couldn’t have made this trip while you went looking for Rarity. The sooner we find her, the sooner we can get on to stopping Sombra.”

A handful of confused complaints came from the crowd behind them, and everypony started walking again. Coco slowed to become level with the two, and continued.

“I wanted to make sure that she was still in the castle, and everypony I’ve asked has told me exactly that. I’ve also got a little information about the agents here.”

“You mean Sombra’s...?” Diamond asked, then trailed off. They weren’t ponies, but she couldn’t remember what they’d called themselves.

Again, a nod. “They’ve got a lot more control here than I thought. Much more than in Ponyville. They’re using the castle as a base.”

Scootaloo blanched. “Then they’ve already got her.” Her wings fidgeted at her sides.

Coco interrupted her panic. “We’ve got to hope they’re not doing anything to her. If Sombra wanted the Elements gone for good, he probably could’ve just destroyed them.”

“There’s no way we could know that!” the filly said, increasingly agitated. “We might need to get to her right now!”

Coco pointed to the spire of the castle a few blocks away. “We’re nearly there. I don’t want to go in alone, and I can’t bring these foals into it. ...Rarity would want me to finish this first.”

Scootaloo saw her friend’s tight expression, and the cadence of her words, and realized that it was just as painful for her to hold back from storming the castle. Her ears folded back, and she inspected the paving-stones.

“Go on ahead.” Diamond said.

Coco and Scootaloo glanced her way.

“There’s no reason for all of us to do this. I’ll get them where they’re going and meet you there.”

Coco, for whom splitting up was not a very favorable idea, considered her. “Are you sure you’ll be able to keep them together without our help?”

Diamond smirked. “You have no idea how good I am at keeping ponies in line.”

Scootaloo cast a nervous glance away from the filly and past the foals, to the rear of their lineup. She lowered her voice a little further. “Do you think you can handle somepony like him getting rowdy?”


“He’s not trying to do that stuff any longer,” she said. “｢Misery Business｣ will tell me if he ever changes his mind.”

“Then what’s he really trying to do?”

Diamond shrugged. “To show he’s sorry, really. He’s just caught on recently that we’re going after the Elements of Harmony, and he’s biding his time to ask us about one of them.”

“Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked, remembering the hedonistic explosion of the party.

Head-shake. “Pinkie Pie.”

Coco puzzled at that. “Is he a fan?” His behavior would definitely make a little more sense, then.

“No, they met, once. I can’t get anything else out of him without asking questions directly, and he’ll know what I’m up to if I do. It’s better to let him keep his privacy for now.”

Coco weighed that quietly. “Then make sure to meet us at the castle.”

Diamond nodded, and Coco started trotting away from the group. Scootaloo surveyed the now-meager group, looked to Diamond, nodded once, and trailed after the mare.

* * *

From many familial islands, word started to spread. It may have taken a day or two, given how isolated the average Canterlot pony was. It was only the web of them, connected together, the sighs of relief, the excited chatter among each other that mattered.

In a carefully-set hideaway, Twinkleshine’s ears perked up.

“｢Star 69｣.”

Voices flowed in, singled out one at a time from a giant stream of noise-data.

“I can’t believe it!”

“It was the most amazing thing, as soon as we thought we’d lost Windy, she came back with him and made the stallion apologize!”

“Yes, yes, her name was ‘Coco’. I think she did it alone, there were only foals near her.”

“She’s making a run of the same path he took, I think. If only repairs were that easy for the rest of us, eh?”

Twinkleshine’s brow furrowed as she quieted her Stand. What was this? It was the talk of a whole district of ponies, just about, the same one that was just devastated. Could it really be good fortune coming their way?

She immediately hoofed it for the nearest communicator. ｢Star 69｣ showed her that the leader wasn’t speaking, at present, which meant she was either resting or meditating over some meal or other. Or maybe just watching hawkishly in the kitchens… The thought of those appraising eyes made her wince, but she took up the small metal contraption anyway.

“Come in, HQ, this is ｢Star 69｣ trying to contact ｢Chop Suey｣. There’s been a development in the West District, not sure if it’s friendly or hostile. Please advise.” Then, she listened for any incoming reports with one ear and awaited a message with the other.

