Siren Call

>Be Sunset Shimmer
>You are walking down the halls of Canterlot High to class when a poster catches your eye
>It was promoting the (now annual) Battle of the Bands and was asking for sign ups
>You were shocked to see a poster for the event
>You hadn't really thought of what happened back then in a long time
>It felt like it was yesterday but it had been nearly a year since you and your friends stopped Sonata, Aria and Adagio
>It's almost too hard to believe
>You like to think you've come a long way since then
>As you were about to sign up you and your friends to participate one of the other bands caught your eye
>The Unknown
>Made up of the brothers Pseudonymous, Incognito and the eldest Anonymous
>The names sounded familiar but you couldn't place them
>As you went about your day you asked some of your classmates if they had heard of the three
>Apparently nobody had
>When lunch rolled around you asked the girls if they had ever heard of them
>They all said they sounded familiar but struggled as they tried to recall the names
>Well, except for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy who were both quiet
>While you expected it of the meek animal lover, the brash jock would normally have something lewd to say when it came to the guys of the school
>What surprised you the most was how even this world's Twilight didn't know the names, considering she had memorized every student from the database before officially starting here
>Before lunch ended the seven of you went to Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna to see what was going on
>When you enquired about the three brothers they had to pull up their own personal databases to find them
>When they finally did you all managed to get a look at their pictures
>Pseudonymous, the tallest of the three, had long shaggy purple hair that looked dried and cracked as if it hadn't been washed in a while as it hung over his eyes, which were even harder to see due to his hoodie
>The blank expression and bags under his eyes spoke volumes about his sleeping habits
>Incognito, the youngest of the three, had a nest of wavy blond hair that went down to his shoulders and was luckily a lot smoother and easier to look at
>Something else that drew your eyes was the vest he wore, not only did it give you full view of the light but certainly visible amount of lean muscle in his arms it also clung to his chest just so that you could
>You derail that train of thought before it could go any further, your mother raised you better than that
>Finally your eyes drifted down to Anonymous, the eldest of the three, and he certainly stood out the most as he was easily the neatest of the three
>With short cut green hair and green eyes it felt like his picture was legitimately looking at you, as you took in the rest of him you saw him wearing a waistcoat over a plain shirt with a pair of trousers
>The feature that stood out the most though was the small question mark tattoo he had on the left side of his neck
>As the day for the beginning of the contest approached though you almost couldn't stop noticing the three
>As you did though you realised why they were so hard to notice
>They were a trio of brothers that had joined not too long ago who, despite their appearances, were very average
>They stuck to the back row during class and only ever got average scores
>It was surprising Pseudonymous was even able to get marks that high considering he was sleeping whenever you saw him, you even saw him fall asleep face first into his food during lunch causing Anonymous to have to save him from suffocating while the other people on their table acted like they weren't even there
>Then there was Incognito who you often saw throwing paper air-planes at people only for those people to practically look through him to blame the person next to him
>It sort of reminded you of how Wall Flower was ignored so much and it made you want to make things right with them like you did for her
>But no matter how hard you tried to try and talk to one of them in class you got interrupted by someone needing your help with some of the work or one of the problems
>Then when you tried to catch one of them after class they always managed to get away before you could say hello and then headed for either a darkened hallways, under the bleachers, or the roof to join the other two
>Despite their aloof nature they had apparently garnered the attention of a lot of the girls in the school over the year, all of which got turned down
>You later learned from Rainbow, that she was one of those girls and ended up getting shot down by Incognito when she made a bet with AJ that she could get his number
>You were shocked you forgot about that considering how she needed a LOT of consoling after that
>She hadn't said anything when you asked because she had wanted to forget about it for a long time
>Though in her defence it was really harsh shoot down, you even heard from a friend of a friend that they saw Anonymous punch Incognito across the jaw for how rude he was
>At least one of them is a decent guy, despite his feminine ways
>What made you all choke on your own shock was when Fluttershy revealed she was dating one of them
>Pseudonymous to be exact, despite his shaggy appearance and fondness for sleeping he was an avid animal lover and often helped at the animal shelter
>Apparently she had tried to introduce you six a few times when you stopped by to visit while he was working
>Now you were really starting to feel like a piece of shit for ignoring them like everyone else did
>One day you finally managed to bump into them and you were able to learn a bit about them
>Incognito acted as you imagined, like a girl with an ego that could overshadow Rainbow's
>Pseudonymous was also as you expected, quiet like Fluttershy but he had a calming presence, rather than shaking like a leaf he seemed to be more in control the quieter it was
>Anonymous was rather shocking though, he would strike Incognito whenever he got particularly brash like it was second nature to him
>He was also very lewd, every other sentence that came out of his mouth could be construed as an innuendo or as something completely innocent
>When they finally departed you were left breathing heavily with a face like a tomato and a lot of new material to work with in the shower
>But nonetheless this was really starting to weird you out
>First you could barely put their names to their faces and now you learn that one of them has been dating one of your best friends for nearly a year
>The day was finally winding down, and as you pondered the new revelations you caught a heavy drumbeat coming from the music room
>When you took a glance through the window you found the three practising for the upcoming Battle of the Bands
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX44CAz-JhU
>As the song went on you found yourself swaying to the song more and more and relaxing more and more
>As the Anonymous' hips swung it brought up his shirt revealing a belt with a red sheen
>You were only just able to snap out of your daze to see that the red sheen wasn't coming from the belt but from the ruby gem that was used as the buckle
>Taking a closer look you saw Incognito and Pseudonymous had identical belts
>Your heart dropped as you looked up to see them all already making eye contact without missing a beat of the song
>As Anonymous shot a wink at you, you bolted to the school's exit, scrambling to bring up your contacts to get the girls together
>"I'M OUT OF MY HEAD OF MY HEART AND MY MIND..."
>But it didn't matter how far you went you still heard their song blaring inside your head as images of them danced through your mind
>"...CAUSE YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE...”
>As you ran through the twisting alleys on your way home you kept getting caught off by one of the brothers with their arms stretched out to you forcing you to backtrack to a different route
>“...I'M GONNA MAKE YOU MINE"
>As your house finally came into view the three all stood outside your door
>As they approached you, you found yourself with your back pressed against a wall
>"OUT OF MY HEAD AND MY HEART AND MY MIND..."
>As the music reached the point where it got loud enough that you thought your eardrums would burst Anonymous started to get uncomfortably close
>As his hands cupped your cheek you clenched your eyes shut as his lips closed in on yours
>"...cause I can feel how your flesh now is crying out for more"
>As the music ceased and the softer words hit your ears you eyes snapped open to see Anonymous, his face still inches from yours
>As he shot you a wink he and his brothers vanished into a puff of smoke
>You started gulping down air as you tried to still your racing heart
>Drenched in sweat you scanned up and down your street to catch any sign of them
>When you found none you stumbled into your home on weak knees
>Collapsing on your couch you checked your phone to see when the girls would get there
>You were shocked to see that whilst you had contacted the girls you hadn't told them about anything you saw, you just went back and forth on a normal conversation
>You felt your hands start to tremble as you tried and failed to recall ever even sending these messages
>You recalled the look on Anonymous' face and felt your face start to flush and your eyes start to water as the reality of who and what they were and what they're capable of came crashing down on you
>You went to sleep not knowing what was gonna happen next and that frightened you

>Be Anonymous
>You and your brothers came out of the spell you just cast to screw with that Shimmer girl
>“What the fuck was that Anon?”
>As the sound of your brother's voice already ground your patience down to next to nothing you turn to him
“What's the problem this time Incog?”
>Turning to your blond brother he had crossed his arms at you
>“My problem is all of that, we were this close to getting that girl and you let her go”
>You smacked your hand against your forehead at your younger brother's stupidity
“Did you really not watch the video of when our sisters got beaten?”
>He glares at you as if you just insulted his mother, of course he's too stupid to realise that if you did that you'd be insulting your mother too
>”Of course I watched the damn video, you wouldn't stop going on about it, that bacon haired bitch fucked over the girls' plans, so why didn't we corrupt her now before she does the same to us”
>“Because she's an Equestrian, not just any Equestrian at that, but a former pupil of the Alicorn Celestia, because of this she has a passive defence against our magic that is far superior to anything any human or any pony would normally have”
>Turning your head you see Pseudo hiding underneath his hoodie tapping away at his phone
>“So what's that mean, we're fucked no matter what and this was Anon's attempt at trying to get in her pants or something?”
“No dipshit it means that this has helped us wear down those defences, the next time we hit her with our magic she'll be at our mercy like any other human”
>You watch Incog putting the 3 piece puzzle together in his head at a painfully slow pace
>You breathe a sigh of relief as his mouth forms an 'O' as a look of realisation crosses his face
>That look is replace by a glare as the pinging of Pseudo's phone clearly starts to get to him
>“Pseudo would you please stop texting that pink haired bimbo already, it's pissing me off”
>“It's not my fault that you're jealous that you can't get a girlfriend”
>“Oh please I can get any girl I like, mares were throwing themselves at my rocks back in Equestria”
>“Yep and your 'rocks' have gotten HOW many girls since we came here”
>You failed to stifle a laugh as Incog opened and closed his mouth as he tried to find a decent retort causing him to turn to you
>“What are you laughing at Anon? Isn't this the part where you tell me off for how 'I bwoke that wittle itty bitty Dashie's heawt'?
>The glare you shoot at him stops him from making any further comment
“How many times do I have to go over this with you before it sticks in your thick skull? You. Left. An. Impression. I couldn't care less that you broke her heart, she's aware of us, this is supposed to be a covert op remember, we had to use up all the magic we had gathered up to that point to make everyone forget us again, but because of you the impression was too deep on her and she remembered us”
>“But you're fine with leaving an impression on that Shimmer girl?”
“We're close enough to the Battle of the Bands and powerful enough that it doesn't matter, if that Rainbow girl had spread the impression to others before now we'd be in the same situation as Adagio, Aria and Sonata”
>The two of them drop their heads at the mention of your lost sisters
>You had all thought they were gone for good
>You were fine as you were until out of nowhere you see that Starswirl bastard still walking
>If he was still around then they had to be somewhere too right?
>The three of you went through more royal guard fleets than ever before and finally found a clue in the mention of a magic mirror locked away in the castle of a new princess
>A simple size change spell made it easy to sneak in, and while getting used to these new forms was difficult the magic stored up from those guard mares made it easy to cast a spell of ignorance around the entire town
>Taking a deep breath you get the others' attention
“Listen you two I know you miss them, but we need to stay focused, we're 10x stronger than they were at the peak of the battle and we're only gonna get stronger, and with that Fluttershy girl under Pseudo's spell we're guaranteed domination of those seven, then this world will be putty in our hands”
>“Then they'll come running to us and the six of us can kill that decrepit unicorn”
>For once you're alright with Incog cutting you off
“Exactly, and I can already feel that Shimmer girl and her defences eroding, so let's wrap it up here and head home”
>“I want sushi”
“You know I'm surprised at how fucked up you really are Pseudo”
>With a grunt and a shrug he makes his way out the school with the two of you following after

>Be Sunset Shimmer
>You wake up feeling sore and even more exhausted than when you fell asleep
>As you fully come to you start to recall what happened last night
>As images of Anonymous, Incognito and Pseudonymous flash through your head you bolt upright
>Quickly searching through your house you find your phone and start texting the girls
>As you spot last night's conversation you choose to simply let them know you need to speak with them all
>You go about your usual morning routine in preparation for school
>Grabbing your journal to Princess Twilight you slip it in your bag just in case
>The walk to school is plagued with images from last night and countless questions
>Why are they here?
>What do they want?
>Who are they?
>How much power do they have?
>Have they really only been here for a year?
>Each question only leads to more questions and no answers
>As you feel like your brain's about to blow a fuse the sound of footsteps besides you snaps you out of your conundrum
>Looking to the side you tense up as you're faced with Anonymous walking besides you
>Despite his relaxed posture you can see the smirk tugging at the corner of his lips
>For what feels like forever you walk side by side in tense silence
>Seeing him brings all the questions you had and more to the forefront of your mind
>But no matter how hard you try you can't bring yourself to so much as speak
>You're not sure whether its because of your exhaustion or fear of what he did last night, but Anonymous seems perfectly comfortable with the situation
>Finally steadying yourself you step in front of him and stop him in his tracks
>“Um excuse me, I'm trying to get to school”
>You grit your teeth as his nonchalant tone only irks you further
“What do you want?”
>He raises an eyebrow at your question before shrugging his shoulders “I just wanna get to school and get a good education”
>He'd be convincing if he didn't double over with laughter before he even finished his sentence as he walked around you
>Feeling your previous fear being replace with irritation you run after him again
>Grabbing him by the shoulder you spin him around to face you
“Don't play dumb with me Anonymous, I know exactly what you are”
>“You do, and what would that be?”
“You're a Siren, you and your brothers”
>Anonymous raises his hand to his chin and puts on a ponderous look “Whilst that's certainly an interesting theory I can't help but wonder what your proof is”
“My proof is right there”
>You emphasise your statement by pointing a finger at his belt buckle where the all too familiar gem still resides
>Sadly you only realise your mistake when you hear some girls nearby wolf whistling at the two of you
>Quickly retracting your finger you take a step back as you realise how this must look
>Guys will think you're some perv if you stayed like that
>You take another step back as you spot a predatory grin spread across Anonymous' face as he takes a step towards you
>“Why Sunset I am flattered by your forwardness but I must insist you leave such actions until we get a little... closer”
>You feel the cold metal of a street lamp bump against your back as the last word rolls off his tongue
>You're not helped as images flash through your mind at Anonymous' words and the passing comments made by people as they pass by the both of you
>Quickly shaking yourself out of your daze you shove him backwards and this time point at his face
“Don't try anything creep, I know what you are and me and my friends are going to stop you just like the last time your kind tried to take over the world”
>You feel a surge of confidence as you see a brief look of worry flash across his face, sadly that confidence is dampened as he starts to chuckle to himself
“What's so funny?”
>“You? You and your friends are going to beat us?”
>Crossing your arms over your chest and standing your ground you give him a firm nod
>You shoot him a glare as he continues to chuckle to himself
>As you open your mouth to interrogate him further he holds up a hand as he slowly brings his laughter under control
>“Sorry about that, really no, it- it honestly isn't all that funny when you think about it”
>You quirk an eyebrow at this but remain silent to see what he has to say
>“I mean its just, there's the three of us against what? You, the former pupil of the most politically powerful pony in all Equestria who got banished by her own teacher” ok that actually hurt a little but you refuse to let it show
>“Then there's that blue chick with a crush on Incog, the diva, the hick, that pink one who's probably on drugs and who else? It's on the tip of my tongue”
>You don't even try to hide the dirty look you're shooting him for those comments “oh that's right, Fluttershy's her name right?”
>Hearing Fluttershy's name drags you back to reality as you recall what she told you yesterday
>She's been dating one of these Sirens for who knows how long
>You rush to school, but not before shoulder checking Anonymous as hard as you can
>Despite running all the way there you only just make it as the bell rings
>You want to look for Fluttershy now but you might only just end up getting in trouble, then it'd take even longer to get to her
>Swallowing your growing worry you make your way to your first class
>Hopefully lunch will come quick as you don't have any classes with her today
>You're able to calm yourself as you remember she'll be with Rainbow all day at least
>Finally settling down in your seat you begin taking notes until you feel someone tap your shoulder
>Looking to the side you see one of your classmates holding a note out to you
>As discreetly as you can you grab the note without the teacher noticing
>When you get the chance you unfold it to see what's on it
>Your eyes widen a little as you read 'Clock's ticking, each second makes the spell harder to break'
>Spinning your head to the back of the room you spot no sign of Anonymous
>Feeling a tap on your shoulder you turn to the student again
>You nearly fall out of your seat as you realise it's the blonde and brash Incognito
>“Hiya Red, hope I didn't startle you too much, it's just that Anon insisted I give you that personally. You understand right?”
>You feel a shiver go up your spine as his smirk spreads from ear to ear
>Suddenly feeling a sting run through your palm you drop the note
>Clutching your hand you see that you ended up clenching your fist so hard that not only did you turn your knuckles white but you pierced your skin
>Your nostrils flare as you get ready to shout at the young Siren
>As you turn to give him a verbal beating you're thrown off by a paper plane hitting you between the eyes
>Flinching at the contact you rub the area
>Before you're able to compose yourself you are pelted with at least half a dozen paper balls and planes
“WOULD YOU CUT THAT OUT!”
>The room goes silent as everyone turns to you
>“Miss Shimmer is there something you'd like to share with the class?”
“I- well I- I mean Incognito was distracting me miss”
>As the teacher turns her glare to Incognito you feel a bit of hope well up in you, it won't be much but maybe getting him in detention will make it harder for the three to coordinate
>You're shocked as you realise the teacher's eyes have become unfocused, staring right through where Incognito is
>As she turns back to you her eyes refocus and her strictness with it
>“Miss Shimmer, I do not appreciate you trying to place blame on other students, now apologise to Incognito”
“What?! Miss you can't be serious”
>“I am very serious young lady, now apologise, or do I need to put you in detention?”
>You open and close your mouth several times before sighing in defeat and muttering a half hearted apology to him which causes him to burst into a smug smirk that makes you want to beat him, the fact he's a guy be damned
>”I also see my lesson is clearly boring you, I hope you were able to entertain yourself with all the paper planes you chose to build, now throw those in the trash and be quiet for the rest of the class”
>You feel yourself starting to shake with anger
>Shooting a glare at Incognito you see his belt glowing
>Taking a deep breath you collect the trash and throw it away before you get in any more trouble
>As the class goes on you're hit by paper plane after paper plane
>Each time you try to retaliate you're given a warning by your teacher
>You even get blamed by one of your classmates after they get hit by one of the planes you avoided
>Thankfully your other classes aren't nearly as bad
>Whilst Anonymous does shoot you several knowing smirks he remains silent
>Weirdly enough he offers to be your partner for one of the lesson's group projects
>You accept, much to your own chagrin and the annoyance of the other girls in the class
>At least like this you can keep an eye on him
>Lunch finally comes around and you breathe a sigh of relief as you're able to find a relatively secluded table to have lunch and talk with your friends

>You loved lunch time
>The hustle and bustle of the classroom went away and the hustle and bustle of the lunch room replaced it
>Alright so maybe it isn't that big of an improvement
>But at least you won't be put on the spot, where everyone can see you fail
>You also get to be with your friends
>Both your animal ones and the girls
>That reminds you, you'll need to ask the lunch lady for an extra salad for Angel Bunny
>All this leads you to conclude that you must be Fluttershy
>As you thank the lunch lady for helping you feed your pets again you look around for the girls
>“You see them anywhere Shy?”
>You let out a small grunt and brace yourself so that you don't drop your tray as Rainbow slings her arm and weight around your shoulders
“Ummmm- oh yes I think I see Sunset waving to us”
>“Wow what's she doing over there? Must be something really important, hey you don't think it's some awesome super monster from Equestria do you, I sure hope it is”
“Oh um, I hope not”
>Sadly the vague text you got from Sunset this morning tells you otherwise
>Whilst you're thankful for your friends, they do have a tendency to get wrapped up in life threatening situation, and sadly you normally have to go along with them
>Not that you'd ever abandon them, but is a breather every now and then too much to ask for?
>As Rainbow rushes ahead of you to greet the others you take a deep breath before you follow behind
>Sitting between Rainbow and Rarity you bring your bag to rest on your lap, unzip it and slip the extra salad inside
>Hearing the familiar crunch of lettuce and happy chirps you start to tuck into your own lunch
>“Alright Sunset hit us, what's the problem this time, a time travelling warlock, a monster from beyond the stars?”
>You can't help but tighten your grip on your fork as Rainbow lists off a number of possible monstrosities
>You wish the girls had acknowledged Pseudo by now, you think they'd get along great
>Its not like you want him around so that he could hug you and calm you down by telling you everything would be ok whenever Rainbow went on one of her rants
>Definitely not, you're a woman after all, like Rainbow always says women don't get scared
>You're just trembling with excitement at the prospect of facing more planet threatening monsters
>Yep, that's definitely excitement
>You're just gonna give Angel a hug to make sure he's ok
>“Sorry Rainbow but we're not dealing with anything like that, its actually an old foe, so to speak”
>Oh thank mother nature
>Breathing a sigh of relief you relax your grip on Angel Bunny
>Luckily you were able to restrain yourself from restricting his airways this time
>You still haven't really forgiven yourself for that
>You actually feel a little bit of confidence after hearing that
>If you've beaten it before then you can beat it again
>“So that leaves what, two options? Either someone's been possessed by a boatload of Equestrian magic again or the Sirens are back”
>You see Twilight perk up at this out of the corner of your eye
>“Sirens? You girls know those aren't real right? They're just an old greek myth”
>“Well I doubt you believed in magic before you came to our school am I right?”
>You see Twilight's face flush in embarrassment at the mention of her first time at the school
>“Well I mean come on? Fish creatures that use their voices to lure wary sailors into jagged rocks, really?”
>You decide that you may as well contribute, the girls are always trying to encourage you to do so after all
“Well basically yes, but rather than 'luring sailors into jagged rocks' they actually just used their voices to turn the students into violent thugs and drained the negative energy and turned it into magical power that they then used to create a magical construct of their true Siren forms to try and defeat us”
>You can almost see the loading bar as Twilight tries to process what you just said
>When it finally clicks she leans so far back that Sunset has to grab her before she slips off her seat
>Turning to Sunset, Twilight rubs her hands nervously together as her eyes dart around the room “Wow, that- that sounds terrifying, but um you guys defeated them right? They're gone?”
>“Well, I mean sure and they had these necklaces they used as conduits which we shattered so they can't use their magic again but... we kind of... sort of... don't know where they are”
>As her voice trails off Sunset give a nervous chuckle as Twilight's eyes turn to pinpricks
>You can feel everyone start to worry as you remember the days and weeks you spent trying to find a lead on them and coming up empty handed
>You even spot Rainbow Dash shoot a glance over her shoulder, even if she just plays it off as trying to look at boys
>*PING*
>You're startled a bit as your phone goes off
>Grabbing it you see you've gotten a message from Pseudo
>-“Hey babe, how's your day been so far? No one's given you trouble right?”-
>You can't help but blush at the message, he was always worried about you
>Normally your meekness put guys off but he always says he loves it
-“Don't worry, I'm fine Pseudo, just having lunch with the girls. What about you?”-
>-“Same but with my brothers, sadly, I swear one of these days I'm gonna throw Incog off this roof”-
>He always did have a more feminine sense of dark humour
-“Come on honey is he really that bad?”-
>“flutter-”
>-“We're talking about the same Incog right? Pretty sure I've introduced you, blond, short, total twat?”-
>You can't help but giggle at that, it took a while but you've really warmed up to his blunter way of speaking
>None of that guy mind game nonsense
>“-shy!?”
-“He's a bit... brash sure, but he is your brother”-
>“fluttershy?”
>-“Yeah sure, whatever I guess. But enough about him, same time at the shelter today?”-
>He always did know mentioning your animals helped make a bad day better
-“Of course, oh and a friend of mine is coming to help as well, I bet you'll love them”-
>-“This isn't another one of your attempts to make me get along with your brother is it-
>“FLUTTERSHY!?”
>You let out a shriek as your attention is brought up to the very loud Rainbow Dash in front of you
>Being startled like that caused your phone to slip out of your hand
>“Shy what's going on, we've been trying to get your attention for 5 minutes”
>5 minutes? That's concerning to say the least, you shrink into yourself as much as you can as you mutter a few dozen apologise
>You're quickly stopped by Sunset who works to put you at ease “Hey hey it's ok Fluttershy but this is really important, you probably need to hear this more than anyone”
>Taking a few calming breaths you straighten yourself and give her a nod to continue
>“Ok I know this is gonna sound crazy but, while we are dealing with Sirens, it isn't Sonata, Aria or Adagio. It's actually three guy Sirens this time, and it's, well it's the Unknown brothers”
>Your grip tightens at that so much that you end up snapping your fork
>You must have misheard her
>“Anonymous...”
>no no no
>“Incognito...”
>“That punk.” Rainbow slams her fist into the table at the mention of his name “No wonder he shot me down he's probably into some weird horse or fish anatomy”
>“...and, I'm sorry Fluttershy but Pseudo's one too, there's no doubt that-”
“NO!”
>The lunch room goes silent as all eyes turn to face you
>Clasping your hands over your mouth you try to shrink into your seat
>Was that really you?
>Having walked to your side of the table, you feel Sunset's hand on your shoulder as she brings you into a small hug
>“I'm really, really sorry Fluttershy but I hope you know I wouldn't say this if I didn't have proof”
>This can't be happening to you
>“Look Fluttershy this sucks for you, I get it, but we gotta bust some skulls before they try what the other three did, let's go”
>“Now hold on just a minute you three”
>You all turn to see Rarity shooting Rainbow a glare as she trying to process this
>“Whilst I can understand the gung-ho attitude of defeating another trio of song writing ruffians need I remind you we have nothing to go on? You act as though you're familiar with the three when we've not seen hide or head of them”
>You don't know if your heart can take so many shocks
>Not noticing Pseudo was one thing but this is something else
>Something that makes you feel a pit grow in your stomach
>Finally finding your voice again you speak up
“Rarity we- we talked about the three the other day, we went to Celestia and Luna and I even told you all about how I've been dating Pseudo for nearly a year now”
>You gulp as you see their eyes start to glaze over at that
“Sorry if I didn't say it loud enough the first time”
>As soon as it appeared the glazed look lifts from the other 4 and they all seemed to flush with embarrassment
>“Oh my I- I seem to have made a severe lapse, apologies I don't know what came over me”
>“Same here, sure the farm work's been picking up but I normally gotta memory like an elephant”
>“Me three if you told me you had a boyfriend for nearly a year I would've written down a party plans for your anniversary” Pinkie then proceeds to drag a number of cakes, crates of gunpowder and confetti, and her signature cannon out of her hair, until finally grabbing a notebook and flipping through it “Huh what do you know? I did! Wait that's a bad thing, why would I forget that?”
>“That's a very good question Pinkie.” Twilight puts on her serious face as you can see her going over everything “Fluttershy, you said that the other Sirens were able to use negative energy to make magical power to cast spells?”
>Whilst you're not entirely sure on the specifics you give her a confirming nod
>“Sunset, you also said that they had magical conduits for the spells?”
>Turning to Sunset, Twilight quirks an eyebrow
>“Um well, at my best guess yeah that's what they were”
>“Well what if they came through the portal with a store of magical energy beforehand and have been using it to make people forget them? After all it could be possible they learnt from the previous Sirens' attempt right?”
>Wow, you almost wonder if this is actually the Equestrian Twilight
>But then again she did spend a lot of time studying the magic energy coming from your school so it isn't that surprising
>“That's what I reckon, like today for example, Incognito was pelting me with these annoying god damn little paper air planes all first class”
>You lean away from Sunset a bit as her voice slowly rises and her hair gets a bit frizzy
>Noticing the looks you're all giving her she sighs and fixes her hair
>“Sorry, it's just- the whole lesson I couldn't do anything cause he was using his damn magic to make people ignore him and blame me, I was worried people were gonna think I was becoming a bully again”
>You feel a pang in your heart at that, this isn't the first time Sunset has consoled this in the six of you
>You all have tried to put her fears to rest but they're very persistent
>“But enough of that, cause I know what their conduit is, it's their belt buckles, same colour, same shape, same everything as those necklaces, we get those, we stop them in their tracks”
>“Taking a guy's belt? I'd be in even if the world wasn't in danger”
>You feel a bit embarrassed laughing at another of Rainbow's jokes
>Though you can't help but feel your heart drop as you go over your memories of Pseudo
>You've seen that belt all the time and you're only just realising that Sunset's right about the design
>That rabbit hole leads to a lot of questions about your relationship with him
>Stealing a glance at your phone you notice it go off and decide to put it away for now
>You need some time to think about all of this
>“Fluttershy, I hate to put this on you but can you set us up to meet with Pseudonymous?”
“Wait what?”
>You may need to think about all of this quickly

>Be Pseudonymous
>But right now you really wish you weren't
>Your day had been going so well
>Your lessons didn't have your brothers in them
>Your lunch break let you talk to your girlfriend
>Then it started going downhill
>First off your girlfriend cut off your conversation half way through it
>Which wasn't uncommon, she had friends and it wasn't the first time she had to abruptly end one of your chats for their antics
>Sadly it left you to the torment that was being in the presence of your younger brother Incognito
>Then it just snowballed from there
>The rest of the lessons came and you were unsettled to say the least
>Incognito had gotten even more wasteful of his magic energy ever since Anon basically gave the go ahead to leave impressions the other day
>What's worse is that he's spreading his magic too thin
>Usually he'd do a prank every other day and people would forget it ever happened
>Now he's pulling pranks every lesson and the magic is starting to wane
>People are starting to notice the three of you
>Like actual noticing
>It's become like butter over too much bread
>If he isn't careful he's not gonna have enough magic for when it counts
>Sure the majority of your magic came straight from Equestria with you so he should be good
>Or rather he should have been
>If he keeps up this pace he'll be scrounging off you and Anon for magic in a week
>You've tried talking to him but he's far too carefree to give it any concern
>You even tried bringing it up with Anonymous but he was dismissing you
>For the first time in his life he's unfocused which is definitely not good for your operation
>You aren't sure whether the prospect of being so close to reuniting with your sisters is what's causing it or if he's second guessing his thoughts on those girls but you hope he snaps out of it soon
>You've picked up some of his leadership skills from watching him over the years sure, but those are more bluffs than anything
>When things are calm you can put on a confident face, give decent advice, but when pressure sets in your brain scrambles, and right now you're feeling more pressure than ever
>But for now you can alleviate that pressure
>Sure maybe not much, and maybe not for long, but it's the only thing that can
>The animal shelter
>One of the best things in this strange world
>It always confused you how your brothers were unable to find anything good in this place
>You snap out of your reverie as you hear your brothers say their goodbyes and split off to do their usual routine
>Taking all the twists and turns almost by instinct you soon find yourself at your destination
>As you open the door the familiar jingle of the bell followed by the calls of the animals as they see you fill your ears
>You feel a small smile start to spread across your face as you already begin to forget today's irritations
>You go to check the stock room when you're met with a peculiar sight
>A woman, no older than you, with pink dreadlocks is sitting amongst the animals feeding them
>Fantastic another over feeder
“Um excuse me miss, customers aren't allowed to feed the animals”
>She lifts her head to look at you as she continues stroking one of the dogs
>“Awww come on man, these little dudes are hungry, I'm not gonna starve them”
>Taking a deep breath you pinch the bridge of your nose before exhaling deeply
“They're not hungry, they're smart, they know humans find them cute, so they use that to get you to feed them, they constantly try that with me and Flutters”
>“Flutters?”
>Crap you forgot she doesn't like other people hearing your nicknames for each other
“Me and Fluttershy I mean, she's the girl who practically runs this shelter, the one who owns it just provides her with the funding for it”
>A look of realisation flashes across her face as she pushes the animals away gently and brushes herself off
>“Oh, you must be Pseudonymous, Fluttershy told me all about you, I'm Fluttershy's friend Tree Hugger, and I'm here to help you two out”
>Oh so this is the friend Fluttershy was talking about
>Thank god it wasn't her brother
>That guy just put you off in ways you can't explain
>Reaching out a hand you give her a handshake as you introduce yourself
“Yeah, I'm Pseudo, wasn't expecting you when Fluttershy said she had a friend that was coming to help.”
>Straightening out your clothes you lead her into the stock room to give her a run down on the basics of how the two of you run the shelter
>She has a lot of, interesting suggestions to put it lightly, when you mention things like how much time you allow for the animals to be let out of their cages and how much food you allow them each day
>By the time you're done explaining to her everything you're back into the usual swing of things
>You go about your day as usual, feeding each animal their due, checking the baby animals are healthy and playing with the particularly feisty ones
>You thank your Siren physiology for that last one
>As you're starting to relax in one of the pens to keep the animals sociable and responsive to human company you hear a jingle at the door
>Looking up you can't help but smile as Fluttershy walks through the door
>Pale skin, fine hair, how she wasn't snatched up before you got here you'll never know
>Not that you're complaining
>As you get up, much to the disappointment of one of the puppies you were tending to, you give her a wave as you head over to her
>Embracing her you bury your head in her hair taking in the scent of strawberries just slightly
>Whilst she does return the embrace it's unnaturally stiff
>Like, the first time you hugged her stiff
>Whilst her damn female pride won't let her admit it this is a tell-tale sign that something's wrong
>Honestly you blame that Rainbow girl for encouraging this kind of behaviour
>In an attempt to comfort her you grip her arms lightly as you give her forehead a kiss
>You feel her shiver at this, and it's not the good kind of shiver
>Bringing a finger to her chin you force her to look at you
“Fluttershy what's wrong?”
>You try to not let your own worry leak into your voice, that'd just make it worse
>She actually resists you slightly but after caressing her cheek and a bit more encouragement she finally meets her eyes
>What you see fills you with shock, sadness and a lot of anger
>Fluttershy has tears streaming down her face
>“Pseudo I- I'm sorry but they- I just- and I didn't-”
>Quickly shushing her you pull her to your chest again and try to calm her down
>Luckily this time you're a lot more successful
“Deep breaths Flutters, what's going on? You know you can tell me”
>Pushing herself off her chest she looks at you and, steadying herself she indicates towards the still open door
>Standing there are her usual crowd of friends, and they all look very angry, Sunset Shimmer more so than the others
>Oh shit they can see you now can't they?
>“You're damn right we can Grimace”
>Did you say that out loud?
>Also who or what is a Grimace?
>Stepping forward, Sunset places herself between you and Fluttershy while the others pull her even further away
>With arms crossed over her chest she lets out a snort
>This girl could give a cockatrice a run for its money with the death stare she's shooting your way
>Not that you can blame her
>I mean sure it was necessary for the plan, and it was a little funny but it was mostly mean
>You snap out of your little flashback as she clears her throat
>“Pseudonymous I presume”
“Ummmmm no? I'm... I'm Incognito, if you want to beat the shit out of Pseudo he's the blond one, he's normally at the park at this time of day if you hurry you might still be able to catch him”
>As you spout nonsense you try to slowly back away towards the back door
>Sadly your plan is stopped in its tracks as Sunset grabs your shirt before you take your third step
>Tugging you forward she tries to put you at her eye level
>Sadly you have to lean down about 70 odd degrees just to come to her brow level
>“Don't lie to me you bastard there's no way I'd forget your face after the other night”
>Well you can't blame a guy for trying
>“Sunset please you don't have to be so forceful, he's very gentle”
>“Fluttershy, you didn't see what he and his brothers did then he's just as bad as them and he's just as bad as the other three”
>You can't help but shoot her a glare for talking about your brother's so dismissively
>You even end up letting out a growl when she mentions your sisters
>You must have been angrier than you thought as her grip falters slightly
>Quickly reasserting herself she tightens her grip so that it's slightly more difficult to breathe
>No one seems to really object, though you can see Fluttershy is struggling internally
>“What are we waiting for? Let's just clobber this guy already”
>Letting out an indignant puff at the Rainbow haired brute you begin to wonder why Incog didn't get with her, they have so much in common, like how you get annoyed just looking at them
>“What are you puffing at big, purple and ugly?”
“The fact that the one who got shot down so hilariously is the one who tries to incite my beating”
>Her eyes turn to pinpricks at that and her friends pre-emptively hold her back
>“You prick I ought to turn you into fish sticks”
>“Girls please, there's no need for violence, can't we just sit down and talk?”
>“Talk, and let him use his magic? I don't think so, we'll get him to spill whatever he's doing and then we can fix it”
>You almost fail to catch that as most of your attention is directed to the shaking leaf that is your girlfriend
>Turning back to your sort of captor you speak up redirecting her attention to you
“I'm sorry, but spill what exactly?”
>Apparently you've done something to frustrate her as you see her face literally go red
>“Everything! I want you to stop fooling Fluttershy and admit to her what you are and what you've been doing”
>Shooting a glance at Fluttershy you raise an eyebrow at her in hopes she'll clarify
>Seemingly getting the message she detaches herself from her friends and step towards you
>“Pseudo... honey, I've um I've heard that you're- well that you're- Sunset thinks that ummm”
>Shooting her a small grin you give her a nod to try and encourage her
>Taking a steadying breath she speaks up again
>“Are you a Siren?”
>There it is
“Yeah, I am”
>“Don't listen to him Fluttershy he's ly- wait wh- what?”
“I said I'm a Siren, is that really what this was all about?”
>As you look at each of them they all seem to rebooting their brains at your nonchalance
>Sunset is so shocked she completely releases her grip
>“No but I- but you, you're supposed to- normally villains- wait what?”
>As she mumbles to herself Fluttershy steps forward taking your hand in hers
>At least she isn't as stiff now
>“Pseudo, honestly, why didn't you tell me?”
“I didn't really think it mattered, it didn't change the fact that I love you”
>She and Tree Hugger let out an awwww at that
>As she embraces you, you gladly return it
>As Fluttershy basically clings to you, you feel a tap on your shoulder
>Looking to the side you see Tree Hugger leaning over one of the shelves towards you
>“Dude are you like, really a Siren? Like fish guy Siren?”
>You can't help but giggle at how relaxed this girl is
“Yes, yes I did”
>“Righteous, so can you like, speak to fish?”
>Before you're able to correct that damned stereotype you see the others start to come to their senses
>Just as they all come back to reality, Rainbow is the first to speak up, unfortunately
>“Whoa whoa wait, he's a Siren Fluttershy, you know what they do”
“What exactly have we been doing that's made you all do this in the first place?”
>For the first time the white one speaks up, you think her name is Rarity
>“You three have been most uncouth, not only have you been cooking up whatever nefarious scheme you're making, but you've also been making everyone in the school and town forget about you for nearly a year and you broke poor Rainbow Dash's heart”
>The blue one moves so fast to cover Rarity's mouth that you don't even see her legs move
>“Not cool Rares, seriously”
>Rolling your eyes you clear your throat before they begin bickering
“Just to clear up a few things, we're not doing anything 'nefarious', the whole forget thing is necessary, and the rainbow girl is Incognito's problem”
>“I'm calling hogwash, ya'll can't honestly look me in the eyes and say that making people forget ya and nefairity don't go hand in hand”
“That's exactly what I'm saying”
>As you speak she locks eyes with you, it's sort of creepy
>“Well I'll be damned, he ain't lyin'”
>Sunset finally finds her voice again and speaks up
>“Oh come on girls! You can't actually be falling for this? He's clearly using his magic or something, I'll- Ill prove it”
>Barging forward she pushes Fluttershy aside and grasps hold of your wrists
>You feel as if you're falling asleep
>Suddenly memories start filling your head
>The lonely nights calling to your sisters
>Seeing that bastard Starswirl walking around
>The dozens of ships you went through to learn about the mirror
>Coming up with the plan
>Learning about the new world
>Using your magic a handful of times to cover Incognito's sloppy work
>Fluttershy
>Like, a lot of Fluttershy
>Then, nearly as soon as it began you snap awake and yank yourself free
>Panting heavily you grip your wrist as you look the girl up and down
>You suppose you really shouldn't be surprised the ex-student of Celestia would still have so much power, even here
>However you spot the actual culprit soon enough, a glowing gemstone on her necklace
>Interesting, how long has Equestrian magic been leaking into this world to create crystallised mana pools?
>Shaking your head you decide to leave that thought for another day as Sunset processes what she just saw
>“I- I don't get it, I saw you and I saw your brothers but you were just-”
“Just living student lives? Yeah”
>As she seems to have an internal argument her head quickly snaps up
>“No wait, I saw- I saw Starswirl? But how would he? A- And you calling to your sisters what is going on in Equestria?”
>This interrogation shtick is starting to grate on your nerves
“Alright yes we're looking for our sisters, I believe you're already familiar with them? They were banished here a thousand years ago by Starswirl, and I'm just as confused as you are but somehow he's back, so we decided they had to be around too. We searched, found a lead that led us here, and so now we're just trying to get them back, and yes maybe kill that decrepit bastard that did all this in the first place when we do”
>They all are left stock stiff after your explanation
>After taking a few deep breaths you sigh and bury your head in your hands and rub your tired eyes
“Please tell me that answers your questions so you can leave?”
>The purple one, Twilight something or other speaks up as she walks towards you
>“Actually no, but that doesn't matter because we're not leaving, certainly not without Fluttershy, who's to say you haven't put some spell on her?”
>Her tone takes an odd tone as she looks you up and down then looks up at the ceiling before twiddling her thumbs
>“Of course without that magical conduit we could be convinced that you aren't a threat, I don't suppose you'd be willing to trust it with an academic?”
>Despite her sweet tone and large grin you just take a hold of your belt buckle and growl at her, causing her to step back
>“Actually no, I wouldn't”
>Letting out a groan Sunset runs her hands down her face before clenching her fist and stepping up to you
>“That thing is dangerous, if you're not gonna give it we'll just have to take it, I refuse to let another trio of you endanger this planet”
>As the other girls start to size you up you reluctantly start tapping into your magic
>Before either side is able to do anything Fluttershy puts herself between the two of you with her arms spread
>“That. Is. ENOUGH! I have stood here and let my boyfriend, MY BOYFRIEND FOR PETE'S SAKE, take all sorts of abuse and I won't stand for it any more. Twilight, really REALLY not ok to ask my boyfriend for his belt, Rainbow I love you and I will never forgive Incognito for what he said to you, but I won't blame Pseudo for it, and Sunset, you barely seem to be able to grasp what you saw when you touched him. Unless you have proof I'm not letting you treat him like a villain anymore”
>As Fluttershy takes heavy breaths you're not sure who's more shocked by her outburst, you or her friends
>With how Sunset is reacting she's taking the words to heart
>If she saw what you saw then she shouldn't have anything on you other than what you've already told them
>She opens and closes her mouth several times but nothing comes out
>Looking between the two of you she seems to fighting between shame and anger
>Letting out a huff she just starts to walk away dejected
>Other than Rainbow Dash shooting a glare at you and the others shooting concerned looks at Fluttershy they make their way out of the animal shelter
>When the door finally shuts Fluttershy collapses to her knees letting out a long sigh
>Carefully kneeling down next to her you tentatively put a hand on her shoulder
>At the contact she buries her head in your chest
>Not sure what to do you just rub her back to try and comfort her
“You know you were fantastic right?”
>Hearing some mumbling coming from her you pull her away from your chest to hear her more clearly
“Sorry what was that?”
>“I said, did you put a spell over me?”
>You can see the seriousness in her eyes
>Cupping her cheeks with your hands you bring it so your forehead is resting against hers
“No. I didn't.”
>Taking a deep breath she rests her head on your shoulder
>“Alright then. I trust you.”

