The morning came peacefully for a change. No screaming, no yelling, no gunfire. Just birds.

“Nightshade, wake up or you’ll miss the goddamn train!” Gem shouted from the kitchen. A door burst open, and nightshade ran down the stairs. She barrelled into the kitchen, her bat wings flared.

“What time is it?!” She screamed. She heard a small groan.

“Seven, and thanks for the little pick-me-up” The voice said. She turned her attention to where the voice came from. She saw Char sitting at the table, a spoon in his mouth and a bowl half filled with cereal in front of him. A small smirk was forming at the corner of his lips. She looked down, and realised she was only wearing a pair of panties. Her breasts were exposed for the young man to ogle. And boy was he. She squealed and flew up the stairs back to her room.

“Good morning for you, Char?” Gem sighed to the man. He laughed.

“One of my better ones thanks for asking” He said as he tipped the bowl back and drank the milk.

“Now, when you get into the Academy, you probably shouldn’t do that. It still freaks me out how you can do that…” Gem said sternly. Char nodded.

“I know… I’ll only use it if necessary” He saluted jokingly, but Gem stared at him.

“And don’t do that again, or I’ll pile drive you” She said. He knew she wasn’t joking, and gulped. Nightshade walked back down the stairs, this time dressed in a dark blue top, and a pair of black jeans. She was wearing a pair of worn out white runners and was wheeling an average sized bag behind her.

“Got anything for the go, cause we gotta get going?” Night asked, as Gem threw her an apple.

“We’re coming with you guys until you get in” Gem smiled, as Char stood up. He was wearing a white shirt with several green splotches on it, and a pair of grey pants that had been modified with a specific pocket for easy access to his metal case that held his cards. The most noticeable change in his outfit was the leather straps around his waist and left thigh. As he turned around to pick up his backpack, Night saw the two Arcane Boosters holstered in leather holsters on his back, just above his hips. She also saw the two bracelets on his wrists, and the fingers of one of the gloves hanging out of his pocket. His worn out grey sneakers had nothing out of the ordinary.

“Nice mods” she remarked, as Char turned around. Clattering and shouting was heard from upstairs. Before Gem could shout out, she was interrupted.

“SHUT UP AND GET DOWN HERE!!! AND IF I HEAR ONE MORE PEEP OUT OF ANY OF YOU UNTIL WE’RE ON THE TRAIN, SO HELP ME CREATOR, I’LL SHOW YOU A 'FIREBRAND’ LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE!!!” Char yelled. The screaming stopped, and the clambering became more frantic until everybody in the house had bolted downstairs, and now stood in a line. The only one missing was Amber.

“I’ll go get her, can you get everyone ready?” he asked Gem, who simply nodded. He walked past the line of teens and kids and up the stairs. He opened the third door on the right, and saw the little girl standing on the edge of her crib, holding the side.

“Hey princess, we gotta get going. Let’s get you changed” He smiled sweetly. He heard a chuckle from behind him.

“You’re so cute when you’re in dad mode” Nightshade laughed. Char rolled his eyes as he picked Amber up. He quickly changed her from her pyjamas into a bright pink dress with a large sunflower on the front. He picked her up and she wrapped her arms as far as she should around his neck. Nightshade and Char made their way downstairs, where everyone now had their luggage by the door, courtesy of Gem.

“Let’s get the hell out of here” Gem sighed. Everyone quickly grabbed their luggage and rushed out the door.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

20 minutes of walking later, the group arrived at the train station.

“See you later, Anvil!” Nightshade hollered, and Char softly hit her on the head.

“I agree, but lower the volume a touch” He raised an eyebrow. Night laughed sheepishly. Char walked up to the woman at the ticket station.

“9 returns, and 2 one-ways to Canterlot, thanks” He said, pulling a note out of his bag.

“Char? Is that you?” the woman said, quickly ringing up the tickets. Char looked up and recognised the woman.

“Oh shit… Ivy? Damn it’s been a while” He grinned. Their hands clasped together across the counter.

