Sunset glanced around the room, watching three rather subdued and thoughtful girls work with trying to both draw their own magic up and sense each other’s power. They were making considerable progress in a very short time, with flickering spikes of power trying to respond to them, despite the emotional toil that they were all feeling.

Sighing, the former unicorn ran a hand through her hair. Lunch had been a near disaster, but it had certainly driven home the very warning she’d been trying to get them to understand in a very visceral and real way. She just never would have expected the one to have a near uncontrollable magical surge to be Fluttershy. That had shocked her just as much as it had the rest of them—even back when she’d been Fluttershy’s primary tormentor, the mild mannered, sweet teen had never shown herself to be anything but pleasant. It had driven the old Sunset more than a little crazy, trying to find ways to get under her skin—and was why she’d finally used the girl’s love of animals to drive a wedge between her and Pinkie…but even that had been a sort of sullen hurt and betrayal.

And what had happened today could not be classified as hurt or betrayal.

Sunset lunged as she felt the magic impact her senses like a freight train, grabbing Fluttershy by the shoulders amidst the sound of the normally soft voice rising in righteous anger. “Fluttershy!” the redhead called her friend’s name urgently, trying to pull her attention to Sunset. “You’ve got to calm down—your magic is going to surge if you don't!” She could see pale yellow ears reshaping as they migrated higher on the animal lover’s head, and they looked all wrong, far too round and furry for pony ears.

Her instincts screamed at her as she realized that Fluttershy now stood several inches taller than her, and shoulders under her own grip bulged with muscles that hadn't been there thirty seconds ago. Blue-green eyes looked to Fluttershy’s face, seeing the familiar features starting to warp and disappear under a feral, animalistic visage as the sound of grinding bones and squelching insides registered to her ears.

Shuddering, Sunset shook herself out of the memory and back to the present as Applejack managed to finally draw forth her magic in a strong enough fashion that she ponied up, ears set with unconscious determination. “Alright, AJ,” she said encouragingly. “That’s it—now tell me what you feel….and maybe what you were focusing on to make it happen?”

The farmer frowned. “Just that Ah’m worried about Fluttershy,” she admitted, toying with the brim of her hat. “…and Dash. They’ve been with the principals a long time now, an’ Ah’m startin’ ta worry that something’s wrong.”

Rarity hugged Applejack. “I do believe we are all more than a little concerned, dearest,” she murmured soothingly to the blonde. “Though I can't imagine Vice Principal Luna truly punishing either of them for that fiasco. Not when Zephyr was clearly the perpetrator. It is more likely that she had to call their parents and then wait for them to arrive. It is a rather delicate situation given that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy have known each other long enough that I imagine their parents are at least moderately acquainted.”

“Mebbe…just wish Ah knew for sure. Ah can't help but feel like Ah wanna be there, standin’ up for them both.” The farmer sighed, and her pony features faded away.

Pinkie frowned, passing something appropriately sugary and sweet to AJ. “What did they want to talk to you about, Sunset? They asked all of us about what happened, but you were in there lots looooonger.”

Chewing on a fingernail, Sunset scuffed her foot on the floor. “She did ask me about what happened, but she also asked me questions about magic….”

“Fluttershy had a surge, Miss Luna. It's something I’ve been working to try and avoid by teaching them to use their magic consciously. It was triggered by her emotions.”

The dark skinned woman frowned thoughtfully. “Can that happen to any of you girls?”

Sunset slumped back into the chair, unwilling to lie to the woman she had come to respect, but feeling like she was about to betray her friends. “Yes,” she admitted. “I’ve had problems for years—it was one of my biggest issues in Equestria for most of my foalhood, and the girls have been having bursts of magic for a few weeks now. I’m trying to teach them, but it's hard because their magic isn't exactly what I know. They aren't ponies.”

Tapping a pen on some paper, Luna asked, “How do your people handle a situation like this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Luna elaborated, “how would ponies handle a situation like this: where one pony who had powerful magic threatened to use it against a pony who had no magic?”

The three girls looked uneasily at each other, then at Sunset, before AJ voiced what they were likely all thinking. "It wasn't Shy's fault!" she bit out, bitterness under the anger in her voice.