>As the door shuts behind you, the light click of it securing into the frame sounded as loud as when Celestia used to slam the throne room doors in your face when you first started to decline
>That must mean you're Sunset Shimmer
>As you stumble down the street you try to process what just happened
>You had verbally and even physically attacked Pseudonymous, Fluttershy's boyfriend, a guy for Celestia's sake, just because he was a Siren
>If this got out you'd be labelled as a guy beater, you didn't even stoop that low when you first came here, goodbye possible love life
>Honestly that's the least of your fears, because you don't want to pay attention to the worst one out of shame
>Fluttershy's been one of your closest friends for a year now
>But you used her for your own personal gain
>You said it was to stop them, but you just wanted some revenge for how those three had messed with you last night
>They hadn't even done anything
>She didn't even want to at first, she asked so many times, pleaded even, that you leave him be for just one day so she could confront him herself
>But you dismissed her discomfort like it was nothing, used magical jargon you knew she wouldn't understand as a scare tactic
>You manipulated her and used Rainbow Dash, fuelled your mutual want for revenge to pressure her into leading you to him
>Why wouldn't she detest you right now
>Why wouldn't any of them
>The thought literally makes your stomach turn
>Leaning against a nearby wall you drop your bag and dip your head down in case you actually do end up being sick
>As your body is racked with shakes and sobs you feel a pair of arms embrace you
>Your eyes snap open to see Rarity holding your head against her chest
>You try to woman up and push yourself away but her grip is like god damn iron
>It'd be scary if it weren't so comfortable
>Finally stopping your pointless resistance you collapse completely into her arms and break down
 >As you soak both you and Rarity's clothes, you feel the gaze of the others on you
>They don't seem to be going anywhere in a rush, so you just let the dam break and wait it out
>You don't know how long you spent in Rarity's arms
>Certainly longer than you'd like to admit
>Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, it was sort of comfortable
>You're glad Rainbow Dash can't read minds, she'd be calling you a dyke until the day you died if she knew you were thinking that
>As you ran out of tears you wiped your eyes and finally manage to get Rarity to let you go
>With a reassuring smile, you wave her off and steady your breathing
>You open your mouth to say something but your words die in your throat
>Seeing your struggle for words Applejack decides to break the silence
>“Be real with me Sunset, what's our game plan here?”
>You try to find your voice but you can't decide on what to start on
>Why did this have to get so complicated?
>As your anger rises you start waving your arms around in attempt to get something, anything, you can use to come to mind
>But nothing does
>As your anger peaks you feel your brain just fizzle out
>With a huff, you slump against your bag, bury your head in your hands and murmur
>“Beggin' your pardon Sunset?”
“I said there is no game plan Applejack”
>The girls exchange worried looks as you let out a defeated sigh
>Not that you can blame them
>You're up against a potentially dangerous enemy that might not even be an enemy to begin with
>As you run a hand through your hair Twilight takes a seat next to you
>“Don't worry Sunset, I'm sure we'll come up with something, we always do. I reckon if I could just get my hands on one of those conduits I could make some sort of... of destabilizing countermeasure-”
“Twilight don't you get it!? We have no game plan because we can't do anything to begin with!”
>“Sunset dear, I can understand you're shaken but I'm sure if you take a breather you'll be back to your old self. We're not out of this fight just yet”
>As a resounding approval rings through your group you let out an exasperated groan
>Before you're able to snap at them, Rainbow does it for you
>“OH FOR PETE'S SAKE! Don't you guys get it? Sure they're a threat but at best they're a trio of boring, loner, average students, at worst they're jerks sure, but, incase you haven't noticed, THEY HAVEN'T EVEN DONE ANYTHING!”
>As Rainbow took in deep breaths to calm herself down from her rant a depressed silence comes over the six of you
>“I suppose I might have gotten into that gung-ho spirit a tad too much. Pseudo really didn't deserve half of what I accused him of did he?”
>“Don't go taking all the blame there, I reckon we all got into the spirit Rares. We all treated that fella so poorly, I feel just rotten puttin' Shy through all that, just wasn't proper”
>The mention of Fluttershy makes you feel the bile build in your stomach again
>“I honestly don't know what came over us, I was so sure in it all, I was ready to use any number of the tricks we've learnt to apprehend him without a second thought”
>You feel Twilight shift away from you to join in the conversation and you can't help but curl up further into yourself
>“I don't think that's it Rarity, from the stories you girls have told me you've barely had a break. First Sunset and the Fall Formal, the Sirens at the Battle of the Bands, Me at the Friendship Games, Camp Everfree, not to mention all the smaller bits of magic we've seen crop up. Honestly I'm surprised you haven't collapsed yet”
>“So what then? A few hectic days and we deem ourselves judge, jury and executioner?”
>Rarity almost sounds more defeated than you feel
>“Come on girls, this is no way to act, sure those meanies have got us down, but now we know they aren't actually meanies, that's a good thing.”
>Finally snapping out of your funk you press your hand against your bag and feel a familiar bump
>“Oh come now Pinkie Pie, what does that have to do with our current predicament?”
“Actually, Pinkie's right”
>“See Rarity? I'm right. Wait. I'm right?”
>Rising to your feet, you manage to get everyone's attention
“It's like Pinkie and Rainbow said, they're mean but they aren't cruel, the Dazzlings used there magic to turn the school into a fight pit, but these three... they just want to be left alone, they just want their sisters back. Pseudo, seemingly, means no harm, but what if we can make the other two the same way?”
>The looks of confusion are replaced with realisation as you pull out your old journal
“If there's one thing Princess Twilight taught me, it's that everyone deserves a second chance, I think we should give them theres”
>That seems to relight the fire in your friends' eyes
>With a unanimous cheer you're ready to make things right
>Hopefully you'll be able to prove your prejudice wrong in the process
“I'm gonna get in contact with the Princess, Rainbow I need you to find Fluttershy and try to convince her to give us another chance”
>“On it”
>With a salute Rainbow uses her magic to speed off back to the shelter
>Turning to the others you're sort of disappointed with what comes next with how excited they all look
“Sorry girls, I'll get in touch with you the minute I'm done talking with the princess but for now there isn't really much else we can do”
>Though they all slump their shoulders they quickly perk up again
>Rarity steps forward and places a hand on your chest and lets out a hearty giggle
>“Nonsense Sunset, I'm sure I can come up with an updated ensemble for those three, men are nothing if not weak for high quality clothing on offer”
>As she waves her hand and takes off towards her boutique in a brisk walk you could have sworn you saw her speed up as she rounded the corner
>As soon as Rarity started heading back Pinkie began bouncing around in her usual way
>No surprise she'd be excited at turning not one, not two, but three potential villains into friends
>“Well all that assemble stuff won't hold a candle to what I have planned. After all, no guy can resist my Triple Decker Deluxe Cupcakes. I bet Pseudo will especially love them, sweeties love sweeties afterall”
>Applejack manages to finally get her to hold still by placing a hand on her shoulder
>“Slow down there Pinkie, what a fella loves and what he needs are two very different things, and those three need some meat on there bones, and a handful of some Apple Family Brand Hospitality is just what the doctor ordered”
>As the two swap baking tips you feel a tap on your shoulder
>Turning around you come face to face with a very nervous Twilight
“Hey, what's up? You look a little pale”
>“Oh it's nothing really, I just sort of realised that I'm the only one in the group who doesn't have experience with Siren magic. I was just wondering if that might make me more susceptible to their magic?”
>You hadn't actually thought of that, and it was cause for concern, whether you wanted to make peace or not, as there was no telling if they would
>“That's not a bad point actually, but don't worry about that, we've got your back on this alright?”
>She gives a few shaky nods but manages to steady herself with some deep breaths
>“You're right, and I know that of course, but I think I'm gonna see what I can find out about Sirens, try to put this in a frame of reference I can understand”
>She looks up at you nervously but you just give her a reassuring smile
>It manages to perk her up as she quickly embraces you before rushing off towards her home
>You start to feel your old confidence returning and, while securing your bag, you head off to contact the princess
>Eventually finding yourself coming to a stop at the park, you breathe a sigh of relief as you spot no sign of Incognito
>Taking a seat on a nearby bench you pull out your journal and pen
-”Hey Twilight, do you have a minute?”-
>As the words fade you tap your pen on the book as you wonder how you're gonna phrase this
>As the minutes drag on you begin to get anxious
>Is she asleep?
>Is she away?
>Is she on another bookathon?
>You breathe a sigh of relief as you see her familiar style phase onto the book
>-“Sunset! It's so good to hear from you again. How's it been over there?”-
>Before you're able to write, another message appears, clearly written hastily to get in before you could
>-“Wait, hold that thought. You'll never guess who just got brought back to Equestria”-
>You can almost feel the fangirl coming off her from here
>Whilst you hesitate it would be the best way to confirm what you saw earlier
-“Starswirl the Bearded?”-
>For a while after that, the book stays silent
>Eventually her reply slowly crawls onto the page
>-“Yes, actually. He and five other legendary ponies to be precise. But how did you know, or was that just a guess? Because it really did happen”-
>Chuckling to yourself you can't help but imagine Twilight trying to draw you a picture of the unicorn due to lack of phones over there
-“Don't worry Twilight, I believe you. Actually, he was part of the reason I'm writing to you. Three new Sirens have shown up here, the brothers of Sonata, Aria and Adagio actually. They want to get their sisters back to get revenge on Starswirl. But the problem is that... well they aren't villains, one of them is dating Fluttershy even and I couldn't see any sign of her being under a spell. So I sort of wanted to try and befriend them, but I'm still sort of new to this and hoped you might have some pointers?”-
>You're surprised at how quickly she replies but you soon see that's it's just her writing down a million questions at once that just end up overlapping each other
>When the book finally quiets down you're left with a much simpler message
>-“If I can be honest Sunset, that's unsettling, them wanting revenge on Starswirl, even after all these years, is quite believable, Sirens are especially long lived creatures, it might have seemed like just yesterday that their sisters were taken from them honestly”-
>Wow, when she puts it like that you can almost see where all their anger is coming from
>You're drawn out of your reverie as the message shifts again
>-“But I'm immensely proud that, despite that, you're willing to give them a chance, you really have come a long way. Student.”-
>You can't help but chuckle at that, you both find your relationship amusing with the age difference
>-“Though I am sorry to say that I don't have much else but that to offer. The only information I've gotten on Sirens was first hand during the Battle of the Bands. All you can use is the lessons you've learned with the girls over there. But don't worry I know you'll do great”-
>You feel a few tears well up in your eyes as you can't stop the smile growing on your face
>After today you really needed this to set you back on the right path
>Writing a quick thanks and goodbye you see the book vibrate just as you're about to seal up your bag
>Cracking it open one more time you spot yet another question from Twilight.
>-“Now that I think about it, how exactly did they get over there?”-
>You can definitely feel the trepidation in the question
>Reckoning you might as well rip the band-aid off you write down how they got into her castle in as much detail as you can recall from Pseudo's mind
>After a solid ten minutes you write her a few one word messages to make sure the book's still working
>-“Hey Sunset, Spike here, Twilight's busy banging her head against the table, would you like to leave a message?”-
>You can't stop the laughter from bubbling up at that mental image
>With one last farewell message you put the journal down as you get ready to head home, until you get a message, on your phone this time
>Opening up the group chat you see a number of messages regarding your part of the plan
>-“Hey Sunset, we got a mission from the Princess?”-
-“Not quite Rainbow Dash, she's trusting us to sort this out ourselves”-
>-“Damn, well can we call it a mission from the princess anyway?”-
-“Well, sure I guess, but why exactly?”-
>-“Because 'Deployed On a Mission from Foreign Royalty' sounds way cooler than 'Dealing with our own problems'”
>You can't help but roll your eyes at Rainbows attempts at grandeur
-“Sure, Rainbow, we're hereby on a mission from royalty”-
>-“Awesome, I'm totally like one of those super spies”
>-“OH OH, I WANNA PLAY SUPER SPIES, CAN I BE Q? SHE ALWAYS HAS THE FUN STUFF”
>-“What? Pinkie if anything I'd be Q, not that I'd want to be, most of those gadgets are ridiculous”
>-“Not to mention a tad bland, while I see the allure of the sophistication and thrill of espionage, would it kill them to put a bit of style into their craft?”
>As the conversation begins to veer off course you just laugh to yourself before putting your phone away and heading home

>This doesn't make any sense
>You did everything right
>You three performed the spell perfectly
>You spent months practising with them and observing her over your time here
>There was no way she could have pre-emptively put up a protection charm, she was under the spell of ignorance like every other human in this backwater town
>You are Anonymous, and you want answers, and you want them now
>You go over the notes you've made in your journal for what feels like the thousandth time
>All made to help you overcome the biggest hurdle in your way
>Sunset Shimmer
>Her history, her magical capacity, from her pony past to the current day
>It's all here and you thought you knew enough to act
>Clearly though, you were wrong, you were so very wrong
>You and your brothers recently tried to break down her resistance to your magic
>The song you played, and the mental invasion spell you used should have worked
>You calculated how much magic power would be needed to the decimal point
>But then you went and used double that to take into account the limit of her magical parameters
>Her experience siphoning Equestrian magic through her non-magical body
>The fact she was taught by Celestia
>The magic reserves she can tap into with those damn friends of hers
>You took everything into account
>But it still wasn't enough
>Taking hold of your desk you try to calm yourself but that damn face of hers keeps mocking you
>When you found her walking to school alone this morning, you thought you hit the jackpot
>You were tempted to toy with her, try and keep the whole student facade up
>But smelling all that fear on her was just too amusing
>The previous student of Celestia, brought so low by a simple mind spell
>Though you suppose you should count your blessings
>You had heard how she acted before that other Equestrian came here
>If you had come through here at that time, she might have been harder to break
>But she insisted on confronting you
>She thought she had you, flaunting her knowledge of you and your brothers
>She was oh so confident until you started to tap into your magic
>You reinforced your aura causing her to falter and back up
>You laced your words with mesmerising magic
>All the nearby people encouraging it was just icing on the cake
>It was almost adorable to watch her resistance ebb away
>You taunted her and her friends, you could feel her giving in despite her anger
>But as soon as you mentioned that Fluttershy girl it all went wrong
>Her magic flared past anything you could have calculated
>She shoved you aside like you were a fly, and fled to her friend's side without a second of hesitation
>You tried probing her throughout the day
>Being her partner for a project was the perfect cover
>But your magic couldn't touch her
>It's as if the mind spell was never cast to begin with
>It just didn't make sense
>With a sickening crunch you tore away a chunk of your desk and ground it in your hand
>Sweeping your hand across your desk you scatter your research across the floor
>It's all worthless now anyway
>With the impression you left on her you aren't anywhere near strong enough to make her forget you
>You were so close too
>Pulling up a chair, you feel your anger replaced with despair as you slump down and let your head slam into the desk
>Sure you might be able to find your sisters
>Give or take a few years
>But you won't have anything to show for it
>They'll destroy your conduits just like they did to your sisters' before you
>You've still got Fluttershy under Pseudo's spell but that still leaves them with six magic users
>The idea of that antiquated unicorn going unpunished for what he did makes you sick to your stomach
>Your ears perk up at the sound of the lock to your apartment coming undone
>Weird, you don't know this magic's scent
>It's almost pungent with how it permeates the air
>It sounds like just one person by the walking pattern
>Wait, that magic
>Your eyes widen as you feel your anger start to rise again
>That red haired bitch thinks she can take you just because you couldn't hypnotise her?
>You knew you should have just killed her when you got the chance
>If she wants a magic battle, she'll get one
>Clinging to the ceiling you tuck yourself into the corner
>A small ignorance barrier will do for this
>She'll only be affected for two seconds but you could do this with one
>As the door creaks open you pounce
>Slamming into her, you hold her by her neck and raise your other to strike
>“Anonymous you fucking overgrown trout get the hell off me!”
>You snap out of your instincts and see none other than Incognito
>Now you just have more questions
>Standing up you brush yourself off before inspecting Incognito
>“You gonna stand there gawking or are you gonna help me up!?”
>Scowling at you, he holds his hand out to you
>After giving him a quick scan and taking in his scent again a scowl of your own grows on your face
>He slowly retracts his hand as worry overtakes him
>Just as he starts to back up you grab him by his collar and spin him around, slamming him into a wall
>Dazed and clearly scared he shakes his head and tries to pry your arm off
>As you're about to interrogate him the door unlocks again
>Good, at least Pseudo is competent company
>“Hey guys I'm... home? Incognito what did you do?”
>“I could ask the same thing, he's gone and snapped or something. This maniac just up and attacked me when I came in”
>His squirming reminds you of when you were young and still fought for who would lead you three
>Weak then, weak now
>You're brought out of your trip down memory lane as you feel Pseudo's hand on your shoulder
>Snapping your head to face him he holds up an appeasing hand
>“Easy Anonymous, what'd he do this time?”
>Facepalming you wave your hand up and down Incognito
“Smell him, then you tell me”
>Pseudo closes his eyes as his conduit starts to glow
>Opening his eyes he lets out a sigh and crosses his arm
>“You wasted the last of your magic, didn't you Incog?”
>He looks between the two of you as he processes the question
>With a new burst of anger he starts flailing again
>“THAT'S WHY YOU ATTACKED ME YOU GOD DAMN MANIAC? BECAUSE I RAN OUT OF SOME STUPID MAGIC?!”
>With Incog's and Pseudo's shared inability to process what's going on, on top of everything else that's happened today, you have officially had enough
>Bringing a hand across Incog's face, his head is forced to the side so quickly that he ends up leaving an indent in the wall
>The room falls silent at that
>This was the first time since you came here that you used your magic to strike Incog
>Holding his cheek your brother seems to have gone from scared to terrified
>Bringing your face to his you drop your voice to a whisper
“You betrayed us, didn't you?”
>His face turns to shock at this and he holds his hands up
>“Whoa, whoa Anon, I didn't do anything like that I swear”
>Pushing him deeper into the wall he lets out a few grunts but generally tries to hold a straight face
“It's not that you're out of magic, it's the fact that you reek of the magic of Sunset Shimmer, and that princess who's castle we invaded. What Incog, did you get cold feet, decide to sell us out?”
>Pseudo seems especially shocked at this, inhaling deeply a look of realisation comes over his face
>Took him long enough
>You turn your attention back to Incog as he starts to gasp for air
>You're tempted to just start tying up loose ends and bail on this town and try again, but he is your brother, maybe he has one last amusingly pathetic excuse
>Releasing him, he falls to the floor, coughing and wheezing as he rubs his neck
“You have one minute to explain”
>Quickly coming to attention, he grabs his bag and starts rummaging through it
>Finally pulling out a dusty old tome he holds it out to you
>Quirking an eyebrow you grab it and start flicking through it
>You begin to wonder if this is a poor attempt at one last prank as each page is blank
>However as you flick through them you realise something
>This is the source of that overpowering stench of magic
>Flipping to the cover you see a red and yellow sun
>A two-way messaging journal?
>Inspecting it further you're delighted to find the ever so faint scent of none other than Celestia herself coming off this
>You can't stop the smile spreading across your face
>Equestrian magic, straight from the tap
>Letting out a hearty laugh you throw the journal into Incog's lap and offer him a hand
>Hesitantly taking it, he steadily gets to his feet
>Pulling out a chair you settle down, shooting him an approving smile as you do
“This had better come with a good story Incog”
>Reclining into the chair, he and Pseudo pull up a chair as well
>Still reeling from your assault, he nervously taps his fingers together before steadying himself
>“Alright, so, we all know I had about a week of magic left. Buuuuuut, I also knew neither of you would give me your magic, so I thought 'if I only have so much magic left, I may as well use it to actually have some fun'. So I went to the park as usual and used all of it so I couldn't be seen by the people there. Apparently I had more than I thought because, after I scared everyone into running away, that Shimmer girl stopped by and she didn't notice me either”
>You take a mental note of that, maybe you'd have use for those notes after all
>Though it isn't his strong suit, you should be able to get Incog to actually use his brain and get you some details on the spell he used
>“Either way she pulled out this journal and started scribbling away, I thought it would be an embarrassing diary I could use to humiliate her but, well I was wrong. Anyway she had put it down on a table and started chatting to her friends on her phone. So I grabbed it and got out of there, she might not have noticed it missing for the first few minutes but I'm willing to bet she's tearing apart the town to find it right about now.”
>Seems he isn't as worthless as you thought he was
>Caressing the book slightly your brain starts coming up with new plans quicker than you can process them
>Sliding it back to Incog, he grabs it and looks at you curiously
“Feed”
>This doesn't seem to clarify anything to him
>You'd be annoyed if he hadn't done so well today
>Clearing your throat you start to clarify
“You got it, and you need to refuel, so feed”
>Thankfully that was obvious enough for him to understand
>Getting up he makes his way to his room to gorge
>“Don't take too long, we don't want to alert the princess to the fact we have it”
>He simply gives a thumbs up in acknowledgement
>As you get up to start writing new plans you're stopped by Pseudo
>“Anon, I was actually hoping to talk to you about something too”
>Sitting down again, you indicate for him to continue
>“It's actually about that Sunset Shimmer girl as well. Her and her friends actually confronted me today at the Animal Shelter”
>You were in such a good mood too
>You suppose it was a tactically sound move
>You should have expected it, maybe come up with an escape plan for him
>Clearly seeing your agitation Pseudo speaks up again
>“It isn't anything to worry about, Fluttershy stood up for me, and it got sorted”
>Breathing a sigh of relief you start to relax again
>You can't help but joyfully grin as you lean towards Pseudo
“You see? That spell really works wonders huh?”
>“Yeah... the spell”
>He must still be shaken from it, you know that you would have been unnerved in that situation
“Alright, so what happened?”
>He rubs his neck nervously, trying to avoid your gaze
>“Well the thing is, a while after they left, one of them came back and said that Sunset wanted to 'try and make up for it'”
>Getting to call in a favour could certainly be useful
>“By trying to be friends with us”
>Not the sort of favour you were thinking of
>Your first instinct is to dismiss this and get back to planning but you quickly stop yourself
>What that Shimmer girl did today has been niggling away at the back of your mind today
>Maybe it would be advantageous to try and get more info on her
>You might be able to figure out how to bypass her natural defences too if you're lucky
“Alright Pseudo, let's 'befriend' them”
>You feel a wicked grin spread across your face at the prospect of your plan going back into action
>You can't screw this chance up
>He perks up at this, hopping to his feet
>“That's great, I'll let Fluttershy know, I'm sure they'll want to meet soon”
>He makes his way to his room with a skip in his step
>You probably won't be seeing him until morning, once he's on his phone with his girlfriend it's nearly impossible to get him off it
>Oh well, let him have his fun
>Getting up yourself, you make your way back into your room
>Opening the door, you only now realise how much of a number you did on it
>Realigning the desk you start the tedious task of picking up and sorting your notes
>As you sort through them you spot a grey lump poking out from the bottom
>Clearing the notes you pick up the object only for your breath to hitch in your throat
>Looking back at you is a stone that came from the walls of your home cave
>Sonata had used it draw a picture of your family
>The three of you, your sisters and your parents
>Better times, long since passed
>Swallowing the lump of your throat you can't stop the burning feeling of tears running down your face
>For a thousand years, they've been lost here
>But you nearly went and screwed it up
>Pressing your head against the stone you let a few tears fall to it
“Hold on just a bit longer girls, we're coming”
>Putting the stone on your desk you sort through the rest of your notes and start writing up new plans
>As the morning sun creeps in through your blinds you're tempted to cuss out Celestia
>But then you remember that this world's sun isn't controlled by magic
>This place is so barbaric with it's lack of magic
>You slowly lift your head from the ever so comfortable desk you left it on as you wipe the sleep out of your eyes
>As you become more coherent you feel something stuck to your face
>Peeling off the offending object you see your latest plan, half-finished and barely legible
>Maybe Pseudo's right, you do need to stop plotting at midnight
>Crumpling the drool soaked paper in your hands you throw it in the trash and stretch the ache from your joints
>With a number of resounding pops you let out a contented sigh
>Picking yourself up you check the time
>6am
>Also known as too damn early
>With nothing else to blame you cuss out Celestia, slightly hoping she can hear you from Equestria
>You drag your groggy body to the bathroom and relieve yourself
>After that you turn on the shower to wash off yesterday's grime
>You tap into a small amount of your magic to turn patches of your body into scales from your Siren form
>Water always feels better on scales
>Sadly self-transfiguration spells have always been a major drain on magic, and whilst you do have the journal Incog brought in, you'd rather not risk running dry
>Begrudgingly you let your body revert back to the normal state you found yourself in after crossing the portal
>Finishing up in the shower you go about the rest of your morning routine
>Finally having everything ready for another day as a student you lean against your kitchen's counter, an ice cold glass of water in hand
>You never understood how human's could enjoy that coffee stuff they fuss over, far too bitter and far too hot
>As you watch the clock count down the seconds before you have to leave, you reminisce on what Pseudo spoke to you about yesterday
>Becoming friends with the girls who destroyed your sister's conduits
>It makes you nearly shatter the glass in your hands
>Luckily you get yourself under control before you hurt yourself
>It's just to get information on those girls and further your own goals
>Nothing more
>Finishing off your glass you drop it in the sink as you hear the creak of another bedroom door open
>Looking nearly twice as bad as you, your idiot brother stumbles his way to the table
>Half his hair is plastered over the side of his face and he can barely keep one eye open
>“Food”
>His voice is rough and drowsy even after he clears his throat a few times
>Normally you'd berate him for practically ordering you around but it's not like you're gonna go hungry
>You hate to admit it, but that journal could become a critical part of your plan
>Not that you'll ever tell him that
>You refuse to give him that much satisfaction
>Grabbing a bowl, some cereal and milk you place it in front of him so he can serve himself
>You're grateful, but you're not his butler
“I'm gonna head to school now Incog, try not to get another detention, it'd be best if you don't get expelled because of your incompetence”
>An affirming grunt is the only reply you get
>Shaking your head and sighing you start making your way out
>You stop as you hear the last bedroom door open
>A blur of purple speeds past you and Incog
>The front door is wrenched open and the blur is gone as quickly as it appeared
>You think you heard it say “something something late something Fluttershy”
>Looking over to Incog to see if he heard any clearer you see him lazily eating mouthful after mouthful of cereal
>You'll just talk to Pseudo later
>Quickly making your way outside you clasp your hands together as another realisation hits you
>The week's end is coming
>Two full days of uninterrupted planning
>Though any planning will be useless without anymore information
>Perhaps you could convince Sunset to spend time with you over it
>No that'd be too suspicious
>She'll probably keep you at arm's length for a few months
>That is if you're able to come to a compromise on this whole 'friendship' thing
>“Oh you have got to be kidding me”
>Hearing a voice ahead of you snaps you out of your thoughts
>Before you, like the day before, is Sunset Shimmer
>Although you feel a lot less lucky then you did last time
>Though you do feel just as confident with the state she's in
>The bags under her bloodshot eyes and her mess of hair are clear indicators to a lack of sleep
>She also hasn't taken up the usual stiff stance she had during your previous encounters
>Instead her body is sagging and she looks close to collapsing
>You hope that, in her sleep addled mind, you can slip past her
>As you try to make your way around her she deftly turns and follows besides you despite the state she's in
>The silence is surprisingly comfortable, all things considered
>After a while she lets out a mighty yawn, nearly stumbling into you in the process
>“Well?”
>Looking at her through the corner of your eyes you raise and eyebrow
“Well what?”
>She takes a while to process your words, her eyes closing and opening one at a time as she does
>“I assume Pseudo told you about yesterday?”
>You tsk slightly at her sarcastic tone
>You can see a smug grin tug at her mouth before it's overtaken by yet another yawn
“Well then I would have to assume Fluttershy's still talking to you then”
>She squints her eyes at you slowly
>Having drawn her in you lean towards her
“You know, because you assaulted her boyfriend yesterday”
>It's your turn to smile smugly
>Though her reaction isn't what you expected
>Rather than the back and forth you had yesterday she just drops her head and sighs
>“Yeah that was... that wasn't cool. Your brother really didn't deserve that”
>You take a few cautionary steps away from her in case she's trying to bait you in like you just did
>Seeing your hesitation she throws up her hands in mock surrender
>“Don't worry I'm over it I just... I had a bad experience with your sisters”
>After mentioning them she quickly smacks her head with her hands and waves her hand at you
>“Sorry, sorry, that's probably a sore subject. Damn it I'm tired. It's just... I let my experience with them determine how to react to you three and that was wrong.”
>She nervously fiddles with the straps of her bags and seems to relax as you do
>She probably just doesn't want you letting word of her assaulting your brother out
>But maybe she actually regrets what she did
>Ponies and humans will forever be a mystery to you
>When she finally settles down she holds out a hand to you
>As you look between it and her she speaks up again
>“Truce? For now at least?”
>With a grunt you roughly take her hand in yours and shake it
>You must have shaken it harder than you thought because she looks more awake now than before
>Her state reminds you of last night
>It would probably be best to try and get her off your trail
“So why exactly does it look like you're about to collapse with every step?”
>“Oh, you noticed huh?”
>She gives you an embarrassed look and you simply point to your hair
>Getting the message she runs a hand through her own, only just now realising how messy it is
>“Aw crap, yeah I guess that does make it obvious huh? I was looking for... something all night”
>You lean in and roll your hand, indicating for her to continue
>She looks away from you and puts on a thoughtful look, trying to figure out how to put her next words
>“It was a book, a really important book. It was given to me by... by Princess Celestia. I assume you must have heard about her? It has a certain insignia on it, helps it standout”
“I've heard her briefly mentioned by ponies in the past, I didn't really care to learn much though. Though if you want, we could help you find it. As part of the truce?”
>For the first time since you've met her she laughs
>It's a genuine laugh, as if she just heard the funniest thing
>It's less grading on your ears than you would have expected
>When she finally stops she sees your unimpressed face and turns slightly red
>“Sorry, I wasn't laughing at you, but I don't know if I can trust you with a source of Equestrian magic juuuuust yet”
>You shrug your shoulders at this, confident that you've thrown her off, though you doubt you've rid her of all her suspicion
>She uses that as a segway to ask about your own magic
>You decide to humour her but make sure to steer clear of anything she could use to counter it
>For a while you go back and forth, comparing the difference in how magic is casted by your two species
>Is this friendship?
>It's boring if that's the case
>When you finally reach the school you're stopped outside it by Sunset
>“I just remembered you never answered my question earlier. Fluttershy did get in touch with me but... I just want to be sure”
>You let out a long sigh as you go over whatever options you're left with
>Though you are slightly irked that you can't come up with anything better than what she's offering, you can't deny its advantages
>As you look at her again you are shoved to the side by a panicked looking Incognito
>“HiyaRedhiAnoncan'ttalkPseudo'sgonnakillme”
>Sharing a perplexed look with Sunset you're attention is drawn to something that's slowly growing louder
>Looking up you see a very angry Pseudo charging towards the doors, his hoodie flapping limply behind him
>You open them so he doesn't shatter the glass and hurt himself
>He doesn't even stop to look at you
>Looking behind him, you see a sniffling and very wet Fluttershy
>Seeing this Sunset immediately goes to comfort her friend
>Listening in you learn that Incog had ambushed Pseudo and Fluttershy on their way to school
>Though he miscalculated and ended up shoving Fluttershy into a fountain rather than Pseudo
>You facepalm and slowly drag your hand down your face, letting out an exasperated groan
>Sunset looks between you, Fluttershy and the school
>Getting a rough idea of what's she trying to indicate you hold up a hand
“You deal with her, I'm gonna go bash their heads together. Just meet us at lunch or something”
>As the doors swing closed behind you, you can't help but let out an irritated groan again
>Dealing with this sort of bullshit was more Adagio's speciality
>She didn't even need to get half as physical as you do to assert herself
>Even when it came to Aria
>As your mind wanders to memories of your times when you were still together your ears perk up at the sound of crashing and screams
>At least these two make it easy

