CRBA, Episode 22: Heart of Nowhere

Care Root’s Bizarre Adventure, Episode 22: Heart of Nowhere

>Somewhere far away and a long time ago...
>”We need a third, it’s useless for one of us to carry alone.”
>”You mean you’re worried I’ll best you for it and become the leader.”
>You sink in and out of the world like the stuff of life is some looseweave cat’s cradle.
>You’re bobbing like an apple in a fountain.
>”Oh, of course. We should definitely remove the only resource we’ve managed to build up in the last dozen years. How could I not see your wisdom?”
>”Are you seriously considering sullying her memory this way?!”
>”Enough of the theatrics, we’re both in private! And yes, if it means our survival. I hope you remember there were reasons we didn’t pal around as a two-girl act.”
>More words, harsh, but the syllables don’t process.
>An eyeful of the thatched roof above the barn.
>A roll of the neck joints to one side, and the hay rustles underneath.
>Stained with blood…
>You drift back out again.

>Be Twilight.
>Things are going wrong, just like you expected.
>Sonata’s song makes it impossible to hear anything, but the tableau’s as clear as day.
>Anonymous is laying on the ground at your feet, under the effects of your Stand.
>His body is vomiting up hundreds of ghosts, making them swirl into the air in a spiral pattern.
>You can feel out what’s happening, mostly.
>This is the natural conclusion to ｢Nowhere Man｣.
>What it does is more elusive, something that’s still settling.
>You actually weren’t expecting this.
>Only a few people have responded well to a second usage of the arrow, but none of your other selves ever tried him.
>It might have been useful to know, in the branch you find yourself in, but random experimentation like that couldn’t be conscioned.
>Besides which, it wasn’t as if any of his other selves tried to unlock the potential of his Stand.
>You reach out a hand to retrieve your arrow, but it won’t move.
>Instead a note of pain reaches up your arm, and you stumble back.
>Then the empty, slightly angry gaze of Lemon Zest fills your vision, and her Stand sends you sliding backwards further.
>Anon continues to writhe on the ground in something like religious rapture.
>Just before you came to this world you had to face down a unicorn named Starlight Glimmer.
>It was a point where you had to admit that there were ponies much stronger than you.
>Ones who could plan ahead, and build up every possible advantage, until they seemed completely undefeatable.
>And not a few days later, you had to apply that lesson.
>Your back’s to the shipping container, now.
>Your counterpart’s still locked away inside, with Care’s energy fueling her.
>Lemon tries to hit you again, and you move three inches out of the way.
>A bolt of light from inside pierces through the material of the door and pierces her through the stomach.
>When the Crusaders guarded this box, they made sure with their Stand that only a few people would be able to get through.
>Of course no one who might be brainwashed would be capable of touching the doors.
>Lemon can’t quite feel the pain right now, which is good.
>Hopefully you can make her better before she has time to realize what’s going on.
>She slumps down to the ground, ｢Lemon Demon｣’s aura fading.
>Just as soon as you can get some Equestrian medical expertise, you’ll revive her.
>Further along, the Crusaders have intercepted Sour Sweet and Sonata.
>And above you, the sky begins to look more green than blue.
>The ghosts are forming some kind of… canopy.
>You need to end this.
>These abilities, these things that the CHS people call “Stands”, are yours.
>They’re formed by the magic that belongs to your world and your world alone!
>The magic which you must protect, just like your teacher shepherds the sun and her sister the moon!
>Reaching out for your ｢Midnight Special｣, with all of the force of the Princess of Friendship, you pull against it.
>And something snaps.


>Be Sunset.
>You’re pointing them in the right direction, and Derpy’s driving as fast as she can.
>It’s a lot easier to tell which direction’s the right one, though, since there’s something going on overhead.
>”Is that something Care’s doing?”
>Silver asks.
>There’s a moment of silence.
>You say what everyone’s thinking.
“It’s probably Sonata and Anonymous, somehow.”
>”Anonymous’s Stand doesn’t work that way.”
>Diamond says, leaning forward to see the swirling green vortex building itself up.
>She’s right, he’s normally pretty limited.
>But with all three gems, if Twilight couldn’t overpower them...
>You need to warn the Rainbooms.
>Right now with Sonata, Anon, and all of Care’s friends, this could wind up being two against ten or more.
>You reach in your pocket for your phone but--
>It’s gone.
>Trixie looks back at you in the rearview mirror, with her eyebrow cocked.
>She waves your cell phone over the console.
>”Trying to signal for some kind of backup, Sunset Shimmer?”
>You grit your teeth.
”The only thing that kept people safe from the Dazzlings last time were the Rainbooms, unless you forgot! If Sonata has all three gems and she’s trying to open up a portal to Equestria on her own, then we all need as much help as we can get!”
>Trixie frowns.
>”None of which would have happened in the first place if you hadn’t tried to gather all of them yourself, and used us to do it!”
>You want to put your head in your hands.
“Is that a reason to let the world burn?! Care and Twilight are in even more danger, and neither of them looked very good before Sonata got to them!”
>It’s a gambit, but all of them look a little less righteous.
>Silver looks at you from the seat on your left, grim.
>”If Twilight mattered that much to you, why did you leave her on the ground instead of getting her to safety?”
>Because it was the fastest way to get her back to Equestria.
“Because I had to stop the most immediate threat, and I didn’t want to think about what might have happened to her! Why didn’t any of you figure out a way to rescue Care before Sonata left with both of them?”
>Silver’s face hardens.
>You turn back to Trixie, buildings growing sparser and more abandoned around you.
“If you don’t want me to get the one group of people who have been able to stop the siren gems, then fine, but whatever blood comes out of it is going to be on your hands, not mine!”
>Trixie pauses.
>Suddenly the phone’s back in your lap.
>You breathe a sigh of relief, and start dialing.