“Word travels quickly, man. Congratulations and good luck in the station” Ivy laughed, as she handed him the tickets. Before Char could ask what she meant, she had ushered the person behind him to come forward. Confused, he headed back to his group and handed out the tickets.

“Alright, stick together, and if anyone tries to take your wallet or bag, you yell for me or Gem” Char lectured. Everyone but Gem nodded, and they all entered the station. All of a sudden, around forty people all turned and cheered. Two men and two women walked up to the group.

“Ey-yo man, we heard da news” one of the men, a small bald tattooed man, said. He pulled Char into a hug. He was wearing a white singlet with sagging blue jeans.

“Congratulations, you two” one of the women, a slender woman with long blonde hair, said as she pulled Nightshade into a bone crushing hug. The other woman said nothing, simply typing away on a smartphone. She was wearing a simple black business suit, and her long black hair was tied back into a ponytail.

“It won’t be the same without you guys” the last man said. He was wearing a black hoodie with blue jeans. His short brown hair was messy. He held out his hand, and Char took it.

“You need anything there; you go to this place and speak to this person. Show them your badge, and they’ll hook you up with whatever you need” the man said as he palmed off a note. Char nodded.

“We’ll remember you guys when we’re rich” Night chuckled, and everyone but the suited girl laughed.

“We’ve used the allotted time, we need to get back to work” she said, sighing.

“Jeez, always so stingy… alright, we gotta go. Good luck you guys” the man with the hoodie said. They all left, followed by the forty or so other people.

“Never thought the faction would come see us off, heh” Char laughed.

“And we’d better get on the train, or else we’re going to be seeing them again real soon” Gem said, giving Char a small shove towards to train that had pulled in.

“We’d better find a room, or I’m gonna be super pissed for the entire trip” Night said, frowning, and pushing past Char in the hunt for a good room.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After a 3 hour journey, the train pulled into a station. Mist looked out the window.

“We’re in Ponyville now” he marvelled as he stared out the window in awe.

“Looks cool. I’m gonna head to the food cart, I’m starving” Char said. He stood up and began to walk out the door, when Nightshade grabbed his arm.

“You haven’t finished with me, yet” she said, pointing at the chess board in front of her. He sighed and moved his rook three squares forward.

“Checkmate” he winked, opened the door and walked out. Night sat back and swore under her breath. The teenagers laughed loudly, and Night glared at them.

“You can’t beat him Night… How do you think we survived for the first 10 years?” Gem giggled as she took a sip from her bottle of water, and continued to entertain Amber, who was sitting on her knee. Tidal, Dusk, Ren, and Leafa were all sitting and talking with each other. Dawn was looking at the chess board, and Mist was still looking out the window. Wolf stood up.

“Ugh, I’m gonna go see who I can meet out there” he groaned, as he stretched. He left the room, and wandered down the hall. He made his way into the food cart, and saw char standing in front of the buffet.

“God, there’s no-one interesting on this train” he complained as he walked up to Char. Char shrugged.

“What did you expect? My guess would be the most colourful characters come from The Anvil” Char chuckled. Wolf laughed. He grabbed a plate and started to pile food onto it. Char grabbed a bottle of water and walked over to a table. He set his plate down and waved wolf over. Wolf grabbed cutlery and his own bottle of water and walked over.

“So man, you’ve never told us how you got so good at gambling. Spill” Wolf said as he sat down and started to pile food onto his fork. Char made a small cut into the schnitzel on his plate.

“I’m not good at gambling. I’m just lucky… and perceptive” Char grinned as he raised the fork to his mouth and ate the chicken on the end. Wolf shook his head, and started to talk about random things as they continued to eat. 20 minutes later, they felt the train lurch forward as it continued its journey.

“And we’re off again” Wolf sighed as he held his head. Char reached over and patted his head.

“You’re really not good with this stuff, are you?” he sighed. Wolf shook his head, and then raised it.

“I’m fine. Just need some water” he said. Char slid his bottle over to him and Wolf skulled the entire thing.

“Much better” he said. Char smiled. Wolf pointed at him.

“Could you show me how you shuffle again? I still don’t really understand how you do it with one hand…” Wolf asked. Char nodded and took the metal box out of his pocket.