>You're currently hurrying Fluttershy down the halls of Canterlot High to the girl's toilets
>That must mean you're Sunset Shimmer
>As you finally arrive she calms down significantly
>You grab some paper towels in the hope of soaking up some of the water that's drenched her clothes
>As she continues the clearly vain effort you pull out your phone to text the girls
>You give them a rundown on the situation and hope that Rarity has some spare clothes she can lend Fluttershy
>You're surprised to find Rainbow saying she has some spare clothes
>In Fluttershy's size as well
>Before you're able to wrap your head around that, a rainbow blur leaves you spinning
>When your eyes finally refocus, you see Rainbow holding a near identical set of Fluttershy's clothes out to her
>Before you're able to get a word in, Rainbow turns to you and chuckles nervously
>“This uh... this isn't the first time it's happened”
>As Fluttershy begins to change clothes you go to speak again only to be cut off by her
>“If it's alright with you, could you please not ask?”
>She gives you a small pleading smile
>The fact that Rainbow does the same makes you want to ask more
>But you decide it'd be best to just swallow your curiosity this time
>“Alright so now that, that's been dealt with. Where's Incognito? I'm gonna pummel him”
>As Rainbow slams her fist into her hand you grab hold of her shoulder to keep her grounded
“Slow down Rainbow, you can't just go and beat up guys, besides Incognito didn't even mean to get Fluttershy. Plus we are still trying to befriend them, remember?”
>She visibly sags at this, grumbling to herself as she grabs Fluttershy's wet clothes and puts them in her bag
>You guess that the animals in Fluttershy's bag wouldn't appreciate the wet clothing much
>With Fluttershy now clothed and no longer shivering the three of you head to your first class of the day
>“So how is this whole 'friendship' thing gonna work Sunset? We've already got Fluttershy covering Pseudo but who's gonna watch Anon and Incognito? Ugh we're not gonna have to draw straws are we? I always have the worst luck with those”
>You quirk an eyebrow at Rainbow and you see that even Fluttershy is just as confused
“What do you mean by 'watch them' exactly Rainbow?”
>She hangs her head back and lets out a groan
>“Oh come on Sunset, none of them are here, we gotta keep an eye on them to make sure they don't do anything evil right?”
“What? No, Rainbow what we're trying to do is... ok so yes we are trying to stop them from doing evil sure. But not by keeping them under surveillance, we're gonna honestly befriend them”
>You can almost hear her jaw hit the floor
>“Are you serious? I don't want to befriend those weirdos, they're like the opposite of cool”
>You let out a small sigh at that
>Despite their enthusiasm you doubt that the others have lost their prejudices either
>You hear a squeak to the side and look to see Fluttershy holding her hand just above Rainbow's shoulder
>“Dash, I know that we've had some bad experiences with Sirens in the past. Some horrifyingly terrible experiences, but these three are different. Or at least Pseudo is, I'm sure if you spent some time with him you'd see that too”
>Rainbow waves Fluttershy's hand off with a puff
>Just as quick Fluttershy takes a hold of Rainbow's hand and puts on her best puppy dog eyes
>“Please Dash, just one shot, for me?”
>Rainbow goes to wrench her hand free but hesitates, seemingly having an internal debate
>“Jeez alright fine, I'll give him one chance. But that's all he's getting, all right?”
>Fluttershy let's out a squee and bounces on her feet a bit
>“You won't regret it Dash, I guarantee”
>“Yeah, yeah, just cool it with the squees alright?”
>With an affirmative hum Fluttershy goes back to plainly walking besides you two, though now she has a notable pep in her step
>As the three of you finally make it to your class you slump into your desk, the exhaustion from last night finally hitting you
>You try resting your head on your desk and closing your eyes to no avail
>You're far too uncomfortable to fall asleep and when you do the teacher immediately wakes you up again
>You pass a few notes between the three of you to help you keep yourself awake but it isn't doing much to help
>When the class is finally dismissed you can't get up from your desk any slower
>Maybe you should just skip school for the day and go home
>No, you still have to talk to Anonymous and the others first
>You try rubbing the sleep out of your eyes but that doesn't help either
>As you stumble into the next room your eyes scan across the class until they land on Rarity
>You give her a small wave as you make your way over which she returns before doing a double take
>As you sit down besides her she opens and closes her mouth several times as she looks over your dishevelled form
>Sputtering slightly she finally finds her voice
>“Darling you look absolutely dreadful, what happened?”
“Oh it's nothing Rarity, I was just looking for the journal all night”
>As you say this she slowly starts to run her hands through your hair in an attempt to salvage it
>“Oh goodness, don't tell me you've lost it”
>The thought leaves a pit in your stomach, your one connection to home
>As you lay your head in your arms, Rarity's stroking of your hair starts to be more comforting rather than an attempt to fix it
>“Don't you worry one bit dear, me and the girls will search high and low, and turn this town upside down to help you find it”
>You shoot her a small smile and a drowsy thanks as you feel yourself drifting again
>As Rarity sees you drifting off she shakes you slightly snapping you back to reality
>She manages to keep you awake with small talk
>Mostly about her latest fashion line and her plans for what she'll make for the three Sirens
>“But enough about me darling, how have you been, you know, besides losing your journal?”
>She chuckles nervously at that but you wave her off and give her a reassuring smile
“It's fine Rarity, it'll turn up. But besides from that not much has gone on, well except for my walk to school with Anonymous today”
>With her gossip sensors tingling, Rarity straightens up and leans in to you
>“I'm all ears”
>You can't help but laugh at Rarity's addiction to gossip as you playfully push her away
>When she finally settles down you talk to her about how you met him again and what you talked about
>“He sounds like an interesting fellow, that's for certain”
“Yeah, looks like I misjudged all of them, not just Pseudo. Anon was aloof sure, but he was hardly mean”
>Before you're able to berate yourself any further Rarity shushes you
>“I know what you're thinking Sunset and you need to stop. You may have misjudged them but I believe you were doing what you thought was right, no one here would blame you for that, alright?”
>With a content smile you embrace Rarity briefly before turning back to the lesson at hand
>While this lesson is no less boring than the last at least you're able to stay awake for most of it
>You're reluctant to leave Rarity since your next lesson will be void of any of your friends
>However you're forced to let go and trudge down the hallway
>When you sit down you thank whatever or whoever's listening that your teacher is going to let you watch a movie
>However your celebration is cut short as you're told it's part of a group project
>You need to stay up to take notes and analyse the film's points for the project but you feel like you're gonna collapse any moment
>As you look around the room to see if you can find someone you know of, you're startled back into partial consciousness as you see Anonymous sitting right next to you
>He shoots a glance at you out of the corner of his eyes but all together seems to ignore you
“Um uh do you...”
>Your mumblings seem to get a hold of his attention at least
“Do you wanna maybe be partners again?”
>He seems to think this over before giving you a firm nod
>“Yeah sure why not?”
>You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding at that
>As he turns back to his notes you do the same
>As the movie starts you can't help but let out a yawn
>Then another and another
>Despite your attempts to stop they just keep coming, until the clattering of a pen on wood startles you into silence
>Turning to Anon you see him clenching and unclenching his fist
>“Are you going to do the work or are you going to keep bothering me?”
“I'm sorry, but I already told you I didn't get any sleep, I can't help it”
>Slightly annoyed at him you turn back to your notes and begin writing your notes again until you feel your eyelids start to grow heavy
>Waking with a start you see the credits for the film going and feel a small burst of energy
>Looking around the room you see the other students packing up for the next lesson
>Turning to the side you see Anonymous doing the same, only this time you also see his belt glowing
>Grabbing his wrist you tug him down to eye level
“What did you do?”
>“Sleep spell, you were annoying me”
>You're taken slightly aback by his nonchalant use of magic
“But I what- what about the teacher?”
>“Spell of ignorance”
>As you try to process what just happened your grip goes slack and he makes his way out the door
>But not before giving you a wave on the way out
>Snapping out of your reverie you pack up and head to the next class
>After this you've got lunch and then you can try and wrap your head around Anonymous
>Luckily this is your favourite class as you share it with all the girls
>With the small nap you took and with all of them to talk to you're able to breeze through the class
>After the class you're hurried to the toilets by Rarity
>Before you're able to get a word out she's already pulled out a hairdryer, a comb, and some styling and makeup products and begins fixing your tired face
>When she finishes and you're finally able to breathe, you check the mirror to see that you look as if you had just gone to the salon
>“Sorry for that Sunset, but I thought it would be improper for you to meet those three looking the way you did. No offence.”
“None taken Rarity, come on, let's go”
>As the two of you head to the cafeteria you begin to wonder where you're even supposed to meet the three
>You enquire with Fluttershy when you meet up with the others and she informs you that they're waiting on the roof
>You all grab smaller lunches that you can take on the go rather than a whole tray
>As you munch on one of Granny Smith's apples you make your way up the winding stairs to the roof
>As the door swings open you throw the apple core off the side as the others finish off their own quick lunches
>Across from you, the three are resting against the railings
>Anon is looking over the school, while Incognito has his legs tucked into his chest as he sits against the rails, then there's Pseudo who's leaning with his back against the rails and seems to be arguing with Anon under his breath
>He's also the only one who acknowledges the seven of you
>Pushing himself off the railings he smiles at Fluttershy before enveloping her in a hug
>Letting out a small squeak she giggles lightly before returning the hug
>At the sign of affection both Rainbow and Incognito make a gagging sound
>After that Incog snaps his head up to glare at Rainbow who happily returns it
>“Quit copying me Smurfette”
>Rainbow's face turns red at this as she starts to visibly shake
>Clenching her fists she stomps over to Incognito who has now stood up and is doing the same
>“You got a problem you blond bimbo?”
>“What if I d-”
>Before Incog can finish his sentence he's tugged backwards causing his collar to briefly restrict his airways
>Coughing and spluttering he turns around to see Anon glowering at him and immediately backs down
>“Play nice Incog”
>His tone is low but with how Incog reacts it has some implications behind it
>It just makes you more curious as to how Siren society works if Anonymous can make Incog's behaviour do a 180 like that
>With a huff he turns his back to you again
>“I don't even know why we're here anyway Anon, you haven't wanted to play nice with these lot since we got here”
>You're taken aback slightly by that, Anon seemed aloof, but with this morning and today's lesson he seemed open to the idea
>“Maybe, but we're doing it anyway, so get your head out of your ass and shake her hand”
>Incognito turns on a dime with fury in his eyes
>Despite Anon glowering at him again he doesn't falter this time
>“Hell. No”
>Anon quirks an eyebrow at this and slowly approaches his brother
>You could cut the tension with a knife
>Deciding to step in before things get out of hand you step between them to try and defuse the situation
“Hey it's ok, Anon honestly, you can't force him to apologise”
>“You underestimate what I can make him do”
>He doesn't even break eye contact with his brother
>He's gonna be a tougher nut to crack then you thought
>Grabbing a hold of his head you force him to break eye contact and look at you
“I know you probably could, but you shouldn't”
>He squints his eyes at you and seemingly goes over your words
>Dragging himself out of your hold he walks over to Rainbow Dash
>She tenses as he approaches until he holds out a hand to her
>“I suppose that I should apologise on behalf of Incognito, since he's too incompetent to do it himself”
>“HEY!”
>Incognito is cut off as Rainbow nearly doubles over in laughter
>Wiping a tear from her eye she shakes Anon's hand
>“Finally. Someone else who gets it”
>As they break off Anon turns back to you
>“So what exactly are the terms of this friendship Sunset?”
>You raise an eyebrow at him and you see the rest of the girls are just as perplexed
>Looking between him and the other two you see that he's serious
“Um, terms? What do you mean?”
>“Well I assume this will work like the agreements made between Siren packs, what do you want of us and what can we expect?”
>Holy shit he thinks you're negotiating some kind of treaty?
“That isn't really how friendships work guys, we sort of just... hang out and talk? We get to know each other, create bonds”
>They all seem confused at the idea but Pseudo soon speaks up
>“So would it be a lesser version of me and Fluttershy?”
>You're very thankful that you've got a reference point to describe it better
“Yes, exactly! Basically that”
>You twiddle your hands together and hope that they understand at least that
>“I don't know, it's been a while since I've had a mate, I guess I'd be interested”
>You and the rest of the girls blush at Incognito's words
>Luckily Applejack is quick to shut him down
>“Slow down there partner, ain't no mates here, it's basically... well yeah it's basically mates I guess, but without the... other stuff if you get me”
>He visibly slumps at that
>“Well what's even the point then?”
>Heaving a sigh you turn to Anon, hoping at least he understands
>You're slightly hopeful as he scratches his chin, deep in thought
>“I'll say this much, this is going to be odd, we don't have anything like this in our species. We're competitive and sometimes violent, we stick to our own until we find a mate then start a new pack. But I understand it enough to give it a go”
>You breathe a sigh of relief that you got through to one of them finally
>As the bell rings you and the girls head back to the door
>“Well it has certainly been... interesting, meeting you three in person. I hope to see you again, until then au revoir”
>“Yeah, oh by the way, how do you guys feel about parties?”
>“Come on Pinkie give them some space to breathe first”
>“Actually if you're not all for parties, maybe you'd be willing to answer some questions and let me run some tests? For science of course.”
>“Landsakes not you too, come on get, didn't your mothers ever teach you not to pester boys?”
>As Applejack herds the girls back down the stairs you follow behind before remembering something
“By the way Anonymous, do you wanna come round my house and help me finish off the project? I didn't really get to write down many notes”
>You chuckle nervously as you rub the back of your neck
>What did you just do?
>Why did you ask him that?
>You've barely known him a day, he's gonna think you're a weirdo
>“Yeah sure, just text me your address”
>As he walks past you he hands you a slip of paper
>You stand there dumbfounded for a few seconds as you process what just happened
>Did you just get a boy's number?
>Ha, take that mom
>Shaking yourself out of your daze you hurry down the stairs to finish the rest of school
>As the day goes on you realise that your brief respite earlier only stalled your exhaustion
>It seems even magic can't do what a good night's sleep can
>As your mind wanders back to your cozy bed for the millionth time today you start to sway slightly in your seat
>Quickly righting yourself you manage to shake yourself out of your daze
>At least you're able to recognise when you're drifting off now
>This helps to keep you from being reprimanded by the teachers until the last bell rings
>Despite how shrill it is, and how it echoes in your aching head it's like music to you
>You wave goodbye to the girls as you try your best to get home as quickly as possible
>After fumbling with your key and scratching your door knob with it half a dozen times, you use both hands to steady yourself and fit it into the lock
>With a click your door finally gives and you all but collapse into your home
>After locking up, you throw your bag across the room and flop onto your sofa, feeling today's exhaustion start to drain
>Finally letting your heavy eyelids fall, you drift off to sleep
>A shrill ping echoes through your house, startling awake
>As more go off you quickly right yourself and throw a few punches in random directions
>After a few more go off you recognise it as the group chat alert
>It's at times like these that you're really glad you don't have room mates
>Wiping the sleep out of your eyes you look to your clock
>18:30
>Four hours of sleep is better than nothing you guess
>Stretching the ache out of your joints you go over to your phone
>Rummaging through your bag you eventually fish it out and turn it on
>Which you immediately regret as the flash of light leaves you disoriented
>Turning down the brightness, you go over the chat
>As you scroll through the dozen or so messages you see nothing more than casual small talk
>There are no messages directed at you so you begin to drift
>You eventually end up drifting back to the details of your dream
>At least you think you had a dream
>Most of the details escape you as you try to focus on them but some seem to slip back to you
>You remember feeling as if you were floating, with something pressing against you on all sides
>You started to float downwards, and the pressure seemed to let up as it got darker
>Despite the darkness, you could feel shadows looming over you and gleaming red was the only light in the dark
>First there were three lights, but three more began to form behind them
>There was also singing
>Except not how you expected
>Rather than six you only remember hearing one voice
>Gentle, yet harsh
>Then the image of how close Anonymous was to you that night flashed in your mind
>Snapping back to reality you feel a shiver run up your back
>It was just a dream, you know you can help them be good people
>You focus on your phone again and go over the messages once more
>Plans for school
>Plans for the Battle of the Bands
>Plans for the weekend
>Wait, plans for school?
>Crap, you totally forgot to text Anonymous
>Upturning your bag you start scrambling to find his number
>Finally finding the scrap of paper you try to make out the writing
>Some of it's smudged but you're pretty sure you've got it right
>You start writing out the text but quickly back peddle
>What if he's been waiting to hear from you?
>'I passed out on the sofa and forgot about you' isn't a very good excuse, if what Rainbow's told you of her previous experiences is anything to go by
>But what if he isn't expecting you to text him until tomorrow?
>Rainbow's right, guys are really difficult to deal with
>You decide to go for broke and just get it over with now
-“Hey Anonymous, just texting you to ask when you wanted to finish the project?”-
>Quickly remembering to mention who it is and your address you leave your phone in front of you
>That wasn't so hard
>Short and simple
>You jump slightly as your phone pings a few seconds later
>Weird, even Flash didn't text you back that quick
>-“I dunno, I could come round now, we could probably get it finished tonight”-
-“Sure, sounds like a plan”-
>-“Alright, be there in like half an hour maybe?”-
>You try to text back an affirmative but your practically paralysed
>You playback what you just did in your head a few times
>Then your internal panicking turns external as you drop your phone and start pacing back and forth
>You don't know what to do with your arms so they end up flailing about
>You just invited a guy to come to your house and it's nearly night time
>Your place is a total mess too
>You have half cleaned dishes in the sink, your floor's covered in litter and old clothes, and the ones you're wearing are a mess
>Heck you're still a sleep addled mess
>After a few minutes of panicking you take a few deep breathes to calm yourself
>Ok, first things first
>You can't deal with the sleep addled thing but you can make yourself not look like a total slob at the least
>Discarding your clothes into a hamper you make your way into the bathroom
>You even use Rarity's fancy washing stuff she got you for your birthday as you clean yourself off
>You're in and out of the shower quicker than you'd like, but at least you're clean, and your hair doesn't look like a bird's nest anymore
>Whilst you would have liked to give yourself a deep clean you don't have much time to
>With only a towel wrapped around you, you go around your apartment and begin cleaning up
>Discarded clothes in the hamper, food wrappers in the bin, dishes cleaned
>Okay, this situation was more salvageable than you thought
>You just had to not panic and-
>*knock knock knock* “Hey Sunset, it's me”
>Engage full panic mode
>You practically fling yourself at your closet
>Sadly you forgot about the towel restricting your movement and trip over it
>You end up banging your head again the side letting out a yelp
>“Sunset what was that?”
>Despite being slightly delirious you manage to right yourself and grab something to cover yourself from your closet
“It was nothing I'm fine”
>As you try to get your feet through your panties you end up getting dizzy and falling backwards
>You can only manage to let out a groan this time
>Your dizziness fades as resounding thuds come from your door
>“Sunset, what's going on in there?”
“Don't worry”
>At least you hope that's what you said, the ringing in your ears makes it kind of hard to tell
>“Why can I smell blood?”
>You only managed to hear the blood part of that
>Slightly perplexed by that you bring a hand up to your head
>Feeling a damp patch at your forehead and the back of your head you feel a wave of nausea wash over you
>As you dry heave a little you think you hear Anon saying something
>“-ing in”
>Wait no, in is bad
>Quickly scrambling to your closet again you manage to get on the rest of your underwear before you hear your door click
>You're still on the floor from the fall so you have to crane your neck a lot more than usual to look up at him
>Weird you don't remember inviting his brothers
>Wait why are there four
>“Oh fu-”
>That's all you're able to make out before you pass out
>You expected a hardwood floor to be uncomfortable
>But it's surprisingly nice
>It's smooth and warm and even slightly cushiony
>Adjusting yourself you feel the floor shift with you
>Hold on that doesn't make sense
>Reaching a hand up you run it along whatever you're on
>It's smooth for sure and even has a little bit of give
>Cracking open an eye you try to inspect your surroundings
>It takes a few minute with how dark it is but you eventually come to the conclusion that you're still at home
>Twisting yourself slightly you look up to the ceiling
>At least you expected to see the ceiling
>Instead you see Anonymous looking down on you
>He also doesn't look that impressed
>“You're an idiot you know that”
>Jeez, it's like the look your dad gave you when you blew up his study as a filly
>Even the little hint of worry in his eyes
>But then again you did see four of him earlier so maybe you're wrong about that
>As you rub your eyes you sit up slightly
“Hello to you too”
>Before you're able to move he place his hands on your shoulders and pulls your head back into his lap
>Whilst your sure most girls would call you a dyke for complaining about the position you're in, you can't help but voice your confusion
“What exactly are you doing?”
>He simply rolls his eyes at you and leans over you
>It gives you a faceful of his chest and the smell that came with it
>Did he shower too?
>As he leans back he pulls something sticky off your head and replace it with a cold compress
>Tilting your to the side, you see him putting the compress he just took into a bowl of water
>You move your hand to the compress but he quickly stops you
>“No, you need to leave that on”
>You let out a huff and try to remove it again
>Only for him to pin your arm to your side
>Damn, for a guy he's strong, or is he just using his magic
“Look Anon I appreciate you worrying, but I'm fine”
>“The fact you were bleeding from two parts of your head says otherwise”
>That stops you from fussing further
>Was it really that bad
>Seemingly sensing your concerns he snaps his fingers in front of you to get your attention
>“You don't need to worry, it was just a concussion, I've already bandaged you, so you just need to lay there and rest”
“Shouldn't I be in bed?”
>“If you can avoid it, you shouldn't exert yourself, so just stay here”
>You want to argue again but then you really would deserve to be called a dyke
>Just shutting your eyes you try to get some sleep again
>As you drift off you're brought back as you hear a deep chuckling above you
>Opening your eyes you raise an eyebrow at your impromptu doctor
>“Sorry, it's just, you must be the only girl in the world to concuss herself while half naked”
>You can't help but chuckle with him at the mental image
>Your face quickly turns red as you realise what that means
>You now have an urge to crawl into a hole and never come back out
>But you settle for simply covering your face
>His laughter soon stops as he notices your discomfort
>Pulling your hands away he speaks up
>“Hey don't worry, I didn't see anything, I'm not Incognito after all. I dressed you as quick as I could, and treated you, that's it.”
>You let out a sigh of relief at that
>While you're not 100% sure, he at least doesn't seem like the kind of guy to do that
>Though when you think about it you find yourself with a few questions
“Hold on, you said you smelt blood?”
>He nods his head at that, a small smile on his lips
>“Yep, Sirens have especially good senses of smell, we used to have contests with dragons back in the day”
>You're glad that Twilight isn't here
>Both the princess and the one from this world
>That one answer would give them a hundred new questions
“Ok, but how did you get into my house? I can see you didn't break the door-”
>Looking to the side you confirm that it is indeed still intact
“-so how?”
>He simply taps his nose at that
>“I got the scent of the interior of your lock, then used that to sniff out your spare key”
>That leaves you slightly baffled
“But I've only ever had to use it once since I got this place”
>He shrugs his shoulders at that and shoots you a smirk
>Wow, he really wasn't kidding when he said Sirens could compete with dragons
>You feel another wave of nausea hit you and you decide it'd be a good idea to get some sleep
>However before you do, you can't help but ask one last question
“Why am I on your lap?”
>Once more he just shrugs the question off
>“I was uncomfortable kneeling on your floor, it hurt my knees”
>Just barely nodding you feel sleep overtake you once more

>The sweet smell of eggs fills your nose, and the sizzling sound of bacon fills your ears
>At least it partially does
>Most of your ears are filled with the sound of Sunset Shimmer's snoring
>Which must mean you're Anonymous
>You're hoping to rouse your sleeping host with some good food
>At least you hope it'll be good food
>You mostly just survived off of raw meat and magic back home
>You can't help but a feel slight pang in your chest at the thought
>Despite spending a year here you can still visualise it all like you're there
>The rolling emerald hills and azure skies
>The crystal blue seas and all the creatures within
>The small port town near your old home
>Your family
>Thankfully you're snapped out of your reverie by a particularly loud snore
>You never liked going down that route
>Turning the heat to low you look over your shoulder to see Sunset stirring
>As she rubs the sleep out of her eyes she stretches out across the couch
>After which she immediately curls back up and turns over
>You let out a small chuckle at her antics
>Walking over to her, you crouch down beside her and shake her slightly
“None of that now, you need to eat”
>She tries shrugging your hand off but you hold firm
>You now pull her towards you so she faces the ceiling
>Slowly pulling her arm away from her eyes she let's her head fall to face you
>Her eyes scan you up and down several times
>They widen slightly until she brings a hand up to rub them
>Inspecting you one last time she sits up and works to meticulously rub the sleep out of her eyes
>You're surprised your putting up with this, if Incognito had done it you'd have slapped him by now
>Maybe it's because she isn't as awful as you imagined she'd be
>You still hold her accountable for what she did to your sisters, but after your brief encounters with her, maybe you can hate her a little less than before
>Hearing a crackling coming from the pan you bolt up and back to the stove to make sure the breakfast doesn't get burned
>With the food finally ready you dish it up evenly between two plates
>The soft thud of foot falls, the screeching of a metal chair on hardwood floor, and a brief but heavier thud tell you all you need to know
>Turning on your heels you slide a plate over to Sunset which she just barely stops from going over the edge
>Pulling out the chair across from her you take your seat and begin to dig into your breakfast
>As you slowly chew through the food you're painfully aware of the eyes boring holes into you
>Glancing up you confirm your suspicions as you lock eyes with Sunset
>Snapping out of her daze she tries to look everywhere but at you
>Eventually settling on having a staring contest with the door you hold your own gaze on her
>You see her start to sweat as you refuse to look away
>Heaving a sigh you shake your head and grab another forkful of food and speak up
“You should be eating”
>Her attention finally snaps back to you at that
>“What?”
>It take all of your will power not to facepalm at that
>Holding up a hand you chew through your food quicker and swallow
>She follows your fork as you use it to point between her and her plate
“You gave yourself a concussion last night, you need to eat. You better hurry too, if it goes cold I won't cook you more”
>For a brief time she looks between you, your plate and hers
>Seemingly realising for the first time that she does indeed have food on her plate she grabs her knife and fork and finally begins to eat
>“Right, yeah right, I just um... sorry I just wasn't expecting to see this when I woke up this morning”
>You quirk an eyebrow at her as you start to clean up the rest of your plate
>As she lifts a forkful of food to her mouth she stops before shaking her head
>“Not that I meant that I didn't expect to see you here, it's just that- well I thought last night might have been a dream. NOT that I don't appreciate what you did because I do, it's just that, well I-”
>As she starts trying to explain herself faster and faster, and she becomes less and less understandable as she starts to stutter and fall over her words
>Stuffing a forkful of food in her mouth you can almost hear her mentally berate herself
>Basically putting her nose in her food she puts an arm over the top of her head
>Effectively concealing her face from you, you just manage to hear some muffled talk coming from her
>“-Thank you”
>The sight before you actually causes a bit of laughter to bubble up inside you
>There's just something about this girl
>Quickly biting your tongue to stop yourself you grunt and grab your plate
>Turning back to the sink you begin washing up
>You vigorously try to scrub the mental image of her hiding from you, and her muffled thanks, out of your head as you scrub the dish
>You keep scrubbing as more mental images pop into your head
>How her hair blew in the wind on the roof
>The sound of her laugh on your way to school
>Dropping the dish to the side you grip the counter and try to use some calming breaths
>You refuse to think this way about the girl who ruined your sisters' lives
>You jump slightly as you feel a slight pressure on your shoulder
>Whipping around you see Sunset get startled a bit by your sudden movement
>She gives you a nervous smile as she slowly releases your shoulder
>“You looked like you were pretty upset, are you alright?”
>Taking a deep breath you run a hand down your face and calm yourself
“Yeah, yeah I'm fine just uh... thinking about my sisters”
>She visibly flinches when you mention them and begins rubbing her arm
>She briefly reaches out to you but, after an internal debate, pulls away and goes to sit back down
>Neither of you say anything for a while
>The only thing to echo through the house is the sound of her fork scraping on the plate and the cars outside
>Stealing a glance at Sunset you see her gripping the table cloth and rolling it in her hands as she half-heartedly eats her food
>Rolling your eyes you decide that you hate awkward silences and make your way back to the table
>Leaning against the table, you clear your throat slightly to get her attention
“So I was thinking for the project-”
>“I'm sorry”
>You look up to see Sunset hasn't shifted at all
“What?”
>Finishing her mouthful she slowly turns her head up to look at you
>“I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what we did to your sisters, but we had to, they're not like you or Pseudo, or Incog- ok they're a lot like Incog. But they attacked the school, it was awful”
>Letting out a heavy sigh she pauses before looking up at you expectantly
>Taking that as your cue you briefly go over her words
>You open your mouth but close it quickly as you think about how to approach this
>Sunset meanwhile, only gets more nervous the longer you take
“They turned people into mindless thugs didn't they?”
>Her nervous expression turns to confusion at your words
>Quickly regaining her composure she rapidly nods
>“Yeah, they turned friends against each other, people were openly brawling in the halls at one point.”
>She lets out a sigh and sags in her chair
>“During the worst of it they even got my friends to fight each other”
>You briefly take a mental note of that and store it away for later use
>Pushing yourself back you recline in the chair and let it balance on two legs briefly
>Pulling yourself back the thud brings Sunset's attention back to you
“That definitely sounds like their magic”
>Raising an eyebrow at that, a smile quickly forms on her face as she leans towards you
>“Do you think you can tell me more about how Siren magic works? You were a bit vague when I asked on the way to school yesterday”
>You had been purposefully vague back then, you didn't want her knowing too much
>But if you try that again now she might get suspicious considering how you're supposed to be friends now, and that could be problematic
>Grumbling to yourself you straighten up and lean on your arms as well
“I assume you're aware of Changelings right?”
>“Celestia told me about them but I never encountered one personally, why?”
“Well they're one of our oldest allies for one, because of how similarly our magic works”
>Her eyes turn to pinpricks at this but soon widen in fascination
>“You know I'm glad Twilight isn't here, she'd bombard you with questions. Hell I almost want to do that myself. To start with I thought Changelings only fed on love?”
>You grin at her enthusiasm and the fact you got her to diver from your sisters
“They do, but some feel love stronger than others do, and that's where we came in”
>She raises an eyebrow as you've seemingly lost her again
“Because Sirens don't just cause those who hear them sing to fight”
>You roll your hand as you go on hoping she'll catch on
>Realising where you're going with this she makes an 'O' shape with her mouth
>“So what else can Siren songs cause?”
>You shrug your shoulders as you never actually got to learn all the possible outcomes of Siren songs
“A lot of things, hate, as you saw. But also things like, envy, jealousy, greed, sadness even. Though that's more commonly found in the female Sirens”
>“So what about guy Sirens? When you guys sang I only felt fear, is that what you induce in people?”
>You chuckle slightly and shake your head
“Nope, try again”
>Pausing at your words she looks down as she goes back to then
>After a few minutes she sits up and looks at you quizzically
>“Well before I actually realised you were Sirens I felt... calm”
>Pressing a finger to your nose you point at her
“Well done, gold star to Celestia's prize pupil”
>She giggles lightly as you give her a slow clap
>As she waves you off you smack your lips
>Realising now just how thirsty you are you go to grab a glass of water
“So yeah, basically guy Sirens end up usually causing positive effects with their songs, calmness, happiness, even love.”
>As you fill a glass and take a few gulps Sunset finishes off your thought
>“Which means you could artificially cause ponies to feel more love, and the Changelings could feed”
>Pointing to her again she pumps her fist slightly for putting it together
>Noticing her half full plate she goes back to chowing down as you refill your glass
>You notice her visibly cringe as a forkful of food hits her tongue
“I told you it would go cold, and I'm not making any more”
>Rolling her eyes you catch her mumbling your words back under her breath
>Despite your expectations, she surprises you and finishes the last of the cold and probably unpleasant eggs and bacon
>Looking up at you she smugly grins as she lifts to show her empty plate
>Grumbling to yourself slightly you chug the water again and lean against the counter
>As she gets up from her seat she simply dumps her dish in the sink
>Walking over to a cabinet she grabs some coffee beans and starts pouring them into an ancient looking coffee machine
>As the coffee brews you go back and forth on magic once more, this time being a bit more open
>Sunset delves more into how emotion works alongside pony magic as well
>That passion is the main emotion for basically all three races, but how unicorns can sometimes use other emotions for other spells
>When the coffee machine finally finishes she seemingly shakes with excitement as she pours herself a cup
>Taking a big gulp she heaves a heavy sigh and a goofy grin spreads across her face as she practically nurses the coffee in her hands
>Seemingly satisfied she leans on the counter as well and points at you with her coffee
>“So how long have Sirens been allied with Changelings?”
>You let out a slow huff as you try to go over the few history lessons you got from your parents
>As you do some mental maths Sunset continues to take small sips from her coffee
“Actually I think we haven't been allied with them for about... 1500 years or so? I don't know the specifics, the alliance broke down about 400 years before I was born”
>A choking sound snaps you out of your mental maths
>Looking to the side you see Sunset coughing with coffee dripping off her chin
>Quickly grabbing a napkin she wipes herself off and clears her throat into it
>“Sorry about that, I sometimes forget how old you Sirens actually are. So what exactly caused the alliance to break down?”
“Oh, well we just couldn't support each other anymore, we had to defend our own races what with Discord ruling Equestria and his influence spreading past the borders”
>“You mean the lawn ornament Celestia has? I'm surprised his influence went past Equestria”
>You hum to yourself slightly as you sway back and forth
“It didn't really, not many other races felt his influence, they just saw it, but there were parts of the world he purposefully influenced, like our two races”
>Finally getting her breath back Sunset goes back to her coffee as a thoughtful look crosses her face
>Licking her lips slightly she pulls herself away from the counter and lifts herself on top of it
>“I wonder why he only targeted your two races”
>You shrug your shoulders as she starts to tip the cup of coffee back further and further
“I dunno, I guess I could have asked him since he's walking around again”
>Rather than choking, this time Sunset does a total spit take of her coffee
>Heaving slightly her head snaps to face you
>“When did Discord get set free?”
“I dunno, I just found him doing a musical number at the lower levels of the sea one day, I... thought it'd be best if I let him be”
>Grabbing her napkin she wipes down the surface that her coffee got sprayed on to
>“Sorry, it's just that I would have expected Twilight to tell me about something like that”
>Grabbing a sponge you go to help her wipe down the surface
>Luckily the coffee was still wet so a few wipes got rid of it easily
>Wringing out the sponge and throwing the soaked napkin away you turn back to Sunset
“So about the project?”
>Straightening up suddenly at that you can tell it had slipped her mind
>“Oh yeah, right”
>Giggling nervously she coughs into her hand and points towards the sofa before making her way over to it
>Quickly joining her you grab your bag as she goes for hers
>Laying out the notes you made you begin going back and forth on them
>Many hours pass as you go over your notes
>The movie was tedious, and finding any deeper meaning to it was like finding a slightly different needle in a needle stack
>After going over your work for the third time, the two of you agree that you've written what your pompous teacher wants to hear from the work
>The clattering of pens on table are quickly drowned out by Sunset letting out an exasperated groan, as she flops back on to the sofa
>You soon join her, letting your body go slack as you slump against the cushions
>Doing so alerts you to just how sore your back was from being hunched over your work for so long
>You let out a groan as you shift in place, trying to find the softest spot to rest your back on
>After a lot of shuffling and rearranging pillows, you finally allow yourself to collapse completely
>It's barely gone past midday and you already feel like you could fall asleep
>Looking beside you, you see Sunset drifting in and out of consciousness
>As her eyelids slowly grow heavier her head begins to droop, eventually it drops forward causing her to jolt awake, only for the cycle to repeat itself
>Why she doesn't just lay her head back is beyond you
>Though the sight does remind you of when you put her to sleep in class
>The constant yawning from her had aggravated you
>Not because it was particularly unpleasant, it was actually rather soothing to listen to
>The way her body pressed against your side when you had put her to sleep wasn't uncomfortable either, she was actually fairly light and soft
>The way she wiggled about against your side, pressing her head into your shoulder, and the way her hair tickled your nose slightly helped make the otherwise boring lesson more pleasant
>Then there was the gentle rise and fall of her chest, each breath caused her to push you ever so slightly, it actually took you a few minutes to realise it was even happening
>When you did realise it you couldn't ignore the sensation of the way she almost rocked you back and forth
>That's what aggravated you however, for nearly a year as you three left yourself in the background you felt nothing but disdain for her
>But as you interacted with her, each of her actions, no matter how small, and the conversations you had, no matter how trivial or mundane, seemed to work to assuage all of that
>It's no surprise ponies survived as long as they have
>Too cute to kill
>Well that, and all the powerful unicorn sorcerers and their immortal rulers
>You try to shake the thoughts from your head
>You've had to do that a lot recently
>Each time you do is more difficult than the last
>Maybe you should just stop trying at this point
>Allow the frivolous thoughts to run free
>It would make it easier to plan if you didn't have to worry about having an internal debate about the girl besides you every 5 minutes
>Speaking of the girl besides you, a light snore snaps you back to reality
>Curled into herself she's finally put her head back and has fallen into Luna's embrace
>At least that's how the stories of Celestia's more illusive sister went, whenever your father saw fit to regale the six of you about her
>You always wondered if her abilities were based on race or distance
>You were certainly never visited in your dreams
>You also didn't hear of any other creature being visited by the Princess of the Night
>Though if her magic only spread to ponies you couldn't help but wonder if the princess was visiting Sunset now
>Who knows what they could be talking about, whatever it was you'd be none the wiser
>The obsessive paranoia that constantly urges you to make plan after plan, contingency after contingency, starts to niggle away at the back of your mind
>It urges you to take Luna's involvement into account
>To add her to your ever growing list of parameters you'll need to be aware of for your new plan
>Dozens of plans to deal with her involvement, both direct and indirect flood your mind
>As you feel a headache start to form you quickly squash the voice in your head
>It was either that or start writing out the plans and you couldn't do that, at least not while you're here
>Ever since the day you learned that you would be responsible for ensuring you and your brothers' survival the paranoia started to develop
>When your parents passed, it only started out as an inquisitive and innovative mind, constantly attempting to help Adagio with keeping the pack intact, to help ease the stress on her shoulders
>Then one day it was only you
>Sure it was half the work but you had less than a quarter of the experience Adagio had, and none of the assistance
>Incognito was selfish, yet unable to help himself
>Pseudo was too willing to follow orders without question
>But you did your best, and you like to think that you've done a good job so far
>You made a lot of mistakes along the way, got tricked by other packs more times than your pride will let you admit, causing you to go hungry more than once, but at least you kept them alive
>As your thoughts wander you don't feel the pangs that usually followed
>You actually feel a smile spread across your face
>The nights the three of you would share what little you had
>Incognito would never let silence hang for long
>He'd either crack some idiotic joke or provoke one of you two
>Just for the sake of keeping you all talking
>As your breathing steadies you could swear you smell the sea in the air
>Though the room is deftly quiet it's loud inside your head, the crashing of waves on rocks causing your smile to widen
>You're snapped out of your reverie by a rumbling
>Snapping your head to the side you a, now flustered Sunset, holding her stomach
>Chuckling nervously she stretches out and stands up from the sofa
>“Sorry about that, didn't mean to disturb you”
>You wave her off as you crack your neck
“Nothing to worry about, I'm guessing you're hungry”
>Pointing to her stomach, she lets out another nervous chuckle as she rubs her arm
>“Yeah I guess all that studying worked up an appetite”
>You nod slowly at her and you both stare at each other in silence for a few minutes
>As the silence drags on she begins shuffling her feet
>Eventually you see her glance between you and the kitchen but you hold firm
>Giving in, her shoulders sag a bit as she makes her way over to the counter
>As you watch her walk over she shoots multiple glances over her shoulder at you
>When she finally makes it there she begins pulling out pans and ingredients
>She attempts to add a bit of flourish, spinning the pans in the air, rolling the ingredients in her hands
>At least she attempts to
>When she throws the pans in the air to spin them, the handle throws them off balance and they end up coming down at an angle
>You see her tense up but she shakes it off quick enough to just barely keep the pan up and catch up
>When she tries to twirl the ingredients she ends up dropping half of them
>You see her hang her head in defeat
>You're tempted to laugh but you think she's feeling bad enough as it is
>Eventually she begins chopping the ingredients and preparing the meal
>For a while you're content to sit in silence
>Only disturbed by the rhythmic sound of chopping and stirring
>Smelling the ever growing and changing flavour of the food as more ingredients are added
>That peace is disturbed as an alarm starts blaring
>Your eyes snap open and turn to the counter to see black smoke billowing from a, now burning, pan
>Jumping to your feet you make your way over to assist Sunset
>She's opened a window and is trying to wave the smoke out it with a towel
>Grabbing the towel you grab hold of the pan's handle and dump it into the sink
>Turning the cold water on full immediately douses the flames, and ruins the meal in the process
>A small price to pay to not burn down a house
>Turning to Sunset you raise an eyebrow at her
>You're not angry or upset, just confused
>It's hard to believe she's survived this long without knowing how to cook
“What did you do?”
>She holds her hand up in mock surrender
>“I didn't do anything, that has never happened before”
>Your hair is threatening to annex your eyebrow if you raise it any further
>Walking over to her cookbook you look over what she was trying to make
>Seemed like a simple lamb salad
>You're deftly aware of her looking over your shoulder as you can literally feel her breath on your neck
>“I guess I don't have a stall- guy's touch when it comes to the kitchen”
>She tries to play it off with a laugh but you can tell how embarrassed she is
>For a while you go over the recipe with her in detail
>You figure out where she went wrong when she states how she started cooking the meat
>You then have to go into the reasons why tripling the temperature of the stove does not actually cook the meat three times faster
>She bulks at the new information
>You have to regale her with how Incognito nearly burned your house down four separate times due to his impatience
>Slumping against the counter she drags a hand down her face
>“Well that's fantastic, that was the last of the food I had”
>Going over to her fridge freezer you confirm that she has officially drained herself of all her food
>You're not sure whether if it's from stupidity or brilliantly efficient planning on her part
>One thing you are sure of though, is that you're hungry
>Another rumble from Sunset confirms that the feeling is mutual
“So should we head down to the market to pick something up?”
>She actually flinches at that
>Her eyes dart back and forth as she opens and closes her mouth several times
>You could've sworn you saw the light bulb go off as a look of realisation comes over her
>“There's actually no need, I have groceries coming in tomorrow morning”
“Ok, but what are we going to do about today?”
>She droops slightly at that, muttering under her breath
>As her mutterings get louder, but no more coherent she sways on her feet
>One of her hands ends up slipping from the counter but she soon catches herself
>Only for her other hand to slip as well
>This time she's not so successful in righting herself
>Quickly stepping forward you grab her under the armpits and lift her back to her feet
>You hold your hands out ready to catch her as she steadies herself
>When she tries to wave you off you place a hand on her shoulder to keep her steady
“Are you sure you're okay Sunset?”
>You squint at her, trying to see any signs of an incoming lie
>She looks at you but quickly diverts her gaze
>Twiddling with her hands you barely catch her mumbling something
“You're gonna need to speak up Sunset”
>Taking a deep breath she brushes your hand off and finally looks at you
>Though her gaze is steely initially it soon falters as she wobbles on her legs
>“I think I still have a concussion”
“What?”
>Before you're able to question her further her legs give out
>Luckily she doesn't lose consciousness as she quickly grips onto your shoulders
>You instinctively wrap your own arms around her to stop her from toppling over
>All too quickly you become aware of the situation you're in
>Manoeuvring yourself, you stand beside her and keep one of her arms around you
>Moving over to the sofa you turn her around and gently set her down
>The feeling seems to be coming back to her legs as you see her use them to push herself back, but her eyes are still slightly glazed over
>Sitting on the arm rest beside her you quickly check the bandaging on her head
>It hasn't been soaked with blood so her head hasn't split open
>Maybe she just didn't get enough rest
>Heaving a sigh you crouch in front of her to try and get her to look at you
>Shaking one of her legs manages to get her to stir
>Seemingly becoming aware of how she's nearly passing out she shakes her head back and forth to try and wake herself up
>You quickly grab her head before she worsens her condition
>This gets her attention luckily and her eyes snap to meet yours
“Why didn't you tell me sooner?”
>She attempts to turn away but you hold her head in place
>In her current condition she can't pull away so she attempts to look anywhere else
>When she realises you aren't going to budge she takes a deep breath and turns back to you
>“I- I didn't want you worrying about me all the time, I can take care of myself”
>The stupidity of her reasoning is second only to her petulant tone
>Finally releasing her head you stand up
>Her eyes follow you as you move over to your bag
>Pulling out your phone you turn on your data and look up local pizza in the search bar
>Finding the one closest to the apartment you call them up
>As you confirm you've got the right number you see her perk up
>You end up ordering a large half meat lovers, half vegetarian with drinks and a tub of ice cream
>The last one was much to your chagrin, but to Sunset's delight
>She actually tried to grab the phone from your hands, she wanted to order some so badly
>With the order set you hang up and chuck your phone on the table
“There, food secured, my treat”
>Her eyes turn to the size of dinner plates at that
>Slumping on the sofa you are soon accosted by Sunset pressing herself against your side
>You attempt to lean away but you only end up cornering yourself against the arm rest
>She looks you up and down and eventually gives you back your personal space
>“What's the catch?”
>Your eyebrow is getting tempted to move to the upper area of your forehead permanently at this rate
>Settling back down in the sofa you're relieved to find your back doesn't ache anymore
“There is no catch, you need to take care of that concussion. That means no doing anything stupid, so what do you say to me crashing here for one more day?”
>She's taken aback slightly by you're reasoning but appreciates it none the less
>“Thanks, I... I haven't been cared for like this since I was a filly back home, it's... nice”
>She shoots a small smile at you and you can't help but return it
>“What about you?”
>You hum slightly at that, not entirely sure what she means
>“When were you last cared for?”
>You scratch your chin as you go back down memory lane
“Actually I had recently recovered from an illness that Adagio was helping me get over about a week before...”
>You don't bother finishing the sentence but you can tell she understands your meaning
>Not feeling up for going through that pity party of apologies again you ask her about what her own family was like
>For a while she regales you with tales of her home, you were from the same world but you never got that far inland until the day you found the portal
>It's amusing to hear what ponies did after hearing so many rumours about it
>For what feels like ages she goes over her time before and after becoming Celestia's student
>You're sort of annoyed at the fact that the delivery made it here early
>Grumbling Sunset goes to stand but you quickly press down on her shoulder forcing her to sit again
“My treat, remember?”
>“Oh, right. Force of habit”
>You make your way over to the door, grabbing the wallet from your bag as you do
>Unlocking and opening the door you're met with a typical punk rock girl
>Too many chains, a few piercings and blowing bubblegum
>If there was a prize for most typical teenage girl working a minimum wage job
>She does seem to perk up when she notices you
>She straightens up, tidies her uniform a bit and puts on what you think are supposed to be bedroom eyes
>“Well hey there cutie, what's a guy like you doing ordering all this?”
>You manage to suppress your urge to groan
>You can't help but remember the dozen or so girls the three of you had to shoot down when you first came here
>Whilst you're tempted to pay and shut the door a thought crosses your mind
>It has been a while since you had fun
>Relaxing your shoulders you lean against the doorway and give her a small smirk
“Oh you don't even know, somedays I can eat out for hours on end”
>Your smirk grows as her jaw drops
>Placing a hand on top of the box you make it so your fingers are just a tiny bit away from hers
“Eat take out of course”
>She jumps slightly and you see her confidence start to break
>Probably never got this far before
>“Oh yeah right that's- that's what I thought you meant. I knew that.”
>As she hands over the pizza you place it besides your feet and fish the money out of your wallet
>“So um uh-”
>Hook, line
>“I get off my shift in about an hour, don't suppose you could save a slice or two for me?”
>Sinker
>As you're about to put the finishing touch on this you feel a hand grip your shoulder
>You both jump, though you're not sure who was more startled
>“Sorry girlie, but I've got a big appetite”
>With that Sunset firmly slams the door
>Party pooper
>Rolling your eyes you just grab the pizza and follow after her
>She ends up having to grip the sofa to steady herself back onto it but she still seems fine
>Placing the pizza on the table you pop it open and dive in to grab a slice
>Not a good idea, you're pretty sure you're gonna end up giving yourself some kind of burn on your hand but you refuse to give in
>You switch the slice from hand to hand as you eat away at it slowly
>Eventually it cools off enough that you can hold it and enjoy the savoury mix of various meats
>You soon become aware that Sunset still hasn't touched any of the pizza
>She's hasn't moved from where she sat and has crossed her arms
>Leaning over you nudge her
>Shifting her gaze to you, you point to the pizza
>She simply grumbles and grabs a slice and stuffs half of it into her mouth
>You slide back and try to enjoy your slice but you're put off by how violently she's attacking her own
>Is that what it looked like when you ate as a Siren
>You can see why creatures were put off
>Having finished eating her slice in just two bites she swallows it downs and lets out a deep breath
>Seemingly hit by the good vibes that come inherent with all pizza she seems to calm down slightly
>Gripping her jeans she looks back and forth between them and the pizza
>She soon leans over and grabs a slice of the meat lovers side and immediately starts tearing into it
>Ok you're not stupid
“You're annoyed I flirted with her aren't you?”
>Her eyes widen and she ends up choking on a bit of pizza but at least you have her attention again
>“What-”
>Sunset is racked with coughs before she's able to get the second word out
>As she tries to dislodge the pizza you give her a hard slap on the back which seems to do the trick
>Luckily she just swallows it rather than spitting it onto the floor
>She takes in a few deep breaths before continuing
>“What gave you that idea?”
>You roll your eyes and finish off your slice and push the pizza back a bit
“A few things, the venomous tone when you spoke to the girl, the death grip on my shoulder, you nearly breaking your own door off it's hinges.”
>As you list off the reasons she shrinks into herself more and more
>When you finish she's put her slice down and takes another deep breath
>“I dunno why I didn't like it, I just- I just thought she looked like bad news, sort of looked like a drop out, not the kind of girl you want to get with you know?”
>You simply sit back and listen, leaving her question to hang in the air
>“Basically... we're supposed to be friends now, and friends watch each other's back, I just wanted you to know I have yours”
>As she goes on a smile creeps it's way onto her face
>Returning the smile you begin chuckling before going into full laughter
>Obviously confused you go into your plan of setting her up to deny her anyway
>You had expected her to join you in laughing but she only seems put off
>“That isn't that funny Anon”
“You were just saying how I shouldn't get with her”
>“Yeah but that doesn't mean you have to be cruel about it”
>You slump back into the sofa and grumble
>What a way to kill the mood
>“I'm serious Anon”
>Looking back at Sunset you see that she's genuinely upset by this
>“When Incognito shot down Dash months ago she was broken up about it, heck I think she still might be. It isn't that funny on the other side”
>You let out a sigh at the mention of one of your few missteps since coming here
>Not keeping Incognito in line
>Sunset lets out a sigh too and leans forward a bit
>“But I- I shouldn't make a big deal out of this. Sorry, you did hit Incog about it anyway, so I know you get it. It's just that it isn't just Rainbow who's been hurt by a guy when it comes to me and the girls, so it's a bad topic for me.”
>She waves both her hands and shakes her head in an attempt to clear the awkwardness that's built
>As she reaches for another slice you speak up
“I didn't”
>She lets out a hmph as she now has a mouthful of pizza
“I didn't hit him because he hurt your friend. It was because he left an impression”
>Her chewing slows as she processes your words
>Quickly finishing her food she turns to face you again
>“An impression. You said that's what let's us remember you guys when everyone else forgets”
>You simply nod and you see her start to put the pieces together
>Before she's able to say anything you speak
“I think I want to try though”
>She's stopped in her tracks and raises an eyebrow at you
“I think your frou-frou garbage is rubbing off on me, but I think I want to try and not be such a dick. Like you said, we're supposed to be friends, watch each other's backs and all”
>She squints and looks you over
>Not seeing any sign of dishonesty, she bursts into a smile and place a hand on your leg
>“Trying is all I ask”
>With the tension gone you go back to your abandoned food
>As you see her grab another meat lovers slice you have to sate your curiosity
“Aren't ponies herbivores?”
>She giggles slightly at this
>As you make your way through the rest of your pizza she tells you how she got around to eating meat for the first time, and how she got used to it in her diet