Rarity broke in, her voice soft, "I must concur with Applejack on this. The scenario was not instigated by either Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash—that blame should reside solely with Zephyr Breeze and his behavior, and I am fairly confident that the ultimate outcome will reflect that.” Blue eyes slowly passed over each of them. “However…Fluttershy’s loss of temper, as unpleasant as it was, did illustrate one failing on perhaps all our parts: we have not taken Sunset’s warnings as seriously as we should have…and today someone almost paid a terrible price for that.”

Silence reigned once more, all four of them lost in their own thoughts. At last, Sunset broke it. “I’m sorry, girls. I probably should have tried harder to make you understand. Or started working sooner to help you learn how to control your magic instead of letting it just…happen.”

“Now see here, Sunset,” Applejack chastised. “It ain't yer fault we didn’t take it as serious as ya meant it. Fact is, we were all kinda riding the high off beating the Sirens, and Rares is right about us not listening. Ah thought—Ah’m sure we all thought—‘it's the magic of friendship, and it don’t work if we ain’t being good friends…’ Turns out, we were wrong.”

The former unicorn paced a few steps, thinking. “But that's the thing—Fluttershy was being a good friend…to Rainbow Dash. She was trying to protect a friend.” She rubbed her face. “It's not that she was abusing the magic, but that it was responding far too aggressively in a situation that it wasn't needed.”

That got a snort from the farmer. “Iffin ya ask me, it was necessary—ain't much else seems ta deter that horse’s ass.” At Sunset’s arched brow and Rarity’s frown, AJ coughed. “Uh…no offense.”

A rueful smile twitched at her mouth. “You know,” the redhead commented, “I think I’m going to ban the use of that phrase around me.”

Flash’s voice broke in. “Maybe wait until you hear us out first.”

Sunset turned around to see Flash, Lyra, and Bon-Bon entering the room. “Hey,” she responded, waving at them. “Should I be worried?”

He winced a little, rubbing the back of his head in a nervous gesture she recognized. “Maybe? Hard to say?”

“Uh oh…” Sunset sighed and put her hands on her hips. “What did I do now?” came the tired question. She was aware of her friends coming to stand on either side of her in support if she needed them, something she was grateful for. It certainly made it easier to deal with the awkward silence that stretched on as Flash, Lyra, and Bon-Bon all exchanged glances. “Look, will one of you just tell me? Whatever it is, it can’t possibly be as bad as the fallout from the Fall Formal.”

Bon-bon straightened up. “It's not, but it's serious and you’re the only one who can help us. We’ve been trying to do our own research, but with what happened at lunch, Lyra and I realized that nothing we’ve found is any good against real magic.”

The former unicorn studied them, a growing suspicion nipping at her hocks. “What do you mean? What research? Good against real magic? What exactly are you trying to do?”

“Fight back,” Lyra said cheerfully. “Every magic has a counter, right? We just need to know how to counter it.”

Blue-green eyes sought out Flash. “Sort of, and I've been looking for solid ways to defend against magic without it, but I haven't got anything to give you yet. I told Flash that a few weeks ago.” He had the decency to look away guiltily.

“We know,” Bon-Bon clarified, “because he told us. But that’s not good enough, Sunset. Twice now, magic has gotten the better of all of us, used us, restrained us. How long before the next magical threat takes over the school and tries to take us hostage again?” She raised her chin defiantly. “I refuse to let that happen—maybe I can't win, but I refuse to be a victim a third time. I’m not going to be a hostage; I’m going to be a problem.”

There was a giggle from Pinkie. “My science teacher says I’m a problem all the time!”

“Pinkie, darling,” Rarity interjected, “I do not believe that is quite the same thing.”

Sunset frowned. “Even if it’s not,” she admitted, “what do you want from me?” One hand pushed wild hair back from her face. “All of the ways I know come from creatures who have some magic of their own, and…as much as I’d like to be able to hand over a book full of answers, I can’t.” She couldn't hide the hint of exasperation in her tone—she was already struggling with the magic the girls had, and there simply weren’t enough hours in her day to be a full time student, work with the magic research, worry about what was after Twilight and her school, and start another research project for a separate topic. Not unless she started giving up sleeping.