There was moment of tense silence that drew out into half a minute. “HQ, this is ｢Star 69｣ trying-”

“I heard you.”

The dry, upper-crust voice didn’t come over the communicator, cracked and mangled by imperfect machinery and unkind airwaves, but purely through her Stand. It was also in a rough mood. Twinkleshine knew that the makeshift radio was really a one-way street, when it came to a pony only satisfied with the best.

“Go on, then. Tell me what’s happening before I have to send out reconnaissance of my own.”

“Somepony named Coco has been returning the foals that were just taken. She’s forcing Cheese Sandwich to apologize to each of the families, and he seems to be doing it. They’re moving along the West toward the castle.”

“You can hear him?”

“No, he never got in my range.”

Pitiless silence, dressed up for the hero of the revolution in plans and guesses. “No. No, that’s far, far too convenient. It’s a con game of some kind, I’m sure.”

That made Twinkleshine uneasy, but if it was true she had every reason to be. She’d learned not to pose very many questions since her first hour on the job, so instead she elected to ask, “What should we do?”

“I was preoccupied the last time he came through, but if he thinks he can rough up these ponies a second time, I’ll have to visit him personally and let him see what’s what.”

“Who do you want me to send with you?” Twinkleshine asked, after another long pause.

“Yes, come along and bring the nets. Do keep up, now.”

“Nets? I don’t think I have any...” she started, and realized that Zesty had simply walked away from the communicator and gotten to gathering ponies. She sat and grumbled, “I hate when she does that.”

* * *

Canterlot’s castle was visible from almost any point outside of the city, but hidden from view all too often within it. Here, though, even a block away, it felt like a pony could hug the sides of the buildings and face away from those spires and towers, and still wind up seeing it.

Coco knew that Rarity was in there somewhere, or that she had been, but very little else. Nopony she’d spoken to seemed able to tell her who exactly was running things behind the scenes here, only that there were plenty of agents around and that they patrolled to maintain curfew.

It was disturbing to see a city like Canterlot so empty, but there was at least the comfort of the occasional pair of eyes darted out from behind shuttered windows and closed curtains. She wondered if this was what became of Manehattan during her journey to Ponyville, or if some other fate crash-landed into her home-city.

Would the park where she’d made costumes as a filly still be there, if a half-dozen ponies like Berryshine wandered into it?

She tried to clear the thoughts from her head. She was closer to her goal than ever before, now. The only trick was getting inside.

There was no apparent movement around the perimeter, which she found odd. There were no real gates or locks in between the castle and the city that coexisted around it, but there were clear positions where guards should’ve been standing.

Scootaloo tried trotting forward, made it a dozen meters, and then bumped her snoot against a wall of solid yellow energy. Coco saw it ripple, the light shimmering in a wave until it revealed its full geodesic shape. Face scrunching, the filly stood back a little, spectated the light, and started to feel out the edge of the dome with her hooves.

“Opening. There’s got to be an opening.” She said to herself, and Coco agreed.

Together, counterclockwise, they started tracing its edge.

* * *

From his twenty-sixth apology onward, Cheese Sandwich had exhausted his ability to feel worse. It wasn’t a muscle he’d stretched very much, even before he had his cutie mark, and usually he saw that as a blessing.

He’d been certain of his righteousness. Completely, totally certain, that his Cheesy Sense returning was something he’d done.

Celestia on a soda cracker, other ponies were trying to save the world. And they were doing a better job than he was, which meant that they might actually pull it off! At the leastest of the least, he was in no position to call shenanigans on them.

Had he really done the wrong thing? Wasn’t his backup plan the best thing somepony could’ve done, in his position? It hadn’t been easy, it had taken sacrifice and work, even just starting. But now, the weight of each apology, the looks, assailed him more than any dressing-down from the ponies who’d outwitted him. If most of them spoke to him, he might’ve been able to argue his point, to reinforce his retreating position, but even the ones who did would’ve turned uglier still if he’d done that.

“It hurts when no one trusts you, doesn’t it.” Diamond said, and it took him a moment to realize she was talking to him.

He trotted forward, past the under-a-dozen kids still present. “A-are you reading my mind again?”