“Sure, I don’t really know how to explain it, but if you follow my fingers you should be able to see how I do it” he said as he slid the deck of cards out of the box. He began to slowly show Wolf how he shuffled. About 35 minutes later, he stopped when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head and was met by two girls who were standing behind him, smiling. Wolf smirked.

“How can we help you, ladies?” He smiled, instantly looking better than he did earlier.

“You seemed pretty interesting. We’ve never seen anyone like you” one of the girls said, grinning. She had long, bright red and yellow striped hair, and seemed to give off an air of control. The other one had long, Ice blue and white swirled hair. The Red haired one seemed to be trying to read Char, staring at him with her light blue eyes, while the Blue haired one just seemed interested in the cards he was holding, her bright green eyes were following his hand movements as he shifted the cards around.

“Well, why don’t you sit with us, and we’ll try to answer anything you ask” Wolf asked, grinning slyly. The girl with red hair sat next to Char, and the girl with blue hair sat next to wolf.

“I’m Sunset Shimmer, and this is my friend, Blizzard” the red haired one said, smiling.

“Well, I’m Wolf, and this is… well, he’s sort of my brother… Char” Wolf said, pointing at Char, who nodded and smiled.

“You don’t talk much, do you?” Blizzard asked, looking at Char.

“Not really” he smiled. Sunset smirked.

“I bet 20 bits I can get more than two words out of you at a time by the next hour” she held out her hand. Char shook it.

“You lose” he grinned and pointed at the clock. As she looked, the clock ticked over, reading 4 pm. She sighed and took out her wallet.

“Bloody technicalities” she laughed, as she put the note on the table. He picked it up and looked at it for a second. Char waved over a waiter.

“Can we get a three Chimera’s and a coke?” he handed him the note. The waiter nodded and scurried off to the back.

“What’s a Chimera?” Blizzard asked. Wolf grumbled something about not being able to drink.

“A strong Cocktail” Char shrugged. Wolf answered any questions they had for a few minutes, until the waiter came back. He placed the coke down in front of wolf, and he placed a tray down with 3 tall glasses on it. They had a combination of red, green, blue, purple, orange and grey liquids in it, with a little umbrella. The waiter placed them in front of the girls and Char, and left. Char sipped his and sighed, remembering his old job. The girls slowly took a sip, and their faces lit up.

“Well, you weren’t wrong… that’s nice” Sunset smiled. Blizzard nodded.

“And Strong” she added. They finished their drinks as they all talked. Wolf did most of the talking, while Char mainly listened. After another ten minutes, he saw a blue haired man approach Wolf from behind and tap his shoulder.

“You enjoying chatting up our girls?” he asked, glaring at Wolf. Behind him was another man with orange hair. Sunset sighed.

“God damn it, Flash… we can have whatever friends we want” she glared at the blue haired man.

“We do have lives, Carbon” Blizzard turned to glare at the orange haired man.

“When they’re buying you drinks and staring you up, I’d say they want to be more than friends” Flash stated, now glaring at Char.

“Winning personality there, bud. It’s called being friendly. But I can understand why you’d be so protective over them” Char said glaring back.

“What was that, you little shit” Carbon said, stepping forward, and Blizzard stood up.

“Let’s not make a scene here. Don’t want the train guards here” Char said, sitting back in his chair and picking up his card case. Carbon growled and stepped back. Flash chuckled.

“Kid’s got some brains” he said, smirking.

“I’m pretty sure we’re the same age” Char deadpanned. Sunset sighed and stood up. She pulled a pen out of her pocket and took Chars arm. She wrote two numbers on it.

“Call us some time, we’ll do lunch” she smiled, and Blizzard nodded.

“Will do” Wolf grinned, and Char smiled. Flash and Carbon frowned as the girls joined them, and dragged them away. Char and Wolf decided it would be best to go back to the room. As they were heading back, they came across a large congregation around a cabin.

“Dude, she hasn’t lost a hand yet!” a man said in the audience.