>Be Apple Bloom.
>Just like Scootaloo said, things are getting pretty bad.
>There’s a ringing sound in your ears which you remember from CHS.
>You and Sweetie covered your ears already, but it’s only a little effective.
>Up to now you’ve been instructed a couple of times in what to do if the Sirens found you.
>Cut your losses and run - keep your Stand out of their hands.
>But you know for a fact that Scootaloo’s not going to back down.
>And Sweetie Belle won’t leave either of the Twilights here.
>Leaving now and letting this go on is just a recipe for more tears!
>The three of you run together toward Sonata Dusk with your hands at the sides of your faces, each trying to be the fastest.
>Scootaloo takes the lead, and ｢Steam Powered Giraffe｣ appears in front of her.
>That’s your defense against the tugging force of the Siren-song.
>Sonata turns her attention to you, and something ripples in her voice.
>Overhead, through all of the green, the sky briefly flashes red.
>It’s like some kind of weird lightning strike.
>And then Sour Sweet blocks your approach, standing in front of her.
>Her ｢Message Man｣ appears over her head, smaller than your Stand but nothing to sneeze at.
>｢Steam Powered Giraffe｣ smashes for her, but she matches the punch with one of her own, and then her ability sends out an extra one, cracking your Stand’s fist.
>Scootaloo has to stop, and you catch up to her, standing by her side with Sweetie.
>All three of you are still covering your ears, although you can feel that it’s not working.
>It’s best not to dwell on that.
>Think about how to get to Sonata and stop her before the sky gets all weird again!
>Sour’s whole ability is about tucking things away and using them later, even her own attacks.
>It makes her dangerous, mostly because she can put more power into an attack than she’s really letting on.
>｢Steam Powered Giraffe｣ tries to rebuild its momentum and hit her again, but ｢Message Man｣ connects first.
>This time it attaches three more attacks to the first impact, and Scootaloo goes sprawling backwards behind you.
>She muffles her pain, and ｢Steam Powered Giraffe｣ dissipates between the three of you.
>You could bring it back, but it would be smaller, and maybe not on the same level as her Stand
>Instead, you and Sweetie split off, running in a curve around Sour.
>She’s used up all four of her extra shots, but ordinarily that wouldn’t make a difference.
>To her, even if you were a lucky dodge, she’d still be able to absorb the moment of you passing her and use it against you.
>At best it would be a sacrifice of one of the two of you, a last ditch effort to get some hit off on Sonata.
>Which is why luck doesn’t come into it.
>｢Message Man｣ strikes out for you, and you flinch, but its fist goes wild.
>The curve wouldn’t hit you in a million years.
>It turns to Sweetie Belle, and the same thing happens - and then both of you are home free.
>During its last two impacts, ｢Steam Powered Giraffe｣ had made it impossible for ｢Message Man｣ to strike either of you!
>And as the two of you regroup, your Stand reappears above you.
>Sonata’s just barely in range, although the song’s deafening now.
>All you have to do is land one hit on her.
>You just have to destine her not to sing for the next twenty-four hours!
>Do that, and the battle’s been won!
>But something stops you.
>Even in midstep, you freeze, and you see Sweetie in the corner of your eye, caught like you are.
>You feel like you’re freezing from the inside, like when you were little and you stuck your tongue on a metal fence.
>Now your heart’s beating like a rabbit - this isn’t Sonata’s-
>It doubles down now, and you can’t turn your head.
>Between you, ｢Steam Powered Giraffe｣ disintegrates.
>Its outstretched hand, a couple feet away from the Siren, vaporizes.
>Suddenly you can move again, and you stumble forward.
>Sweetie has to hop on one leg for a second before she catches herself.
>You don’t feel normal again, there’s still a chill inside of you that won’t come out.
>It’s like you just can’t shake it off and get goosebumps, it’s stuck inside of you.
>Both of you are glowing, just a little.
>Like barrels of plutonium or whatever, a comic-book green.
>And then you feel the air change.
>There’s a sudden shimmering, and a screen of greenish light appears.
>You can’t see it perfectly around the rest of the crates and boxes, but it continues in the distance just past the chainlink fence surrounding the place.
>It’s some kind of wall, curved on the inside like a fishbowl.
>You can’t look around too much, but you get the idea.
>You’re trapped inside of this yard.
>Both of you are in front of Sonata, and she regards you with her glowing red eyes before -- you can suddenly hear the song again!
>You slap your hands on your ears, but it’s not enough, you have to hit her!
>｢St-｣
>For a moment you hesitate - you can’t feel the normal connection to Sweetie now, and Scootaloo’s still behind you.
>But you have to hope that you can push it through!
>If you can just stop her from singing, you can make this right!
“｢Steam Powered Giraffe｣!”
>It appears over you, as strong as it was just a moment ago, one fist already drawn back.
>And then everything... jumps.
>The whole world moves around you, faster than you can blink.
>Suddenly everything’s in the wrong place - even ｢Steam Powered Giraffe｣ is five feet to the left of where it’s supposed to be.
>You lurch for a second, and your body feels wrong.
>Not just cold, but -
>In the corner of your vision you see...
>Yourself.
>You, Apple Bloom!
>And looking down, your arms are white.
>｢Steam Powered Giraffe｣ hangs in the air while you hear your own voice cry out.
>”What?!”
>You and Sweetie Belle just…
>Switched bodies?