She oriented herself so that she could keep an eye on them. They’d been well-behaved so far, or just cowed by all that had happened to them. “No. I just know from experience.”

“Must’ve been an experience and a half.”

“Yeah. It only happened a few times, and every time I became stronger and tried to stop it from happening again. Whenever ponies didn’t like me, I tried to make them do it. Now, I guess it’s just not meant to be.” She huffed, resigned.

“Come on, of course you can make ponies like you!” he said, voice raising a little. “That’s why comedy was invented, to grease the wheels of the friendship train! You just have to pick the right time, and knock ‘em dead!” At the last phrase, he motioned a boxer’s jab with one hoof.

Diamond blinked. Had he tried too hard to be enthusiastic there? “But… it’s really not a pony’s choice, if they’re likeable or not. Not everypony can get along with others.”

“Pshaw,” Cheese said. “If there’s anything I know, it’s that there’s something likeable inside of everypony. You just have to dig it up sometimes, and let other ponies know what it is!” Yes, all things considered, this was an extra-excellent distraction from the way he’d just been feeling.

Diamond chewed on that as they kept walking.

* * *

Zesty Gourmand passed the plain, samey, civilian residences one at a time. Her own mental and spiritual home was on the other side of the city, in the district of restaurants which now were so much dust and disuse.

There was always more work to be done, more things to be perfected. Only a pony with vision could lead a resistance, not to mention charisma.

The reassuring heft of her coat carried her forward, the four unicorns and the net nearby.

Suddenly, she smiled to herself, wryly. She had recognized the name “Coco”, she was certain, but only now she remember from where. It was a small article in a trite magazine, the sort of thing she was occasionally given to reading for a moment’s relaxation, about the “ten rising stars of Manehattan fashion”. It made a great hullaballoo over her industry, and the size of her ouevre.

Well, she supposed it was a very equine temptation, to go for quantity over quality.

The route to the West’s terminus was uncomplicated, and she passed through it at a brisk trot. The bare sun was a little more than she would’ve liked, but on the whole the day wasn’t completely unsalvageable. A few captures and interrogations might make a world of difference.

When she stepped into the intersection of the castle and the district, it was with some hesitancy that she threw her gaze in all directions. There was no sign of enemy activity just yet, but signs were a blase and obvious way of discerning the world. She could feel, with the same certainty and straightforwardness that had made her the head of the Canterlot restaurant industry and the head of its underground guerrilla militia, that there was more ahoof.

Nopony was fighting right now, in all of the city. This was a necessity; her own forces were sorely lacking, and most required much more training than they’d been able to receive thus far. But when her intuition presented her that impression, it was with the same whallop as the entire city being at war around her.

She considered asking her silent, obedient companions if they felt any twinges of apprehension themselves, but it would’ve been pointless. Nopony ever felt what she did, and to drag out the fact into the open would be a garish waste.

When she first heard a door shut around the corner, she knew she was in the right area. Coat billowing, she dashed into the street and around the bend.

My, Coco was a young thing, wasn’t she? A bit of a tragic mane, perhaps, but certainly better than expected. The cutie mark was only proof that destiny was a harsh mistress. Next to a stallion like Cheese Sandwich, she looked like polished jewelry.

Both turned to her, startled, as they were departing the doorway of some mean home. They were foalless, which was just more work and investigation to be done later. She might have to round up the foals personally, which was something she’d rather not have done. Young Coco might win some grudging respect for her youthful drive in the fashion industry, but on the whole, Zesty would rather swallow greasetrap fare than interact with children.

“Hello.” Cheese said.

“｢Chop Suey｣.”

* * *

Coco and Scootaloo headed around the castle in search of an opening, and navigated its whole circumference without finding one. As the quest became more and more fruitless, Coco’s expression clouded over with worry. She didn’t even notice the gardens or hedge mazes, or the rest of the city revolving around them as they circled.

Several times, Scootaloo tried to hammer her hooves into the barrier, only to shake them off a moment later and continue skulking around the edge of the grounds. When they made it all the way back, she groaned loudly and hit it with a useless barrage.