>You are Sunset Shimmer and you feel great
>Whilst your weekend had a... rough start to put it gently
>It had picked up a lot
>You got nursed back to health by a doting stallion, man, fish thing
>You got through that ridiculous group assignment without tearing out your hair
>You got cooked a nice breakfast
>Though it did end up going cold
>Then you got a pizza
>Which he paid for
>Quite frankly you've been wondering whether you died after banging your head and went to heaven
>Sadly you're reminded that you're still alive as another throbbing pain washes over you
>Groaning, you roll onto your side and curl into a ball in the hope the new position will somehow stop the headaches
>At least you've gotten over the worst of it
>Literally falling into Anonymous' arms yesterday was beyond embarrassing
>It wasn't the most womanly thing to do
>Yet he seemed fairly alright with it
>Whereas most guys would be put off with the idea of having to take care of a girl rather than be taken care of, he treated it like the most normal thing in the world
>From what you learned about Siren hierarchy it might very well have been
>While the girl Sirens are generally stronger there have been enough cases of even stronger males for their gender roles to even out
>You had already asked him a dozen questions but you had thousands more
>It felt like you had barely even seen the iceberg at this point
>Twilight would probably need to open a whole new library for all the information he could give you
>But that will have to wait
>You're here to befriend him, not interrogate him
>Though you haven't been doing much befriending honestly
>About 98% of his time here was spent feeding you, making sure you didn't keel over and doing work
>You are glad that you made a bit of progress with him last night
>He clearly has a lot to learn though
>Seeing as how he took joy in the idea of turning down and potentially humiliating that delivery girl, makes that much obvious
>But he did say he'd try
>Honestly, despite what you said to the girls and Twilight, you weren't sure if you were even going to get that much
>But now you know
>So you're gonna give it your all
>You owe the three of them that much at least
>Speaking of Anonymous
>As you shift around on the couch you feel his legs sliding over yours
>As the two of you tore through the pizza you noticed how cold it had been getting
>Not wanting you to exert yourself he got up and grabbed your duvet from your bed and threw it over you
>You weren't sure if it was because he wasn't cold or because he was shy but he was adamant in not sharing
>But as he settled on your sofa for the second night in a row he had ended up lying down
>Most of his body was propped up against the back, but his legs had managed to reach you
>It was an interesting sensation
>With each breath he took you could feel his legs shift ever so slightly
>They were light yet firm
>You could feel the muscles moving, tensing and shifting as he stirred in his sleep
>He had lean muscle like his brother Incognito yet they were less defined
>It made it hard to tell who was physically stronger of the three, even if Anon led them
>As you rolled over for the umpteenth time you couldn't ignore your body's restlessness anymore
>Letting out a small groan you slowly peel the duvet off you, revealing yourself to the cold air of your home
>Powering through it you throw it off completely and stretch out
>But not before slowly moving Anon's legs off you
>You let your shoulders slump after your stretches reward you with some satisfying clicks, cracks and pops that send shivers down your spine
>As your systems slowly boot up you rub the sleep out of your eyes and go to quench your thirst
>After downing a long glass of water you feel refreshed and ready for the day
>After you take a shower
>You hadn't been able to do a very thorough job the other day with how quickly Anon arrived
>You just hope Anon didn't notice it too much
>The thought of word spreading of you being a slob made you shudder
>You're in high school, you're supposed to be over the whole unhygienic phase from your puberty days
>Though now that you think about it you never really had that here
>Being a grown mare in a teenage girl's body does wonders for your self confidence
>It also helped you lead stallions on by a string back before Twilight slapped your shit with friendship
>You still haven't really thanked her properly for that
>Maybe you could send her a fruit basket
>Though there's no guarantee if it would be a fruit basket when it got there
>After all the portal turned ponies into humans, and dragons into dogs
>Though it did turn the six Sirens into humans too
>Magic really isn't a science by any measure
>You shake yourself out of your daze before you get lost in thought about the metaphysics of magic
>Hey that didn't hurt or make you want to throw up
>So you're definitely getting better
>As you head to the bathroom you've got your shirt off before you cross the threshold
>As what you just did dawns on you, you throw yourself into the bathroom slam the door shut and lock it
>You're tempted to wedge it shut but you'd probably have to rip your toilet out of the floor to do so
>Either that or have your shower and walk out and hope that Anon was still asleep when you nearly stripped
>But if he wasn't asleep you'd either have to clear it up or act like it didn't happen
>You are weighing your options
>You press your ear to the door and are glad to hear nothing other than the cars going past outside
>Hopefully Lady Luck was feeling generous and kept Anon asleep
>Steadying your breathing you get up and remove the rest of your clothing
>Checking yourself in the mirror you can't help but feel your pride well up
>After coming through the portal your body kept it's mature proportions as you went through school for the second time
>Despite that and your adult mind you still had to go through puberty sadly
>Nonetheless your maturity of body and mind still made you the envy of girls and the desire of guys
>Your knowledge of how to deal with your fluctuating metabolism as your body grew for a second time helped you to keep your figure in check
>You were also able to stop any blemishes from popping up by using proper cleaning products
>All of which led you to the killer figure you've got now
>Running your hands over your body you only feel your pride increase as they run over your ample bosom and wide hips
>Your pride does take a hit as you manage to grab a bit of your stomach
>Maybe you should ask one of the girls for some tips to trim yourself down a bit
>Fluttershy doesn't eat much and you love food, so it's a no for her
>Then there's Pinkie, you're pretty sure she has some magical entity inside her that lets her do the weird stuff she does and that's where all the food she eats goes
>Theoretically you could get a demon if you made a quick stop in Equestria but the downsides probably wouldn't be worth a slimmer figure
>Twilight is similar to Fluttershy so that's another no
>Rainbow, Applejack or Rarity have potential though
>The first two would insist on exercise but you don't want to bulk up
>Rarity would probably insist on a too tight corset though, and that isn't much better
>You really don't have any good options
>Maybe some guys like having something to grab onto
>You decide this is a problem for another day
>Shaking your head to clear the worry you hop into the shower
>This time you make sure to do a much more thorough clean
>You actually end up using all the products Rarity gave you
>Including the weirdly shaped brushes made to reach certain areas
>By the end of it you're pretty sure you've dropped at least five pounds of grime you didn't know you had, from places you didn't know you could get grime in
>Needless to say you feel very light and very happy
>Wrapping the towel around yourself, you grab a hold of your toothbrush and hair-dryer
>While cleaning the taste of pizza and ice cream out of your mouth you go about putting your hair in a few different styles
>Eventually you settle on your usual style as you always do
>Finishing up, you wash out the toothpaste and finally make your way out the bathroom
>As you make your way to your dresser you see Anon begin to stir on the sofa
>As he shakes himself awake he runs a hand over his face and takes in his surroundings
>He briefly goes stiff, probably from not being in his house, but relaxes just as quickly
>As he scans the house he spots you
>His gaze lingers on you for a few seconds before he grumbles something to himself
>Getting up he stretches as he heads over to your bathroom, locking the door behind him
>Taking that as your chance you head to your bedroom and quickly throw your clothes on before he gets out
>After doing a once over in the mirror to make sure you look good, you head down to the kitchen to make yourself some breakfast
>You didn't have anything for a proper meal after you botched up the salad yesterday, but you still have some bread to make yourself some toast
>As you happily munch away on the half decent snack your mind wanders to everything and nothing
>Before you know it you've finished and are just grabbing at thin air
>As you throw the plate in the sink you hear the click of the bathroom door and a knock from the front
>Waving at Anon as he makes his way out of the bathroom you hurry over to the front door
>Your glad your assumption on who it was, was right
>An old and slightly portly lady stands before you with a few boxes of the food you'd ordered from the nearby grocery store
>Signing off on the delivery you begin the tedious process of unloading everything
>As you're carrying a particularly heavy load of food into the kitchen you find it suddenly getting a lot lighter
>Fearing you might have dropped it you look to the floor to see, thankfully, no food has been ruined on it
>Looking in front of you, you see Anon heaving the heavy load into the kitchen
>After setting it down he wordlessly walks past you with a bored expression as he makes his way back to the groceries
>Hurrying over to the kitchen you dropped what you had left and head back to help him
>You're surprised when you see him carry a particularly large load of food, though you notice his belt gleaming as he does
>As you grab the last of the groceries the old woman shoots a smirk at you
“What?”
>You try to not sound aggressive, as you shuffle the food around so it sits more comfortably in your arms
>“It's always nice to have a boyfriend willing to help isn't it?”
>You nearly drop the food as you splutter at her words
“He- he is definitely not my boyfriend”
>As you try to laugh it off the situation only gets more awkward as she stares at you
>After she doesn't move for a while you take another glimpse at her and see her eyes have glazed over
>As you reach out to shake her, a jolt goes through her body as the glazed looks fade
>“Oh I'm sorry dear, what were you saying?”
>You take a step back slightly as he voice takes a more monotone voice
>It's like if Maud suddenly aged up 50 odd years
“I was... I was just telling you how he...”
>You leave the words hanging there but she simply cocks her head to the side slightly
“...that he wasn't my boyfriend, remember?”
>“Who isn't your boyfriend dear?”
“The guy just now, a bit taller than me, green hair, question-mark tattoo?”
>She turns her head to the side a bit more as a look of confusion crosses her mind
>“I didn't know you had a boy here, do treat him well. Oh look at that, I have to deliver the other groceries, enjoy your food”
>As she hauls the now empty boxes back to the truck she waves at you
>You awkwardly raise your hand and give a stiff wave back
“Y- you too”
>Blinking several times your nostrils flare as you let out an indignant snort
>Slamming the door shut you march over to the kitchen
>Not caring for them much anymore, you drop the groceries onto the counter haphazardly
“Anonymous! I want to talk to you”
>Hearing footsteps from the side you see Anon approaching you
>Neutral expression and hands in his pockets he stops in front of you
>“What's up Sunset?”
“I talked to that delivery woman, and you came up briefly-”
>“Only good things I hope”
>As a small smirk tugs at his lips, you hold up a hand to stop him from doing anything else
>Lowering your hand you glare at him which make him shuffle uncomfortably
“But the funny thing is, about halfway through mentioning you, something weird happened, and suddenly she forgot she even saw you. Weird don't you think?”
>You put ridiculous emphasis on the word, weird, and cross your arms at him
>He rolls his eyes and takes long strides over to your groceries, looking over them briefly
>“So what? She was old, her memories probably failing, heck she might not have even given you the right groceries”
>You shoot another glare at him and let out a small groan
>“I mean, look at this, she put a whole bag of kale in with this stuff, a whole bag”
>Snatching the food from him you slam it down on the counter which gets his attention properly
“The glazed look she got, was a lot like the one that a teacher of mine got when Incognito made her ignore him”
>His pupils actually shrink a bit at this but he soon regains his composure and shrugs his shoulders
>As he moves to get away from you, you put a hand to his cheek and force him to face you again
“Anon, I'm gonna give you one chance to admit what you did”
>He glowers at you slightly and you can see he wants to argue
>However as he opens his mouth he pauses briefly
>His eyes dart down and he seems to thinking over his words
>As this goes on he seems to get more agitated
>His foot taps the floor quicker and harder, and he grips the counter tighter until it starts to give a little
>Slumping forward he lets out an exasperated groan and rolls his eyes before pulling away from you
>“Alright you got me, I did the thing I've been doing for a year, big surprise”
>The way he mocking says, big surprise, makes him sound like a petulant child
>“Big whoop, she forgot I was here, what's the harm?”
“The harm? Anon I thought you were trying to be better, but you're not even doing anything to change”
>He rolls his eyes at you again
>“Look, it's not a big deal, you and the girls can still remember us, what does it matter if a bunch of nobodies I'll never meet again forget me?”
“It's the principal of the thing”
>“So basically, you don't actually have a real reason for why I shouldn't do this?”
>You plant your head in your hands and let out a muffled scream
>This guy is gonna drive you nuts
>Thing were going so well
>“Look it doesn't matter, even if I wanted to put down the Field, I couldn't”
>That revelation actually shocks you
“What do you mean?”
>You can tell he's said something he'd rather not
>The fact he's frozen up and then quickly starts listing off some nonsense is proof enough
>As you step up to him he starts backing away until he hits a wall
>Is this how he felt when he had you backed against a lamp post
>It feels weird, in a good way
“Anon, what do you mean?”
>He starts getting agitated again
>Only this time he doesn't calm down again
>He actually growls at you
>You see his belt gleam and for just a split second you see piercing eyes and fangs
>Stumbling backwards a bit he pushes himself off the wall and heads towards your sofa
>Grabbing his bag he slings it across his shoulder and heads to the door
>“I don't have to tell you anything about us. I knew coming here would be a mistake”
>The last bit is only whispered but you still catch it loud and clear
>As he slams the door behind him you feel a pang in your chest
>What did he mean by 'the Field'?
>So many questions, and now you've pissed off one of the three people that could tell you
>You feel bad for pushing him about it
>The day has all but come and gone as you trudge down the street
>After your argument with Anon, you weren't really sure what to do with the rest of the day
>You had put away all the groceries, but by the time you were done it was past the afternoon
>It's not like you had a particularly big order come in either
>It's just that as you went over your argument with him in your head over and over you would zone out
>Honestly you were thankful you had gotten a call from work
>Someone got sick from sampling the sushi, not knowing it had gone bad
>So you were the one they called to cover the shift
>You've still got an hour before it starts but you needed to get out of the house
>Hopefully some fresh air and relaxing in the mall will help clear your head
>“Hey Sunset!”
>After zoning out again you're brought back to reality by a scratchy voice calling to you
>Looking over your shoulder you see Rainbow Dash coming up to you in jogging gear
“I thought you did your jogs earlier than this Rainbow?”
>Finally catching up to you, Rainbow slows to a walk to keep pace with you
>“Yeah, normally I do, but I got bored so I thought I'd do another for fun”
>Thinking back to the slight bit of give your stomach had earlier, you can't help but wonder if running would be a good way to slim down
>You're hesitant to bring it up with Rainbow seeing as she might end up going overboard with workout jargon you won't get
>But then again you're not gonna get anywhere without trying
>You take the plunge and bring it up with Rainbow
>Her eyes immediately light up and she lets out a squee that would put Fluttershy to shame
>Realising that she was the one who squeed she slaps her hands over her mouth and darts her head back and forth
>After confirming that no one but you noticed she relaxes slightly
>Grabbing your arm she pulls you close and immediately starts going over her own workout routine
>Jogs, runs, sprints, the routes she uses
>Push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, how many to do and how to do them the most efficiently
>Honestly with how quickly she's listing off stuff you're wondering if it's Pinkie in a Rainbow Dash costume
>You wouldn't be surprised, she's done it before
>As she starts moving onto weight lifting you try to get her attention
>Sadly she's gone into her own little world of workout
>You only just now notice how she's started to drag you to the mall at a jog
>“But before we can do all that there's something very important you need to get first”
>As she bursts through the doors you're terribly aware of how many people are watching you
>As you're dragged past the sushi place you wave at one of your co-workers
>You can see that they're pretty swarmed today with how full the place is
>Sadly their look of hope is quickly dashed as you're gone as quickly as you came
>“There's only one place to get what you need, and here we are”
>As the world finally stops moving you slam into Rainbow as she comes to a halt
>She isn't even slightly shifted when you collide with her
>How much of her is muscle anyway
>Shaking away the daze you look up to see yourself outside the mall's gym and sports clothing store
“Rainbow would you listen to me for a second”
>You finally manage to wench your hand from her vice grip
>Rubbing it slightly you turn to her
>She stares at you, slightly bewildered by your outburst
>Luckily she's finally stopped talking so you can get her attention
“I appreciate this, I really do, but I don't need all this stuff. I'm not looking to workout just trim down is all, that's why I asked about jogging, that's all I want to do”
>She throws her head back and lets out a groan
>“But that's so boring Sunset, exercise is about all the different kinds you can do, there's aerobic and cardio, there's strength and-”
>You decide to deal with this the same way you deal with Pinkie
>Clasping a hand over her mouth shuts her up well enough
>Though you can still hear her muffled voice listing off exercises through your hands
“Rainbow I get it, exercise is great, or so you say, but can you please just help me lose weight instead of bulk up?”
>You know you're doing the equivalent of asking Pinkie Pie to only make a light party with a few guests, but you're just too tired to go along with Rainbow today
>Rainbow's eyes dart back and forth and then she gives you a nod
>With the murmuring having stopped you take the hint and remove your hands
>She takes a few deep breaths then goes quiet
>She snaps her fingers then turns to you
>“Alright I think I can modify my routine for simple weight loss, though you're still gonna want some sports wear at least, trust me you don't want sweaty home clothes. I made that mistake once, never again”
>She lets out a small chuckle which you can't help but join in on
>With a beckoning wave she heads into the shop
>Deciding to follow her of your own free will this time you go after her
>As you enter you're hit with an overwhelming smell of sweat from the gym
>As you resist the urge to gag you look around at what's available
>You're actually distracted from the smell briefly from the sight in front of you
>You can tell why Rainbow comes here
>There is literally everything you could want if you're into sports
>Baseball and cricket bats, hockey sticks, polo mallets and equipment for other sports stacked to the ceiling
>Every clothing rack is lined with every kind of sports wear, for warm or cold climates
>Every size, colour and style of shoe fill the walls
>Then there are the cages upon cages that are full of any and every kind of ball you'd want
>You shake your head before you think about that last one too much
>Looking around the store you see Rainbow inspecting some light sports clothing
>As you approach her, she takes several shirts and sweatpants off of the racks and measures them against each other
>When you get beside her she starts placing the shirts against you
>With a curt nod she dumps half a dozen shirts and sweatpants into your arms
>As you look over the clothes you raise an eyebrow at her
>She simply shoots a grin at you in response
>“All these are made of slightly different blends of materials, find the ones that feel best, you want comfort as well as practicality when jogging”
“Wow Rainbow I'm surprised”
>Her grin simply grows at your praise
>“At how great I am with sports? Yeah, I get that a lot”
“Oh no, it isn't that...”
>Now it's her turn to raise an eyebrow at you
“...I mean first, you become a total egghead reading stuff like Daring Do. But now you're basically a fashionista with how much you love this sports clothing stuff. I bet Rarity would love to compare notes”
>It takes all your willpower to hold back your laughter as her jaw drops
>She only makes it harder as she starts sputtering at that
>“I- I am NOT an egghead, and I will NEVER be a fashionista like Rarity, she's super boyish. I meanwhile just have... practical knowledge about sports, we're totally different”
>You let out a small laugh which seems to calm Dash down
>That girl has an ego the size of Canterlot Castle
>But as they say, the bigger they are, etc
>Luckily you've all chipped in here and there so she isn't so insecure
>When she was going through puberty the slightest provocation would hang over her for a week or longer, and put a real dent in her self-confidence
>As you head over to the changing rooms you run your fingers over the material
>You can't really feel much of a difference to them, but checking the labels confirm that they are all different when it comes to the mix of fabrics
>You close the door of the changing room and go about changing into different combinations of all the clothing
>After going through all the clothing you settle on three different shirt and sweatpants so you'd have multiple choices
>The shirts are big enough that when you're relaxed they hang off you slightly
>However they're also tight enough that when you tense up they shift to accentuate your curves
>The sweatpants on the other hand accentuate your lower half even without tensing
>You feel a small bit of pride for having such assets
>However seeing it also reminds you of how close you are to losing the figure
>After asking Dash for her opinion and any last advice, you head to the check out
>After bagging up your stuff you notice it's nearly time for your shift
>Heading over to the sushi place you head in, much to the relief of your co-workers
>You can see each of their shoulders relax as they let out a sigh seeing that the loads about to lighten
>Sure maybe not much with how the place is still packed, but it'll be something at least
>Storing your bag away you change into your uniform then head to the serving table
>You begin taking orders, filling drinks and helping with cooking straight away
>Thankfully you aren't alone
>Rainbow decided to drop in to keep you company and stop you from pulling your hair out if anything gets out of hand
>Sure you've got your co-workers to help but having someone to talk to, even if it's with a passing comment, really helps you to relax and get into the rhythm of your work
>The day finally begins to wind down, and your workload with it luckily
>Who knew cutting fish and waiting on tables filled with screaming children could be so tiring
>At least the last remaining people here are nice
>There's a group of middle aged women getting drunk and smoking up a storm in the far corner
>It's a house rule to not allow any smoking in the restaurant
>But there's also an unspoken agreement between the store and that group that, if they keep it quiet, then they can smoke during the hour before the closing
>Other than them there's just you, Rainbow and two other co-workers
>“So how's that project you were assigned coming Sunset?”
>Looking up from the table you were wiping down, you see Rainbow chugging her third beer
>Honestly you don't know why she puts up with that stuff
>You've tried it, and it's awful
>Honestly you're ashamed to admit that the fruitier drinks are much better quality
>You've been able to keep your love for those drinks secret by only having them during your breaks
>Sure your co-workers see you but they all drink similar drinks, so if they wanted to bring you down you could do the same to them
>Having finished the last table you straighten up and stretch your back out
“It's done, though it wasn't easy I nearly fell asleep a few times while I was writing”
>As you head to the bar Rainbow slams her drink down and lets out a guffaw
>“I hear that, I can't wait to get out of school and go into pro sports. Then the only paperwork I'm gonna have to do will be signing contracts and autographs”
>With all the stock refilled and everywhere cleaned up except for the last occupied table you don't really have much to do
>After washing your hands, you lean on the bar towards Dash
“I wish I knew what I wanted to do with my life, like you do Dash”
>Rainbow nearly chokes on the last of her beer at that
>As she coughs and splutters, you slap her on the back to help her expel any beer that went down her windpipe
>When she finishes her coughing fit you offer her a napkin to wipe her face
>After cleaning away the beer and spit off herself she turns to you
>“What are you talking about Sunset? You're like one of the smartest people in the school”
>While Rainbow isn't exactly wrong she isn't exactly right either
>You earn Bs and As across most academic courses, like Math, Science, Languages, and History
>But you when it came to more specialised subjects you always ended up with Cs or Ds
>Things like Programming, Cooking, and Sports were all subjects you were lacking in
>Meanwhile people like Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Micro Chip, or Rainbow Dash excelled in those areas
>Probably a result of studying under Celestia
>While a lot of what you learned was useless without your horn, you still had to do a lot of studying
>Luckily after about a year you were able to apply what you studied and translate it to the subjects you learned here
>It made you a Jill of All Trades but a Master of None
>While you could probably get a decent job with your predicted qualifications, none of the subjects really spoke to you
>The only time you really felt you were where you belonged was when you were by Celestia's side
>But you were too stupid to know what you had until it was gone
“Yeah, I know Rainbow but none of it... feels right, you know? I thought I was gonna become a powerful sorceress back in Equestria. THAT was my plan, but now I don't know what to do.”
>You rest your head on your arms and feel yourself deflate
>As you let your head fall onto the bar you feel a hand squeeze your shoulder
>Looking up, you see Rainbow shooting you a comforting smile
>“Come on Sunset, I know you're bummed out, but you have your whole life to figure it out. Hey maybe you could go into music.”
>The thought had occurred to you, but you know it wouldn't work out
>Your love for music came hand in hand with the fact you got to play with your friends
>But you knew they wouldn't abandon their own pursuits just to keep your band together, and you certainly weren't going to ask them to
>But she was right about how much time you have for it
“Yeah, you're right Rainbow, it just gets me down when I think about it. But I'll just cross that bridge when I get to it”
>She hits you in the arm and shoots you a wink and an encouraging smile
>“Atta girl, now how about another?”
>You roll your eyes and grab another beer from the fridge and slide it over to her
>As you two sit in the comfortable silence your mind wanders back to Anon's words again
>Does he not have the power to undo his own spell, or is there something else to it
>As you get lost in your thoughts you're brought back to reality as the jingle of the door bell goes off
>Snapping your head up you see Pseudonymous and Fluttershy making their way in
>Fluttershy's leaning against his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his as she clasps his hand with hers
>They're both chuckling about something
>You clear your throat which snaps them out of their discussion
>Pseudo goes stock stiff and his eyes contract to pinpricks when he spots you
>He slowly leans down to Fluttershy and drops his voice, though not very well since you can still hear him
>“You didn't tell me she worked here”
>“I thought you knew since you suggested the place”
>“Yeah but I've never seen her here before”
“You probably came here when I wasn't on shift”
>You had slipped around the counter and crept up on the two as they went back and forth
>So when you finally spoke up it caused them both to jump
>With his height Pseudo came a hair away from concussing himself on the ceiling
>You couldn't help but laugh at that, and Rainbow was quick to join you
>Luckily he took it well and joined in too with a nervous chuckle
>You're glad that these three are a lot different than the average guys, it's a refreshing change to not have to walk on eggshells around them
“So what are you two lovebirds doing here?”
>Fluttershy presses herself against Pseudo at your light teasing
>Though you can tell she's happy if the small smile and light blush are anything to go by
>Pseudo just smiles down at her and ruffles her hair
>She doesn't take too kindly to this and immediately tries to push his hand away
>Though they both break out into giggles as they go back and forth
>When they settle down Pseudo turns back to you
>“We've been on a date and I was getting peckish. I know it's late but do you think you can whip anything up?”
>Admittedly you did have some spare sushi
>To keep up with the number of customers and the rate that the orders were coming in, the chefs made sushi that hadn't been ordered yet so that it was ready to be served if it did
>So you often ended up with spare sushi which the staff could snack on in their spare time
“Sure, we've got a little something I can serve up, take a seat”
>As you turn back to the bar you see Rainbow's face going between a smile and a grimace as she looks between Pseudo and Fluttershy
>Grumbling something she chugs the half full bottle and slams it down before leaving some money on the bar
>“It's getting late, so I should head out”
>“Oh um ok. Bye Dash, see you tomorrow?”
>Her face relaxes into a smile again as she looks to Fluttershy
>“Of course you will Shy, see you Sunset”
>She throws a wave behind her which you return
>As you grab the spare sushi you serve it up as best you can with how tired you are
>Pseudo seems happy enough as he immediately starts to dig into the food
>As you chat with Fluttershy about what they'd done earlier today, you can't help but poke fun here and there
>When she enquires about your day you bring up your time spent with Anonymous
>Now it's your turn to have fun poked at you
>However it's mostly Pseudo who pokes fun at you, with Fluttershy being too sweet to do so
>She really is one of, if not the nicest person you've met
>As you go over the time with Anonymous you inevitably get to the groceries
>You leave out 99% of what happened then
>Though you are tempted to ask Pseudo about it
>If Anon isn't willing to talk about it maybe his brother would be
>Though maybe it'd be best to wait until you can be alone with him
>You don't want to include the others in this if you can help it
>Rainbow is just looking for an opening to jump on those three
>The others are open to the idea but they're most likely still apprehensive, like you
>Learning that the three are still making people forget them won't look good
>As you ponder how to get Pseudo alone without being suspicious or raising rumours, the door slams open
>The three of you look up to the door
>Though you quickly drop your head and let out a groan as you realise who it is
>“Pseudo. Why am I not surprised to find you here?”
>Incognito storms up to the bar and stands on the other side of Pseudo who sits up to stare down his brother
>Fluttershy uses his size to hide herself from the brash blonde
>No surprise that she'd be uncomfortable around him
>“What do you want this time Incog? I'm busy”
>“Well get unbusy, Anon wants you back at the house an hour ago”
>Pseudo simply snorts at his brother and turns back to his sushi
>He makes a big show of eating it which causes Incognito to shift on his feet
>“Since when did you become Anon's lapdog?”
>You see Incog's eye twitch at that
>He slams his hands down on the bar and glowers at his older brother
>“Why don't you tell me when you became such a sick freak huh?”
>Finishing the last of the sushi Pseudo stands to his full height, crossing his arms at his brother, his face neutral
>As you ponder what Incog said you connect the dots between Sirens and sushi
>Even you're starting to feel uncomfortable around Pseudo now
>“Um Pseudo...” Your attention is brought to Fluttershy as you hear her meek voice try to speak up
>Pseudo also turns to face her, much to the annoyance of Incognito
>“... I think I'm gonna head home, this seems like a family matter”
>Pseudo's eyes widen at this and he cups Fluttershy's cheek
>“You don't need to go Fluttershy, Incog was just leaving to tell Anon that I'll get there when I get there.”
>He shoots a glare over his shoulder at Incognito
>“Isn't that right?”
>Incognito simply puts on a smug grin and crosses his own arms
>“I was told not to come back without you so... no”
>Fluttershy lets out a sigh and pulls away from Pseudo
>Quickly stepping forward she gives him a peck on the lips before backing towards the door
>“I'll see you at school tomorrow Pseudo”
>He simply stands there in silence as she leaves
>As the door chimes, signalling her leaving, a deep silence fills the restaurant
>You think of speaking up but you shut your mouth with a snap as you see Pseudo's hand clenching and unclenching
>With a deep breath he steadies himself
>“So I guess that means you can come right?”
>You can hear the smug in his voice as clearly as you can see it on his face
>Pseudo slowly straightens up and turns to face Incognito
>You are suddenly aware of just how big their difference in height is
>You thought he was big before but now you realise he was slouching most of the time
>With his back straight and his head held up as he glowers down at his younger brother he's easily gained an extra few inches in height
>With Incognito's expression you think that he's only becoming aware of it now as well
>“This had better be good”
>Turning on his heel he makes his way over to the door
>Incognito isn't so smug anymore after being towered over so totally, but he follows Pseudo anyway
>As they make there way to the door you realise the situation your in
>With how Fluttershy all but clings to Pseudo when he's around her you may not get another chance
“What's the Field?”
>It may not have made sense without context but at least it got their attention
>The two turn to face you again and raise an eyebrow at you
>“I'm sorry what was that Red?”
“Anonymous, he said something about a Field?”
>They both exchange confused glances before turning back to you
>You're really messing this up
>Taking a deep breath you go over the words in your head first before you stumble over them again
“We all know you three have been making people forget you, when I asked Anon to stop he said 'even if I wanted to put down the Field, I couldn't'”
>That's certainly gotten there attention
“What did he mean by that?”
>They both shuffle their feet looking anywhere but at you
>“I haven't the faintest clue Red, even if I did, I wouldn't tell you, let's go Pseudo”
>With a grunt Incognito wrenches the door open, slamming it against the wall again, and marches out
>You give Pseudo a pleading look but he merely shrugs his shoulders and follows after his diminutive brother
>As you let your head fall into your hands and let out a sigh, your phone pings
>Pulling it out you don't recognise the number
>However the text gives you a major hint
>-“I'll talk to him about it”-
>You give a small smile at that, feeling a wave of relief wash over you
>Finally relaxing you start working on setting the restaurant up to close