>Be Care Root.
>You’re trapped inside of a box with the other Twilight Sparkle.
>The real Twilight.
>Surrounded by basic survivalist electricity and the bare necessities, locked away for some kind of secret plan.
>This fact is hard to remember over the headache you’re giving yourself trying to concentrate.
>The fake one, the Princess, told you about how she became a monster that tore the worlds apart.
>From the dark angel on the other end of this confined space, you’re guessing she took credit for something that was pretty close to the truth.
>Human Twilight hovers off of the ground as you feel your power sliding away.
>Geometric designs, spotlights, flashes of colored light that leave sickly imprints on the backs of your eyelids.
>After a moment something augments your Stand and it even pierces through the material of the container, making a dime-sized hole.
>But then it’s no more.
>You try to grab ahold of your ability and annihilate the nearest wall, but even when you focus the energy, it curves away and turns into a lightshow instead.
>Someone, probably the Crusaders did something to this shipping container to make it impervious to you.
>The same thing that keeps human Twilight inside, probably.
>The more you can focus on your own power, the more you can feel her digging into your soul with clammy metaphysical doctor-hands.
>But you’re not going to stand for it.
>With a thought, the row of lights appears in front of you.
>There… aren’t many.
>You get the sinking feeling of a debt finally coming up to be paid in full.
>Are there enough, then?
>Another slips out of existence, and you seize the energy.
>Pushing past the imagery, not wanting to know what you lost, you put up a barrier of light.
>This time, over the whole row of lights.
>They’re obscured from you, bound away from your own control for a moment.
>And then the reaching hand of human Twilight falters.
>It snaps back, burnt, and she hits the far wall.
>And then you realize that you’re pinned to a wall yourself, as you fall to the bottom of the container.
>Your legs go out from under you, and you get a moment to breathe.
>Maybe two minutes to think, at maximum.
>The whole container’s dark now, except for a small beam of light.
>Oh, from the hole you made.
>Apart from that, you’re pretty insulated from the rest of the world.
>There was a lot of machinery around, and you remember where most of it was.
>Once you’re on your hands and knees, you can feel your way along the floor.
>It should only be a couple of feet to...
>There!
>You grab onto one of the shoulders of Mr. Rich’s suit, getting a handful of pleat in response.
>Another shuffle forward in the dark, and you’re sitting about parallel with him.
>You try to shake him awake, but he’s beyond out cold.
>How did he get here anyway?
>He must have had some sort of information about human Twilight and where to find her.
>But then why come alone?
>Because it wasn’t good enough to do more than check, just in case?
>Maybe he has some special contacts, or he made a piece of powerful machinery that could figure it out somehow and pointed him here…
>The Dazzlings couldn’t have sent him here, since they didn’t know about this place until just now, so if it weren’t either of those...
>You really don’t want to imagine that he might be working for Sunset all along or something.
>With your guard up, you do a shitty job of rolling up his sleeve, crumpling it around his elbow.
>And, as best as you can, you feel for his pulse.
>It’s not something you’ve really done before, but it should be just below the hand proper.
>Feeling around in the dark...
>It should be--
>Something seizes around your neck, and you squirm backwards involuntarily.
>Your mind reaches for ｢Timbuk Three｣, but it’s not available yet.
>The area flares up with light anyway, the calmer blue light.
>This creature - Midnight Sparkle - looks into your eyes with her own trailing bright mist.
>She looks grimly serious, and you can feel her reaching inside of your mind again.
>You reinforce your barrier with another light, you don’t know which one.
>She snarls, but you don’t give underneath of her.
>By now you can imagine what she’s been hidden away for.
>She’s some kind of battery for Equestrian magic, meant to drain all of your remaining power again.
>So it stands to reason that she can’t just kill you and take your power.
>Therefore…
>You look up at her as she seethes through gritted teeth, focusing on you like a jar that won’t open.
>When you speak, it’s weak, but she’s not blocking your windpipe.
“I’m not going to give you any more of my energy. Since we’re both trapped here, you won’t be able to grow any stronger than you are now, and the portal’s never going to open.”
>As you say it, you see fear flash into her eyes.
>Anger.
>”Impossible!”
>She says, and her eyes flare.
>Her aura lights up more, and while she holds you still she searches your eyes.
>And she sees the truth.
>You’ll let yourself fall apart here, just so that neither Twilight or Sonata can use you.
>Just to spite them, to stop everyone else from having a happy ending!
>Everyone - no, not everyone.
>Not -
>Don’t think about --