“We thought maybe you could give us your thoughts on some of the ideas we’ve had,” Flash confessed, “because this isn't just the three of us, Sunset.”

It was Applejack who narrowed her eyes at them. “Whaddya mean by that?”

Bon-Bon made a loose gesture with one hand. “We’re here on behalf of a large portion of the school who feel the same way.”

“How large is large, darling?”

Lyra’s whole face lit up and she held up a notebook. “Right now the Wondercolt Student Defense Force has three hundred and eighty two members signed up.”

The former unicorn stared, her brain grinding to a screeching halt, dimly aware that her mouth was hanging open in shock. Pinkie said what she was thinking, though perhaps not in the manner Sunset was thinking it.

“Wow! That’s a whole lot!”

Flash looked sheepish. “It's mostly our class and the sophomores. Some seniors, a portion of the freshmen, and a handful of eighth graders.”

“Ya done got the middle school young’uns involved in this malarky?!” Applejack did not look any happier than she sounded.

“No one younger than eighth grade,” Bon-Bon clarified. “But some of them wanted to help, and we figured at least this way they’re supervised.”

A pale hand rested on Applejack’s broad shoulder to calm her down, Rarity clearing her throat. “Supervised doing what, exactly, if Sunset does not have any known methods of opposing magic without possessing it?”

The trio looked at each other, and Bon-Bon took the lead again. “For starters, I was thinking self defense instruction. It’d be good for them to all know how to fight back against an attacker—even just a human one.”

The tailor’s expression was tight and critical, lips pressed to a thin line. “I see. And who would be the instructor? One of you?”

“I was actually thinking of talking to my dad,” the other girl answered. “He’s taught kids before, not just me. Sunset can attest to his skills—she was his student too—according to him, she was one of his most driven students.”

Her eyes widened, and Sunset tried to connect Bon-Bon’s face to the grizzled, heavyset, middle aged man with the scar on his chin that taught her how to protect herself. She saw none of him in the teen’s pointed chin and high cheekbones, but as she thought back, the redhead realized she could hear him echoed in Bon-Bon’s voice, the grave seriousness with which she had refused to be a hostage again, the hard edge in her gaze. It echoed the harsh sternness in dark predator’s eyes and a gravelly voice that once told her, “When you do this, you commit, girl. Strike hard, strike fast, and commit. They aren't going to hold back, so you don't either.”

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she exhaled. “He’s good, but that's a lot of students, and he’d need parent permission for them.” Sunset rubbed her arm. “I’m also not sure it would do anything but make them overconfident and get them into more trouble.”

“Speaking of permission…ya got the principals’ permission ta form this little group of yers?” Applejack was looking even more agitated by the minute. “Cuz Ah can’t imagine they are gonna be keen on the whole…child soldier deal yer proposing, and Ah’m not so sure Ah’m keen on it either, since Ah know Applebloom and her friends are gonna be itching ta be a part of it.”

“Oh no,” Lyra said. “This is not any kind of official extracurricular at all. They’d never let us. We were just planning on doing it and not telling them—after all, if they don’t know, then the watchers working for secret magical societies won't know either, and we’ll have the advantage when they show up trying to take over the school!”

They all stared at her, even Bon-Bon—who had a slight twitch to her eye as she tried to process the words. “Lyra, sweetie, best friend whom I love with all my heart? This isn't one of your weird roleplaying games with the Vampires or the Werewolves. We’re being serious—this is real life.”

Rainbow’s voice broke in behind her. “It's definitely not a game,” she agreed, sounding cutting, even for her. “Sunset tried to tell us that before, and I didn't listen. None of us really did, cuz we didn't get it.” She walked in, brushing past Flash to lead Fluttershy over to her friends. “But she was right. Magic is dangerous, even ours. People can get hurt, or killed—we’ve gotten lucky. There’s no do-overs, not time-outs. And if people die…they're dead. Game over.”

Silence weighed down on the room, oppressive, choking, and Sunset had to clear her throat before she could speak. “That’s why I don't think making yourselves bigger targets is a good idea. The instant you pick up a weapon or raise your fists, you become a prime target.“ Her eyes met Bon-Bon’s. “Don't take up arms unless you're committed to dropping your enemy. We have a similar attitude in Equestria.”