>You are currently heading home with Incognito
>Albeit begrudgingly, since he ruined the end of your day with Fluttershy by barging into the sushi place
>This must mean you're Pseudonymous
>As your shared house comes into view, you can't help but wonder why Anonymous would call you
>You'll admit, the situation is a cause for concern
>In the year you've been here, Anonymous has never called either of you to a meeting
>Whenever he's made strides in his plans, he's been perfectly fine with waiting until all three of you are at home before he goes over it
>But whatever the plan is, it's bound to be about the girls, they've always been a key factor to it
>Honestly it'd be impossible for anything else in this place to be the key to the plan
>Those seven are the biggest source of magic that this planet has
>If you don't include the book you recently obtained
>You start to wonder if there's anyway you could get that back to Sunset as you finally reach the door
>As Incognito starts unlocking the house you put that plan at the back of your mind
>For now you need to find out what Anonymous wants
>As well as try to figure out a way to bring up the Field with him
>“Anon, I found him”
>“Took you long enough”
>As you step over the threshold you see Anonymous sitting at the main table in the house
>Spread out in front of him and taking up nearly the whole table are the notes he usually keeps in his room
>You can't help but feel a flutter in the pit of your stomach
>Anon has always been very secretive about his plans, only ever bringing out what you and Incognito 'need to know'
>You and Incognito both complained about this when you first found out he had been hiding a majority of his plans from you two during your first few days here
>He had called it 'strategic ignorance', and that it was the contingency for if anyone found you three out before you were ready
>You three had argued for days on end about that
>Eventually it all boiled down to the fact that, he was the leader and you had to go along with it
>You could tell Incognito was still annoyed about it to this day, but when it came to you, honestly, you didn't care anymore
>Of course you wanted your sisters back, you wanted it more than anything, you wouldn't be here if that wasn't the case
>But after you botched the original plan with Fluttershy and ended up with her, you stopped caring about the 'when' it would happen
>You were happy to sit around all day with your girlfriend while Incognito made a fool of himself and Anon planned
>You'd be there if they needed you, but you were happy that, that wasn't the case
>Fluttershy
>She took up a lot of your thoughts these days
>Yet with all the time you take to think about her, you still can't wrap your head around what she did to you
>The original plan was to cast a very particular spell on her
>It was pure, unfiltered Siren magic
>The spell was complex, dangerous even, to the caster and the target
>But if done properly, the caster would gain complete control of the target's heart and mind
>During the Golden Age of Sirens, before Discord came along, it was your species' ultimate spell
>Sometimes it was to help a Changeling Hive feed
>Love that is given willingly, even through mind control, is much more potent than love forcefully taken after all
>If it wasn't used to help your allies it was used to help yourselves
>Mainly it was used to throw those who might want to put a stop to you off your trail
>There was just one hitch with it, you had to make the target fall for you
>Honest to the sea, fall in love type stuff
>Only then would their natural magical and mental defences be off guard enough for the spell to take root
>That was easy enough with Fluttershy
>Meek, weak, shy, and all around unpopular outside her circle of friends
>She was immediately singled out by Anon when he came up with taking one of the seven out of the picture
>You had her defences down within a week
>By simply talking with her, walking with her, and reassuring her, you made her putty in your hands
>But you just couldn't cast the spell
>You had chance after chance to do so, but you kept putting it off
>Because whilst you knew how to do the spell as well as the next Siren, there was another flaw to the spell
>They never teach you what to do if you fall for the target as well
>Everything about her made you fall for her
>Her smile, her scent, her hushed voice that spoke words that were only meant for you to hear
>Each time you prepared the spell you faltered and stopped yourself
>You just couldn't bring yourself to do it
>You were falling hard and you were about to hit the ground
>Anon was getting impatient and tired of your excuses
>So you had to throw him off your trail
>You started becoming clingy with Fluttershy, hand holding, hugging, kissing, the usual stuff
>But you did it a lot
>Like A LOT, a lot
>You played it off as being the clingy boyfriend stereotype this world was used to
>Of course Fluttershy didn't mind the constant attention
>The important part was that it got Anon off your back
>This is because your regular scent and the scent of your magic are practically indistinguishable
>Sirens can only smell magic, unlike unicorns who actually sense it's presence
>So it's worked to keep Anon in the dark, and has, hopefully, worked to let Sunset know you don't mean any harm
>You've been keeping the wool over Anon's eyes for months
>By getting physical with Fluttershy on a daily basis you've been able to keep him out of the loop
>But you don't know how long you can keep it up
>You know that one of these days, you're either gonna snap from the stress of lying all the time, or something else will go wrong and Anon will finally catch on
>The worst part is that you don't have a contingency plan for either
>You can mimic leading like Anon does, but you can't mimic his proficiency for planning
>None of the ideas you've come up with would work
>So you wait each day with baited breath, hoping the lie will hold together
>Because when it does fall apart, it's game over for you
>With how Sirens are so willing to backstab each other for territory of the sea, and with how long lived they are, they can play the longest cons to see their plans through
>That means family are the only ones you can trust, the pack is everything
>If you betray the pack, there will be very severe retribution
>You're honestly glad that Incog hadn't betrayed you two, like Anon thought
>He may be an ass, but he's your brother
>You love him like you love your sisters
>Not that it will matter if you're found out
>You do want to get them back, you just wish you didn't have to do it Anon's way
>But you aren't exactly strong enough to have the three of you do things your way
>So you go along with Anon's plans and hope you can find opening to slip your own ideas in to shift them
>Convincing him to befriend the girls was a big step in the right direction
>Yet you can't help but feel the confidence and hope you got from that step drain, as you look over all his notes
>Piles and piles of records and graphs and magical equations
>All to take down the girls and get their magic and you doubt he's brought the notes out to get rid of them
>“Sit down you two, there's a lot to discuss”
>Incog lets himself fall onto the chair, letting out a tired groan as he does
>You swallow your nerves and sit besides him
>As you two look to Anon you notice he hasn't taken his eyes off his notes since you came in
>He's shuffling them and moving from note to note, his eyes darting down the pages at impossible speeds
>Eventually he puts the last of his notes down and looks up at you both
>“Where have you been all day anyway?”
>You jump in your seat slightly as he addresses you
>Your nerves always get frayed during times like this
“I was just at the sushi place with Fluttershy”
>He makes a noise of disgust as he rolls his eyes
>“I can't believe you enjoy that garbage”
>With a sigh he scans over his notes briefly before his eyes dart back up
>“Doesn't matter, can't get distracted, we need to talk about the girls and the plans going forward”
>“Oh wow, you've really chosen to grace us with your secret plans? How gracious of you”
>Anon simply dismisses the sarcasm dripping off Incognito's words with a huff
>“Yes well, I reckon we're at a point where strategic ignorance is no longer necessary. We need to work together if we're going to pull this off now”
>You can't help but feel a lump form in your throat at the implications
>“We need information, lots of it, and I certainly can't get it on my own, so I'll need you two to assist”
>He shuffles some of his papers into two piles and hands them to you both
>“I've mainly been compiling information on Sunset, I assumed she was the catalyst for the magic of the group, seeing as she was the only Equestrian, but I might be wrong”
>As you flip through the papers you see a lot of in-depth analyses about the girl
>Comparative graphs of her magical capacity when she was a unicorn and now
>How her magic has shifted after her encounters with that Sparkle girl and the crazy hippie lady from your trip to Everfree
>Looking over to Incognito's notes you notice a lot of information regarding her personal history
>Her friends, her old mentor, all of which Anon has attributed to her magic as well
>“I want you two to work on compiling information of the magic of the other girls in her group”
>You both snap your heads up to look at him
>After a brief moment Incog stands up from his chair and ends up sending it flying into the wall
>“That's bullshit”
>Slamming his hands into the table he sends a few papers fluttering to the ground
>Taking a deep breath Anon heaves a sigh and begins picking up the papers
>You both look at him bewildered
>He's never willingly taken Incog's sarcasm and defiance so calmly
>Incognito actually grabs his chair and sits down, a look of total confusion on his face
>As Anon finishes off picking up the papers he speaks up
>“I'm not expecting either of you to get anywhere close to the amount of data I've gotten, I just need you to get as much as possible.”
>As he speaks his voice gets quieter, and his eyes drift down to his notes, his hands just gliding over the top of them, almost caressing them
>Clearing your throat he turns his head up but his eyes remain on his notes
“Anon are you- are you doing ok?”
>“He probably just misses his girlfriend Sunset, right Anon?”
>This finally gets a reaction out of Anon
>His eyes dart up to glare at Incog as he lets out a low grumble
>“Oh come on you can't sit there and actually tell me that, you going to her house, and spending two nights there, doesn't sound suspicious”
>“I told you after I got the call, it was reconnaissance and nothing else”
>“Oh really”
>Incog has now moved over to the other side of the table, moving some of the notes to lean his elbow on it
>After what felt like minutes he finally finished with his drawn out “really”
>“Because when I saw Pseudo in the sushi place I stopped at the door, and caught the tail end of the most interesting conversation”
>You can't help but perk up at that
>You don't remember smelling Incog at the door until he opened it
>Though the smoke might have thrown you off
>“Turns out you, the brave and kind Anon, nursed poor Sunset back to health, and you 'hung out' with her all day, making sure she didn't hurt herself more.”
>You can see Anon getting more annoyed as Incog goes on
>“But then, and it's so sad to hear this, you two had your first fight about the Field. I'd be annoyed that you let that little secret of ours slip, if it weren't so sad that your relationship was in jeopardy”
>As he finally finishes with an all too dramatic flare, he doubles over nearly toppling off the table as his laughter echoes through the house
>All the while Anon is glaring holes into the back of Incognito's head, wringing his hands together
>Taking a deep breath he speaks in a low voice
>“The spell didn't work”
>Despite how loud his laughter was you both heard Anonymous clearly
“What, you mean the song? How could it not work?”
>Heaving another sigh he pushes himself away from the table and stands up
>“I honestly don't know. The day after, she was in the perfect state to cast the spell, but then...”
>As he leaves his words to hang in the air he throws his arms up in exasperation
>“... something happened. I don't know what, or how, but I mentioned that Fluttershy girl and her defences just... restored themselves on their own. I couldn't do anything, I tried probing her mind while she was out during the night but I couldn't touch her”
>You and Incognito both share a look at that
>No wonder he's being more open about the plans
>If the girl can resist the Siren Song then it flips the plan on it's head
“So what do we do about it?”
>“It's like I said we need info”
>Anon leans on his hands and looks over his notes again
>Incognito even hops off the table and joins him
>The prospect of getting, or possibly not getting, your sisters back is the only thing he'll take seriously
>“I made notes on how her connections to her friends makes her magic stronger. I assumed she used them as amplifiers for the magic but it's something else”
>As Anon looks over the pile of notes that consist of his calculations you see him mouthing out the equations, trying to find the gap
>“It's a magic feedback loop”
>You and Anon look up at Incognito to see him scanning over a dozen pages of Anon's work
>As he goes over more of Anon's notes he nods to himself, mentally confirming his idea
>“You remember those old legends about ancient pony artifacts? The one's that required multiple connected users?”
>Anon's eyes widen at that as he snatches the papers from Incog's hands
>Letting out a groan he facepalms
>“The Elements of course... and this group consists of their counterparts”
>Letting out another groan Anon throws the papers to the side
>“How the hell did I miss that?”
>For a while the three of you sit in silence, pondering what to do next
>“So what sort of information do you need?”
>Incognito tries to avoid making eye contact with Anon, clearly annoyed he's agreeing to help
>Smiling at him Anon indicates to the papers he had handed Incog earlier
>“Like I said, anything that could tell us about their magic and I do mean anything, all three of us are gonna have to cozy up and make friends like Psuedo suggested if this is gonna work”
>You shrink into your seat as he mentions your suggestion
>It isn't exactly what you had in mind for it
>But maybe now would be a good time to slip in another suggestion
“Hey Anon I'm just wondering”
>As he starts shuffling and organising his notes into one pile Anon looks up at you
“Do you think we should take down the Field?”
>Both Anon and Incog raise an eyebrow at you
“I mean, Sunset is aware of it, if we're gonna befriend them, we'll need them to trust us right? Maybe we can take it down as a sign of goodwill or something?”
>Your eyes dart between the two of them, hoping that they'll go for it
>Scratching at his neck Anon takes on a ponderous look
>Taking a deep breath he turns back to you
>“That isn't a bad point Pseudo but I'm not sure about going that far”
>You feel your heart sink a bit at that, at least you tried
>“But I guess I could at least consider it”
>Perking up you shoot a smile at Anon which he returns
>Gathering up the rest of his notes he heads back to his room
>With nothing left to do, and no daylight left, you and Incog head to your own rooms as well