>"Now promise me you'll never destroy your future to make me move on from you."

>You promised her.
>Lying at the bedrock of your actions, below the logic you were trying to keep in mind, is Derpy.
>And Midnight sees.
>The whole interior of the container is lit up with a campfire glow, and she seizes on your weakness.
>Peeling back your mind’s defenses, getting to the line of lights.
>The shield’s wearing off!
>You wriggle mentally, flexing at your power.
>And something behind it, something you can finally recognize in the air now that you’re mind’s going into panic mode.
>You can’t be trapped here like a fish out of water while she calmly rips you apart!
>Forcing your way against her only forces her to redouble her effort, and a spike of pain registers in your head.
>｢Timbuk Three｣’s shield fades, leaving behind the vulnerable line of lights.
>Your future, under the scalpel again.
>Tears of frustration run down your face as you bring up your legs and kick her in the stomach.
>She moves!
>You force her backwards a little, and you reinstate the barrier as fast as you can.
>A couple more minutes of protection to think with, to at least hope that something changes from the outside...
>But before you can capitalize on the momentum, she starts floating... upwards.
>You realize that you haven’t thrown her off of yourself at the same time she pulls you up with her.
>For a moment it feels like being pulled onto your feet, and then the ground falls away from them too.
>Your legs kick weakly as she tightens her hold of your neck.
>On instinct, both of your hands shoot up to grip her arm, but she doesn’t respond.
>Your windpipe isn’t going to make it.
>Her eyes are merciless and calculating, her mouth set in a secretarial line.
>”If it breaks, you’ll have to use your Stand to repair it. No more games.”
>And she’s probably right.
>If you focus all of your effort into keeping the barrier up and suppressing your normal abilities, it might work normally, but...
>As soon as it’s deactivated, ｢Timbuk Three｣’s secondary effect will take over again.
>You won’t be able to carve out a happy future - you might not even be able to die until it’s exhausted.
>She’ll gain your power automatically.
>Your vision flickers, and spots appear in the world as her grip tightens.
>It’s a lose-lose situation, and for once it’s not because you’re so unlucky.
>From the very beginning, from the moment when Twilight begged Derpy for help while you were all escaping from Sunset, she planned this.
>For you to be trapped in this room, suffering, with no way to open the door.
>Hell, no way to even convince your executioner to open it.
>But maybe there’s a middle ground...
>Your body goes limp under the pressure, as your brain stops believing that you’re just holding your breath for a little while.
>And with a tremendous crunch, your windpipe shatters.
>She looks almost surprised that it actually happened.
>Then her face hardens and she lets you go.
>Your body falls like a ragdoll, Midnight Sparkle already a distant problem.
>Tread the middle ground, tread the middle ground...
>She’s digging in even now as she floats above you, basking your fading eyesight in her light.
>But if you can hold back your own power without deactivating it...
>If you can choose to disappear, alone, up until you’re too weak to use your Stand at all...
>｢Timbuk Three｣ can’t affect anything if you’re unconscious, which should happen in less than a minute and a half.
>Technically you won’t even be breaking your promise.
>Images of Derpy flash in your mind.
>Like your life, in miniature.
>Your lungs work to pull in air they can’t find.
>Then your vision swims, and it becomes easier to see the snapshots of Derpy chaining together.
>The room takes on a greenish tinge, and you think about her.
>Not only her eyes.
>Anyone could just look at her eyes.
>The swift curve of her bangs and the unending honesty of her lips, never used for deceiving people...
>Her dainty arms and soft fingers with the perfectly curved nails.
>The scant couple of inches you had over her.
>Oh, no, no, the shield is not going to fall apart now!
>The prying fingers grab at the opening as you grab at it yourself.
>You’re not strong enough to put up another barrier.
>But with only a few ringing seconds left, there’s no future to grab!
>The whole field of space is black, now, an empty starless void.
>She cries out in surprise, and something tingles in your neck, sending root-systems of pain running down your chest.
>You can’t move to brush her away, but ignoring her gets the job done faster.
>Just…
>Escape…

