Cold rain tapped on the closed window, drumming a repetitive rhythm into the man’s head. He was sitting on the edge of his military grade cot, shuffling a deck of cards. A small smile was just visible by the dim ceiling light and he was quietly humming. He stopped what he was doing and put his cards in a small, black metal box on his small bedside table and turned out his light. He lay down in the cot, pulled the thin blanket over himself and started to drift into sleep. There was a sharp knock at the door. The man didn’t bother rolling over, or even getting up. He heard the door creak open.

“Oh, you’re already in bed… sorry” a female voice whispered gently. The man groaned.

“Just got in. What do you need?” the man said quietly, not moving.

“I just wanna talk, Char” the girl said softly. She closed the door behind her, and flicked on the light. Char hadn’t get gotten used to the dark, so the light didn’t come as too much of a shock to him. He rolled over and sat up. His eyes focused on the girl standing by the door. Her wings were curled behind her back, but Char could still see the dark purple tips poking out. He grinned.

“I don’t see why they gave you up. You’re gorgeous, Nightshade” he said in a slightly mocking tone.

“Oh, you’re such a charmer” she giggled sarcastically. She walked over to his cot and sat on the side. It creaked, and Char and Nightshade decided it would be best to move to the floor.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Char said, falling to the floorboards.

“Where do you keep getting the money?” Nightshade’s tone turned serious. Char stopped smiling.

“Huh? You know where it comes from” he said, pointing at the metal box on his bedside table.

“Have you been stealing again?” Nightshade pressed. Char shrugged.

“Have we had enough to eat?” Char asked. Nightshade nodded.

“Then yes” Char said bluntly. Nightshade put her hands on her hips. Char looked her up and down. From her dark purple hair and viridian eyes, down her slender body, right to her feet.

“You know how we feel about crime, Char” she said.

“Whatever we need to do to survive” Char shrugged. Nightshade sat down next to him and put her head on his shoulder.

“We can’t lose you, you mean too much to us…” she said, closing her eyes. Char pulled her into a hug.

“I’m not planning on getting caught with anything” He chuckled. While he was holding Nightshade, he looked over at the small mirror adjacent to him. His ash grey hair came halfway down the back of his neck. His most notable feature (if someone was looking for it, that is) was his eyes, which were grey, with 3 curved red lines going from the outside of the iris to the pupil in a spiral. His dark grey horn protruded from his forehead.

“That wasn’t the only thing, was it” Char asked. Nightshade pulled away.

“Sharp as ever. There’s only one more thing…” she smiled mischievously. She tapped the floorboards twice with her foot. The resulting sound echoed through the room. All of a sudden the door opened and three young children, a boy and two girls, ran into the room, followed by two teen boys, three teen girls, and an older woman who looked to be in her 30’s.

“Happy Birthday, Char!” a young girl with light blue hair jumped on him, knocking him onto the ground. The other young children soon followed, and soon Char was a seat for them.

“Happy Birthday!” the boy grinned, while the remaining girl continued to suck her thumb.

“Amber, Dawn, Mist! Let him breath!” the older woman called out. Amber, the little girl with bright red hair who was sucking her thumb, quickly got up. Mist, the young boy groaned and stood next to Char. Dawn, the girl with light blue hair simply rolled off of him. As soon as Char sat up, Amber quickly moved to his lap.

“Jeez…” Char grinned, running his hand through his hair. Everyone sat down in a circle on the floor. The older woman spoke first.

“It was just under 18 years ago that you were left on the doorstep of this house. Over that time, I’ve watched you grow from an energetic boy, to a fine young man. People have come and gone from here, but you treated them like family. You were, are, and always will be one of the greatest additions to the Hope’s Peak Orphanage” she smiled, she brushed her long brown hair out of her eyes, and her brown wings flicked out and then back in. Char smiled.

“Thanks Gem” Char grinned, keeping hold of the quiet girl on his lap.

“Now… these 5 want to say something” Gem said, turning to the five teenagers standing to the side. The two boys, and two of the girls looked like they were forced to be there, and the last girl looked like she felt slightly awkward.

“Tidal, Wolf, Leafa, Ren and Duskshine, what do you want to say?” Gem smiled sweetly, and Nightshade cracked her knuckles. Duskshine, a small unicorn with a green horn and dark brown hair tied back in a ponytail, stepped forward.

“H-happy Birthday, Char” she stammered nervously. Char chuckled. The other four teens nodded, muttering ‘Happy Birthday’. Tidal was an Earthian with deep blue hair that stopped halfway down her back and light blue eyes. Wolf was a Pegasi with similar coloured hair as Char that stopped halfway down his neck, but his eyes were a light brown. Leafa was an Earthian with dark green hair which flowed down to her knees and dark green eyes. Ren was a unicorn who had a red horn, blonde hair that stopped halfway down his neck, and hazel eyes.

“Thanks, you lot” Char smiled. Nightshade, who had returned to her spot next to Char, rested her head on his shoulder. Leafa and Tidal giggled at this, and Gem stared daggers at them.