>You're shaken from your sleep by your alarm blaring in your ears
>Being quick to shut it up by slamming on the 'off' button, you are just as quick to turn over and try to get some more shut eye
>Only for your three other alarms to go off a minute later
>Two of which you would need to get out of bed to turn off
>With a groan you slink out of bed, dragging your duvet with you
>As you make your way around your room turning your alarms off one by one you try to rub the sleep from your eyes
>As the last alarm finally goes silent you let out a content sigh
>Looking to the side you spot yourself in the mirror
>A blue lithe, and muscular body with a mop of dishevelled rainbow hair looks back at you
>This must mean you're Rainbow Dash
>That explains all the Wonderbolts memorabilia you have stacked to the ceiling
>With a yawn you make your way over to the bathroom
>Slouching your shoulders you let your duvet fall to the ground as you step in to do your business
>After a quick shower you're feeling a lot more awake and ready to tackle the day
>Heading down the stairs you turn on the TV and tune into the Sports Channel
>You've never missed a report on the Wonderbolts since you first heard of them
>An exclusive group of runners, where each member is fit enough to compete in the Olympics
>With more than a dozen World Records and Gold Medals to their names they've become international superstars
>You knew as soon as you heard of them that you wanted to be one of them
>Heck, you wanted to be the best they ever had, and if your ever improving track record at school is anything to go by, you're well on your way to achieving that
>But first things first, breakfast
>What sort of pro athlete forgets the most important meal of the day
>Grabbing some bread you chuck them in the toaster and rummage through the fridge for any eggs and bacon
>“Breakfast of champions again sweetheart?”
“You know it dad”
>You shoot your dad a smile before turning back to the fridge
>Finally finding the eggs and bacon at the back of the fridge you haul them out and go about cooking them up
>“Mmmmmm, what smells so good?”
>Looking to the stairs you see your mom slowly making her way down, in all her dishevelled glory
>Yeah, you definitely know where you got your hair from
>“Our number one chef is cooking up a storm again honey”
>“Ohhh I do love some Rainbow Brand bacon and eggs, throw on a few more for me will you dear?”
“Yeah mom”
>As you crack a few more eggs and add a few more rashers to the pan, you refill the coffee machine too
>No doubt your dad's already drained a pot or two since he came down
>As the sizzle and spitting of fat fills the air you lean against the stove
>Looking up you see your mom resting her head in the crook of your dad's arm as he tries to awkwardly turn the pages of his newspaper
>They both break into brief fits of giggles as he has to bend at odd angles to turn the pages
>You can't help but smile at this
>You love your parents, but mostly when they're themselves
>Whenever anyone outside the family comes around they turn their supportive levels to 22
>You've always appreciated them having your backs, but you would appreciate it more if this is what they'd show others when they came around
>As the toast pops up you grab a plate and start loading up your breakfast
>Bad idea since you nearly burn your fingers on the toast
>That'd be something to tell the girls
>Not being a complete idiot you grab a spatula as you finish loading up your plate with eggs and bacon
>Not forgetting your parents, you load up their plates the same way and grab them a cup of coffee
>As thanks are passed around you go about shovelling as much food into one mouthful as you can
>You really wish you could eat while you sleep
>It'd save you the pain of being hungry every morning
>You're pretty sure Pinkie can sleep eat
>But she refuses to teach you her ways
>Probably for the best, considering the other stuff she can do
>You finish your breakfast before your parents are even halfway done with theirs
>Quickly leaving your plate in the sink you rush up stairs to get ready for school
>You live about a 20 minute walk from school but you usually leave 5 minutes before the bell
>Gives you the adrenaline rush you need for a really good run
>Rainy days makes it even better
>Not only do you push yourself to go faster so that you can get out of the rain, you also get to practice the control of your running with how slippery the ground is
>With your bags packed and your clothes on, you rush to the door
>You wave goodbye to your parents who shout cheers to you through mouths full of food
>As you rush down the street to school you greet the usually late students who are just sluggishly dragging themselves to school
>Snips and Snails, Scoots, Apple Bloom and Sweeite Belle, Trixie, Vinyl, Incognito
>Ugh, Incognito
>Ever since those three stopped using their magical whatevers to stop people forgetting them you see them everywhere
>At least you think that's what's going on
>You really need to stop zoning out when Sunset starts talking about magic
>It's just so boring
>Like Twilight with her math and science
>You thought magic would be cool, all laser beams and telekinesis and teleportation
>But apparently there's a bunch of magical math and science to it too
>Even when you go into the cool fantasy stuff you can't escape nerds
>But it isn't enough that there's one of them, nope there has to be three
>One of which is dating your best friends which still makes you feel sick
>The worst part is Sunset called off the magical beatdown on them
>She didn't even have them give over their magic things
>You really do need to listen to Sunset, you're pretty sure those belts had proper names to them
>Whatever, that's future Rainbow's problem and present Rainbow only has a few minutes before the bell goes off
>Picking up the pace, you weave through small clusters of people expertly
>Looks like being small isn't as bad as AJ says
>She'd probably beat her breast black and blue if she tried half the stuff you did
>As you enter the doors of Canterlot High the bell rings a few seconds after
>You fist pump and internally celebrate
>But sadly you can't run all day because you can't graduate without good enough grades in your other subjects
>That means you have to go through the hard slog of classes
>You let out a defeated sigh as you start heading towards your first lesson
>You could chill out under the bleachers for the day
>But you save that for either especially good days that aren't worth wasting away in class
>Luckily those are frequent enough to stop you from going mad but rare enough for you not to miss out on anything important
>As you plop yourself down in your seat, you flip through your workbook to try and find some free space
>About 50% of the book is filled with little doodles you've done
>Twilight nearly shrieked when she saw the state of it when she helped you study
>You don't see the big deal, it's like Rarity's thing with her design room
>Organised chaos, or something
>But seriously each time you go to her house you're tempted to ask if a tornado spawned in it, you often find fabric stuck to the ceiling
>But she swears it's supposed to be there
>You start to doodle her boutique with a tornado in it
>You even add a little Rarity on a sewing machine getting sucked into it without noticing
>As you chuckle to yourself you're brought out of reality by some giggles and squeaks
>You only know one person who squeaks like that
>Turning to the door you don't really know what you expected
>Fluttershy, once again clinging to Pseudonymous
>Rolling your eyes you turn your focus back to your doodles
>You intensify your concentration as the sounds of them kissing invades your ears
>You thank your lucky stars when they finally stop
>Eventually you hear Fluttershy shifting into her seat besides you
>“Hey Dashie, did you sleep well?”
>You give her an affirmative hum and slide your book to the edge of your desk to show her
>After quickly scanning it she lets out a small snort which turns into chuckles
>You let out a chuckle as well as you flip to a new clean page you can actually use for the lesson
>As the class goes on, you and Fluttershy go back and forth talking about what you've done and your plans
>“So Dashie, I was wondering um, if you don't have any plans today I mean. I was hoping you'd like to come hang out with me and Pseudo today?”
>You're snapped out of your very important daydream by that
>Turning your head to Fluttershy you lean into her and whisper yell
“Why would I want to hang out with that loser?”
>She looks a bit taken aback then gives you a disappointed look
>Damn it you really hate that look
>“Come on Dashie, you hardly even know him. I'm sure if you took the time you'd like him, please?”
>You grumble and pretend to make notes in your book in the vain hope she'll drop the subject
>No such luck sadly
>“Dashie please, you said you would”
>You plant your head on your desk as you feel yourself slowly giving in to the puppy dog eyes
>That earns you a glare from the teacher for disrupting the class but the bruise is gonna be much worse
>You may regret ever even uttering these words, but you're nothing if not up for a challenge, and hanging around any of those three for an extended amount of time is certainly a challenge
>Heaving a sigh you bring your head up
“Yeah I guess I can spare one day to hang out”
>You wince slightly as Fluttershy let's out an ultra high-pitch squee
>You swear, one of these days, that girl's gonna shatter glass
>You let out a yawn as the class is finally dismissed
>You think you made enough notes on the right stuff to use for studying
>Ugh, even thinking that word makes you shudder
>Maybe you can get another study session with one of the girls
>They all say you don't need them, and in all honesty, they're right, you can do this nerd stuff well enough to pass without any worries
>But studying for any amount of time without having your eyes roll back into your head out of boredom, is a challenge you have yet to conquer
“Hey Fluttershy, you wanna go over these notes again sometime this weekend”
>As she continues to pack up she tilts her head up, muttering to herself
>“I dunno Dashie, I have a pretty full week, we're getting some new additions to the shelter so I'm gonna have my hands full getting them all settled in with the animals that have been there a while. Even with Tree Hugger and Pseudo helping it could take all week, or maybe longer.”
>Well, one option down 5 to go
“Damn, that sucks Shy, I'll figure something out though, don't worry”
>You say that but you know that Flutters beats herself up over anything she declines
>That girl is too nice for her own good
>As you grab your bag to head out you stop as you see her eyes light up
>Her mouth hangs open in awe like she just saw the greatest thing ever
>Obviously you're pretty great but it's sort of unsettling how wide here eyes and mouth have gotten
>You shoot a glance behind you in case Fluttershy just saw some rare animal outside or something
>Nope, nothing
>When you turn back she's finally come down and is bouncing on her heels
>You're not sure if you should be worried or not
>With how she's acting you're expecting a zipper to appear and Pinkie to step out of a Fluttershy costume
>She grabs your shoulders and pulls you forward so that you're inches away from being chest to chest
>“I bet Pseudo could help you study”
>You blink a few times as you try to process what she just said
>When it finally clicks you grab her hands and detach them from your shoulders
>Pushing her away lightly you hold up your hands and start shaking your head
“Whoa whoa, hold on Fluttershy, I said I'd hang out with the guy, I meant like during lunch or something, not for an hour or two of studying”
>Undeterred, she continues bouncing on her feet and starts clapping her hands together in excitement
>“Oh but Dash it'll be perfect, he's really good at studying, he's even helped me a few times”
“Yeah I'm sure he's just great Flutters, but didn't you just say you needed his help at the Shelter?”
>This finally puts an end to her bouncing
>It also seems to cause her body to catch up to what she was doing as she has to take a few deep breaths to calm down
>“Well sure, having his help would be great, but he doesn't quite have the same... touch that I have when it comes to animals. I'll survive one day without him in the Shelter”
>You quirk an eyebrow at her and tilt your head for added effect
>“What?”
“You? You'll be fine without Pseudo for a day?”
>She shifts on her feet a bit and wrings her hands a bit
>“Well yeah, what kind of girl do you take me for?”
>While her attempt to sound confident is admirable, the half-hearted laugh that peters out at the end does not reassure you
“We're talking about the same Pseudo who's arm you've hung off of every day for nearly a year now right?”
>Her cheeks flush and her eyes shrink at this slightly
>Rocking back and forth on her feet she rubs her arm and lets out a nervous chuckle
>“Well- I mean sure, but I- I don't NEED to do that stuff it's just that um... he really likes it is all, I'll be fine if he isn't at the shelter for one day”
>You can tell she's lying but you aren't gonna push her
>It'll be much more fun to tease her lightly throughout the day then do it all now
>You're still not excited by the idea but you did say you would
“Alright Fluttershy I'll let your boyfriend help me study”
>With another squee she jumps at you and hugs you tight
>Like really tight, it's sort of hard to breathe
>As the bell for second class rings she finally releases you, letting sweet air flow into you once again
>She hurries off to the next class, waving to you as she goes
>You grumble to yourself about agreeing to spending so much time with that guy
>But you dug your grave so you're gonna lie in it
>The day goes on with the same old, same old
>You have a cooking class with Pinkie
>Being one of the best friends of possibly one of the best bakers in the town if not the country certainly has it's perks
>You're always her first pick for cooking partner
>But even if you're not doing partner cooking she lets you cheat off of her
>Honestly, cooking is probably your second strongest subject thanks to her
>After that you finally get put into your natural habitat
>Sports
>Of course everyone scrambles to partner up with the captain of each sports team as soon as the lesson begins
>But like every lesson, you partner up with Sunset and Twilight
>With how out of shape they are you wonder how they got into the same sports class as you
>Not that you're complaining, unless you're competing for something, the only way to make sports interesting is to have someone to talk to
>Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you look at it, Sunset and Twilight certainly have a lot to talk about today
>A lot of it is talking formulas and equations for Math and Science
>Despite how smart they are, you try to leave asking these two for help for desperate times
>Whenever you study with them they always go on tangents and lose you within 2 minutes
>The last time Twilight went on a tangent you looked up the boiling point of brain, because you were pretty sure you were there
>At least they're getting better at realising they're on a tangent and stopping
>When they finally stop nerding out they start talking about something interesting
>Twilight gives you two a run down on the information she could get on Sirens
>Apparently a lot of what she found depicted them as part human, part bird
>Of course that doesn't match what you saw at the Battle of the Bands
>Those girls were pure fish, there wasn't any human in them at all
>So you mentally cross off using any info from here to fight them if need be
>Looks like if things go south with this whole friendship thing, you'll have to use the tried and true magic rainbow
>Not that you're complaining
>You're never gonna get bored of that
>Sunset has a lot more to talk about though
>She gives Twilight an abridged version of what happened over the weekend with Anonymous
>For a brief while the three of you spitball ideas on what the Field could actually be and try to think of any way you could potentially take it down
>Looks like the magic beatdown might not be totally off the table
>Keeping that thing up is not cool
>No wonder nobody noticed Incognito on the way to school besides you
>You wonder if, when they take down the Field, whether or not everyone will remember all the stuff he did that he made them forget
>You can't help but chuckle as you imagine him in perpetual detention throughout the rest of the year
>You stop chuckling when Sunset admits to losing the journal
>That could actually be a serious problem if it gets into the wrong hands
>How would some government goon react to writing in a magic book that's linked to a magical princess
>Oh crap, the government could find out aliens exist
>Then they'd find out that the way to get to them is in front of your school
>Then they'd interrogate the seven of you
>You have been keeping it a secret from everyone outside of the seven of you all this time after all
>Crap they'd probably also interrogate everyone at school since they saw all the stuff from Sunset and the Sirens, and the Friendship Games and Camp Everfree
>You don't want your teachers to go to government jail
>They'd probably also interrogate Crystal Prep with the whole Friendship Games but you don't really care about those snobs
>Except for Shining
>How you've kept a lid on this stuff so far you will probably never know
>You didn't realise how many people that journal would screw over if it was ever found by anyone
>You all agree to come up with a game plan come lunch time, but this is definitely gonna be a priority
>You wonder if you'll be able to get out of befriending those three if you offer to pull extra time to look for the journal
>You know Sunset will say no but at least you can hope
>You don't have much time to think on it much further as your teacher calls you all back inside
>With the lesson over you head over to the showers to get rid of the sweat and mud
>You remember years ago when everyone was all self-conscious of their bodies so no one went in the showers
>You told yourselves that you covered the smell up fine with deodorant but you all knew you were lying
>Luckily everyone has all but finished the majority of their puberty
>Other than some people still growing, everyone's bodies have sort of settled on how they're gonna look
>This means that the girls are all fine with showering without fear of embarrassment
>You just have to remember to keep eye contact with them and not look any further down then their neck
>Any further and you'll be labelled a dyke for the rest of your school life
>You can't help but feel bad for little Scoots since she's gonna have to go through the same stuff you did
>Maybe you should sit her down some day and give her some pointers
>You don't want her to have to go to her parents for advice on how to survive High School like you did
>That first month still brings you great shame
>But you've overshadowed it with how cool you are now
>Scoots is cool and all but you don't see her becoming the captain of all of the teams like you
>Maybe one or two, but you can tell she's gonna go into some sort of derby sport when she graduates
>She watches them as much as you watch the Wonderbolts
>Sure she goes to the same school as you and all
>But she's still like, years away from actually doing the High School courses
>This place is just a mix of school years from kids to young adults, but it's still referred to as a High School
>You decide to derail that train of thought before you give yourself a headache
>As the water washes off the last of the suds you grab your towel and start drying yourself off
>You know you should head to class now if you don't want to be late but you're still not fully dry
>Sure you're only damp right now so it doesn't really matter, but your clothes will chafe and ride up
>You decide that, since your friends aren't even in that class you're fine with being late
>When you're finally done you end up being five minutes late
>Much to the chagrin of your teacher, you stroll in, hand out an apology and excuse, and seat yourself
>You can tell they want to tell you off for wasting everyone else in the class' time, but then they'd be a hypocrite for wasting their time to tell you off
>You manage to pass by the lesson by daydreaming and doodling
>Luckily this was one of those throw away, pointless lessons where the teachers managed to talk about nothing for a whole hour
>Honestly it's sort of impressive
>Luckily it's over and done with and your 3rd favourite subject is next
>Lunch
>You're pretty sure if you actually got a grade for it, you'd get an A
>You meet up with the girls and line up to get your lunch like usual
>You listen to Sunset go over everything with Anon for the third time to get the others informed
>When you sit down everyone's gotten into throwing ideas around about the Field and what to do about it
>On one side of you is Fluttershy while Sunset and Rarity are on the other
>Meanwhile Twilight, AJ, and Pinkie sit on the other side of you
>To someone outside it'd seem like chaos but everyone is able to hear and make out what everyone else is saying
>Even when some of you speak at the same time
>“I reckon all of us ought to find those three, and give 'em one of those ultramans or whatever to put down that Field or get zapped”
>“I think you mean ultimatum Applejack”
>“Why, what did I say?”
>You all chuckle a bit at that, which Applejack joins in on
>“Whilst putting pressure on them could work I don't think we should... back them into a corner so to speak, we should hear what they have to say about this, like ladies”
>“I'm with Rarity, Anon may have snapped at me about it but I think the situation will solve itself”
>“Ooooooh, someone's hiding something, aren'tcha Shimmy? Sort of like a surprise party, oh I love those kinds of parties, cause you never know when it's gonna happen”
>You all go from chuckling to laughing and Pinkie starts talking at supersonic speeds about parties
>When you finally calm down you tap Sunset on the shoulder to get her attention
“But seriously Sunset, what've you got up your sleeve?”
>She seems apprehensive at first but a smile slowly grows on her face
>“Oh, alright I wasn't gonna tell anyone but I actually got a-”
>“Sorry to interrupt”
>You all snap your heads up to see Anon, Incog, and Pseudo standing by your table with lunches
>“Are there... any seats free?”
>You all look between each other completely perplexed
>Almost instinctively you shift to the side to make room
>Pseudo takes that as a cue to sit between you and Fluttershy
>Meanwhile the other two sit opposite you
>Pseudo seems the only one able to sit comfortably with your group
>Incog is just prodding his food, briefly shooting glimpses at each of you
>Even Anon has lost his usual confidence
>He's just rubbing the back of his neck, not even bothering to acknowledge his food or look at any of you
>Eventually Sunset is the one to break the silence as she clears her throat
>“Well Anon it's... it's good to see you again”
>He's taken aback as she addresses him then shrinks in on himself a bit
>Shaking his head he straightens up and clears his throat as well
>Steeling himself he finally manages to make eye-contact with Sunset
>“Yeah um... I- I acted... very immaturely then, I shouldn't have snapped like that, you were just worried about your home. I should have been more considerate of that since I know that feeling all too well. So... you know... sorry”
>He turns his gaze down as he goes on, with his voice eventually dropping to a murmur
>You all still hear it loud and clear though
>Sunset let's out a small chuckle at him being so shy but shakes her head at him
>“No need for apologies, I'm just glad you've put down the Field”
>His had snaps up at that and his eyes dart to Incog and Pseudo at that
“Um yeah Sunset, about that-”
>“We still haven't put it down”
>“WHAT!?”
>Everyone at the table barring you, Fluttershy and the guys, shout directly in your ears
>You just know they're gonna ring all day, it's gonna be real fun trying to get to sleep tonight
>“Red, would you and the others calm down, taking the Field down is a big thing, we need more than a few days to decide”
>“I'm calling hogwash on that, how hard can it be to undo you're own darn spell?”
>While Twilight and Pinkie try to stop Applejack from getting to Incog you see Sunset simply standing there
>She silently crosses her arms and nods to Anon
>Getting the message he heaves a sigh and pushes his untouched food away
>“The Field spell we casted was very complex, it'd take as much magic to undo it as it took to cast it in the first place, we're not sure if we're willing to take such a step back and lose that much magic when it's so scarce here”
>“But why? What's so important that you're essentially draining people of their memories?”
>At this point Pseudo pulls himself away from Fluttershy and turns to face Sunset
>“Do you have any idea how hard it's gonna be to find Adagio, Aria and Sonata on this planet without our magic?”
>The table goes silent at that
>Applejack has stopped pushing against Twilight and Pinkie and has sat down again
>You all knew they were looking for their sister back when you confronted Pseudo in the Shelter
>You just didn't put together how their magic would fit into it
>A heavy silence hangs over the table for what feels like an eternity
>The regular chatter of the cafeteria, fades into white noise as you try to process what Pseudo said
>You were so busy trying to think of ways to prove they were evil, that you forgot why they were here to begin with
>They just wanted their family back
>Yet you ignored that in favour of seeing them as villains
>You had agreed to at least try to befriend them
>But you haven't talked to any of them since that day on the roof
>“I... I don't now what to say to that”
>Even with Sunset breaking the silence it quickly returns as words die in your throat
>Fluttershy has wrapped her arms around Pseudo, probably trying to comfort him
>Meanwhile the rest of you just share confused looks
>All the plans you were discussing regarding them have stopped dead in their tracks
>Eventually you can't stand to keep quiet anymore, so you try to speak up
“What do you-”
>Everyone seemingly snaps out of a trance as you speak up
>Even Incog has pulled his eyes away from his food to look at you
“-I mean, how much magic would you even need?”
>The three of them look at each other, as if they're having some sort of mental conversation
>You check their belts briefly and, when you don't see a glow, confirm that they aren't actually psychic
>Anon clears his throat, pulling your attention back
>“Simply put, a lot more than this world has, you humans have an... innate source of magic in you, I suppose that's due to Equestrian magic leaking into this world for so long”
>As Anon goes on he takes on a ponderous look and starts mouthing something to himself
>His eyes dart back and forth and his fingers tap the table frantically
>Honestly it's a bit off putting to see him go into his own little world out of nowhere
>You lean towards Sunset but you notice her squinting at Anon
>When you nudge her she jumps slightly and turn to you
“Do you have any idea what the heck he's doing?”
>Sunset looks between you and him a few times and leans towards you
>“I think he might be doing arcane calculations, it's sort of fascinating to see it again after so long, but I can't read lips so I'm not sure what he's doing, I think he's using his fingers like an abacus”
>You roll your eyes at the mention of nerd stuff again
>You let out a small groan and contemplate kicking Anon under the table to bring him back to reality
>Before you do however, Incog clear his throat and sits up
>“What Anon was trying to say before he... well you know-”
>He briefly waves his hand in front of Anon which gets no reaction out of him
>He shares a mixed look of concern and amusement with Pseudo before turning back to the seven of you
>“-you humans have magic in you, that's how you six are able to use magic like Sunset, even though you're native to this world. However without something Equestrian to... trigger that magic, like the stones that camp woman got hold of, the amount of magic you humans can hold is less than an earth pony foal.”
>You want to question him further on that but Pseudo cuts you off before you can
>“The magic is still leaking into here, so you constantly have magic in you, but we'd need... decades maybe, if we're lucky, to get about a tenth of the amount of magic we need”
>Your eyes widen as you try to process all the new information
>You think you're getting an idea of the position these three are in, but even then you're sure you haven't scratched the surface
>Sunset at least seems to have a better grasp of things
>Though you guess it's to be expected since she actually understands magic
>Your knowledge boils down to, you start to glow, then magic happens, because magic
>“But how does the Field help with that, I've been trying to wrap my head around its magic but I can't”
>Anon finally snaps out of his trance and looks to Sunset
>“Oh that? If I explained it, it could take all day, but in simple terms, whenever someone in the Field forgets us or something we did, it drains a bit of their magic and splits it between us”
>For the first time you're actually paying attention to an explanation of magic
>Sunset has tried to teach you all but you kept getting bored
>Everyone else has their full attention on what's going on
>Twilight has even taken out a notebook and is frantically taking notes
>You're pretty sure her pen is smoking
>You'd be worried if you hadn't seen it a dozen times before
>Rarity decides to pitch in as well
>“Well if there isn't enough magic here, couldn't you simply go home and get the magic from there?”
>You all murmur agreements between you before you go quiet again
>“There are two reasons for that, one of which would be Starswirl. Now I'm positive you've already gotten word to Equestria that we're here.”
>Anon leaves that hanging there as he quirks an eyebrow at Sunset
>She laughs nervously to herself and taps her fingers together, as she slowly shrinks into her seat
>Incog laughs himself and waves her off
>“Don't sweat it Red, we knew it'd happen, but now that it has we really can't go back. No doubt he's been informed and is gonna keep his horn ready for us. As soon as we step through that portal, who knows what he'll do to us”
>“That's awful, why would Starswirl be so mean to you three?”
>Pseudo ruffles Fluttershy's hair and pulls her close to help calm her down
>“Guys come on, sure he banished your sisters, and I get that you want to... hurt him. But he's taken to learning about friendship from Twilight, I'm sure you can make amends”
>Another wave of hushed agreements washes over the seven of you, but you're stopped when Anon speaks up again
>“Even if we did want to make amends, which we don't, he wouldn't make amends even if Celestia ordered him to.”
>Sunset let's out a nervous chuckle but you can tell that this is unsettling her
>“Oh come on Anon, I'm sure you're just over-exaggerating”
>Pseudo pulls away from Fluttershy to talk this time
>“I wish we were Sunset. But you didn't see him like we did. As he became the Sorcerer King of Equestria. Sirens have only ever kept an eye on Equestria for four individuals, the princesses, Discord and him, and he is an old, bitter, bigot, he felt that any race that wasn't one of the three pony tribes were a potential threat”
>Sunset's eyes widen and her jaw drops at Pseudo's words
>She isn't the only one affected by hearing this either, Incog has been clenching and unclenching his fists, and when Pseudo trails off, Incog slams his hands onto the table and pushes the bench out as he shoots to his feet
>“With how bloody patriotic that bastard is, he did everything he could to keep those threats from doing anything to Equestria or its ponies. That's why you only started getting along with the other races a thousand years ago, because he was finally gone. He won't let go of his grudge against Sirens, and we're certainly not gonna give him the chance too”
>Another heavy silence hangs over the table as Incog calms down and slumps into his seat
>As he lets his head fall into his arms Applejack tentatively places a hand on his shoulder
>He shoots a glance at her but simply let's her be
>Not really knowing what to do she gives it a squeeze before pulling away
“Um, so you guys said that there were two reasons why you can't get the magic from Equestria, right?”
>“I think I might have an answer to that Rainbow”
>Everyone quirks an eyebrow at Sunset who sheepishly smiles at the three
>”I haven't done arcane stuff in a while so I decided to delve into it a bit when I first thought of why you didn't get the magic from Equestria too”
>She relaxes and straightens up when Anon signals for he to continue
>“Equestrian magic is basically sewn into our bodies, in the muscles of earth ponies, the wings of pegasi, and the minds of unicorn. Draining magic from them could be... detrimental to their health to say the least”
>She raises an eyebrow at the three, who all nod at her
>“Essentially yes, that is the other reason, we took what we could without attracting attention, and came here. But that's about it”
>You sort of want to visit this Equestria place, sounds trippy
>As they go on you can't help but wonder what magic feels like
>“Well I reckon if it's gonna take y'all that long to find your kin, we ought to help you find them quicker, right girls?”
>“Oh yeah, I can throw a happy reunion party for them”
>“Certainly, helping you three is the least we can do after acting so very uncouth with those unfounded accusations”
>Everyone starts recalling where you last left off your search for those three as you get more and more into the idea of searching for them again
>Sunset stands up and holds a hand out to Anon
>“What do you say Anon, you take down the Field, and we'll do all we can to help you find those three?”
>Everyone is looking expectantly at the three
>Even you're sort of hoping they'll go along with it
>Even if it means working alongside Incog
>However you can't help but feel like something's off as Anon starts laughing, even if it is only briefly
>“I appreciate you all offering to help, I really do, I didn't even expect it when we came here. But I'm gonna say no, without the magic it could take us forever to find them”
>Sunset is a bit disappointed by this but she folds her arms and stands firm
>“Well why not?”
>“Multiple reasons”
>You let out a groan and lean on the table until you're inches away from Anon
“Everything has multiple reasons with you, just tell us what gives and quit beating around the bush”
>The side of his mouth twitches as he leans away
>Clearing his throat his eyes glide over all seven of you
>“For one, you shattered their conduits, that means your unicorn friend won't be able to sense them”
>Sunset shifts on her feet as a sad look crosses her face
>“Then there's the fact that they have no reason to stay anywhere for too long, I wouldn't be surprised if they were constantly on the move. Even without their magic they were some of the most innovative Sirens in our whole species, if they wanted to get somewhere they could, magic or no”
>Sunset slowly sits down and hunches over in her seat, her face shifting from sad to full-on defeat
>Seeing this Anon stands up and goes around the table next to her
>Placing a hand on her shoulder she looks up at him
>He gives her a sad smile
>“I really do appreciate your offer, but the only way we'll be able to find them at this point is to sniff them out, but we need magic to amplify it. I'm sorry, but we have to get that magic, they've been gone to long for us to not do everything to get them back”
>Her face doesn't shift but she does place her hand on his and squeezes it
>Slowly pulling his hand away he leans across the table, grabs his tray and heads to the exit
>Following his lead Incog does the same and heads out
>As the bell goes off you all share Sunset's defeated look as you start to file out with the rest of the students
>Pseudo is still walking with Fluttershy, so you approach him and bring up your earlier discussion with Fluttershy
>He smiles at you when you ask if he's free sometime this week
>“I could probably help you today if you like, meet me after school?”
“Sure, sounds good”
>He whispers something to Fluttershy that makes her giggle before he pulls away from her
>Just as he speeds up to get ahead of you two, he briefly stops by Sunset and whispers something to her too
>You don't hear what he says, but when you speed up to walk besides Sunset you see her defeated look has been wiped from her face
>You don't think that anyone in your group has an idea of what to do next, but with the look on Sunset's face, you're not sure if you need one
>The rest of the day goes by without a hitch
>Lots of boring lessons, and talking to your friends
>The usual
>The same old, boring usual
>But maybe it'll pick up soon
>Seeing how school's about to finish
>As the final bell rings you let out an ecstatic “Yes”
>Grabbing your stuff you bolt it to the door
>“Hold on miss Dash, the bell does not dismiss you, I do”
>At least you assume that's what your teacher was calling to you
>You were already gone by the time they said your name
>Bursting through the open doors you stretch out your muscles
>Who knew sitting still could make you ache so much
>As you stretch you allow for a rare occurrence, and slow down
>You breathe in that sweet smell of freedom and let the heat wash over you
>As you hop down the stairs, you stroll over to the statue and lean against it
>Slowly sliding down the statue, you rest your head on your knees as you watch the other students pile out of the doors
>You greet a few people as they pass not really paying much attention to them
>That was a mistake
>Cause if you had been paying attention, you would have run and hid
>“Helloooooo Rainbow Dash”
>Ugh, that voice that send shivers up your spine, and makes your breasts want to suck themselves back into your chest
>Only one person you know has that voice
>Zephyr Breeze
>You try not to show your disgust too visibly as you slowly turn to face him
>Quickly getting to your feet you hold your bag in front of you to make sure he doesn't get too close
“Oh, hey Zephyr, didn't see you there”
>“Oh Rainbow you are funny, I've been talking to you for two minutes”
>You don't know whether you not noticing him for that long is a good thing or a bad thing
>“So I just so happened to have some coupons for that sports shop you like, and I know that some new Wonderbolts merch has come out, so I thought 'hey Rainbow likes those guys' so I thought I'd give them to you”
>As he holds out the coupons you use your finger and thumb to pluck them out of his hand
>The less contact you make the better
>Honestly you would have kicked Zephyr's borderline-stalker ass by now if he weren't Fluttershy's brother
>But sadly, he is, so you don't
>You just pay him the most basic common courtesy and hope he leaves
>“Yo, Rainbow, ready to hit the books?”
>There's your out
>You quickly back-up as fast as you can until you bump into Pseudo
>You must have moved away faster than you thought cause you end up toppling him
>Luckily you manage to brace yourself so you don't land on him
“Oh crap, sorry Pseudo, didn't mean to hit you that hard”
>“Nah I should have tensed up more, you're like pure muscle”
>His point is sort of proven when you help him up
>The guy felt like he was made of cardboard
>Being built like a string bean didn't help him either
>As he dusts himself off he waves towards the gates “So your place or mine?”
>You are cut off by Zephyr clearing his throat
>“Um excuse me, uh Synonym, right? Sorry but I was talking to Rainbow”
>“Wow, pretending to not know my name, you're as petty as ever”
>Zephyr glares at Pseudo and retorts through gritted teeth
>“I'm not petty, you're just uninteresting”
>“Whatever, so Rainbow which subject did you need help on?”
>Pseudo casually hooks his arm around your shoulder and starts heading to the gate
>You let out a sigh of relief to finally be getting out of here
>Sadly, you thought too soon as Zephyr cuts you both off
>“Now Pseudo, I know you and your brothers were raised by animals or something with how uncivilised you three act, but surely you were taught that's it's impolite to cut off a conversation?”
>You can't help but chuckle with Pseudo at that
>Most guys would be furious to hear something like that but he probably takes it as a compliment
>“Besides I was gonna help her shop for some new Wonderbolts stuff”
“Actually Zephyr I already pre-ordered all that stuff and got it yesterday, besides I really need to do some studying and Pseduo here is helping, so yeah...”
>You try to step around him but he sadly doesn't take the hint, or just ignores it
>“Well I could help you study, I am an excellent student”
>“Didn't you go full Cast Away and live in the woods, cause you were failing so hard?”
>You're finding it increasingly difficult to hold in your laughter at that
>You remember Fluttershy coming to you that day telling you what happened
>You were doubled-over for a good 20 minutes before you finally helped her drag his ass out of there
>“I was having an emotional moment in finding myself, I wouldn't expect you to understand”
>You hear Pseudo let out a groan at that
>“Yes Zephyr you're very spiritual, but me and her live in the real world, where you need to study. So, bye”
>With a very final tone Pseudo grabs your hand and shoves Zephyr out of the way
>After dusting himself off, Zephyr heads in the opposite direction, grumbling under his breath
>You pump your fist in victory and pull your hand out of Pseudo's grasp
“Thanks for the assist, that guy just does not know when to leave”
>“I know right, even a blind guy can read social situations better than him”
>You let out a small snort at that
“You could literally hold up a sign that says 'leave me alone' and he'd probably pretend he can't read”
>You both share a laugh at that
>As you head down the road you go back and forth, mostly sharing jabs at Zephyr's expense
>You're eventually forced to stop so you can get your breath back from your dozenth laughing fit
>When you're finally able to breathe again you wipe the tears from your eyes and look around
>Yet whichever way you look you have no idea where you are
“Hey Pseudo where'd you lead us anyway?”
>He turns to you with a bit of worry on his face
>“I thought you were taking the lead”
>You tense up slightly at that
>You hold your breath, hoping he's just pranking you
>But with his face only getting more worried you're pretty sure he isn't
>Scrambling to get your phone out of your bag you fumble with it a bit until you turn it on
>Quickly opening the GPS app it slowly loads where you are
>You let out a small sigh of relief to see you're not too far away from town
>Sure you're like a dozen blocks into the run-down area, but you can be out of here in no time
>You've just got to do a 180 and walk and you'll hit the mall
>After letting Pseudo know, he lets out a sigh of his own as you two make your way back
>You'll admit you jumped with each step and were constantly looking over your shoulder
>You'd constantly hear the groan or snap of wood
>Sometimes some glass would shatter and echo for ages
>Then there were the rats and the bugs that were the size of rats that littered the pavement
>Thankfully the only other people you saw were passed out
>You did not want to get involved with any of them
>As you reach the top of a hill you grin as you see the mall come into view
“Come on, I'll race you Pseudo”
>Taking off, you start at a jog to give him a fighting chance
>You're shocked as he starts pulling ahead of you
>Looking over his shoulder, a smug grin spreads across his face
>“How are those short legs working out for you?”
>Forcing air through your nose you speed up and immediately take the lead
>You hold your pace and watch as Pseudo slowly runs out of energy
“How are those lungs working out for you?”
>He lets out a chuckle and simply flips you off
>You shoot him a smug grin of your own and decide to go full speed
>Shooting ahead of him you stumble to a halt in the parking lot
>Sitting against a lamp post you slowly start to catch your breath as you watch Pseudo give up and start walking
>By the time he arrives you've gotten your breath back
>Slapping him on the back you shoot him a sincere smile this time
“You're not half as bad as I thought you'd be”
>Still out of breath he simply waves you off and starts heading back down the road
>As you follow after him your eyes glance between him and the mall
>Eventually coming to a stop you grab hold of his shoulder and tug him back
>“Something wrong Rainbow?”
“Well I'm just thinking, Flutters wants us to hang out, and I think we can hang out a lot better in there, then at home studying, don't you think?”
>You wring your hands as you try your best to mimic Fluttershy's puppy dog eyes
>From the barely held back snort you can tell it isn't working
>“I dunno Rainbow, you did say you needed help with study-”
“I can get my mom or dad to help, or do it tomorrow or something. Come on let's do something fun”
>The rational part of your brain, which only showed up after Twilight first helped you study, is trying to get you to stop
>But the rest of your brain quickly silences it in favour of slacking
>You just got out of school, you don't want to go back so soon
>Pseudo seems to be of a similar mind with how his eyes are darting back and forth
>Letting out a sigh he starts heading into the mall
>“Screw it, why not”
>Beckoning you, you jump in the air and start heading after him
>Quickly catching up to him you grab his arm and tug him into the mall
>As the doors open you let the day's heat get washed away by the mall's AC
“Hey, come on, I know exactly where I want to go first”
>You race ahead not bothering to look back
>When you finally come to a stop, you look besides you to see an empty space
>Looking around you, you only see random people going about their day
>Heaving a sigh you slouch a bit as you wait for him to catch up
>You cast your eyes over your shoulders every few seconds and, with him still not coming into view, you start tapping your foot
>As you're about to head into the sea of people to find him you see a familiar mess of purple hair making it's way towards you
>When the crowd finally parts for him he gives you a small wave
>“Sup Dash”
“What took you so long?”
>“It's this incredible thing called walking, you can do it to get to places slowly”
>You roll your eyes at his sarcasm and make your way into the store
“That sounds boring, let's go”
>He follows closely behind but slows down as he takes everything in
>“Why are we here exactly?”
“I wanted to get the new Wonderbolts stuff, duh”
>“But you said-”
>You cut him off with an incredulous look
>You nod to him as he forms an 'O' with his mouth
>For a while the two of you scour the store for the new merchandise
>More often than not you have to tell him you already have certain bits of merchandise
>Luckily he helps to get the stuff that you can't reach
>Unluckily he uses it to tease you
>You're tempted to kick him in the shins but then every chick in here would be on you about hitting a guy
>So instead you just hip check him into the edge of some waist high cages
>Despite being winded he still chuckles at your actions
>When you've finally used up your coupons and allowance you stroll out of the store
>You're encumbered but content
>Despite your insistence Pseudo manages to wrangle a few bags out of your grasp
>Honestly, you're thankful, it felt like your hands were gonna fall off
>But he doesn't need to know that
>You both make your way over to the food court to set down your baggage
>He holds your seats and keeps an eye on the bags so you can buy the food
>You grab yourself a burger combo-meal and buy him some sushi
>Hopefully Sunset isn't here, her sushi place and the smaller one have a bit of a rivalry
>Pseduo perks up significantly when you put his raw fish in front of him
>“So seriously, what did you need help with?”
>You try talking through a mouthful of meat to no avail
>Chewing through the patty at full speed you wash it down with your drink
“Mainly just some chemistry formulas, but I don't want to bring out my work when we've got so much to carry already”
>“Fair enough but I could give you some pointers, anything you remember having problems with?”
>You try to recall your lesson from today as you stuff a handful of fries into your mouth
>Apparently you were wrong about a lot of stuff when it came to chemistry
>That would explain your grade
>When he tells you how to solve one problem, you think of at least two other things it conflicts with
>By the time you and Pseudo have gone over everything a few hours have passed
>He even managed to put stuff that had gone completely over your head in a way you could understand
>Fluttershy was right about him when it came to studying
>She was right about a lot of things
>Like how you have actually enjoyed hanging out with him
>When you've finally gone over enough that you feel confident you start to head out
“Thanks for the Pseudo, this was actually... fun, maybe we can hang out again, preferably without the nerd stuff”
>You chuckle at your own joke but get a bit nervous when Pseudo doesn't join in
“Pseudo, you alright man?”
>Seemingly coming out of a trance he jumps when you poke him
>He looks between you and basically everywhere else
>Eventually letting out a sigh he falls back onto a bench
>“Why do you hate us Rainbow Dash?”
>You nearly drop your bags at that
>This guy really doesn't beat around the bush
“Come on Pseudo, today should've shown that I don't”
>You both know that's a lie
>“I just want to know what we did, I mean yeah I get it with Incog, hell I hate him too. But before you girls came snooping around, you were none the wiser to what we were doing. So why hate me and Anon?”
>You're about to answer until you promptly shut your mouth
>You really didn't have an answer to that
>Did you just hate them, just because
>You think over everything you remember about them but don't come up with anything
>As you pace back and forth you can feel his eyes lazily following you
>He isn't interrogating you, he's just genuinely curious
>But that only makes you feel worse when you can't think of a worthwhile answer
>As you let out a defeated sigh his sisters pop into your head
>It's only briefly but it does give you your answer
“Cause I was scared”
>He sits up and looks at you with a mix of surprise and worry
>“Of us?”
“Of what you could do, I didn't hate you before, I didn't like you either sure. But I only started hating you when I found out you were sirens”
>You can see he still hasn't put everything together so you slump your shoulders, letting your bags fall to the floor
>Sitting next to him you keep your eyes on the ground
“Back when your sisters made everyone fight... when they made me and my friends fight... it was the single worst experience I've ever had.”
>“But you guys have argued before, and you've fought magic before”
>You turn to him and simply shake your head
“You've never been under a Siren's spell have you?”
>“Well no, we're naturally resistant to it”
>You simply nod at that, having not quite found the right words to describe it
>You tap your foot and curl into yourself just a little bit as you try to come up with how to describe what it was like
“It was like they were in my head, and they kept telling me these awful things about my friends, and awful things that they said about me. I knew none of it was true but no matter how hard I fought it I couldn't help but fall for it. I felt like a puppet or a toy, it makes me sick just to think about”
>You curl further into yourself as you picture what it was like
>You tense up but relax as a hand makes contact with your back
>Looking to the side you see Pseudo looking at you with only worry in his eyes now
>He slowly rubs up and down your back and you can't help but uncurl at the contact
>Standing up, Pseudo places the bags he was carrying besides you
>“There isn't really anything I can say to that Rainbow, but I do understand”
>You turn your head to face him again to see a small smile tugging at his lips
>“I think I'd be worried if you weren't cautious of me and my brothers after something like that”
>His smile spreads as he makes his way to the exit at his slow lumbering pace
>As he reaches the door you finally find your voice and call out
“So does that mean we're cool?”
>He simply holds a thumbs-up as the doors slam behind him
>You let out a breathe you didn't know you were holding as you find your mind empty
>After a few minutes you roll your shoulders and pick up your Wonderbolts stuff
>Taking in the cool air of the mall one last time you begin making your own way home