>Be Sweetie Belle.
>Apple Bloom?
>Sweetie Belle in Apple Bloom’s body.
>You don’t understand what just happened.
>There was a… a moment where everything was moving really fast, and then it was over and here you are.
>｢Steam Powered Giraffe｣ is floating over you now, and you cry out at how different you feel.
>Completely different clothes, different bones, different random aches and pains.
>Being someone else forever would be the worst sort of nightmare.
>But however this happened, you just have to stop Sonata, and then things will go back to normal!
>Your Stand wants to continue along what it was already doing!
>You shut your eyes and force it along the rest of its trajectory!
>But Sonata’s not there any longer!
>She’s moving towards Anon, who’s still splayed out on the ground.
>The three gems are starting to circle around her, and ghosts are coalescing towards her.
>Even her song’s taken a somber, low note, and stopped concentrating on you except as a dull hum.
>She’s going to open her own portal, just like Twilight said!
>You run after her, expecting to be tripped up by a ghost any second, but they leave you be.
>Apple Bloom, who looks like you now, gets the idea just after you do.
>When you stop, she’s on your heels, and ｢Steam Powered Giraffe｣ is still strong enough to break through and touch her.
>Even if you could jostle her enough to make her attack it back, that would be enough.
>One moment of contact, and you can stop her from being able to touch the gems!
>Right now all three of them are present, Care’s reached his final moments, and you’re not going to let his sacrifice be in vain!
>Twilight and Sunset will both see Equestria!
>｢Steam Powered Giraffe｣ swings for Sonata’s back, into the cloud of ghosts.
>She doesn’t bother to turn around.
>And suddenly the whole thing seems slightly below you.
>Like you’re two feet taller than you’re supposed to be.
>Something’s happening again, the feeling of moving without any of your muscles doing anything!
>Apple Bloom lets out a strangled cry of her own, behind you.
>And then you’re completely outside of your body.
>Your temporary body, at least.
>In fact, you realize, you can still see yourself.
>You’re some kind of floating wisp, growing and darkening.
>Beside you, out of your body comes what you can only guess is Apple Bloom.
>So this is how you transferred between them!
>There must be something to make you forget this, or lose the time somehow.
>That’s the only explanation for Sonata just leisurely walking away like that!
>From your perspective, only the time you spend inside of a physical body counts.
>Does Apple Bloom realize this?
>More importantly, will you be able to figure it out once you switch back?
>Having to think about this could be the time difference between success and failure, but you don’t have a way to store information.
>Unless...
>Both of you cross past each other as you ‘swim’ through the air, and you hope that Apple Bloom’s thinking the same things.
>But then you feel cold.
>Both of you visibly darken as a fully-fledged ghost floats past you.
>For a second you think you’re being attacked, and you draw yourself closer together.
>This only makes you a more concentrated target, but both of you are guppies.
>All you can do is tense up and hope these things don’t shred you by passing through you.
>It passes, barely taking notice of you as it trails past you, and another passes just behind you.
>They have no interest in you - you’re both on the same level as them, somehow.
>But you stay tense.
>No.
>Being noncorporeal, you don’t just have to look ahead of yourself.
>So you can check, to make sure you’re not just being pessimistic, and - no.
>No, they’re swimming lazily towards your bodies.
>Now that you’ve seen what you can do, you try to un-detach yourself from it.
>Find the gas pedal!
>But you just don’t have the strength.
>You haven’t grown enough.
>And no matter how hard you push yourself you move with nightmare sluggishness compared to the gliding vulture-swoops of your two assailants.
>You make your way towards your body, hoping that it’s just a coincidence.
>Maybe it’ll reject being commanded by someone else!
>There has to be something!
>It slips into your skin, into your head, and the glazed-over eyes staring forward suddenly dilate and come back to life.
>Sweetie Belle looks up at you, curiously.
>And then her hand reaches up for your small, cloudlike body.
>You can’t squirm in the air fast enough in any direction to escape it, and the fingers close around you, squeezing you tight.
>You try to expand your vision again, and catch a flicker of Apple Bloom reaching out for the cloud that used to be her.
>It’s like a flickering of old lights in a classroom that everyone sees and no one mentions, something just barely on the edge of reality.
>And then you’re back to staring in the direction of your body, and its riders fingers tighten around you.
>There’s no real pain, but there’s a feeling like your side’s sprung a leak, of losing yourself.
>You squirm as best as you can, but you’re like a slug caught by a child.
>Spiritual mucus dribbles down what’s supposed to be your hand.
>And then, with a final, vicious squeeze, something snaps.
>And you feel yourself vanishing.