“Now that the formalities are over, I can get to the main point” Gem said seriously, looking at Char. Confused, he continued to watch Gem without saying a word. She pulled a small wooden box out from behind her. The box was about 1 foot x 1 foot. She slid it over to Char, who slid it in front of himself. Hesitantly, he lifted the lid and peered inside. He pulled out two black gloves that had a grey emblem on the back. The emblem was of the number 1, surrounded on the left and right by Pegasus wings.

“Those are so cool… Little fancy, but so cool” Ren admired, as Char slipped them on. As soon as both were on, Char felt his magic focus exponentially.

“They’re magic items… Attuned to me” he said with a hint of surprise. Everyone wondered where they came from. He took them off, and pulled out the second item in the box. It was an envelope with Char’s name written in cursive on the front. He opened it neatly and read the letter.

“Dear Char,

Your mother and I are sorry we had to leave you, but IF you learn about our situation, you will realise that it was for the best. While we couldn’t provide for you, we always wished for your wellbeing, and know that you will have grown into an intelligent and cunning man.
We have asked Gem to give this to you on your 18th birthday, as our gift to you. We haven’t been the best parents, or even adequate parents… I’m not sure we could even be called parents at all. Never the less, we still love you. No doubt you saw the gloves? Those were created by someone very special to us all for you specifically. We’ll let you figure out who that is.

As to the next two items, both will be equally useful in the future. If you’re anything like you’re mother or I, you’ll have opened this letter second. If not, then you already know what they are. Good luck in the future and I hope we get the chance to meet.

Love Dad.”

Char finished reading the letter out loud. Gem put her hand on his shoulder.

“They still love you, Char, but I’ll understand if it still leaves a bitter taste in your mouth…” she said, but Char smiled it off.

“I’m more indifferent than bitter. They had their reasons, and I’ll find them out eventually” he shrugged. He placed the letter to the side, and pulled out a large object covered with a black cloth. He removed the cloth to find a box made out of grey metal.

“Wow, your parents sure liked boxes” Nightshade laughed. Char chuckled. He opened the box and his eyes widened.

“Well… these are certainly unexpected…” Char carefully pulled two grey wrist cuffs out of the box. They looked a little too big for his wrists, but he tried them on anyway. They shrunk to fit his wrists.

“Groovy” Char grinned as everyone stared at them.

“His parents must have been rich!” Tidal marvelled. Char noticed something glint in the bottom of the box. He reached in and his hand touched another two cold metal objects. He pulled them both out.

“Whoa! These aren’t something you see every day!” Char cocked his head to the side. He was holding two black handguns with slits instead of holes at the tips.

“Oh my god! Those are Class 1 Arcane Boosters!” Duskshine squealed.

“Rare, I take it?” Wolf asked, almost laughing.

“More like Fabled! Last I heard only 3 pairs were made, and one of those went missing” she said. She had crawled over to char and was staring intently at the guns. Char put them down and moved his attention back to the bigger box. He pulled belt holsters out. Dusk looked up and realised how close she was to Char. She went bright red and quickly backed up.

“You right there?” Char laughed, and everyone joined in. Dusk was looking away from everyone. The last thing in the big box was another letter.

“Another letter. Is it something like: ‘Psyche! We aren’t your parents!’?” Char chuckled. He pulled it out and carefully opened it. He read it out:

“Dear Recipient,

We would like to inform you that you have a place saved for you for the entrance exams for Saint Celestia’s Academy. The exams will be held on the 13th of December at 8:00 in the morning. Please be 1 hour early so we may seat you accordingly.

Regards,

Princess Celestia & Princess Luna”

No-one said anything for a minute as they allowed the information to sink in.

“Uhm… I’m… uh… Well… Shit” Char stammered, unsure of what to say.

“Isn’t that the school that all the prominent nobles and genius’ get into? The one that pretty much sets you up for life?” Gem asked, her eyes wide.

“Yeah… It’s the one I’m taking the flight aptitude test for tomorrow” Nightshade said unable to hide the massive smile on her face. She pulled Char into a hug and squealed loud enough to cause him to attempt to block his ears.

“Okay, okay, I get it. Can you let me go before my ribs puncture my lungs?” Char laughed, and Night let go.

“Since we have to get up early, I suggest we hit the sack. Yes, I agree with that” Char said, answering himself. Gem laughed, and everyone stood up.

“We’ll see you in the morning then” she said, kissing him on the forehead. Everyone said their goodnights, and Char finally collapsed onto his cot and fell into a nightmarish sleep.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Princess Luna looked disturbed as she sipped on her coffee.

“Are you alright, sister? You’ve been nursing that cup for about 20 minutes now…” Princess Celestia, who was wearing a white nightgown and carrying a pillow, asked. Luna sighed.

“No… Something is bothering me… Every so often, I keep being launched into the dreams on one person… And those dreams are really starting to get to us…” she hung her head. Celestia came and sat by her sister, placing the pillow on her shoulder and resting her head on it.

“Well, would it help to talk about it?” She asked, yawning.

“Blood” Luna said quietly, glaring into the bitter, brown beverage.

Author's Note

Because I've been away for so long, I figured I should apologise greatly to you guys. And what better way to do that then with another story idea I've been tossing around in my head!

Enjoy everyone!