>A few days have passed since Anonymous and his brothers told you and the girls about just how complicated their situation really is
>You, being Sunset Shimmer
>You're sort of glad that nothing too substantial has occurred for a few days
>It gave you time to process everything
>Celestia knows you certainly needed that time
>Ever since you found them out, everything's just been twisting and getting tangled up
>You're glad you could sit back, take a breath, and think everything through
>You probably would've snapped if you didn't get some down time
>But it still isn't enough
>First their was that weird song thing they did
>Then you found out that they've been working secretly for nearly a year
>Then you find out that they're related to Adagio, Aria, and Sonata
>After that, you found out that they just wanted magic to reunite with their family, rather than rule the world
>With no evidence to call them evil, you just let them be, then you started getting along with Anon more than you expected
>The next thing you know, it turns out that Starswirl may, or may not, attack them if they try to go home
>You really wish you had your journal back, or at least knew where it was
>Then maybe you could set up an interdimensional discussion between the three and Starswirl
>Wow, that sounds stupider and stupider each time you consider it
>But you just wish you could solve everything because, despite their motives being good
>You still don't like them sucking the magic out of everyone here
>Not to mention that they still haven't taken the Field down
>It isn't hurting anyone sure, but that doesn't make it right
>Meanwhile Anonymous and Incognito are too stubborn to accept your help
>At least Pseudo is on your side
>Well he's on both sides really, him being with Fluttershy is probably why you've progressed so well
>That's one small comfort you can take in this
>All the girls are willing to give them a chance
>Even Rainbow, from what Pseudo told you that day
>You admit, you were pretty sceptical
>When Rainbow sees someone as an enemy, it takes a lot to convince her otherwise
>But your doubts were put to rest the next day when you saw her, walking to school alongside Pseudo and Fluttershy
>It gave you hope that, given enough time, you could all get along with all three of them like that
>You're brought out of your thoughts by the sound of snapping fingers
>Coming back to reality you quickly get your bearings
>Anonymous is walking besides you and looks at you with a perplexed face
>“You alright there Sunset? You were out for few minutes”
“I was? Oh sorry, I was just thinking about stuff, you know”
>He gives a small hum as he turns to look ahead again
>Just in time too, as he nearly collided with Scootaloo, who was racing down the pavement
>You both look at her go then share a confused look
>You only become more confused as you see the other two crusaders chasing after her as best they can
>“Scootaloo, come on we ain't got time to go to some new skate park”
>They briefly apologise as they barge past you two to keep heading after their friend
>You both share a short laugh at their antics
>They seem to get in trouble more often than the seven of you
>As you continue heading to CH, you go into a comfortable silence as you walk besides Anon
>You remember the first time you encountered him on your way to school
>Actually the image of him closing in on you, often pops into your head
>But you always squish it down, like now for instance
>It took a while to stop yourself from blushing each time you thought of it
>But you managed to get it under control before anyone asked
>Celestia knows how you'd even begin to try and explain that
>“You were thinking about the Field again weren't you?”
“Wait what?”
>You don't even need to try and stop thinking about that memory now that Anon has basically stopped your brain in it's tracks
“Where did that come from?”
>“Come on Sunset, I'm not a fool, sure we've only been hanging out for a few days but I can tell when you're thinking about it. You get all quiet and contemplative, and the fact that you kept shooting looks at me just sort of confirmed it to be honest”
>You can feel a light blush dusting your cheeks at that
>Looks like you're gonna have to train yourself to not ogle at Anon when your heads in the clouds
>At least he doesn't take it the wrong way
>You've seen a girl get chewed out by a guy for ogling them enough times that you know that you don't want anything like that
“Okay, yeah you got me, but can you really blame me?”
>Anon heaves a sigh at that, and you can tell what's gonna come next
>Because, while it's weird to admit it, you two can seemingly tell what the other is thinking from the slightest thing
>It's made even weirder by the fact that you two have only been hanging out for a few days
>Sure you've gotten to know each other
>But that was only in small ways
>But still, you can tell that he's annoyed
>He always gets like this when you try and bring up his plans and what he's doing
>He's too stubborn to accept your help or change the plan, no matter how many times you bring it up, or how many arguments you give for it
>The response you get is always the same
>“Look Sunset, I just... we just can't alright? I don't expect you to understand why, but I just need you to take my word on it”
>You'd normally bring up something about, taking someone's word, and trust, and something else
>But your brain's been trying to process everything for so long that you've become too tired to argue
>For now at least
>You really do need to find something to blow off some steam
>The two of you go back into comfortable silence as you think of what you could do
>You've already explored your preferred methods of relaxation, and those have been less than successful
>As you get a bit lost in your thoughts you find your eyes darting to Anonymous now and again
>Well that at least proves his previous point
>But it also makes you think
>Despite you knowing him for such a brief time, you are glad that you know him
>He helps you feel more connected to Equestria than before
>Sure you had the journal, but you couldn't rely on Twilight to always be there to talk to
>Meanwhile Anon has been very open to you
>Even if he does close himself off when you try to talk to him about his plan
>But with everything else, he's nearly always available
>When you want to talk about magic theories with someone who actually understands what you're going on about
>When you want to talk about Equestrian history or even what it was like in your respective kingdoms
>Sometimes you'll just talk to him about school stuff
>He's always happy to talk
>But there's also always something there, when you are talking or hanging out
>You're not sure how to describe it
>It's like he wants to be there and somewhere else at the same time
>You just reckon it's cause he's never hung out with someone outside his family or species
>If it's something more than that, you won't pry
>The beginning of school is about the same as it usually is
>Except for one major difference
>Incog isn't being as big an ass as usual
>You expected that you'd have to endure another day of him using your hair as a runway for paper airplanes
>But none came
>In fact you hardly heard a peep from him the whole class
>The only exception being when he actually participated and answered a question the teacher put up
>You're not sure whether to be happy or disturbed by his sudden change
>You approach him at the end of class, which causes him to become unusually tense
“Hey Incog, you feeling alright?”
>“I'm fine Red, why do you ask?”
>Despite his calm demeanour, with how tightly he's gripping his bag strap you can tell something's up
“It's nothing, it's just you weren't as big an asshole as usual”
>You smack your hand over your mouth
>“Umm, thank you?”
>You hadn't even thought of what you were thinking, it sounded a lot better in your head
>You look around the room and, as expected, every girl is shooting their dirtiest look at you, and every guy is muttering to themselves
>Goodbye social life, I hardly knew ye
>Just as you think that though you see everyone's eyes go dull
>A few seconds later they blink and jerk upright, like they just woke up from a dream
>Then they go back to what they were doing like nothing happened
>Some of them even wave to you as they leave
>You return it as best you can
>Before you even open your mouth you see red mist fall off of them as they leave the room
>The mist then splits, some of it speeding out of the door
>Whilst the rest of it heads to the two of you
>You follow it all the way to Incog's belt
>You quickly turn your head to look him in the eyes
>“Pretty useful huh?”
>He has his usual smug smile back
>As it spreads across his face you let out a huff and turn to grab your bag
“Doesn't change anything, no matter how useful it is”
>Despite scoffing at his words, you are thankful that your social life didn't go down the toilet
>As you head to the door you stop yourself and turn back to him
>He looks up at you, with a blank face this time
“So you're sure you're ok?”
>His blank face morphs into a mix of confusion and surprise
>Shaking his head he sucks in air as he double checks his bag, refusing to look up at you
>“Yeah I'm fine it's just...”
>You lean against the doorway and signal for him to continue
>Even though you know he isn't looking at you, you hope he can tell your listening
>“...Anon and Pseudo seems to be into this whole 'friendship' thing. I still don't get it but, I may as well go along with it as best I can. So I guess I ought to apologise, for being an asshole”
>Now you feel like a jerk for bringing that up
>But you also feel an exceptional amount of happiness at his words
“Apology accepted”
>He's clearly shocked by how readily you accepted, but he just as quickly smiles at you
>Without a hint of smugness this time
>If that isn't progress then you don't know what is
>Just as you're about to head out you stop yourself once more
>You don't look at him this time but you can feel his gaze on you
“You do know that I'm not the one you actually owe an apology to, right?”
>As you feel his gaze fall off you, you head out for the rest of the school day
>Each time you think you're getting closer, you're forced to remind yourself that you're barely moving forward
>At least you know that you're clearing the way for when you can
>As you make your way to your desk, you can already tell you're not gonna have any fun this lesson
>This is one of the few lessons you have that you don't share with any of your friends
>Neither of the guys are here either, so you're left with just yourself to talk with
>Obviously there are people you know of, but none that you'd count as friends
>As the lesson goes on, you find yourself having more and more difficulties
>Still being stressed out from trying to figure everything out certainly isn't helping either
>You swear you're getting a migraine from it
>This in turn, constantly causes you to lose track of where you are in the lesson
>Which means you've had to ask the teacher no less than half a dozen times to backtrack, so you can make proper notes
>If that wasn't enough your body's started to ache as soon as the lesson began
>But it only got worse as time went on
>You've had to adamantly refuse the teacher's suggestion of visiting Nurse Redheart twice already
>Momma didn't raise no quitter
>You'll be damned if you go to the nurse for something like this
>About quarter of an hour before the next lesson your teacher gets a call
>They actually turn their back to the class and hunch over the phone and talk in a hushed whisper
>After raising their voice, and whisper shouting some very choice words, they move from their desk and head to the door
>They plaster the worst attempt at a smile on their face and run a hand through their hair
>Despite them trying to act calm their shaking hands tells a whole different story
>They tell you all to keep on with the class until they get back
>With all of you being such good, hard-working students
>Everyone packs up their bags and start relaxing
>Some just leave the class not even a minute after the teacher left
>Probably to smoke in one of the bathrooms or the roof
>You lean your chair back and take a deep breath, trying to get your throbbing head to calm down
>“Hey Sunset”
>You begrudgingly crack an eye open to look at who's interrupting your relaxation
>You actually let your chair fall back onto all four legs when you see Norman
>He, along with Flash, is one of the closest people you have to a friend outside of your usual circle
“Hey Norman, how's everything?”
>“Meh, the usual, though me and Roseluck are getting dinner tonight”
“Wait, Roseluck? I thought you were dating Baton Switch?”
>He visibly deflates at that and rubs his arm
>“Yeah, we were, but we broke up a few weeks ago”
>Damn, you really need to stop zoning out when Rarity starts gossiping
“I'm so sorry Norman, I didn't know, what happened?”
>“Knowing Norman, he probably gave her his patented it's not you it's me breakup line, right Norm?”
>It takes all your willpower to not smirk at Sandalwood
>You know Norman's a good guy and all, but Sandal's right when he called that line patented
>Whenever you've heard about Norman's breakups the one consistency is that line
>“Oh shut up Sandal, there was more to it than that, she was always at her Marching Band practice, I never got to see her”
>He huffs and turns away as he crosses his arms
>Sandalwood simply laughs at him, grabs his shoulder and spins him round
>“Oh come on Norm, you know I'm only joking with you”
>Norman tries to hold his angry look but it breaks pretty easily
>“Yeah I do, and I've got Roseluck so I'm over Switch”
>“Atta boy”
>Sandal gives Norman a slap on the back which causes him to stumble and catch himself on your desk
>“Woah, sorry Sunset”
“It's no problem, so how long do you reckon this one will last?”
>“I'd say 2 weeks”
>Norman looks between you both, jaw slack and eyes wide
>“Come on you guys, I'm not that bad. Am I?”
“Nah I'd say he could make it last a month”
>“Wanna bet on it, say... $20?”
>“Sandal!”
>Snapping out of his shock, Norman shoves Sandalwood into a desk this time
>Sandal only responds by bursting out laughing
>“Come on man, you know I'm only joking”
>Norman simply grumbles and seats himself of the edge of your desk
>“If that's your best joke then don't take up stand-up as a career”
>Sandal throws his head back at that, holding his chest in mock pain
>Eventually they both share a light laugh and turn back to you
>“So Sunset, I should get back to what I wanted to say before”
>You look back to Norman as he straightens himself up
>“Are you feeling ok? You were acting weird for a lot of the lesson”
>You let out a groan and attempt to bury your head in your desk at that
>Sure, you didn't exactly make an attempt to conceal what you were doing, but you didn't think people would worry enough to notice
>Lifting your head back up you see the two of them shooting you worried glances
>You simply wave them off and heave a sigh
“I've just got a lot on my mind right now you two, you don't need to worry, once I get home and rest the aches ought to go away”
>Their faces turn from worry to sympathy at that
>“You poor thing Sunset, you're working yourself too hard”
>“I agree, I mean there's the band, and all the studying you do, then you have to juggle your social life, I'm surprised you didn't get exhausted earlier”
>Norman hums in agreement and you can't help but smile at their doting nature
>It reminded you of your dad a lot
>“But what you need is more than just some rest missy. I'd say what you need is a full day at the spa.”
>At the mention of the spa you bolt up and immediately start shaking your head
“Woah, woah, woah guys. I do not need to be pampered at some spa, I never have. I've had worse and gotten through it fine”
>Sandalwood places his hand on your shoulder
>“It's not fine Sunset, you're hurting, and as your classmates we can't stand to see it.”
>“I agree with Sandal for once. There's this lovely inexpensive spa just down the way from the mall. Run by these two charming foreign ladies, they go by Aloe and Lotus”
>You had heard about the place from Rarity and Fluttershy quite a lot, though you got more of an earful from Rarity
>You had a vague idea of what you would expect from there, and none of what either of the two said that they got really appealed to you
“I really doubt I'd be up for it guys”
>“Oh nonsense, Rarity and Fluttershy couldn't give it any higher praise if they tried, and from what I hear Bulk is actually working there part-time”
>That was certainly news to you
>The though of that brick wall on steroids working in a place of relaxation made your spine shiver
>“Look Sunset, we know we're probably not gonna convince you, but you should consider it. Maybe go with Rarity or Fluttershy, or maybe even take one of your guy friends there, I'm sure one of them would appreciate it”
>As you're about to argue back again the bell lets off a shrill ring, indicating the end of the lesson
>Yet still no sign of your teacher
>Oh well, it's they're problem now
>As you wave to Norman and Sandalwood as you head out to your next lesson you feel a twinge of pain shoot in your side
>Maybe you could ask Rarity or Fluttershy about the spa after all
>At least you have a chance to keep your mind off of the aches these next two lessons
>Seeing as you have them with Anonymous
>It still feels weird to know you're having lessons with him and Incog after nearly a year of ignoring them
>You still wonder if you should do something for them
>After all, before you figured out that they were Sirens you were adamant in making it up to them and possibly befriending them
>Before that knowledge the situation felt all too similar to the one you had with Wallflower
>But now you're not sure what to do
>Obviously you're still trying to befriend them
>But they're still so closed off
>Like with their unwillingness to share their plan or let you help
>Maybe there's something you can do to make them trust you and open up more
>But the question is what
>You were so deep in thought that, you didn't even notice the teacher trying to get your attention until they were right in your face
>“Miss Shimmer!”
>Their voice pulled you back to reality, causing you to jump in your seat
“What um yes?”
>You blinked several times as you tried to refocus
>“Honestly Miss Shimmer if you'd rather be daydreaming then learning, then maybe you'd like to do so in detention?”
“What! No no no, I'm sorry, I've just got a lot on my mind”
>“Oh? Then maybe you'd like to share it with the rest of the class?”
>You shrunk in your seat at that
>Under your teacher's judging glare and the giggles of your classmates you never felt so small
>But just as quickly as the eyes were on you, you felt them lift
>Turning your head up, you see the whole class staring into space with glazed over eyes
>Well the whole class except for you and Anonymous
>Turning on him you shoot him a glare
>He remains as nonchalant as he always is with his reckless use of magic
>Seeing your glare he rolls his eyes and lets out a groan
>“What did I do this time?”
“Oh geez let me think?”
>As you say that you violently indicate to the whole class
>“You were being pointlessly targeted for literally doing nothing, it annoyed me”
>You let out a groan of your own as he once again fails to grasp what he's doing wrong
“It's not about what annoys you Anon. I was supposed to be paying attention, I didn't, the punishment was to deter me”
>“That's stupid, these humans are stupid, are ponies just as bad?”
>You rub your temples to try and stop him from making your migraine worse
“There is nothing wrong with enforcing rules”
>“These rules are pointless”
>You bury your head in your hands and let out a muffled, exasperated groan
“Anonymous you can't just keep using your magic, for every little thing. What happened to that whole collecting magic to get to your sisters thing?”
>All but forgetting about the class he turns to you
>“If I was using individual spells, then yes this would be a waste, but I'm just manipulating the Field, the magic I get from them forgetting is more than what I use to make them forget in the first place”
“But making them forget parts of their lives, no matter how insignificant, isn't fair to them Anon”
>“My sisters are worth more than them”
>As his words echo in your head you can help but feel a pang in your chest
>You let your face and voice drop, hoping that a calmer tone will work better
“I get that Anonymous...”
>You move to the edge of your seat and place a hand on his leg
>His eyes shoot between your hand and your face, a quizzical look on his face
>Parts of his body are tense yet his face is calm
>His eyes scan your face but you keep it calm
“...but others can be like family to you too.”
>He seems taken aback by that as his eyes widen and his eyebrows raise
>Going from taken aback to doubtful, his gaze shifted and the corner of his mouth turned up into a smirk
>His gaze shifted and the corner of his mouth turned up into a smirk
>“Yeah, sure they can”
>He turns his head away from you, staring off into the distance, not unlike the others in the class
“Come on Anonymous I know you know about what I've done here. The others are what helped me get through it despite everything I did. If that isn't like family I don't know what is”
>The only response you get from him is his eyes narrowing
“You've even seen it yourself haven't you?”
>That gets an actual response from him
>Turning back to you he raises an eyebrow again and looks you up and down
“With Pseudo and Fluttershy right?”
>His eyes widen significantly at that, but this time they stay that way
>Seemingly processing your words he turns his head down as his eyes dart back and forth
>It makes you feel sad that he grew up in a species that's so averse to affection outside of family
>Even with his brother dating one of your friends he didn't consider the possibility of family that wasn't blood related or a mate
>You release his leg and turn back to the class
>For a while the two of you are quiet
>You don't look back at him, even though you feel his eyes on you, instead you simply sink your head into your arms
>Eventually he just lets out a grunt and, through your peripherals, you see him flick his hand
>As soon as you blink you see the class go from dull eyed statues, to going back to what they were doing before, as if nothing happened
>Other than the few aches you feel throughout the class nothing very interesting happens
>The next class passes you by just as quickly
>Anonymous stays in silence throughout
>His head hung low
>You can't help but wonder what he's thinking
>Did your words really hit him that hard
>You shake your head before you make the same mistake as last lesson
>Hopefully you'll be able to talk to him during lunch
>Soon enough the teacher finishes the lesson with seconds to spare before the bell rings
>Speak of the devil and he shall come and all that
>Packing up your things you turn to ask Anon if he wants to sit with you and the girls again
>But you're only met with an empty space
>Turning to the door, you see his bag slip into the crowd of people
>With a grumble, you sling your bag over your shoulders and attempt to wade through the sea of students as well
>Sadly you're not as successful as you'd hoped to be
>You've become wedged between two students and boxed in at all sides, making it impossible to move
>Luckily, you are eventually freed and able to breathe when they finally disperse into the lunch room
>Unluckily, you've lost any chance of catching up to Anonymous
>Deciding it best to leave him be, you line up to grab yourself a lunch
>Soon enough you're heading over to the usual table where the girls are waving you over
>Rainbow, Fluttershy and Pseudo are all sitting next to each other
>Meanwhile Rarity, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack are on the same side as Incognito
>They seem to be trying to engage him
>With varying levels of success
>From him ignoring them completely all the way to him shooting them a glance and grunting
>You decide to sit next to Rainbow
>Digging into your food, you let out a hum as you taste Granny's city famous cooking
>Sure it may not look appetising, but even with the school's limited food budget, Granny somehow found a way to bring out all the right flavours
>You're so glad she took over from the last lunch lady
>She made the food taste like burnt rubber even when the budget was better
>Rainbow is still sure that the lunch lady just pocketed the majority of the budget, and then served whatever she could scrape together after
>You would argue but then again she did retire unnaturally early
>When you brought it up with Celestia, she had it looked into but nothing came up
>You guess the mystery of the mystery meat will remain unsolved
>You're jostled from Memory Lane as you look up to see Rarity leaning across the table towards you
>Looking between your friends they seem just as confused at the fashionista's behaviour as you
>All except for Fluttershy
>Of course
>You slow down your chewing to try and make her wait long enough to get bored
>When you finally swallow the food you see her still undeterred
>Letting out a small sigh you smile up at Rarity
“Can I help you?”
>Bringing her hand to rest on your shoulder she pulls you closer
>“Actually I think I can help you”
>Damn you knew there were a lot of rumours of Rarity being a dyke but you didn't think they were true
>Before you're able to progress that thought you feel your spine quiver as she presses lightly in a spot between your shoulder and neck
>Her fingers expertly dance across the recently sore area and you have to catch yourself before you let out a moan
>No homo
>Just as quickly as it came, the sensation fades
>Your eyes flutter back into focus and you shift back into your seat
>You'd try to contain the blush spreading across your face from that display but you know it'd be pointless
>“That's isn't even close to how good Aloe and Lotus could make you feel if you let them”
>Celestia yes, that sounds good
>No homo
“How did you even-”
>“Two little birdies by the name of Norman and Sandalwood let me know”
>Note to self, kill Sandalwood and Norman
>You would normally reject the idea but if Rarity's telling the truth then you don't think you have the will to
“Alright fine, I'll go to the stupid spa”
>Rarity's face grew a smile that could challenge Pinkie's at that
>Bringing her hands to her mouth she couldn't contain her excited giggles
>For the rest of lunch Rarity went over dozens if not hundreds of other services they offered there
>99% of them you couldn't pronounce
>At least Fluttershy was there to give short snippets of what to expect from each and gave a few recommendations
>Meanwhile Incognito stayed his usual moody self, though he had ended up getting into a conversation with Applejack and Twilight
>The first asking about how the Sirens ate and how her family's cooking compared
>The other shooting off a million questions a minute, from their magic, to their biology, to their history and everything between and beyond
>Pseudo in the meanwhile spoke with Rainbow about sports
>Rainbow suggested he could try for a basketball team with his height
>This caught Fluttershy's attention
>As Rainbow went into detail about what basketball was, because apparently it wasn't a thing where they came from
>Eventually Rainbow got onto what sort of clothing he'd need
>She began talking about things like the elasticity and length of the shorts and how loose the shirt would need to be to reduce it sticking to his skin
>When it came to sports Rainbow only talked about it from a practical standpoint as she literally couldn't see it any other way
>However, with how her breathing had become shallow, her grip on Pseudo had tightened and how red her face was, Fluttershy was thinking of it in a completely different way
>Who knew
>Eventually the bell rang, and you were all forced to trudge back to the classes
>However just before you did you pulled Pseudo to the side
“Look I don't know if you noticed but Anonymous wasn't here during lunch”
>“Really? I could have sworn he was posing and dancing on our table”
>You let out a huff through your nose
>You guess you deserved that much sarcasm for a question like that
“Look that's unimportant, we got into a conversation during class and he got all quiet and I don't know where he went. I just want to be sure he's alright, could you ask him to meet me at the spa after school?”
>Raising an eyebrow at you, Pseudo scans you up and down with narrowed eyes
>Humming to himself he gives you a curt nod before he heads off to his class
>Letting out a sigh you follow behind, hoping the day will end quickly
>As another shooting pain hits the area where Rarity had recently massaged it you hope the day ends even quicker
>Sadly your wish does not come true
>With the aches and pains constantly distracting you, you could hardly focus on any of the lessons
>Let alone turn off your brain so that the day went by quicker
>As if that wasn't enough, the constant groans had all your teachers stop the lessons to give you a lecture on health and safety and the nurse's office
>Honestly, they complained about you wasting the time of the other students, but the other students paid little to no attention to you
>At least in class they didn't, as soon as you were out of each, you were met with a crowd of students checking up on you
>You couldn't help but smile at that
>To think that, a little over a year ago, you became a demon who attempted to enslave all of them
>Then before that you were the alpha of this school, nothing happened without your say so
>You really didn't deserve half the kindnesses that you were given
>Yet they didn't care, they just wanted to help you because
>Well honestly you're not sure why
>Because they wanted to, because it was the kind thing to do, you still weren't sure
>The girls and Princess Twilight had constantly reassured you that there was nothing to what they were doing other than the fact they wanted to do it
>Now with this world's Twilight attending the school you're having to give her the same reassurances that you need from time to time
>You'd find it funny if it didn't make you feel so pathetic
>You used to be a proverbial fountain of self-confidence
>Now you're about as confident as the one kid in gym class who hasn't hit puberty
>It's only worse because you feel like if you had more, you might be able to convince Anon to let you help him
>Being away from his family for a thousand years probably crushed him
>Now he's having so much trouble getting any magic to find them
>To top it all off he's gotten inside his own head and backed himself into a corner
>He thinks he doesn't have any other option other than doing everything with his brothers
>He's so averse to letting anyone help him that it's almost like he's scared of other people
>But maybe he has good reason too
>With how's he's talked about Sirens you wouldn't be surprised if there were some packs back in his home that took advantage of his sisters being away
>Now he refuses to go back to Equestria from fear of Starswirl, and he refuses to let you help him from fear of... something
>You can't put your finger on it, but you can feel like there's something eating away at him
>The way he went so quiet back at school made that much obvious
>He'd known about Fluttershy and Pseudo, but it's like he acknowledged it for the first time, and it seemed to scare him
>Maybe if you had some of your old mojo you could convince him to let you help
>Or at the least you could coax something more out of him
>But for now, you'll have to make do with what you've got available
>Hopefully Pseudo found and convinced Anon to meet you at the spa
>Speaking of which, you may need to pick up the pace
>You've been dragging your feet ever since you got into school
>You start to go at a jogging pace and take some shortcuts home
>One of the biggest rules of boys, is to not leave them waiting
>Sure you didn't specify a time to meet
>Sure Anon isn't anything like the guys here, he's actually more like one of the girls
>Sure this isn't anything other than a casual meetup
>But you still shouldn't keep him waiting
>Just because you want to be polite
>Just keep telling yourself Sunset
>You really do need this more than you're willing to admit
>Then you might finally be able to sort your thoughts out, so they stop tripping over each other
>Finally making it to your door you fiddle with your key ring to find the one you need
>Damn it, why did you let Rarity convince you to let her accessories this stupid thing
>It's got more random knick knacks attached to it, than Rainbow has Wonderbolts memorabilia
>Heaving an exasperated groan you stuff the ring back into your pocket, making a mental note to take it apart later
>There was a tree just outside your house planted alongside a line of other trees along the pavement
>They didn't serve any real purpose, the city just put them there to make the houses around the area more expensive
>Sadly, such low effort design actually worked
>Thank Celestia the bits you brought with you didn't get changed when you went through the portal
>Having a veritable stockpile of gold coins had made living here really easy financially speaking
>Checking up and down the streets, and glancing at the windows of the surrounding houses you make sure no one's looking
>After confirming that you're not being watched you dig into the small amount of soil around the tree
>Eventually your hand scrapes against something hard and cold, you jam your hand into the hole, and pull out your spare key
>You wipe the mud off onto your shirt and refill the hole
>As you head back to your door you give the key a quick whiff
>It's been covered in so much dirt that you can't even smell the metal anymore
>Sirens really are impressive creatures
>Finally getting into your house you try to shake the day's drowsiness off
>Haphazardly you fling your bag into a random direction and stretch and roll your aching shoulders
>You don't hear anything break so it was a good throw
>You discard your clothes with the same care and head to the shower
>Washing off the day's grime helps puts a bit of a smile on your face and lifts your mood
>In fact you already feel less achy than before
>You knew you didn't need the spa to deal with it
>But now you have to go anyway
>Damn, why does past you always leave you to deal with her problems
>As you make your way to your closet, you slow down your steps as you approach
>Your hand reflectively rubs the spots you had messed up the other day
>Maybe you should offer to buy Anon one of the services at the spa as a thank you
>Who knows what might have happened to you if he wasn't there to treat you
>You force yourself to hold back a retch, but you can't help but shiver at the thought
>Shaking your head, you steel yourself and start getting ready to head out
>With how the sun's shining and with summer fast approaching, you decide to throw on a black vest and some denim shorts
>You head over to your bag and dump the contents onto your bed
>You can sort through it all later
>For now you use your bag to hold some swimwear, your phone, and your, now noticeably lighter, key ring
>Rarity said their was a hot tub in the spa
>While there's apparently no rule for wearing anything while in it, you still feel the need to cover up in that sort of situation
>A few minutes later you're passing by the mall and well on your way to the Blossom/Vera Spa
>A pleasant jingle of the door bell fills your ears as you make your way in
>A woman with light pink skin and a lush head of blue hair looks up from her newspaper at you
>Upon making eye contact she breaks into an ear-to-ear grin
>“Lotus! Come quick, we have a new customer”
>The woman practically skips over to you, her smile never faltering
>It's almost as infectious as Pinkie Pie's
>When she gets to you she clasps your hand in hers and gives it a vigorous shake
>“Hello there, my name is Aloe and I will be pampering you today, now what is your name?”
>Pulling your hand away you attempt to process her words while trying to figure out where her accent is from
“Oh um, I'm Sunset Shimmer”
>You hear a gasp from behind Aloe and see a woman with light blue skin and an equally lush head of pink hair
>Despite their differences in skin and hair colour, they're practically the same person
>Same eye colour, same height, same physique
>“So you are the Sunset Shimmer that misses Rarity and Fluttershy talk about”
“Oh um yeah I guess. I- I didn't realise they talked about me so much”
>You nervously rub the back of your neck at the new revelation
>“Oh. I know that look darling. I tell you now, Rarity and Fluttershy can not say enough good things about you”
>That's... weird how she knew what you were thinking
>“Now come along dear, we'll get you a robe and you can tell us what ails you so”
>Before you're even able to say anything they've each grabbed one of your arms and pulled you into the changing room
>When they're finally done, you're left wearing nothing other than an incredibly fluffy bath robe
>You don't know where they're from, all you know is that the culture is very casual about physical contact
>It took a lot to persuade them to let you keep your underwear on
>After telling them about your aches and pains today, they set you up for what was a very inexpensive treatment
>Just like Norman and Rarity said it would be
>You still couldn't pronounce it if you tried, but it's off to a good start
>Right now you're relaxing in a sauna, breathing in the heavy, hot air, and letting yourself slip into comfort
>With each breath you feel the previously burning aches turn into dull throbs
>Aloe and Lotus regularly add water to the hot coals
>Overtime the air grows noticeably thicker and thicker
>Aloe and Lotus assure you it's part of the treatment but it makes you a bit uncomfortable
>It almost makes it hard to breathe
>Luckily they tell you that they're ready to begin the second part of the service before you start suffocating
>The second part of the service was by far the weirdest experience you've ever had
>That includes all the magic shenanigans you've gotten into
>Bulk Biceps is massaging your back in the most peculiar way possible
>He had hopped onto your back and pressed into just the right spots flawlessly using the tips of his toes
>You're pretty sure that, when he had gotten to a particularly big knot in your back, he had done a flip to add enough pressure get rid of it
>Yet you barely felt it
>The guy was essentially a walking fridge, but you barely felt any of his weight
>Sadly, that part of the session had ended quicker than you would have liked
>It felt magical
>You're surprised there's even a third part to begin with
>The aches are all gone anyway
>But Aloe and Lotus insisted that you relax in the hot tub to help you fully recover
>Luckily, you came prepared for this
>What you weren't prepared for is how much those two would argue
>They really are too casual about this kind of stuff
>Luckily, you manage to get them to relent on the subject of you covering yourself
>As you slip into the tub, you let yourself fully relax into the perfectly tempered water
>You feel so light that you could very well fall asleep
>But you can't help but wonder where Anonymous is
>Did Pseudo not convince him
>Should you have called him
>You're snapped out of your thoughts by someone clearing their throat beside you
>Weird, you didn't hear anyone come in
“GAH!”
>As soon as you turned around, you came face to face with the very green man you had just been thinking about
>Instinctively you had forced yourself underwater to hide yourself from him, even if you were covered
>However you had forgotten to take a breath before going under, so you breached the surface as soon as you went under
>Coughing and spluttering, you took a minute to dislodge the water that had gotten into your windpipe
>As soon as your coughing fit was over you cracked open an eye to see Anon, still leaning against the side of the tub, still as nonchalant as ever
“Anon!? What- what are you doing here?”
>“Pseudo said you wanted to meet up here, I headed straight here after school”
>Well done Sunset, you kept a guy waiting
>You sink neck deep into the water, trying to hide yourself
“Sorry for taking so long”
>He relaxes against the edge further, sinking his head into his arms, his eyelids slowly shutting
>“It's cool, it's been too long since I've been in a decent body of water. Though it's a bit insulting to call a hot tub such, but I'll take what I can get”
>You perk up a bit of that
>You push yourself over to the edge, just besides him
>It seems the men's and women's hot tub were right next to each other
>How did you not notice before
>Seemingly reading your mind Anon points to the floor just outside the tub
>Glancing down you see a basic wall divider splayed out on the floor
>You wish that Aloe and Lotus' lax attitude towards separating men and women surprised you
>Turning back to Anon you lay your head in your own arms
“So what do you mean you haven't been in a body of water for a long time?”
>For a second you thought he might have fallen asleep, but the tilting of his head says otherwise
>“The last time I was in a decent body of water was back at the camp, and that was far too short lived”
“But since then?”
>“Nothing”
“A bath?”
>“Don't have one”
“The sea by the pier?”
>“Don't have a car and the Field doesn't stretch to there”
>For a minute you let a pleasant silence hang over the two of you as you process everything
>It makes sense that he'd miss water considering what he is
>“So what did you call me here for?”
“Huh?”
>You snap to attention at his words, seeing an eye cracked open, and looking at you through half-closed eyelids
“Oh, right, it's just. Well when I mentioned Fluttershy and Pseudo being so close, you got sort of quiet, for a long time. I just wanted to be sure you were alright”
>He quirks an eye brow at that and pushes himself up to fully face you
>“Oh right. That.”
>He ran a hand down his mouth, then ran it through his hair as he let out a sigh
>“That... was just some paranoia, you did nothing wrong, so don't beat yourself up over it”
>You tilted your head at that
“Paranoia?”
>Seeing your confusion he rolled his eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world
>“Yeah I just...”
>He left that hanging in the air for a few minutes
>While you wanted to push him on this you knew that hadn't worked the other times
>You just hope that if you don't force him he'll willingly be more open
>“I was worried he was gonna leave”
>Your eyes widen at that and seeing how he shrunk into himself at the word 'leave' you put a hand on his arm
>You placed it on gently, initially to see how he'd react, when he didn't care you placed it on more firmly and rubbed it in, what you hoped was a reassuring way
“Leave? What do you mean?”
>“I've told you how Sirens stick with their families until they find a mate, well once they do... well let's just say with how much effort goes into a family, it's rare that the original family will ever meet up again”
>You feel your heart ache a bit at that
>It makes you feel bad that you're happy at hearing this
>It's mainly him opening up that makes you happy, but it still feels inappropriate to feel this way
“Oh come on Anon, Pseudo wouldn't leave you, and besides you guys are human now, sort of, and families stick together, even when they get mat- I mean when they get into relationships”
>He waved you off at that, that familiar smirk of his tugging at the corner of his lip
>“Yeah I know, that's why I called it paranoia, it's just... well you know...”
>He waves his hand about, trying to summon the words
>When you don't respond he visibly sags, his face falling once more
>“...I just can't lose him too”
>Moving through the water you disregard any awkwardness and wrap your arms around him at that
>He goes stiff at your touch, and admittedly you sort of regret being so hasty
>But you couldn't stand to see such a defeated look on his face
>After a while you think about pulling away
>Just as you start to release your grip you feel his arms wrapping around you
>Now it's your turn to go stiff
>It's a firm but gentle hug
>Sadly it doesn't last long as he let's you go almost as soon as he held you
>You're tempted to pull him back, but you don't want to gain a reputation of a creeper
>“Thanks”
>That's all he says before he starts climbing out of the hot tub
“Hey wait up”
>You didn't want him to leave yet, but you couldn't very well make him stay
>Luckily he heeds your words and stands besides the tub
“It's getting pretty late, let me walk you home”
>He seemingly thinks about arguing but he stops himself
>Letting out a chuckle, he rubs the back of his neck before looking back at you
>“Sure, why not”
>You perk up at that, rushing to the changing rooms to get ready
>Within a few minutes the two of you have left the spa and are on your way to Anon's house
>It only just hits you that this will be the first time you'll have seen it
>Not like you're thinking of going in of course
>As you walk the two of you talk about everything and nothing
>Apparently Incognito is getting along with Twilight and Applejack
>Seems that their talk in the lunch room today wasn't a one time thing
>It fills you with pride knowing that the seven of you are actually getting along with these three
>Eventually you reach his door
>You briefly think you see a tint of red around the frame but it's gone as soon as you blink
>Probably their TV or something
>You two say your goodbyes at the door and you start to head home yourself
>You try to contain it but you can't help but skip a little bit as you go after how well today went

>You are Anonymous, and you can't keep the smile off your face
>It'd be hard not to with how well today went
>“So how'd it go at the spa Anon?”
>Turning to Incog your grin only widens
“It couldn't have gone better, I've got her all but eating out of my hand”
>A smirk that could match your own starts to grow on Incog's face
>“Glad to hear it, about time we got some good news”
“Mmhmm, come the Battle of the Bands she'll have completely let her guard down”
>“Then we'll have a buffet of magic to do with as we please”
>You tap the side of your nose at his words
>Normally he's as dense as a brick but Incognito has his moments
“Speaking of buffets...”
>You walk over to him and pluck the journal out of him, and proceed to smack the side of his head with it
“...I'm going to keeping this under lock and key until otherwise, no more gorging”
>“What! Why not?”
“Because dumbass I could see your gem glowing through the door, let's just hope she doesn't put two and two together for a while yet”
>Despite grumbling under his breath Incognito doesn't argue the point further
>Making your way into your room you pull out one of the drawers from your desk
>Neatly emptying the contents onto the bed you tape the journal to the underside of the drawer
>Putting the notes back in their place you put the drawer back in the desk
>Letting out a content sigh you caress the cave rock that Sonata left behind
“Nearly there girls, nearly there”