Coco was hardly in a better mood. She couldn’t even pass her Stand through or create fabric on the other side. Nothing would help pull her in. As they both stood in front of their starting point, she rubbed a hoof on her muzzle and regarded the whole dome.

“We could always try climbing it.”

Scootaloo grunted. “I just thought of that.”

“Stay right where you are.” A withering voice called from a ways behind them.

They both turned, and saw, some distance away, an older, almost lichlike mare. Her eyes were thin, and her pallid skin supported a pronounced horn surrounded by white hair. She wore a full white shirt with actual sleeves and buttons, which Coco’s mind quietly noted as a bold choice, and a long curving black coat that evoked something of a saddle in her mind. Behind her, Diamond and Cheese were laying in a repurposed fishing net. Both were bruised, held inside of a force field maintained by a quartet of strong-built unicorn stallions standing in easy formation.

Coco started. “Who are-”

“I go by Zesty Gourmand. As you can see, I have your allies here,” she said, telekinetically raising the net to bring it in plainer view. “And it’s no use relying on that Stand of his. I’ve instructed my good associates here to go straight for both if any of them feel a little too giddy.“

Cheese looked at Coco in a silent apology. Beneath the scuffs, Diamond stewed in negative emotions.

“Why would you do that?”

“Because I’m here to nip this farce in the bud. It’s one thing for a King to conquer and rule, but to pretend to make nice with these citizens is a step too far! The ponies of this city will never succumb to such cruel tricks!”

Coco softened and shook her head a little. “Oh, no, I’m afraid you’ve got it all wrong, Ms. Gourmand, we’re not here to help Sombra at all. We’re just trying to make sure the Element of Generosity is alright, and find a route to the Crystal Empire.”

Zesty snorted, a dry sound like a spittake without water. “Even if your story were plausible, your acting leaves many things to be desired. Why would you arrive here so quickly after a crisis, or show up at all? Where’s the train that brought you?”

Scootaloo fumed and cut in. “What reason could we have, lady? Do you think we had Cheese take the foals so we could bring them back just after?!”

Not so much a laugh as a puff of air, ruffling the coat. “How should we know that they’re really the ponies who were separated from their families? And why should we believe that ponies like you won’t come bearing gifts in order to convince us of your good intentions? Do you think we’re completely unaware of the subtleties of strategy?”

“That’s ridiculous! What if we really are the good guys here? You’re throwing away a chance for us to help out this city together!”

“I’m not about to believe a pair of ponies who just came back from the Castle occupied by Sombra’s forces. If you aren’t going to come quietly, I’ll be happy to show you why I’m not so easy to fool. Besides,” Sniff. “Even if you were telling the truth, I don’t think I need the help of a handful of vagabonds, thankyou.”

“Oh, yeah? Well, why don’t we find out?” Scootaloo said, and stepped closer. Above her, ｢Go Zone｣ formed, hovering and staring out through the aisle of the street.

Seeing the Stand, Zesty drew herself up and stared the filly down across the gulf. “If you want to settle this in the basest way possible, be my guest. ｢Chop Suey｣.”

Equidistant from both of them, bits of pavement, asphalt, brick, wall, glass, rubble and metal broke off from the structures around and coalesced in the center of the street, hanging in mid-air. They took the shape of an odd, composite sculpture of a pony, multicolored and hairless, perhaps a stallion. It stood a full pony’s height off of the ground, unmoving.

From the sidelines, Diamond and Cheese looked on at the Stand, concern growing. Cheese’s eyes searched the ground for something. On the opposite end of the street, Coco kept to the sidewalk and kept level with the filly, trying to size up the Stand and think of some way out of her

Scootaloo kept her eyes steady, locked with Zesty’s. The older mare beckoned her with a brief wave of her hoof, and she charged.

Zesty’s Stand stayed perfectly still as she advanced herself, almost marching. Her features were soggy with relaxed confidence. The filly was nearing the Stand much faster, eyes fixed on it in case it made any sudden movements. But it didn’t, and neither did the mare. Coco tried to keep an eye on both, herself.

Scootaloo realized that she was a little too far right to charge straight into her opponent. Was she trying to avoid running underneath of the Stand? It did seem like an opportune chance for it to attack, and she had no idea of its power. If it could beat Cheese and Diamond, it had to be something nasty.