“So what do ponies do instead, Sunset? Do you guys just run?” Flash asked, sounding genuinely interested. “Because Twilight didn't. She stood up to you at the formal, and the Dazzlings at the band competition.”

Sunset rubbed her temples. “Right, but Princess Twilight is a grown mare, an alicorn, and one of the most talented magical prodigies Equestria has ever seen. She has the power, knowledge, training, and experience to back it up. We dont send foals in to fight—foals are taught to avoid, disengage, and run for safety.” The former unicorn began to pace again, moving restlessly in a back and forth arc, the motion repetitive but also helping her to think clearer. “Which is, ultimately, I think the best angle for your little ‘defense group’—getting yourselves and others out of the situation, away from danger, and to somewhere you can defend until it's clear.”

He rubbed his neck. “Okay…but…how?”

“I still say being able to take someone down is a good plan,” Bon-Bon groused.

That earned her several hard stares and a sharp head shake from Sunset. “Avoidance, remember?”

The only male in the room raised a hand. “What about defensive weapons that we cache around the school—slingshots, smoke bombs like Trixie’s always using, stuff like that? There’s plenty of empty lockers and other places we can hide stuff.”

Rainbow looked enthusiastic. “Yeah, you could totally hide stuff all over, maybe some flash bombs or stink bombs too, or like extra baseball bats in your lockers—could even raid the gym storage. You know we have bows and arrows in there, from like…back in the sixties?”

This time it was Rarity who rained on their parade. “You do realize most of those things are technically banned from school grounds and having weapons is grounds for expulsion? I’m not so sure we should engage in a solution that will get the well meaning student body in legal trouble, darling.”

Wincing, Sunset paused in her pacing. “Yeeeah…let’s try and avoid getting in trouble, guys. I just got to the point where people aren’t wanting to throw things at me in the halls, and I don't think getting some of them expelled will do me any favors. Plus I’m still on thin ice myself—any kind of major infraction and I’m the one they’ll expel.”

Pinkie latched onto her with a choking bear hug. “No! School wouldn't be the same without yoooooou!”

“Which is why I’m advising against getting us all kicked out.” The redhead carefully untangled herself from Pinkie Pie’s arms, feeling a little like she’d just been hugged by a particularly exuberant boa constrictor.

Lyra’s phone played an eerie melody, making the girl check the screen immediately. “Oh wow! Did you know someone spotted a sasquatch in White Tail Woods last week? They don't come this far south—do you think magic is drawing them here?”

Sunset blinked. “A…what?”

“Sasquatch. You know…Big Foot? The Yeti, but not as frostbitten?” Lyra grinned.

Blink. Blink. “You guys have yeti here? And they come this far south? This close to civilization…and the human government hasn't had them hunted?” That made no sense—yeti were aggressive and violent, and lived in highland mountains close to the snowline or in the extreme northern and southern ends of Equestria on frozen tundra. Yakyakistan had a huge problem with them and was half the reason that they never had time to really make war on any other creatures. “That sounds…super dangerous.”

It was too quiet, as if the entire room had stopped breathing, prompting her to look up. The Equestrian native found everyone except Lyra staring at her in stunned fascination. “Did…did I say something wrong?”

“Uh…not really,” Applejack said. “Just…yeti and Big Foot and stuff like the Loch Ness monster and sea serpents and ghosts are fake. Tourist traps. Stories. Never proven.” She furrowed her brows. “Only folks inta alien abductions and conspiracies believe that kinda hooey.”

Sunset filed that away as potentially important. “Well…yeti are real. At least in Equestria. They're really big and ugly and dangerous. You know Coach Will? Imagine something built like him but…like almost twice as tall, hairy, smelly, and with lots of sharp teeth. And super angry, all the time.” She thought about it. “Actually, yeti are probably the closest things Equestria has to humans, now that I think about it—unless you count actual monkeys and apes from the jungles.”

She found her shoulders grabbed by Lyra, who shook her. “Oh. Em. Gee! You have to tell me everything about the monsters in your world! Like do you have sea serpents? Dragons? What about gargoyles or basilisks?! Harpies? What abou—URK!”