“There has to be a trick or something” a girl said. Curious, Char wound his way through the crowd. Naturally, Wolf followed him. As they made it into the cabin, they saw an older gentleman sitting across from a younger girl. The girl had lavender hair with a pink stripe, and was sporting a purple sweater vest with a white shirt underneath, and a skirt that was a slightly darker shade of purple. On the table was a poker set up. The gentleman seemed to be sweating bullets, while the girl was calm. He threw down his cards.

“Argh, I can’t win…” he sighed and stood up. He put 20 bits on the table and left. People cheered as he walked past them. Char grinned.

“Mind if I sit in for a hand?” he asked. The girl nodded and pointed at the seat the gentleman was just in.

“What’s your name?” he asked as she started to shuffle the cards.

“Twilight Sparkle. What’s yours?” she asked sweetly. As she put the cards down to reach for her wallet, Char leaned over and picked up the cards. He began to shuffle them a different way to her.

“It’s Char, and we’ll play with my shuffle” he smirked. Twilight waited for a second before shrugging. She placed the 20 bit note she just won into her wallet, and Char put the deck back onto the table. She set up and dealt quickly, and looked at her cards. To everyone else, no emotion showed on her face. To Char, however, there were small tells all over her. The slight twitch of the right index finger, slightly accelerated blinking, minute sharper breaths. He grinned, and quickly looked at the top of his cards, not allowing anyone around him to see. He smiled at the cards.

“Raise 20” he said confidently. Twilight didn’t react.

“Raise 10” she said flatly.

“Raise 10” Char said immediately after. Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“Call” she flips over her cards.

“Flush” she smiled, as she reached over for the cards.

“That’s 40 bits-” she started, but Char raised his hand.

“Not so fast, Missy. You’re basing your win off your cards. Maybe you should wait for your opponent” Char chuckled as he flipped his cards.

“Royal Straight Flush” he said. Twilight's smile dropped.

“Wait, what?” she said, leaning over to his cards. They did indeed match up to a Royal Straight Flush.

“How the…” she started, and Char leaned forward so his mouth was right next to her ear.

“50% luck, 50% knowing how to stop someone counting cards” he whispered, and she sat back, dumbstruck. The entire congregation was silent.

“That’s 40 bits” Char smirked. Twilight reached into her wallet and pulled out the notes. She handed them to Char, who just put them in his pocket.

“Better luck next time, Twilight” he smiled as he stood and walked through the throng of people, Wolf in tow.

“S-she lost?” a girl in the crowd asked.

“I need some time to think, can everyone please go?” she asked politely. Everyone began to file away. 5 girls stayed in the cabin.

“Jeez Twi… Did it really hit you that hard?” The rainbow haired Tomboy asked.

“It’s not that Rainbow Dash… How did he know I was counting cards?” Twilight asked, looking out the door in the direction he had walked.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Char and Wolf had made it back to the cabin. Char was lying across several of the seats attempting to sleep, Nightshade and Gem were sitting across from him, talking and minding the children, and the Teens had left to go somewhere. Chars’ eyes shot open just before there was a knock on the door. Gem stood up and opened the door.

“Uh, Char. There’s a girl here for you” she said, walking back into the cabin. Char sat up and recognised Twilight.

“How did you find me?” he asked, looking worriedly around the room. Before she could answer, another voice called out from the hall.

“She can get mighty hung up about the smallest things” a girl with a southern accent walked in. Her red and grey checked shirt and blue jeans added to the southern stereotype, only beaten by her Stetson.

“Hung up? About what?” Char asked, confused.

“How could you tell I was counting cards?” Twilight asked, taking a step closer.

“Oh, that all?” he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Not much to say, really… It’s really obvious to someone who’s seen it for most of their life” he said, lying back down.

“What did you mean by ‘stop someone who’s counting cards’?” Twilight asked, taking another step closer.

“Well, I noticed you had OCD. With my HPD, I was able to make small gestures that annoyed you and knocked off your concentration, such as leaving a card slightly off centre” Char explained with a sigh.

“OCD? HPD? What the hell are those?” a rainbow haired girl wearing a sports singlet and gym shorts leaned in.