>Be Princess Twilight.
>You manage to let go of your power, and push it to the furthest edge of your mind.
>For the most part ｢Midnight Special｣ is an extension of your natural magic, so it’s okay to transfer it to someone else for a little while.
>But you understand what’s going on now, and that you’re not going to get your arrow back out of Anonymous under these circumstances.
>This new Stand, ｢Heart of Nowhere｣...
>Every plan has some last-minute complication.
>You, Twilight Sparkle, have a lot of experience with these situations!
>You run in the direction of the edge of the dome, keeping a wide berth from Anonymous.
>Sonata Dusk is on the other side of you, with Sour Sweet and the Crusaders.
>Things are still relatively complicated, but there are only half a dozen variables to deal with.
>If you can only regain control of the arrow, the portal will be a foregone conclusion.
>Your kingdom will be safe.
>You’ll be able to see Celestia again, and your friends!
>And Sunset...
>Sunset can…
>You keep running, strafing left and right slightly around any nearby ghosts.
>｢Heart of Nowhere｣ is a complex Stand.
>On the surface it seems to work just like ｢Nowhere Man｣, but on a larger scale.
>You would’ve made sure that Anonymous didn’t have a Stand in the first place, if it were your choice.
>But its main threat is actually a form of possession.
>If a person uses their Stand, it removes their soul and lets a ghost take over the empty body.
>The perfect tool for creating an army, designed to protect and defend Anonymous.
>You only know a little about forbidden magic, but it’s a mountain compared to any theory established here.
>And the fact that the Crusaders are still keeping Sonata from opening the portal is a good sign that you’ve got the right idea.
>If you try to use ｢Midnight Special｣, even if you can’t die you’ll still be doomed.
>Once Anonymous goes through the portal - if he even can, now - you’ll dissipate with everything else.
>But now you’re at the car.
>You throw open the back doors, and you see the unconscious forms of both of the Dazzlings.
>Anonymous doesn’t value them, so ｢Heart of Nowhere｣ isn’t protecting them.
>This fact gives you the full picture you need.
>You don’t have the arrow, so you have to do something that made you feel a little unstable the last time you tried it.
>As fast as you can bring yourself to, you rest your fingers against Adagio’s collarbone and press inwards.
>No sooner have you used your own secondary ability than you feel a coldness growing inside of you.
>But this isn’t ｢Midnight Special｣, it’s the raw format, and Anonymous wouldn’t recognize it immediately.
>Your fingers sink in, and you feel the magic inside of her open up to you.
>It’s like nothing you’ve dealt with when it comes to regular magical creatures.
>But the Stand’s the same, just nestled deeper inside.
>You twist at it, and her whole body jerks underneath of you.
>Her eyes shoot open, and you force ｢Gold Guns Girls｣ to activate.
>There!
>From the last time you interacted with the Dazzlings onward, you knew they were likely to turn against each other.
>Even if they were sisters, they weren’t fully creatures of harmony.
>Both of you are glowing green now.
>So they might find themselves constantly coming back to each other, the same way the Stands you make are drawn toward each other, without ever getting along...
>You expected what you did to keep them out of commission, and apparently it made Sonata a different threat from them.
>But Anonymous, and whatever made him go berserk, made things different.
>Now the cold seizes you, and your awareness lifts up and out of your body.
>At the same time, so does Adagio’s.
>A golden glowing orb, intermingling with yours for a moment.
>And then some kind of fundamental gravity overtakes you.
>And you’re laying in the back of the seat with your own face staring back at you.
>Fixed around your next is ｢Gold Guns Girls｣’ creation, a chunky metal collar connecting your real body to the car.
>You scramble up, feeling a special pain in your throat.
>There’s no talking in this form, but you won’t need to stay like this for long.
>｢Midnight Special｣ lingers at the edge of your perception, which is reassuring.
>Adagio’s memory is still hazy, a side effect of your ability.
>You have to hope that she’ll stay disoriented for long enough.
>Now, for Sonata.