Bon-Bon had latched her hand onto Lyra’s collar and hauled her back out of Sunset’s personal space. “Sweetie, I love you, but we don't have time for this right now. So unless you can use your network of conspiracy nuts to come up with ways to fight magic that isn't completely made up nonsense, can you focus, please?”

Instead of being deterred, Lyra’s grin only widened. “Oh, Bonny, I already did that! I even checked out some of the prepper stuff from a few places on the dark web that I thought we could use to fortify shelter spaces in the school in case whatever shows up has big teeth!” She fished an entire three ring binder out of her backpack and held it out to her girlfriend. “I thought we could have Sunset look through it and point out which ones were best!”

Taken aback, Bon-Bon let go to take the binder. “…O…kay…” she responded slowly. “Why didn't you tell me that before?”

Lyra’s tone remained cheerful. “I was going to, but then lunch happened and you were busy keeping Zephyr on the ground so Flutter-Bear would listen to Sunset and not get even madder, and then I was gonna tell you in last period buuuuut then one of my favorite ghost hunters posted a video about how they’d caught an actual spirit conversation on camera and I forgot.”

What was that faint sound? Sunset could pick it up faintly, and it took her a few minutes to realize it was the sound of Bon-Bon grinding her teeth. The girl with the mint colored skin seemed to ignore it as she flipped the binder open, revealing a very neatly organized collection of pages. “But look! Something like this—a protective circle of salt, plus warded crystals carved with magical symbols that have been soaked in salt, herbs, and holy waters in a new moon’s light.”

“But the new moon doesn't have light….” Pinkie commented in mild confusion. “So wouldn't that be the new moon’s not-light?”

Sunset chose to focus on the binder page, seeing a diagram that did bear more than a superficial resemblance to a real warding circle and spell matrix. It would never work, since it was clearly incomplete and mangled, and all that chatter about moonlight was mostly made up human nonsense. On the other hand, between that and the book someone had gone to trouble of getting in her hands, there might be something useful. “I’ll look through it,” she assured them.

Bright eyes jerked to Sunset in shock. “You…you will?” Lyra asked, sounding both excited and stunned.

“Yeah…there’s a chance that there might be something in here that could be useful. Maybe not as is, but as…a sort of jumping point?” It was more to add to her plate, but there was no one else, and Sunset had no choice. If she didn’t help, chances were the students of CHS would go off on their own and possibly get hurt, and that would be her fault. “I can't do it right this minute, because I’m working with the girls, but I’ll try to get at it this week after I get my homework done—I’ve got that paper due for English on Thursday, and a history report next week, but I should be able to have an hour or so each night to research.”

Lyra seemed to hesitate a moment, a look of something Sunset thought was akin to, but not quite hesitation on her face. "I... uhhh..." Her eyes flicked briefly to Bon-Bon before returning to Sunset. "I know most people call it all conspiracy nut stuff," she admitted, taking a breath, "…but I organized all the information and color-coded it according to what type of source it came from, if there are other references that might back it up, if there's any kind of proof of it working in any kind of context. So, I...hope that helps cut down on how much you have to do, to weed out what is actually useful to you. I know a lot of it is probably no good, but if there is something and it makes a difference in the end, then it was worth it, right?”

The redhead was quiet for a long minute, before reaching out and squeezing Lyra’s shoulder. “Yeah,” she agreed. “It is. Thanks, Lyra. That will make this a lot easier—in fact, if you're up for it, I might ask you to do this same kind of sort and organization with all the various bits of information people here at school keep dumping on me. There’s just not enough hours in a day for me to go through it.”

“Totally, Sunset! I’d love to help! And if you can make a list of things I can throw out that you know won't work, I can even weed out the worst of it for you.” The other girl was beaming now, and practically vibrating with excitement. She turned to her girlfriend. “See?! I told you it wasn’t a…”

Sunset tuned it out, in favor of her own thoughts as she slipped the binder into her backpack. There were a lot of things that needed to be done, and she really couldn't do it all by herself…

“Um…Sunset?” a soft voice and a hand on her arm dragged her from her thoughts.

The former unicorn turned towards Fluttershy. “Hey,” she said. “You…doing okay now?”