“OCD is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. She can’t stand it when things don’t fit together right. HPD is Hyper-Perception Disorder. I notice the smallest things about anything, even when I don’t want to” Char explained again. Before anyone could start saying anything else, they heard a small grunt and Nightshade sighing.

“Char, she wants you again” Night said, holding out Amber. Char sat up and took Amber off Night, placing her on his knee. She grabbed his arm.

“You’re nearly four now, Tiny” Char smiled. Amber shuffled up to his body and grabbed his shirt

“Don’t care” she said softly. Gem raised an eyebrow and grinned, while Night’s jaw dropped.

“She never speaks to me… this is bullshit” she grumbled, and Char shot her a glare.

“Language” his eyes drilled holes into hers, and she backed away.

“S-sorry” Night replied nervously. Twilight looked kind of nervous as well.

“I-Is she yours?” she asked hesitantly. Char turned and looked at her blankly for a second.

“Oh, she’s not my daughter. I guess I’m the closest thing she has to a father, though, so I’ve take the role of a father” he shrugged, rubbing Amber’s head as she clung to his shirt.

“What do you mean ‘closest thing she has to a father’?” Twilight continued. This time, Gem spoke up.

“I can answer that one. This lot, and the missing 5, are orphans. Char is the closest thing they have to father, and I’ve tried being the best mother I can” she said calmly. Char and Nightshade nodded. The three girls looked at her, confused.

“Oh, I’m sorry… I should probably introduce myself. My name’s Gem, and I’m the House Mother for Hopes Peak Orphanage” she smiled warmly and extended her hand. The girls shook her hand and introduced themselves.

“I’m Twilight Sparkle, it’s nice to meet you” Twilight smiled.

“Ahm Applejack” the girl wearing the Stetson grinned warmly and took a firm grip of Gems hand.

“My name’s Rainbow Dash!” the girl with rainbow hair exclaimed, and enthusiastically shook Gems hand.

“I’m Nightshade” Night spoke up from next to Gem, and held out her own hand. The girls shook it, and turned back to Char, who had seemingly lost all interest and was now playing with Amber.

“Ah think we should leave them be for now, Twi” Applejack placed her hand on Twilights’ shoulder.

“But I still have a few more que-” she began, but Applejack and Rainbow Dash dragged her out of the room before saying their goodbyes and shutting the door. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up.

“Oh crap, that might have been really insensitive” she said with a worried look on her face. It took a second for it to sink in, before the other two realised.

“Oh crap” Twilight said, her mood sinking, and Applejack just stayed silent. Night poked her head out the door.

“Don’t worry, we don’t care” she said plainly. The three girls turned around and stared at her.

“I have amazing hearing” Night shrugged. She said goodbye and shut the door. The three girls didn’t know what to say. They walked back to their room in silence. Nightshade sat down.

“Ugh, someone reeks… shower before we get there” she complained.

“That’d be you” Gem said, looking sideways. Night raised an eyebrow and quickly gave herself a sniff. She retched and practically teleported into the bathroom.

“I’ll take one before we have to get off… too lazy now” Char sighed as he lay down. Amber had gone back to Gem. He closed his eyes, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12 hours later, the train finally stopped at the final station. Nightshade stretched as she exited the train.

“Ah, man… that took too long” she complained. Char, who had exited the train behind her, cracked his neck.

“Good view, though” he smiled, as he peered out at the castle in the distance. The teens and kids followed behind them, ushered by Gem.

“C’mon, c’mon, we need to get going or we’re gonna miss the bus to the compound” Gem said, ushering everyone forward.
After an hour on the bus they caught outside the station, the group, as well as many others, disembarked in front of the compound.

“Jeez, I didn’t think it’d be at the Palace” Dusk said with wonder. Everyone muttered their agreements. Tidal turned to Gem.

“Didn’t you head up here for a while a few years ago?” she asked. It was Char who spoke up.

“Yeah, and I never thought we’d come back” he grimaced. Gem nodded solemnly.

“That was an unpleasant trip… And I’ve been to Draconia in the middle of a war…” Gem said.

Author's Note

Birthday updates, yay! I've got plenty of ideas for all 3 stories, but putting them into words is gonna take a while.