>Be Derpy, arriving.
>Your every thought is on Care right now, moreso than usual.
>They can’t have hurt him too badly, just because of how important he must be to them, but if they really did brainwash him...
>You don’t have any earplugs or other ways to resist the song again.
>When they invaded your house you were able to distract them by summoning ｢Spinal Tap｣ out of as many things as possible and controlling where they moved.
>When they remembered they were immortal, this failed, and it didn’t buy enough time for you to escape with everyone.
>”Derpy! Stop!”
>Silver shouts from the seat behind you, and you jolt back to life.
>The closer you get to the shipping containers, the closer you are to some kind of green bubble around the whole thing.
>It’s like the suds from dish detergent, magnified and maybe chemical.
>But you hadn’t noticed it in the increasing red dark of the sky, and you have to mash the brake.
>The tires screech, and your seatbelt tightens.
>There are the thumps of hands reaching out and hitting the backs of seats.
>Trixie doesn’t have a seatbelt herself, but she doesn’t move.
>You’ve parked a few feet from the bubble, just outside of the chainlink fence.
“Alright, everyone, now we’ve just got to get inside.”
>Everyone piles out, and you’re the closest.
>Summoning up ｢Spinal Tap｣ would be foolhardy, but you try to get as close as you can.
>Is this some kind of prison-wall?
>Your hands reaches out for it the translucent snot-green surface, and suddenly you’re standing several feet away.
>Trixie has her arms crossed, and she shakes her head at you.
>Silver’s on her knees destroying a slightly large rock with her Stand.
>It bursts in a fantastic display of blue light.
>”I know that color. Somehow, this is something Anonymous is doing.”
>That’s fair to assume, he did have a connection with the sirens.
>And further inside, you can see silhouettes through a towering mess of darker green.
>After a second the dome ripples, and it -
>Moves outwards!
>The whole thing is expanding!
>It moves out like a tide, faster than you expect, and you jump backwards.
>”｢Abracadabra｣!”
>Then all of you are a little further away, and Care’s car is almost completely absorbed.
>Sunset observes it, quietly.
>Silver lifts up ｢Tin Cup Chalice｣ and steps slightly closer, making your heart pick up.
>”All we should need to disrupt them is a little bit of Stand energy…”
>The rock reappears between the two tiles, and thumps to the ground.
>But the explosion of blue-white energy moves forward in a concentrated burst.
>It hits the bubble, and at the last second you wonder too late if there might be some kind of defense mechanism for it being attacked.
>But it shakes like gelatin at the impact, and suddenly there’s an opening!
>It would be big enough for Silver to crawl through, if it weren’t two feet off the ground.
>Almost immediately it closes up again, maybe a four-second window.
>If you could open it further...
>The bubble ripples again, and all of you back up.
>Wait - the car!
>Trixie moves you backwards anyway.
>And then Care’s car is swept up, while you’re left outside with dirt and pebbles.
>Even the large rock is out of bounds for your group.
>Care’s inside of there somewhere, probably fighting Anonymous one on one.
>If he could hold out until sunset, or make one, you could grab one of the gems back!
>But… that’s too far away, and it’s too much energy, and who would it help?
>You’re not leaving him to fend for himself with these animals!
>You rush forward headlong for the wall!
>No stupid barrier is going to scare you off!
>”Derpy!”
>Silver shouts.
>She’s as worried for you as you’re worried for her.
>But you can’t let that stop you.
>Before Trixie can use her Stand to save you, you hit the wall.
>And something short-circuits inside of you.
>You don’t stop, or pass through, you just - hang there.
>Like a fly in a spiderweb - but so cold.
>You realize that you can’t feel your heart beating any longer.
>You reach out in your mind for ｢Spinal Tap｣, but it falls away from you.
>And then, perversely, you fall away from yourself, moving further into the dome even as your body hangs silently.
>Something’s separating...
>”｢Pink, Act 2｣!”
>Diamond shouts--


>Care’s inside of there somewhere, probably fighting Anonymous one on one.
>If he could hold out until sunset, or make one, you could grab one of the gems back!
>But… that’s too far away, and it’s too much energy, and who would it help?
>You’re not leaving him to fend for himself with these animals!
>You rush forward headlong for the wall!
>No stupid barrier is going to scare you--
>Silver tackles your legs from behind, dropping you to the ground.
>You lose your balance, and flop onto the gravel.
“I have to help him!”
>”I can get us inside!”
>Silver says.
>You look at her, and feel a little embarrassed to see Sunset and Trixie and Diamond all looking back at the two of you.
>”How?”
>Sunset asks, looking curiously between Silver and Diamond for some reason.
>Trixie peers ahead, at the bubble.
>”Trixie could try to open one of the breaks further, but her Stand...”
>Silver nods.
>”It just wouldn’t work. What we need to do is blast it open wide enough for us to all get through.”
>But...
“But there’s nothing here.”
>Even the car is on the inside now.
>You would have to go back downhill and find something large enough for her to use ｢Tin Cup Chalice｣ on, and then bring it back up here.
>Silver nods again, and gets up, dusting herself off.
>”Care left his steering column so that I could recreate his car. He left me something else, too, or I think he did. I was hoping not to have to use it yet, but…”
>She pulls out both of her tiles and sets them on the ground.
>This time they’re facing each other, but they curve slightly outwards, pointing in the direction of the bubble.
>It ripples again.
>You move to pluck her and bring her back.
>”Stand back!”
>Silver says, without turning around, and there’s an absolute authority in her voice.
>Energy gathers in the air.
>Drawing itself in, the bubble washes out again like a predatory thing, ready to swallow her.
>”｢TIN CUP CHALICE｣!”