Her friend gave a nod. “…yes…much better…” And then she was hugging Sunset, hard enough that Sunset could feel the trembling in her frame. “…thank you, Sunset…thank you so much for what you did…” she whispered. “…I’m sorry we didnt take your warnings more seriously…”

She hugged Fluttershy back, willing as much warmth and strength into the gesture as she could, unsure how else to help her. What had happened at lunch had rattled all of them, herself included. “I wasn't explaining it the best way, Fluttershy. It's not always easy, trying to tell you guys about magic because the words just don't exist for you, and I’m trying to explain stuff that ponies…don't really have to be told. We just…know it, by growing up in Equestria. So I’m sorry too.”

With a wince, Sunset added, “Your brother is…honestly, a slime…but I wasn't going to let you just go off on him…I’m just glad no one got hurt. Grizzly bears are no joke.”

Nodding, Fluttershy squeezed even harder. “It was your voice. You…you interrupted me, interrupted all of the anger I felt, the way I just wanted Zephyr to stop, to make him stop being so smug about all of the things he does and feel the way he makes others feel. The way he makes Dashie feel. When that happened…the part of me that wasn't angry could…do something. And then…”

“And then Bon-Bon put him on the floor and my magic did the rest…” Sunset concluded, recalling the way the energy inside her had reacted, latching onto the power that threatened to consume Fluttershy…how it felt like it was rushing through her veins like a raging river, before she directed it into the faint, ghostly leyline-like conduits that she sensed in the earth beneath the school.

“…yeah…but you kept me from hurting him. So thank you, Sunset…”

Fluttershy sounded so down, so upset that Sunset squeezed her around the shoulders. “I was just trying to be a good friend like you girls taught me. I know you’d have done the same for me in an instant.” A hint of a smile quirked at her friend’s features, prompting her to go on. “And we know what your powers are now—and I’ve got to say, they're pretty neat. Shape-shifting is not an easy magic, at all. Even in Equestria, its very limited, takes a lot of power, and decades of training, and that's just for little changes.”

That did it—talking about animals usually did, with the soft spoken girl, and this was no exception. “I do like the idea of being able to understand them better…and what better way than turning into them…”

Patting Fluttershy’s shoulder encouragingly, Sunset looked up to find Flash watching with a curious, almost excited expression. “What?” she asked.

“What about interrupts?”

The former unicorn’s brain did a weird little stuttery, confused stop. “What are you talking about?”

Her ex made a hand motion. “Fluttershy just talked about how you stopped her by breaking her concentration. By interrupting her.”

Where in the name of a diamond dog’s mangy hind end was he going with this? “…..yessss…?” The redhead furrowed her brows. “Magic often takes some level of focus…the more complicated the effect, the greater the concentration required.”

He grinned. “So why not take a page from video games then, and figure out ways to break the concentration of anyone trying to use magic on us? Could do slingshots, like I said, but with packets of chili powder, or water balloons filled with stuff, or the smoke bombs they let Trixie carry? Not to win, but to make it hard for them to use magic on us. Could even tell people to start carrying pepper spray on them, or even just ziplocs of dirt. Get things in their eyes, their noses…”

“Oh!” Pinkie jumped up and down. “Air horns! Glitter bombs! Strobe lights!”

“Chalk powder—there’s plenty in the gym supplies,” Rainbow added.

“We could use coffee filters and tea bags,” Rarity suggested. “Even liquids like soap or vinegars would blind and disorient an attacker. And none of those things are against school rules,” she noted.

Sunset’s mind raced, taking what they were talking about and combining it with their earlier suggestions in new ways. “Okay…yeah…that could work. If you guys can find places around school to store that kind of stuff, and maybe teach people how to hit what they're throwing at…”

Dash broke in. “Have Fastball help. He’s got a great arm and he's worked training before. It's not baseballs but the idea is the same.”

Lyra is taking frantic notes in her notebook. “Okay. What about sports equipment? We could keep things like bats and hockey sticks for the older kids, just in case of close fighting. Or some kind of shield?”

With a sullen sort of twist to her features, Applejack speaks up, “Ah still think this is a terrible idea…but…instead of weapons…what about sports armor? Football gear, lacrosse padding, hockey stuff? Ain't nobody gonna question that in a school or a locker, and no risk of folks thinking it means they can beat a monster ta a pulp with it?”