She decided not to take any chances, and veered a little further right to circle by it.

No sooner had she done that than the Stand split apart into its constituent elements and swirled into a vortex, like a cyclone. More bits of the street and buildings dislodged themselves and added to it, and parts of itself shot out like bullets.

Scootaloo realized she’d activated it. Was it that she’d come too close? She dodged and backpedaled, darting away from the minor projectiles, but they only circled and weaved themselves.

In front of her, Zesty continued her steady march forward, coming closer to the Stand now. Scootaloo’s own dodging grew desperate as the mare reached the

“To win in life, you must go after your passions in a straight line. If you allow your heart to dissuade you, you’ll never accomplish anything. Those who change direction are aimless, and ｢Chop Suey｣ eats them just like the world does.”

Then that was it! The change in direction! Scootaloo turned back toward Zesty. “｢Go Zone｣!”

A smattering of brick dust, sharp tokens of concrete and brittle glass froze in the air, dusting the ground around the filly’s hooves.

“It’s useless! Once you stray from the path, my Stand won’t forgive you! Those who turn to the side are useless!” She was standing right in the midst of it, still facing forward, only her eyes following the filly. If ｢Go Zone｣ could get close enough to trip her up, then--

A line of debris swept behind Scootaloo and impacted, piercing into her side and biting into one wing. She yelped, and tried extending her Stand’s power, concentrating all around her at once. The sudden exertion was exhausting, and a cloud of cutting dust stuck to the outside, falling inwards and piling around her, sealing her further.

Just as her barrier flickered and died completely, Coco barrelled towards her, coming diagonally. “｢Something for Nothing｣!”

A sheet of white materialized in the air and swept up the toothy rubble into a bundle. Her Stand stood over the filly, wrapping her in layers and layers of soft material.

Zesty frowned, and the attack paused, rubble drawing itself back up into her Stand, now three times larger than a pony.

Coco, who was at a sixty-degree angle to the mare, pleaded with her without turning her head. “Stop! We’re not enemies, we can work this out and make sure that everypony gets what they need!”

“I see you know diplomacy when you’ve already lost. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be enough for you. To be frank, common ponies like you are in no position to be making offers at all.”

Coco’s head reeled as she tried to think of something. “Please, just help us save Rarity, and leave my friends be! After that, we’ll leave and never come back!”

Before Zesty could respond, a rock flew into the back of her head, skipping off of it and onto the ground. She began to turn around, and then seized up and stopped herself, half-shuddering. Another whistled through the air, and she ducked as it sailed past and landed on Coco’s side inside.

Back in the net, the unicorns reestablished the force field, tightening. ｢Misery Business｣’s arm was constrained by it, and then vanished entirely, leaving a small pile of rocks unthrown.

Zesty checked the back of her head with a hoof, making sure there weren’t any bad bruises. The skin was sore, but the rest was undamaged. “If you don’t have the strength to win in the first place, it doesn’t matter how you act when you lose. I don’t believe you.”

“But I’m being honest with you! Don’t you want to save the ponies of Canterlot?!” Coco shielded Scootaloo with her whole body, her heart beginning to race.

Zesty laughed, then. It was brief, and vampiric. “You really don’t know me, do you. I’m here to maintain Canterlot, and its culture. The fact that ponies need to be alive to that end is no help to you.”

Coco blinked, mouth open. “W-Wuh?”

“I said I won’t be threatened or cowed,” Zesty said, coolly. “If this city is the last bastion of true progress in the world, the work of only a few of the finest and most ingenious of truly thinking ponies, then I must defend it! But I won’t be painted as some gauche unrefined storybook moralist who does it for the lives of peasants.”

Coco seemed barely comprehending at those words. “What did you just say?”

“It’s clear your group was sent because your lord thought I’d have a soft spot for a young dressmaker who saw me as an idealistic champion. It’s far too transparent, but he never was one for subtlety. No, there’s nothing about the ponies I meet that makes me want to save them. Only a few matter, or ever have, and the rest are free to live their meaningless little lives and die their pointless deaths. In the end, it doesn’t matter.”