>Be Scootaloo.
>You’ve been forced to keep a safe distance, and now it’s all falling apart.
>Sour Sweet isn’t looking at you, turning sideways to face Sonata.
>Your two best friends raced after the Siren, but then...
>Something happened.
>Balls of light came out of them for a second time, when they tried to use the Stand.
>It’s some kind of defense tactic Anon’s doing, a way to keep anyone who fights him preoccupied.
>Two ghosts fly into them, and you realize that something’s going wrong too late.
>The balls of light, you hope they’re not what you think they are - get crushed.
>And suddenly so much of ｢Steam Powered Giraffe｣ has just fallen off of a cliff, and you’re left with the one-person version.
>Bloom and Sweetie look at each other, and grin.
>They stretch their muscles out, and look around like they’re scoping for prey.
>And yes, you’re still standing right there.
>As they lock eyes with you, you back away.
>Exit, exit…
>The three of you had a few routes mapped out, zig-zagging paths around the containers that would get you away from trouble as fast as possible.
>Since no one was supposed to have a Stand that could block every possible exit, you didn’t prepare for that.
>The only thing close to that was Care, and your plan had been to surrender to him, at least temporarily.
>You’re the last of the three Crusaders, and this timeline is falling apart.
>Not just for Sunset and Twilight and your friends, but for all the versions of them that might learn from this and do it better... you have to do something!
>And then you see something even worse.
>Adagio Dazzle, still alive, and striding her way over towards her sister.
>You check for Aria just behind her, but there’s no sign.
>The threat’s still doubled.
>If you use your Stand the same thing will probably happen to you as your friends.
>But if you can just touch her...
>You rush towards Adagio, cutting a wide curve around Sour and your former friends.
>Then Sour leaps into action anyway, and ｢Message Man｣ appears between you.
>Shit!
>Of course the ones on his side can still use theirs!
>You try to throw yourself out of the way, and its fist smashes the ground where you just were.
>You try to roll, and the world spins around you dizzyingly, but then something grabs you from both sides.
>Your arms ache as the things pretending to be your friends lift you off of the ground.
>Your feet are still touching it, barely, and you scrabble for some traction as they hold you back.
>In front of you a third ghost is waiting, hovering silently and twisting the view behind it.
>Sonata’s surrounded by a cloud of them now, swirling in different directions along with the gems.
>And then Adagio steps closer.
>The gems pulse, and the tower of ghosts flying out of Anonymous stop for a second.
>And then… swirl together.
>They form a black spot that opens up, blue and crackling, as the gems pulse again.
>Adagio comes up to her sister, but Sonata doesn’t turn around.
>The opening grows wider, threatening to stabilize.
>Suddenly the whole world smells like ozone…
>You struggle with renewed vigor for a moment, but all you do is make your muscles complain.
>Besides… what could you do?
>This is all just a nightmare, a dead-end path.
>Twilight was overambitious, she understood the cost and she didn’t want to pay it.
>Now you can’t even see her.
>The ghosts around Sonata are growing disturbed, but they don’t move to attack.
>Adagio puts a hand through the cloud of them and places it on her sister’s back - no.
>Her fingers - press into the Siren!
>The portal falters for a second, and the gems hang in the air, frozen.
>Everything goes quiet, except for that otherworldly electricity.
>And then you hear a shout from far away, almost on the edge of hearing.
>Everything’s bathed in a bright light, and the ghosts sear and disappear in the air.
>Tattered silhouettes fill the air as the light resolves itself into some sort of shape.
>You can feel the heat of it against your face, and then -
>Darkness, everywhere.
>You need to adjust your vision, but first -
>You struggle to break free from the hold you’re in, and it works.
>They’re as dazed as you are.
>Ahead of you is - a wall.
>You’re in a walled-off chamber, somehow.
>Which means you’re alone with your two friends and Sour Sweet.
>As you look back at them, you see the doors leading on either side of the darkened hallway.
>You realize where you are, finally.
>Somehow, impossibly, you’re inside of the factory once again.

｢To Be Continued｣

Stand: ｢Heart of Nowhere｣
User: Anonymous
Abilities: Summons forth a practically infinite number of ghosts, all of which have the same capabilities as those summoned by ｢Nowhere Man｣, including the hidden ability to disrupt mechanical, biological and psychic processes by touching them. These ghosts act to protect the user and achieve his goals, even without his awareness, and can use their own bodies as a disruptive material. Additionally, anyone who activates a Stand in the presence of ｢Heart of Nowhere｣ becomes a ghost, losing control of their Stand and having their soul removed from their body. Soulless bodies, and corpses in range, can be possessed by any ghost strong enough to enter, although empty bodies exhibit a powerful “magnetism” for the recently deceased.