“That’s…that’s…we could try that, yeah,” Bon-Bon said. “People won't be as happy with it, but…if we use some of Lyra’s prepper info to create defensive points in the school, places where we can make a stand, that’d probably work.”

Sunset took a few steps back, letting the rest of the girls brainstorm with their other friends, mostly so she could crack open the binder Lyra had handed her. If the other students were organizing their own plan in case of another incident with magic and magical beings—and now that they’d been firmly directed away from fighting like soldiers, it wasn't a bad plan—then that was one less detail about protecting the school that Princess Celestia’s former pupil had to worry about. That meant she could focus more of her time and energy on being a magic tutor…and on figuring out just what was going on with the dark magic and Twilight’s school…

She’d do anything to prevent her dark dreams and visions from coming true.

Anything.

So now we have Fluttershy's powers to add to the arsenal alongside AJ's strength and Rainbow's speed. And we can all enjoy the mental image of Fluttershy hulking out into a really ANGRY bear and scaring her obnoxious creep of a brother so bad he probably peed himself a little.

This is where I freely admit that when I was in fourth grade, I got into a brand new book series that was teased in scholastic magazine. It had all the things guaranteed to make my weird as hell kid-self in the mid 90s go ape. Aliens. Action. Kids who gained the power to turn into animals. A badass girl who earned the right to be called "Xena: Warrior Princess" by her fellow shape-shifting guerillas. Even a little freaky horror (I was huge into Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark, so the whole bit with the ants? Pfft. Barely registered as nightmare fuel.) I know now, of course, it was some bleeding heart attempt to traumatize kids to the "horrors of war" to "make them think twice about those things later in life," but honestly? Most of the kids reading them didn't give to fucks about that. They were here for the shapeshifting, the corny jokes, and the "teens kicking the shit out of invading aliens as lions and tigers and bears."

Turns out, even as a world weary adult....Thats still the part of the series I care about. Oh, and that Rachel and Tobias were sweet together. I will die on that hill. I'm not normally a shipper, but fuck the universe, I will DIE on that hill.

Anyway. Where was I?

Right.

Anyway, for those of you unaware (pretty much anyone under 30 at this point), I'm talking about Animorphs.

Why am I rambling about that?

Honestly? Because I totally modeled Fluttershy's primary power after them. Right down to the fact that I intend it to be a rather...disturbing process to watch. Or listen to.

The choice of her turning into a bear....yup. Reference. My favorite badass in Animorphs was the blonde badass whose preferred combat form was a massive grizzly bear. And one of pony Shy's animal friends is a big bear. seemed like a good choice to me. :P

Even the chapter's title is a nod to the best part of the short lived pretty terrible animorphs tv show--the themesong. It was the 90s. Everything had a fucking amazing intro/themesong.

Anywho.

As for the rest....

You kids didn't REALLY think the rest of CHS would be sitting on their hands, did you?" Oh hell no. Its a high school. I once heard shit like magical girls and sentai explained as "look. Teenagers are old enough to be physically, and mentally capable of being effective fighters, but too stupid and immature to understand the concept of their own mortality, and too full of themselves to think anyone could be better than them."

There's a reason teens do impulsive stupid things. :P

In this case, they don't want to be victims anymore. Not that I blame them. Its human nature to hit back. Its how we got to the top from our place smack dab in the middle of the food chain. Instead of rolling over and dying like good little monkeys, we smacked the tiger in the head with a stick or a rock until the cost of eating one of us was higher than it wanted to pay.

Or... as one of my favorite stories over on the Humanity, Fuck Yeah! reddit is fond of saying:

BEHOLD!
Humanity!

Looks like poor Sunny might have a larger issue on her hands than she's ready for.

But then again...maybe so will the bad guys.

After all, what happens when the entire herd of sheep turns out to be wolves in disguise?

Bad day for the mountain lion, that's for sure.

And yes. Zephyr is a little creep. I left it vague because its not important WHAT he did, only that he acted like a little creep with utter disregard to Rainbow's feelings, and it made her oldest friend angry.