That was enough, the end, the limit. That was the point where Coco had heard enough. Something inside of her changed, and her heart raced onward with new passion!

“That’s not true!” she shouted back, looking at Zesty through the periphery of her flashing eyes. "Do you hear me?! That’s not true at all! We're all here because of the ponies who came before and gave everything for us! Ponies spending their lives working for a future they’ll never see themselves…” She lowered her head, eyes closed, seething.

Zesty’s eyebrow arched.

And then, she turned!

Coco Pommel turned her entire body!

She faced Zesty head-on!

“As long as I have the power of Stand, I'll NEVER let you call that generosity a lie!"

“Then DIE!” Zesty called, casting a hoof out, “｢Chop Suey｣!”

The debris flew at her in pelting waves. She threw up a sheet, and they burst through it with raw knifing velocity. She leapt out of the way, levitating Scootaloo in the opposite direction, and galloped for the revolutionary as soon as her hooves touched the ground. By now, the Stand was generating wind with its spinning, halting her progress as she ran into it.

A volley circled around her, and she threw up shield after shield, weaving as best as one pony. But it wouldn’t be enough!

Zesty smiled, staring her down from only a few hooves away. Another sweep of the projectiles was coming from behind her, hitting her in a blind spot. It was an inevitability!

Suddenly, Coco began to dodge. She threw herself down, and sprang up to one side. She moved one leg away from the razor wind as it swept along. She craned her neck to the left as another flew past. It was as if she had eyes in the back of her head!

Zesty became alarmed, stopping herself from backing up. “Impossible!”

Coco, at first shocked herself, realized herself what was happening, and smiled. Having so recently succumbed to it, there was no trouble identifying the sensation of ｢Feel Good Inc｣. It had been on the second rock Diamond had thrown with her ｢Misery Business｣! Now she could dodge for a little while longer!

Finally, with a burst of energy, she threw out her Stand. “｢Something for Nothing｣!”

The Stand hooked a foreleg against Zesty’s cheek, solid enough to knock her off of her hooves and onto her side. She rubbed the wound, waiting for another hit, but none came.

Coco looked down at her, no longer dodging, as ｢Chop Suey｣ began to redirect itself. Her eyes were serious, cold. Above her, the vortex swirled angrier and angrier.

Coco’s guess was confirmed with Zesty cringed, and covered her head with her hooves. ｢Chop Suey｣ was a double-edged sword. Anypony who changed direction could be targeted.

A hail of street zoomed for the cowering critic, and she felt a tightness in her barrel as the wind increased around her. But there was no impact. Instead, she felt weightless!

When she opened her eyes, she saw a silken tether tied around her barrel, the other end of a long line of fabric held by ｢Something for Nothing｣. She relaxed her body, ready to hit a wall of some kind, but only collided against a giant, pillowy chair.

Once she left range, her Stand disappeared, the animating intelligence evaporating and the bits of debris falling to the road. She felt almost relieved, and her breathing let up as the tether dissipated around her. She was unharmed.

She could’ve been eviscerated by her own power, her own folly, and yet she was still breathing. The weight of that hit her in waves, and she realized that she may have labored under a misapprehension.

Then, above her, Coco Pommel trotted into view, blocking out the sun.

Zesty coughed, politely. “Ahem. Yes. Let’s talk.”

｢To Be Continued｣

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78yioWJhUJA [Rush - Something for Nothing]

Stand Name: Star 69
User: Twinkleshine
Stats
Power: N/A
Speed: N/A
Range: A
Durability: N/A
Precision: N/A
Potential: D
Abilities: After the user hears a target speak, they can hear anything that target says, regardless of distance. This does not tell the user the target’s location, or any other information. The power can be deactivated and reactivated for any target at will.

Stand Name: Chop Suey
User: Zesty Gourmand
Stats
Power: A
Speed: B
Range: B
Durability: D
Precision: A
Potential: C
Abilities: A Stand which assembles itself out of any nearby materials at the time of its summoning. It attacks the latest target to change direction within range, hurling parts of itself at them. The user is not immune to this effect, and cannot deactivate the Stand if it’s targeting them.