>You shift about in bed attempting to untangle the sheets that had coiled themselves around your arms and legs
>While your doing that you try to clear your throat which has become unbelievably dry in your sleep
>As if that wasn't enough you're desperately trying to cover your eyes from the bright light pouring in through your window
>You knew you forgot to do something last night
>To top off this misery cake your alarm goes off
>As you reach to turn it off your other tangled limbs get dragged along with your arm and you come crashing out of bed
>It's official, you hate life
>After a few minutes of rolling around and bumping into walls you finally unravel yourself from the travesty of sheets and turn off your alarm
>With a relieved sigh you blow the blonde hair that had stuck to your face away
>Running your hand through the messy mop of hair reminds you that you are, were, and most likely will continue to be, Incognito
>Shuffling around your room you pick up and sniff the various discarded clothes you have lying around
>After finding the one's that smelt the least you threw them on and made your way out your room
>The faint sound of pings tells you that your lanky brother is still here, sadly
>Making your way to the main room, you rummage through the numerous cupboards to find a bowl and some cereal
>Having obtained food you grab some milk and get to stuffing your face
>You choose to ignore the pair of green eyes that followed you as you went about your business
>Why Anon has to watch over you like a mother hen you'll never know
>Sure he's the “leader” since Adagio's gone
>No not gone, just absent, and it won't even be for much longer
>You steady your hand as you shovel in another load of cereal
>You have to hold back the urge to spit it out
>How human's put up with putting this trash into their bodies you'll never understand
>Another reason why you can't wait to get your sisters back and go home
>Once you kill that haughty old bastard you're going hunting for proper game
>Maybe you can get some bear meat
>Better yet if you can convince the others, maybe you could try and track down a hydra
>You only had it once before, when your parents brought it in for the joint 100th birthday of the six of you
>Damn, you remember this one time when the two of them brought all six of you for your first major hunt
>A sea damned Ursa Major
>The thrill an exhilaration from that battle is a high that still sends tingles through you
>Of course mom and dad did all the heavy lifting, but you six pulled your weight
>Remembering them still feels like someone rammed a jagged rock through your chest
>You snuff the thoughts out with more food, though it's hard to do so with Anon STILL watching you
>Why Anon is basically always breathing down your neck is beyond you
>You've fought things three times your size and come out on top
>Though admittedly you had magic then
>You could have magic now if he wasn't such a prude and took the book
>Who cares if Sunset's pony pen pal realises what you're doing, you could just brute force whatever comes your way with that thing
>But you do know what he could potentially do if you defied him
>Your cheek still hurts sometimes
>Having finished with your food you pick up the bowl and chuck it in the direction of the sink
>As you expected there's not a sound
>Anon had caught it and placed it in the sink
>“Could you not break our stuff Incog?”
“That depends, could you not watch me all the time?”
>“How will I stop you from being an idiot if I don't?”
>You merely grumble to yourself and let your head fall into your arms to catch a few more minutes of sleep
>Who cares if you're late to school, you don't even need anything that they're offering
>The clunk of a door and the rapid patter of feet on carpet followed by the clunk of another door brings a smile to your face
>The only thing that makes you happier than being away from Pseudo is messing with him
>You've been tempted to mess with his girlfriend but the opportunity has slipped through your fingers
>With that Rainbow girl being aware of you, you were weary before
>But now with the other five being aware of you, you know you can't do so without practically asking for a beating
>As a general rule you try to avoid those if possible
>The clunk of the door rings through the house again and an empty silence permeates the air
>You try and doze off, but you find yourself shifting and lifting your head up to glance around too much to do so
>As you look over the empty rooms your old cave flashes in your mind
>1400 years you spent there, but you still aren't ready to let it go
>It's funny that you want to get back so badly, it used to seem so cramped
>You never stopped complaining about it to your mother
>She'd keep telling you how you'd find a huge cave all to yourself one day
>You found the prospect to be soothing
>Then one day, she wasn't there to tell you that anymore
>You huddled yourself into her corner of the cave for weeks after that
>The others tried to pull you out
>You ended up biting Anon when he got particularly forceful with trying to move you
>The tension between you two never really relaxed after that
>Next thing you knew, 200 years later, it was even emptier
>For a thousand years you believed it'd be that way until you got a mate
>Then you found this world
>For the first time in centuries you felt hopeful
>Not only that, but you started to tolerate Anon and Pseudo more
>You just have to hold out until the Battle of the Bands
>Glancing up at the clock you realise you were lost in reminiscence for longer than you thought
>Lazily heading over to the door you grab your bag and sling it over your shoulder
>Locking up the house, you make your way to school
>Of course you take your time to do so
>With a day as lovely as this you may just skip school
>As the rain cascades down your face and under you clothes you can't stop the smile from spreading across your face
>Maybe there'll be a storm today
>If there is then maybe you'll try and get Anon out of his room and Pseudo off his girlfriend and watch it together like old times
>It won't compare to watching lighting and thunder roar across the sky from underwater
>But it'll be worthwhile
>You haven't really spent much family time with them for a while
>As you ponder how to approach this mushy feely crap your feet lead you the rest of the way to the school gates
>Seeing how everyone has gone inside, you realise the teacher's won't notice you missing
>Even if they do, it'll just mean more magic for the three of you
>So when you really think about it, it'd be dumb to not skip school
>Finding an overhang to shelter your bag next to the building, you make your way out to the field
>As you make it to the far end, you look up at the old tree that sits there, almost as if waiting for you
>Apparently the school was built around it
>You don't know if it's true or not, but you honestly couldn't care less
>Tapping into a bit of your magic, you leap twice your height and grip onto lowest branch
>Pulling yourself up, you rest your back against the trunk and let one leg hang off the side
>The leaves above cover you a little bit but a lot of the water still runs down the tree and over you
>You know it'll piss off Anon to no end, and will probably lead to you being lectured by him and Pseudo, but you still tap into your magic again
>Your skin slowly gets replace by scales
>You replace only patches so you can really feel the water as it runs over you face, neck, chest, back and arms
>You shiver in pleasure at the sensation, feels like it's been an eternity since you were in your original form
>As you feel the wind and rain, you let your other senses drift
>Your eyes catch sight of small game scampering around
>Squirrels, rabbits, a fox
>Nothing worth your time but it's good to keep your sight honed
>As the rain washes over the field you let the various smells of the flowers, the grass, the mud, and the rain itself fill your nostrils
>Finally you let your ears focus on the song of the rain
>Catching each raindrop as it hits so many things
>From the dull thuds it makes at it hits the grass and tree
>To the high pitched pings it makes at it hits the metal goal posts
>To the rapid pitter patter as it splashes against, and ricochets off the bleachers
>As you let yourself drown in the music of nature you decide to join in
>Puckering your lips you start a soft whistle
>Eventually harmonising with the rain you're sure you've gotten loud enough for those in the school to hear you
>But in this moment, nothing matters
>Memories of your mother flood your mind
>She always had a greater appreciation for the world above the water than your father
>She'd often take you there
>When the storms came she'd teach you this song
>No one else in the family wanted to learn it
>Your siblings all wanted to perfect their singing lessons
>Which was fine by you
>It left you with more alone time with her
>As you continue your song you feel the cold rain whip against your face
>Despite the chill winds and water, your cheeks burn as water runs down them
>You slowly pull your legs up to your chest and bury your head in them
>Your song slowly becomes quieter until only you can hear it
>It's odd, you could swear your gem started to echo the song
>You don't know how long you kept going but you finally stopped when the warmth of the sun started to cling to you
>Pulling your head up you see the sky starting to clear
>You guess it doesn't want an encore
>Looking over at the school you see the students piling out
>That either means lunch or end of the day
>You pray it's the latter
>The less time spent here the better
>Jumping down from the tree you make your way back across the field
>As you do, you see your brothers and the girls sat on some of the benches outside eating
>Of course only half the day has passed, because why would anything nice ever happen to you
>As you approach the table the one in the weird hat, Applejack you think her name is, waves at you
>She quickly stops though and starts whispering to the others who all turn to you
>Quirking an eyebrow you brush it off
>At least you would if Anon didn't make a beeline right for you
>Before you're even able to get a word out he's tackled you to the ground
“What are you-”
>“Scales”
>His voices has dropped to a hushed hiss
>You push yourself up to your elbows
“What?”
>He grips your arm and hisses at you again
>“Scales”
>Looking to your arm your breath hitches in your throat as golden scales look back at you
>Quickly tapping into your magic you shift back to “normal” much to Anon's relief
>He stands up and actually offers you a hand up much to your surprise
>Happily taking it you let yourself be pulled up and make your way over to the others
>Anon sits by Red, Pseudo, Pseudo's girlfriend, and the Rainbow
>You meanwhile take a seat between Applejack, Fashion, Science, and Pink
>At least you think those are their names
>It's probably close enough
>As you sit down the girls offer you a bite from each of their lunches
>You only now notice how hungry you are and gladly accept the offerings
>For most of the lunch you just enjoy eating your food in silence
>Relative silence to be exact, everyone else is talking
>They try to engage you but you don't give them much to work with
>You never really got along with those outside your family
>You did have a bit of a longer talk with Fashion and Pink so you're making some progress at least
>“By the way was it just me, or did the rain sound really weird today?”
>You perk up at Rainbow's words and notice the others all murmuring in agreement
>“It was very odd I don't know how to explain it myself but it was almost melancholic in a way”
>Fashion pouts her lips, seemingly trying to think of a better way to explain it
>You steal a glance at your brothers and sure enough, they're both shooting you knowing looks
>You simply look away from them and start eating again
>There were a few times when they asked you to teach them the song
>You always said no
>As far as you're concerned it's yours to do with as you so wish
>You're pulled from your thoughts as you feel a pair of hands grab a hold of your shirt
>“Rarity, what in the hay are you doing?”
>Oh wait, that's her name
>You preferred it when she was called Fashion
>“I'm terribly sorry Incognito, but I simply can not let you remain in such awful clothes, you look like you went through one of Applejack's pig pens”
>Applejack responds with an indignant “Hey” only to be shushed by Rarity
>“Oh please, you know no offence was meant, now, come along Incognito, I have just the thing for this situation”
>She stands from the table, grabs her bag and briskly makes her way inside
>You shoot a perplexed look to everyone but they simply shrug their shoulders
>“You may as well go Incog, she won't stop until you do”
>Glancing up at the glass door you see Rarity standing their beckoning you impatiently
>Not wanting the white headache to bother you for the rest of the day you decide to comply and follow after her
>As you weave through the various hallways you eventually come to a stop outside the woman's bathroom
>Her eyes scan up and down the hallways and, after making sure no one is nearby, drags you inside
>Your eyes widen at Rarity's brashness
>She only had to ask
>As you stumble inside you glance around the room
>Pretty much what you expected
>Cleaner walls and floor, and more stalls
>She removes her bag and stars rummaging through it
>“I'm so glad you agreed to join me Incognito, you've no idea how long I've wanted to do this”
>This day is turning out better than you had hoped
>“Aha there you are”
>With a flourish and a “Tada” she holds up an ivory coloured button up shirt
>Now it's not as good as you hoped, unless that's for cleaning, which you doubt
>You let out a huff and inspect the shirt closer
>Sewn into the torso with gold coloured thread, are various musical notes
>She waits with baited breath as you look it over
>“Well, what do you think? I made it from a very durable, soft, and might I add expensive, linen/wool blend, but don't think you HAVE to like it because of that. I- I actually got only a sample form a friend of mine in the industry as a favour so it didn't cost me a bit. But if you do I can order some more to make the three of you some quality bespoke suits for the Battle”
>She's practically shaking with giddiness
>You suck in air through your teeth and take the shirt in your hands
>It certainly is soft, it practically glides over your hands
>You pull it outwards in various angles and see it is durable
>Though you're pretty sure Rarity nearly fainted when you did
“I dunno Rarity, I mean don't get me wrong it's very nice, but suits are more Anonymous' thing”
>You hand the shirt back to Rarity which causes her to sputter and stumble over her words
>“Wait could you at least try it on? The sample I had was limited and you were the only one who was... of the appropriate stature for it”
>You rub the back of your neck and rock back and forth on your feet
“I mean... Anonymous isn't that much bigger than me, I'm sure he could fit it, just ask him”
>Turning on your heels you make your way to the door only to be stopped by a diamond shaped barrier
>You knock against the barrier a few times and attempt to push it to no avail
>Turning to Rarity you see her necklace glowing as she holds out her hand at you
“Don't you think this a bit excessive?”
>Rarity's eyes turn to pinpricks, as if only now realising the situation she's in
>Clutching the shirt to her chest she giggles nervously
>When you simply raise an eyebrow at her she drops her head
>“I know you must think poorly of me now, but I- I- I swear I can explain”
>She gulps and steals a glance at you
>As you gesture for her to continue she lets out a sigh but doesn't relax at all
>“It's just... the Battle of the Bands will be selling tickets to the people in town, and I was hoping to showcase these items there with me and the girls, but then I thought I could expand by giving you three a set too.”
>She lets out a little eep at that and flails her hand at you
>“Not that I think of you three as some- some sort of ac- ac- accessory or something. I'd never, it was intended as a gift first and the potential to model them second I swear. I know you said Anonymous prefers suits, but I don't know if it will fit him but I do know it will fit you. So... please?”
>She gives you her best winning smile and puppy dog eyes as she squeaks out the 'please'
>You think on her words for a minute
>Then you get a devilish thoughts that brings a smile to your face
>Striding back to her you see her perk up
“I suppose I could be convinced to wear it during the Battle of the Bands...”
>She squints her eyes at you at the tone of your words
“...if let's say, you and me got a little more 'friendly'”
>Her eyes widen at that and she visibly tightens her grip on the shirt
>“I- I- you- what do you mean?”
>You scratch your chin in mock thought and scan the room
“Well, the doors blocked by that diamond, and the stalls are empty”
>You leave your words to hang in the air and smirk at her
>Her face immediately flushes as she sputter and stumbles over her words
>However a glare quickly works it's way onto her face
>Before you realise what's going on your facing the stall and your cheek is stinging like it just got hit by a branding iron
>“You bloody ruffian!”
>Turning back to Rarity she grabs your collar and pulls you face to face
>“I am NOT just some harlot who will do... what you were insinuating just to further myself, I am above such things. I don't know what I expected from you, you seemed like the worst of the three, but I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I guess the joke is on me”
>This is not going how you played it out in your mind
>Abort mission, abort mission
>She angrily stuffs the shirt into her bag and with a flick of her wrist she dispels the barrier
>You wrack your brain, trying to come up with something to fix this
>Before you're able to form a thought she's basically at the door
>Turning on your heels you grab her wrist and tug her back
>That earns you another slap
>“Release me this instant you brute”
“Wait wait would you just WAIT”
>She stops squirming when you raise your voice but still struggles against your grip
>Releasing her you take a few steps back and hold up your hands in appeasement
“Alright... I clearly misinterpreted this situation”
>“VERY CLEARLY”
>Alright you deserve that
“Look, I get that I fucked up here but... believe it or not I don't want to screw up this whole 'friendship thing' that the other two are giving a go. So... how do I make up for it?”
>With a hmph she crosses her arms and turns her head up
>“Well I don't know, you tell me how you think you can”
>You grab a handful of your hair and let out a groan
“Why do you think I asked you? I haven't the faintest clue how any of this works, I've never had friends before”
>This actually startles her into looking at you again
>Seeing that you aren't joking she cups her chin in thought
>“Well I suppose that might explain your behaviour. It certainly won't excuse it, but it does explain it at least”
>Letting out an overly-long sigh she drops her hands to her side
>“I suppose I can overlook this... unfortunate transgression IF, you model the suit at the Battle, and model for all my future lines”
>You gawk at her demands but quickly find your voice
“How about the next two lines?”
>“How about the next two dozen?”
>You don't know how much time that would entail but at this point you want to cut your losses
“Alright, fine”
>You hold out a hand to her which she gleefully shakes
>“You won't regret this Incognito”
>You already do
>“Now, as for the first part of the bargain”
>With another flourish she pulls out the shirt, and then proceeds to attempt to straighten it out
>Grabbing the shirt you start to remove your current one to change
>“Oh, you're just going to- ok”
>Just as flustered as before, though thankfully not as angry, she turns away from you as you start putting on the new shirt
>You actually take your time putting it on, it felt soft in your hands but this is almost surreal
>It's as light as a feather but you can't even feel the cool temperature of the toilet
>As you do up the last button you attempt to straighten it out as best as you can
“Alright there, how's that?”
>Turning to look at you, she lets out a series of squeals
>From the smile on her face you're glad that she's happy now
>Or at the least, she's happier
>Your cheek can't take much more punishment
>She fusses a little bit over the collar and cuffs being crooked but overall it seems it's a success
>“Honestly, this is wonderful, I was sure I'd be a bit off but it seems my measurement intuition is as sharp as a razor”
>She asks you several questions about the shirt
>If you're restricted in any way, if it feels weak in any areas, and several others you're hardly able to keep track of
>You answer to the best of your ability and the bombardment of questions finally stops when the bell rings
>Letting out a sigh of disappointment Rarity stops fussing over your clothes and grabs her bag
>“Well this was very helpful Incog, your suits will come along a lot quicker now that I know what I'm working with, til later”
>Her dismissive tone as she leaves makes you feel an odd way
>Picking up your own bag you stuff your other clothes into it and go after her
>Quickly catching up with her you walk with her for a bit
>She doesn't even bother to acknowledge you
>Taking a deep breath you grip her shoulders and pull her to a stop
“Rarity would you hold on just a sec”
>She begrudgingly turns to you
“Look I know I fucked up in there, badly, but I want to say that I am sorry, I shouldn't have said that shit”
>Her posture and face relaxes a bit at that
“I honestly don't even know why I'm saying this shit either, normally I wouldn't care, but for some reason I do”
>She's completely relaxed now and looks you up and down
>“Well if that's the case then why DO you care?”
>Letting out a sigh you open and close your mouth several times as you think back on the few times you interacted with her
“I- I guess I liked the friendship thing, I don't know if I've even been doing it right since I didn't really talk to you but I... liked the few times that I did, and if you hated me then I doubt you or the other girls would talk to me and I don't want that to happen”
>A smile spreads from ear to ear on her face and she envelops you in a very brief hug
>“You are forgiven”
>With a smile she beckons you to keep following her
>Snapping out of your daze from the hug you do so
“Wait, so just like that?”
>“Just like that darling”
“But, you were really, REALLY mad”
>“Yes, yes I was, and I still am a bit. But that's friendship, even if you're a little angry if your friend is sincerely sorry, as you were, then they should be sincerely forgiven”
>This revelation is very interesting to you
>Maybe this friendship thing isn't so pointless
>As Rarity separates off to her class you make your way back out to the field
>You had luckily avoided the teachers with your excursion to the toilets and you see no point in going to class
>Though the rain has stopped, you head out to where you were before to relax
>Though now that you think about it, if the sun is out then Sports classes will continue
>You head to the bleachers and seat yourself and your bag under them
>Breathing a sigh of relief your relaxation is cut short by a groan
>Looking to the side you see none other than Rainbow Dash
>“Is nowhere safe from you?”
>Your day was going so well
>After the mishap with Rarity, you're not anywhere close to being willing or able to deal with the walking colour spectrum
>Hoping she'll just go away if you ignore her, you shut your eyes and rest your head back
>You hear her clear her throat in an obvious attempt to get your attention
>You don't give her the satisfaction of so much as a twitch
>Sadly it seems your hope was misplaced
>While any normal person would leave after being ignored Rainbow is clearly a special kind of person
>Not in the good way
>Apparently you ignoring her gave a hit to her ego
>This leads her to clearing her throat in louder and more annoying ways
>You have to clench and unclench your fist several times to stop yourself from doing something you know you'd regret in the long run
>Eventually though you can no longer ignore her
>Especially due to the fact that she's standing right next to you
>Well, she's slouching but that doesn't really matter
>“Hey Bimbo, you go deaf while you were with Rarity or something?”
>Ahh Bimbo, her pet name for you
>You remember when she first called you that
>It was the first and only time you saw an iota of regret on her face
>Though that little rarity was overshadowed by the looks on all the guys and girls that day
>All you remember after she first said that word was a wave of outraged yelling
>The next thing you knew, you were coming down from a laughing fit that had you curled up on the floor because your stomach was in agony from laughing so much
>Good times
>Shame that Pseudo had to ruin them by making everyone forget what she said
>Because while half the students were berating her for “using such a demeaning phrase” as they said, the other half were under the impression that you were upset by what she said
>The fact you were crying from how hard you were laughing didn't help to prove the opposite
>But you can't be too mad at Pseudo
>If he hadn't done it, Anon would have
>If that were the case Anon would have thrown in a mind-numbingly boring lecture about your responsibilities during this mission for free
>While you hate those you will admit, you appreciate how hard he's working to get Adagio, Aria and Sonata back
>You wouldn't have had a clue on where to start with something like that
>Not that you'll ever let him know
>You're snapped out of your stupor by a “Hey” being bellowed in your ear by a certain smurf coloured dyke
>Rolling your eyes you slowly turn your gaze up to her to see a burning glare being shot at you
>It'd probably be intimidating to human males
>But when you grow up with the woman in your family you know what actual glares feel like
>Used to make the water around you feel like ice
“What?”
>“Don't 'what' me, I've been talking here and you've been off in your own empty head”
“Yeah cause I had more important things to do then pay attention to you”
>“Like what?”
“How about literally anything else?”
>She grits her teeth and balls up her fists at that, a small growl emanating from the back of her throat
>Now she's actually looking intimidating
>At least it looks like she's trying to be
>With a huff you begrudgingly get to your feet
>Stretching out your back you let out a delighted hum as you feel everything pop
>You turn to Rainbow and find that you both stand at about the same height
>You're surprised you even share that much in common with her
“If you're so desperate to talk then can you get it over with, I've got a lot of important sleep to catch up on”
>She lets out a huff at that
>“What I was trying to tell you was that you should find someplace else to do your 'important sleep' airhead”
>You turn your gaze up and to the side as if you're considering what she's saying
>Just as quickly you turn back to her
“How about you leave instead smurfette”
>She forces her forehead against yours which you easily hold
>While she's doing that she grunts out “Quit calling me that”
>With a smirk you swiftly move to the side causing her to stumble forward and brace herself before she concusses herself on the metal
>Turning on a dime she stomps over to you
>Leaning against a support beam you roll your eyes at how annoyingly persistent she is
>“Why the hell can't you just leave?”
“Well I don't exactly see why I should”
>“I was her first you jackass”
>You actually have to take a moment to process what she just said
“I'm sorry how old are you supposed to be?”
>She lets out an exasperated groan, throwing her arms up and turning away from you
“Because if we're going by those rules I was here first”
>She looks at you like you with a quirked eyebrow
>Understanding her confusion you continue
“When school started I came out here to relax in the rain, so yeah, I was here first”
>Sure you were resting on the tree which is like a dozen or so feet from the bleachers but she doesn't need to know that
>It's obvious she wants to keep trying to get you to leave, but every time it looks like she has an argument they die on her tongue
>Finally letting out an aggravated groan she trudges back over to her bag and slumps against the bleachers
>You feel a smirk tug at the corner of your lips as you take sit down and rest against the support beam
>Despite the awkward silence and palpable tension you're honestly enjoying yourself
>It's roughly been two weeks since you agreed to this whole friendship thing to get these girls to drop their guard
>Longest two weeks of your life
>Honestly, the girls expected you to just magically stop messing with people
>To make it worse Anon all but ordered you to go along with it
>It's left you with an itch you're not allowed to scratch
>So annoying anyone, no matter who, even if it's only a small amount brings a smile to your face that you just can't wipe off
>As your mind starts to wander off on it's own it's brought back to reality by a clamour of voices coming from nearby
>Annoyed that someone's disturbing your peace you crack open an eye and shuffle over to the gap between the bleachers to spy on what's making all the noise
>As you had predicted sports classes are still going now that the sun's up and the unfortunate few that are forced to go out are a herd of ankle biters
>What's surprising is that, while the male students are complaining, as you've come to expect from this world, two female students are making the biggest fuss out of the whole group
>Their uniforms are obviously personally customised, making them stand out the most
>One has light pink skin with purple and white hair that's so finely done it'd give Rarity a run for her money
>Of course the effort is lost as the child's demeanour screams spoiled rich girl who probably didn't even bother doing it herself
>The second loudest student, though you only now realise she's just confirming what the pink one is saying, has silver skin and hair neatly done in a braid
>“Ugh, this is awful, why are we walking around in the mud and the muck when the gymnasium is free?”
>“Yeah”
>“Oh come on Diamond, it's not so bad, I get dirty all the time, it really ain't all that bad”
>You notice out of your peripherals that Rainbow has turned around and is spying on the group like you
>“Well of course YOU'D be fine with it Applebloom, your family like, lives in a pig pen or something”
>“HEY we have a farm house that's plenty clean”
>“Clean by YOUR standards maybe, but I prefer not to wake up smelling like an animal each morning”
>You notice that the silver chick has stopped joining in on agreeing with the other but still remains behind her
>Meanwhile Applebloom, who you think Applejack has mentioned at some point, is getting her own backup in the form of two other kids, one orange and the other white
>“You got this Scoots”
>You shoot a glance at Rainbow at that
>Briefly making eye contact with you, her eyes widen as if just remembering you were here too
>Shooting you a glare she goes back to watching the girls
>“Why don't you just. Back. Off. Diamond, no one here is interested in hearing you whine for the thousandth time today, even the boys have bigger ovaries than you”
>A wave of murmurs and giggles washes over the crown of kids while Diamond look to the silver kid for support, finding none
>Clearly embarrassed she stomps over to Scootaloo, turning her head down as she stand a few inches taller than her
>“Take. That. Back”
>Undeterred by the tone in her voice the shorter girls let's out an amused huff
>“Oh yeah and what are you gonna do about it”
>The 'do' is emphasised by Scootaloo shoving Diamond Tiara, causing her to stumble back and knock over the silver kid
>Not even bothering to offer her a hand Diamond charges at Scootaloo
>Despite bracing herself it's a pointless effort as Diamond is picked up by her wrist and brought face to face with a yellow skinned woman with firey hair
>A gasp from besides you tears your eyes away again as you see Rainbow Dash with eyes as wide as dinner plates muttering 'ohmygosh' over and over under her breath
>“I tell you kids to come out here and stretch, that is literally ALL I ask and what do I find? This mess!”
>“Sorry miss Spitfire”
>At least Scootaloo is courteous enough to say that much, Diamond just lets out an indignant huff
>“I came here to show you kids the tip of the iceberg that is Wonderbolt's training, but I guess I'm gonna have to start off with Wonderbolt's discipline instead”
>Both students look petrified at the tone of her voice
>Like she takes some weird enjoyment in giving out punishment
>“But you're kids so I don't wanna kill you, Tiara 5 laps of the field, Scootaloo 7”
>“What! Why do I get 7?”
>“Why do I get any at all”
>Both kids are abruptly silenced as Diamond is dropped back to the ground, falling on her ass with a hard thud, much to her disgust
>“Tiara, you disapproved of my orders, that's grounds for insubordination, 5 laps, Scootaloo, you got borderline violent with a classmate, 7 laps, now get moving”
>“You can't just waltz in here and act like you own the place, do you know who my father is?”
>Diamond is silenced by a glare that actually makes you lean away from the gap in the bleachers a little
>“Your daddy ain't here kiddo, my class my rules, and now you have 7 laps too, now get moving before I make it 20”
>Before Diamond is able to complain further Spitfire blows a whistle directly next to her ear causing her to flinch as she tried to protect them
>Scootaloo meanwhile dashed off as soon as the whistle went, giving her a head start on Diamond who was quick to start off after her
>After those two were far away from the class Spitfire turns to the rest of them and starts the proper lesson
>Losing interest pretty quickly as she drones on about safety you slump back
>You notice that Rainbow stalwartly remains at the gap in the bleachers, her eyes following the orange blur as best she can
>You know you're gonna regret this but you've got nothing better to do
“Your sister?”
>She perks up at that and turns to you with a suspicious look
>“No, she's sort of a fan of mine, also she hangs out with AJ and Rarity's sister a lot so we end up hanging out sometimes too, wait why do you even care?”
>Her eyes squint as she questions you
>You simply hold up your hands and shrug your shoulders
“Honestly? I'm just wondering why you care about her so much, I mean, she's off, so you can just go back to relaxing”
>As if to make your point you shuffle back against the support beam once more and start to relax again
>You feel her gaze remain on you for a few moments until it turns away
>Other than the incoherent jumble of voices coming from the kid's, and Spitfire screaming at them, there isn't much noise
>That is, until a series of huffs and pants wakes you from your sort of but not quite sleep
>Glancing up you see Diamond running past, looking down each side you see Scootaloo lagging just a bit behind
>Leaning back you let out an annoyed huff
>Glancing up the field to see them turning back into coloured dots you see Rainbow still watching the two intently
>Rolling your eyes at her obsession with the kid you go back to napping
>Sadly the problem with napping is that it never feels like your napping for long before something disturbs you
>Once again the two out of breath girls run past your little hiding place, though Scootaloo is noticeably further behind Diamond now
>Of course, Rainbow is still watching the girls like her life depended on it
“Ok seriously, what's up with you, it's just some kid you know, why are you watching her like that?”
>She turns to you with a glare
>“That's none of your business”
>You hold up your hands at her sudden aggressive tone
“Ok jeez, no need to bite my head off”
>As Scootaloo passes the two of you, you just barely catch Rainbow muttering encouraging words
>You're not sure whether she intended for the girl to hear them or not but it's certainly confirming that she's especially connected to the girl
“Alright well at least answer me this, she's clearly fitter than the other girl, even I can tell that at a glance, why is she so far behind?”
>Rainbow doesn't answer you, only shooting you a quick glare
“Maybe the other girl has payed her off to lose to make her look good?”
>“Scootaloo would never be payed off!”
>Rainbow quickly slaps a hand against her mouth and goes prone on the ground, nervously looking over her shoulder
>You follow her line of sight and see her looking at Spitfire who is shooting a glare right at the bleachers
>For a brief few moments that stretch out, she holds the glare, and for a split second you think she might have seen you through the gaps
>Just as you're about to book it she turns her gaze up and down the field, seemingly looking for the source of the noise
>Shrugging her shoulders, she turns back to her students
>Rainbow finally lets herself start breathing again when Spitfire takes her eyes off where the both of you are hiding
>You meanwhile can't help but chuckle at the display, earning you yet another glare
“Well since you're clearly willing to talk maybe you can answer my question now?”
>Her face scrunches up at that
>“Like I said before, it isn't any of your business”
>She goes back to the bleachers and lets out a groan when she realises she's lost where the girls are
>After a few minutes she turns back to you
>“You know you haven't answered my question either, why do even care?”
>You simply shrug your shoulders at her
“I'm bored, you girls and my own brothers aren't gonna let me have my usual fun so I'm stuck doing this”
>She doesn't seem satisfied with the answer but she takes it anyway
>Eventually you both manage to catch the two as they start coming around to the end of their third lap
>Or was it their fourth
>You haven't really been paying attention
>You notice a distinctly increased distance between them once again
>It's gotten so big that Diamond actually has the time to stop near the bleachers and take a breather without having to worry about Scootaloo overtaking her
>You almost feel bad for the kid
>“Not so great without your scooter are you?”
>Diamond giggles at her own mocking comment before taking off again, with Scootaloo close behind her again since she was given time to catch up
>Sadly it's clear the gap isn't gonna close either
>Though that scooter comment did peak your curiosity
“If she's such a bad runner why would she use a scooter, I mean wouldn't she have just as much difficulty with it? Or does she need it to get around?”
>Rainbow looks at you like you just grew a second head
>“What? No, Scootaloo isn't a cripple or anything it's just-”
>She quickly stops herself
>Now this is getting ridiculous
>You let out a groan and shuffle over until you're sat right next to her
>She attempts to shuffle away but she's essentially cornered herself
“Come on would you just tell me already, it's not like I'll be able to do anything with the information if I wanted to”
>While looking around the bleachers, most likely for some way to get away from you without giving away where she is to Spitfire, her eyes flit to you now and again
>Eventually her gaze settles on you
>She slowly lets her gaze drift downward, as if in deep thought
>You'd be surprised if that were the case
>Eventually she heaves a sigh and adjusts herself so she faces you
>“Look, I don't like you, and I don't get why you wanna know about Scootaloo, honestly I'd rather not say anything cause you're a prick”
“Fair enough”
>You would argue but she's being surprisingly fair
>Not that she'd give you a chance to argue as she holds up her hand
>“BUT, Sunset does want us to get to know ALL of you three, and Anon and Pseudo aren't as bad as they seemed, so I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt here”
>You give her an appreciative nod and motion for her to continue
>She looks outside the bleachers and then around the two of you to make sure that no one's in earshot
>“But you have to PROMISE not to let anyone else know, it's not something Scootaloo wants people to know”
>You go to make a snide remark but, seeing the genuine look on her face makes you reconsider
>Shutting your mouth with a snap you give her a firm nod
>She scans you for any signs of deceit and, when she doesn't find any, you could swear her lips twitched upwards
>“The thing is, something is up with Scootaloo's legs, I can't remember what the doctor called it it was like a 7 word condition with like 7 syllables a word and one of them was probably foreign, basically while they work fine, and she can do scooter stunts just fine, for the life of her she can't run like others can”
>She looks out at the field at that
>You follow her gaze and see Diamond pass the bleachers once more
>A while later a clearly struggling Scootaloo comes close to collapsing but just barely stays on her feet
>She gasps and wheezes, sweat dripping down and off her face
>At least you hope it's sweat
>The other option would break your heart
>After just a few seconds she has breath back and takes off into a run again
>You notice Spitfire had been approaching her but stopped when she took off again
“Who else knows?”
>“Just me, and well, you too now I guess”
“What about the teachers, her parents, her friends?”
>With how violently her legs were shaking and the look in her eyes, you're surprised the information is kept from so many people
>“Scootaloo loves what she does, running, doing stunts on her scooter, and if people knew, they'd never let her do half that stuff, and I know that makes me a bad role model to not tell anyone but I- I just couldn't take what she loves away from her”
>Hearing Rainbow's voice crack is probably in your top 5 list of things you thought you'd never hear
>Her eyes hold a sadness from not knowing what to do next
>You've seen it a lot before, in Adagio, in Anonymous, even in yourself a few times
>You're not really good at comforting others but you give an attempted pat on her shoulder
>She can tell how awkward it is as she let's out a genuine chuckle at it
>Sniffling a little, Rainbow looks back out over the field
>“She's tried training but it just doesn't work, it wouldn't be so bad but she's wanted to run alongside me with the Wonderbolts for a long time, even now she talks about what it'll be like then... neither of us wanna say what we know”
>Rainbow has curled into herself now, though her eyes still haven't left the field
>“To top it all off Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon keep bullying her about it, they both know something's up, they don't know exactly what but that doesn't matter to them”
>She doesn't let any leak in but you can feel the anger behind her words
>You can't blame her, she seems to be really invested in the kid
>Your mind flashes back to your home
>When it was just the three of you and Anon had to keep up relations with the other packs
>The few times they made fools of the three of you
>You feel your knuckles start to ache as your fingers dig into your palms and unclench your fist
>Massaging your aching hand you look over the field once more and spot Diamond Tiara
>An idea comes to mind and you can't help but smirk
>Leaning over to Rainbow you bump her and indicate to your target, dragging her attention away from Scootaloo
>With a tiny bit of magic and a flick of your finger Diamond Tiara slips on some mud and faceplants into the ground
“The mud must be slippery”
>Rainbow's eyeing you with suspicion but doesn't stop you either
>As Diamond gets back to her feet you have her fall backwards into the mud again
>This causes a small smirk to break on to Rainbow's face
>You let Diamond run on for a little bit until you make her slip again
>Rainbow has to hold in a chuckle at that
>Tripping Diamond has given Scootaloo enough time to catch up and pass her, much to both her and Rainbow's delight
>Though it clearly annoys Diamond who takes off at a sprint from a crouching position
>Of course you quickly bring that to an end
>You keep this up for the rest of their laps, letting Diamond run on for a little bit, then tripping her
>You fluctuate how often you make her trip and let her pass Scootaloo once to not make it seem too suspicious
>By the time Scootaloo has finished Diamond is still on the other end of the field and caked in mud
>Rainbow meanwhile is on the floor silently gasping as she tries to not give your position away
>You yourself can't wipe the smile off your face either
>When she finally trudges the last bit of her last lap she silently stomps past the celebrating Scootaloo and class back to the school
>Either these classes are shorter than you remember or they took a long time to do those laps because Spitfire orders the rest of the students inside as well
>Scootaloo stays behind though to sit down and catch her breath
>When the class has become spots in the distance she stands up and starts heading in your direction
>Makes sense she would know Rainbow hides out here
>As she rounds the back of the bleachers Rainbow bolts over to her and gives her a big hug
>Scootaloo giggles as she's swung around by the rainbow haired girl until she's finally put down
>Seemingly just noticing you she goes still and tries to make herself seem smaller
>“Uhhh Rainbow, who's this guy?”
>You both look up at Rainbow who glances between the two of you
>Settling her eyes on you she eventually speaks up
>“Don't worry Scoots, this is just Incognito, he's a... friend”
>You let out a huff through your nose and feel a smile spread across your face as you hold out a hand to Scootaloo
>Her personality does a complete 180 at Rainbow's words, going from looking like she's about to run away to shaking your hand so hard it feels like your arm's gonna fall off
>“Wow, it's really nice to meet you, I'm Scootaloo, how do you know Rainbow Dash?”
>You eventually manage to pry your hand away from her and let out a small chuckle
“How do I know Rainbow Dash? Wooo that IS a story”
>For a while you and Rainbow go back and forth talking about how you know each other
>Of course you leave out certain parts and mostly leave Dash to do most of the explaining
>She amplifies her place in the story a lot more than you would have
>But Scootaloo seems to be eating it up so you don't bother making any corrections
>For the most part you just relax against the support beam again and add bits to the story when Scootaloo or Rainbow asks you too

>As the last bell of the day rings out you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding in
>You can't recall how long you were staring at the room's clock
>Luckily it seems your teacher didn't notice
>Or maybe they just didn't care
>Either way you, and everyone else in your class, quickly grab your bags and head to the door
>You're surprised to see your teacher barging through the students to be the first one out
>Then again it's obvious as to why
>The weekend has come once more
>Initially it baffled the three of you as to why these days were so significant
>But then after learning about how school fits into the week it all clicked
>Though it took a while longer for Incognito to understand
>You blame all the times he tried to fight Anonymous
>He got his head bashed against the floor and walls too often
>“Hey Pseudo, wait up”
>Hearing the call you slow your pace and try to hone in on the source
>As the sea of students slowly thins you spot Caramel and Braeburn heading your way
>You immediately attempt to speed up after seeing them
>If you've learned anything during your time here is that those two will want one of any number of things
>For you to lend them money
>To bitch about something petty
>To gossip about something pointless
>Or any number of further meaningless drivel
>Despite your best attempts to get away from them they close in on both sides, effectively trapping you
>You slow down to keep pace with them as struggling further would get you nowhere
>Honestly they're not insufferable
>At least not most of the time
>But after such a long week you just want to meet up with Fluttershy
>Sadly you're stuck talking to Caramel
>“Whew, you know I'm so jealous of you and your brothers you seem to be able to speed up without breaking a sweat. I wish I could get that fit, what's your workout routine?”
>You sigh and roll your eyes as discreetly as you can
>Looks like your in for another round of pointless talk
“Like all the other times you've asked, I don't have one, I just eat healthy, and walk around a lot”
>Braeburn chooses to cut in at this point
>“All right then, keep your secrets, but one of these days you'll spill”
“Sure Brae, sure”
>“Oh don't be so dismissive, it'll happen, just you wait”
>“Oh drop it Braeburn, he'll tell us the same day he finally fixes his hair”
>You bump him with your elbow at that
>He flinches and stumbles a few feet after you do so though
>That's another of the problems you have with these two, it doesn't matter how gently you bump them, they always act like you broke their arm
“Come off it Caramel, my hair is fine as is”
>To prove your point you run a hand throw your purple hair
>Only for it to get stuck in the knots halfway through
>Unwilling to relent you push your hand through
>Eventually you're able to untangle yourself from the nest atop your head
>Luckily you only unravelled the knots rather than pulling out any actual hair
>The two beside you share a chuckle at your display
>They both go on to do as you did
>Only this time there's no interference as their hands glide effortlessly through their hair
>“You see Pseudo, there's something to be gained from proper haircare”
>You simply let out a huff at them
“My hair is fine as is, it's clean and smells fine, that's all I need”
>“Well sure I guess, but honestly, the only reason you say so is that you've already got Fluttershy, if you were going solo, you'd be singing a different tune”
>You can't help but smirk at Caramel's words
>Apparently before you came along Fluttershy was hardly noticed by the guys of the school
>However once they inevitably managed to trick you into their social circle they couldn't stop talking about her
>You're so lucky this, she's so good to you that, you'd be annoyed if there jealousy didn't make you so smug
>As the two once more go into their usual tirade of how their girls pay no attention to them and compare them to Fluttershy for the nth time, she just so happens to step around the corner
>She has her head down, most likely from having a class without any of her friends
>Meanwhile Caramel is so engrossed in his talk he doesn't notice her
>You notice them on a collision course and quickly step forward and pull her into your chest
>She let's out a small “Eeep” as you pull her to your chest
>She briefly struggles against you but you keep your grip form, making sure not to hold her uncomfortably tight
>You still remember finding bruises in the shape of your fingerprints on her when you first cuddled
>It broke your heart and pissed you off to no end
>She tried to reassure but it took a while before you hugged her again
>It would have taken a lot longer if she didn't force herself to hug you as often as possible
>She claimed it was a way to “force you to forgive yourself” whatever that meant
>Still feeling her squirm slightly you gently rest your face in her hair, effectively calming her down
>As you take in a whiff of her shampoo, you feel her taking in deep breaths that glide over your chest to calm her racing heart
>Pulling your head away she cranes her neck up and rests her chin on your chest
>When she finally makes eyes contact with you a smile spreads across her face
>It's not a big smile, never has been
>She's often confided in you her worries that people don't like her smile
>But you always reassured her it was one of the reasons you got with her
>No matter how bad your day, seeing it was able to easily melt away the stress and aggravation of the day
>As the two of you stood there, the content silence was broken by a duo of “awwww”s coming from besides you
>Suddenly remembering those two were there you internally groan
>As Fluttershy turns to see the two of them she buries her head in your chest out of embarrassment
>You stroke her head to calm her down and shoot Caramel and Braeburn a glare that freezes them in place
>You tilt your head to signal them to leave
>Thankfully they get the message immediately and scamper off
>Slowly turning Fluttershy away you bring an arm around her waist and lead out of the school
>As you step out into the front of the school she slowly rest her head into your side
>You start to wonder what you could do over the weekend when your ears pick up rapid movement behind you
>As you release Fluttershy, you attempt to turn around but whatever was coming behind you managed to latch onto your back
>Losing your footing you fall forward, faceplanting into the grass
>As a mad cackling echoes across the school you feel a migraine start to form
>“Holy crap Pseudo, that was way too good”
>Before you're able to launch your vertically challenged brother off of you, you feel his weight lifted off you
>Getting to your knees you glance over your shoulder to identify the cause
>Anon had stepped in and picked up Incog by the collar of his shirt
>Incog makes several attempts to detatch himself, bracing his legs against the ground to push and pull against Anon's grip
>All to no avail of course but it brightens your mood to see him struggle
>“Damn it Anon, quit handling me”
>“Then stop giving me and everyone else a headache”
>With that, Anon shoves Incog causing him to stumble away
>Despite all your hopes he manages to regain his footing and right himself
>Dusting himself off he shoots Anon a glare
>His only response is a huff as Anon saunters off and leans against the statue at the front of the school
>Before you're able to check on Fluttershy another pair of footsteps draws your attention
>Hearing Incognito let out a grunt, you turn around to see him grasping at his back, spinning as he goes
>You're surprised to see Scootaloo clinging to him, laughing as she does
>You remember hearing about her and her friends from Fluttershy but you never got around to meeting them
>After a lot of effort Incog finally manages to pry her off of him
>“What are you some sort of spider monkey?”
>Scootaloo simply responds with a giggle before twisting out of Incog's grasp and running off
>As you watch her go you see her heading towards Applebloom and Sweetie Belle as well as the girls
>Seeing her friends making their way out of school Fluttershy hurries over to greet them as well
>Meanwhile the three of you simply stand around waiting for them to finally make it over to you
>For a group who often seem desperate to get out of school they certainly walk slow
>By the time they make it over to you, Anon and Incog are standing besides you
>After greetings are swapped you all head over to the school gates
>You're surprised to see Rainbow start to walk besides Incog and start up a conversation with him
>That's definitely something you're going to have to ask about later
>“So Pseudo, what're your plans?”
>Turning away from Incog to Anon you see him walking besides Sunset as she talks with the girls
“Oh same old same old, thinking of hitting the town with Fluttershy, I'll be back at the usual time”
>He hums to himself as his gaze narrows
>You gulp a little at the piercing look
>“Awww, what's the matter Anon, do you miss hanging out with your brother?”
>Anon scrunches his face at Sunset who's wearing a smirk that could rival Incog's
>He stares her down for a few seconds before breaking off
>“Bah, it's nothing”
>The glance he shoots you out of the corner of his eyes says otherwise
>You take a firmer hold of Fluttershy and bring her closer to you
>She helps calm you down as much as you do for her
>“Actually Anon if you would like to spend some time with your brothers I think I have the perfect opportunity”
>“Yeah, sure you do”
>Despite Anon dismissing her, Rarity doesn't let it stop her
>“Actually I do. Afterall, Incog owes me a favour”
>Rarity now officially has everyone's attention
>Especially Incog who is frantically making motions for her to stop
>Rainbow however clasps a hand over his mouth, eager to hear just what situation your brother has gotten himself into
>“After a certain... misunderstanding between Incog and I. He agreed to model some future lines for me, one of which I hope to gift the three of you with.”
>At the mention of fashion the three of you and the kids lose interest, going back to simply watching where you're going
>“Oh come now you three, getting new suits is the perfect bonding experience for a group of young men, ask any of the boys at school and they'll say the same”
>You and your brothers somehow manage to simultaneously harmonise a series of groans and eye rolls
>This illicits giggles from the group, save for Rarity who has nothing but glares to give out
>As the group settles down, Sunset speaks up
>“Actually Anon I think that it would be good for the three of you”
>“How do you mean?”
>Sunset rubs the back of her neck in thought as Anon looks down at her with a quizzical look
>“Well I mean, you three don't really seem to hang out with each other since we did this whole friendship thing. It seems that you're only ever together at the very beginning and end of the day unlike before. Maybe you three should, you know... reconnect?”
>Anon glances at the two of you and you can't help but somewhat agree with Sunset
>Sure before this you spent a lot of time with Fluttershy, but the rest of that time was spent with these two
>It's been weeks since the three of you have had a conversation that wasn't about the plan
>“I...”
>You turn to Incognito and see his eyes focused on the ground
>“I... guess that, it wouldn't be the WORST waste of my time”
>He briefly glances at the two of you before huffing and looking across the street
>You and Anon share a look of confusion at Incog's behaviour but shrug it off
>“Well what are you lot gonna be doing?”
>“OH oh OH oh oh Oh Oh me, pick me, I know what we're doing”
>Pinkie frantically hops up and down like a jack-hammer, waving her hand in the air
>Chuckling at her, Anon waves for her to continue
>“Alright then Pinkie, what are you doing?”
>“We're having-”
>Seemingly crouching down, Pinkie goes silent for a second
>As the three of you glance around you spot no sign of her, as if she turned into air
>“A SLUMBER PARTY”
>You're amused that Anon and Incog shrieked like at her sudden reappearance
>Though you're ashamed to admit you did the same
>Pinkie had emerged out of Anon's hair throwing confetti in the air as she did
>After letting out his banshee like scream he shook her out of his air
>While the girls all burst into laughter the three of you were trying to calm your hearts that threatened to burst from your chests
>Anon was constantly running a hand through his hair to make sure nothing else was hiding in it
>You only just manage to get your breath back and refocus on Pinkie to catch her trailing off
>“-then after all that there's tomorrow, where we're thinking of going to the beach”
>That snaps the other two out of their shock
>Anon set a general rule to not leave the area under the influence of the Field
>But since you're not using it to it's full effect anymore that rule may just become moot
>Seeing the three of you looking at her she speaks up again
>“I mean, of couse I was gonna invite the three of you, it just seemed to go without saying, so feel free to drop by my house tomorrow morning or whatever and we can all have a super duper fun time”
>“Don't worry Pinkie, we'd come anyway, Sunset here would miss me if I didn't”
>Anon leans towards Sunset, a grin spread across his lips
>She simply laughs and pushes his face away
>“Don't flatter yourself Anon, unlike Fluttershy, I can go a day without being near one of you”
>This gets a chuckle out of everyone but causes Fluttershy to bury her head in the crook of your arm
>Chuckling yourself you hug her tighter
>“Either way we're gonna split off here. We'll see the four of you tomorrow”
>“Why of course darling, and you needn't fret, I shall return these three without a hair out of place”
>As Rarity spins on her heels Incog and Anon glance at each other and, with a shrug of their shoulders, head off after her
“Uh guys”
>They both stop and turn to see you, with Fluttershy still pressed to your side
“I was actually thinking of heading with the girls, see you tomorrow?”
>Anon simply chuckles and walks up to you
>“Oh no you don't Pseudo, if I have to suffer Incog's presence so do you”
>You barely hear Incognito's “OI” as Anon takes a hold of your shoulder
>With an unnecessarily hard tug he yanks you away from Fluttershy and drags you after him
>You shoot a glance over your shoulder to Fluttershy and see her nervously tapping her fingers together, giving you a small wave
>You return it as best you can with one of your shoulder's still in Anon's death grip
>“Rarity, wait for us”
>Anon's grip finally goes slack when Scootaloo, Sweetie, and Applebloom make their way around you and crowd around Rarity's feet
>“Oh goodness, that's right, you're also having a slumber party aren't you Sweetie?”
>An ear-piercingly shrill “YAY” was cried out in unison by the three
>As you rub your ears in an attempt to cease the ringing you see the three run off far ahead of the group
>Rarity rubs her temples, most likely trying to suppress a migraine
>“I am terribly sorry you three, but today might be more complicated than I had hoped”