The Legend of Fauna

        When Sombra had finally gathered his thoughts about the course of what in the actual hell had just happened, he realized his jaw had been dropped the whole time. He looked at Twilight, and then... he noticed Pinkie. He remembered what Twilight herself had said after staring at her blankly for thirty seconds.

        “Uh... yes. Yes you did. But, uh, Pinkie and I need to finish our game, so... go ahead and wait at the library.” Once again, Sombra sent another teenager home before they could protest. When Twilight was gone, Sombra found himself alone with Pinkie, and a giant can of worms.

        “So... um...” Sombra shook his head and merged with his last shade, taking the gold lined disk on.

        “Sigh. Have you ever had someone find out about a secret that you'd been keeping for eight years?” Pinkie pulled her lips in and raised her nose.

        “I'm like, fifteen, if you haven't noticed, so that would be a no...” Pinkie put her hands behind her head. “But even so, I've seen a whole lot of shit ever since I went on the road. I believe you said it yourself earlier today,

'You're almost a carbon copy. Physically and emotionally. You need extra work.'

I don't mean to act like I'm older than I actually am, but I've probably seen a worse dark side of the world than she has, which you could tell just by looking at me. With that said, I still don't have a clue as to what that was.” Sombra bit his lip. The voice mimicking was weird enough, but she wasn't wrong either.

        “I guess there's no point hiding it from you. But I need a promise from you before I say anything. You tell no one about this. Even if it would mean your death, you will bite your tong, understand?” Sombra and Pinkie stared directly at each other, neither budging an inch. Pinkie eventually bowed her head.

        “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. You have my word.” An odd saying at best, but her eyes were more than enough confirmation she wasn't lying. As young as she was, she had the eyes of a veteran. A dangerous girl. Sombra felt a sigh of relief knowing that she was on his side.

        “Very well then. Nothing I say leaves this pocket dimension, alright?” Pinkie rolled her eyes.

        “I'm a performer, not a snitch. I already gave you my word. Now, are you going to tell me, or do I need to go above you?” Sombra narrowed his eyes.

        “You're not quite in a position to make threats here, Ms. Pie.” Pinkie smiled.

        “Am I? Come now, I know who's on top in your relationship. If I can't get what I want out of you, I can certainly get it out of her. Because, like I've said, I've seen a lot Mr. Black. Quite a lot.”Holy hell, who is this girl? At the moment, he really did feel pinned in a corner.A carbon copy of Optimism might have been an understatement. She plays almost dirtier than he does.

        “Hmm. I don't like that. You're too damn much like Opty. You'll make a scary person in the future, if not already, that's for sure. Very well. Listen close because I'll only say this once. There were only two to begin with. A great war broke out back before out current calendar even started, just after the three original humans were lost to the grip of death.” Pinkie nodded.

        “Oh, I know all about that. It's all Opty ever likes to talk about. I really never knew how far the

        'dregs of humanity,'

        as he likes to call it, could be brought down to the abyss before I met him. But to sum up what you're saying, you're talking about how the war wiped out most of the earth's humans and everything was basically restarted due to Umbra's purge, and then Harmony's subsequent purge, right?” Sombra scratched at his head. Opty's voice coming from her is even more disturbing than I thought. How much does she actually know? Maybe it would be better if I had her tell me what she knows...

        “Right on the mark. So, in the interest of not wasting my breath, tell me what you know about the Great Nightfall, and I'll fill in what you need.” Pinkie shrugged and crossed her arms.

        “Makes sense I guess. The Nightfall occurred somewhere around the 970th year. The world was enveloped in a darkness that nothing could stop, even the combined might of the elements failed on multiple occasions due to their might together just not being enough to stop Umbra, who was an alien of some kind bent on killing the gods and all their creations after she merged with whatever stone she arrived to this planet on.

        After the final defenses were failing, the original continent was almost over taken until Andromeda had finally made contact with Divinity. Upon making a contract, Andromeda and the gang were given the power of the six elemental gods in an attempt to stop Umbra. However, this backfired when the Elements were just barely strong enough to imprison her and ended up imprisoning the seven of them together.

        Several years passed and eventually, they were discovered by a descendant of Umbra who had become a very kind and great Mage. Some time passed again after said Mage supposedly died until the Queens united the country and started excavating the mountain top that they rested on. After clearing the ice and snow, the Canterlot castle was built to protect the people from Umbra's influence as she still remained there in an ever weakening prison just like the rest of the elements. Without realizing it, the Queens then relocated all seven prisoners into cards to be used in the event that the country needed to be protected again.

        When Umbra's influence started to affect Luna, she was drawn to her card, and eventually trapped in it herself, letting Umbra run free in Luna's body. Once again, the elements were taken up to try and free Luna from Umbra, which only resulted in cataclysmic failure due to Celestia not being strong enough to wield all six of them at once. Specifically, I remember Opty saying that she and Monarcha were not on good terms for whatever reason, and he blames her for that one.” Sombra shook his head.

        “Yeah, Celly says that too. In her sleep. A lot. That was probably the most emotionally damaging event that she's ever been through. Well, maybe a few years back might top it, but I haven't spent fifty years hearing about it when I can't sleep. Keep going. If you know that all, then you probably know more.” Pinkie furrowed her brow.

        “Let's see. Years pass after Celestia is severed with her ties to the elemental gods by blood. The elements then start to recharge until Amethyst foresees a literal apocalyptic event within the next twenty years. One of the daughter's oldest sons is eight at this time, and the elements realize that they are connected to him. Through careful planning, the elements reach out to this boy and start to speak with Celestia again through him. Around that time, They learn of Luna's return, and the new Divine human who

        'hails from another plane'

        as Opty called it. Planning and three more years pass, and all six elements have chosen bearers for their power who would serve to share their destiny. Until the time came to send them out, the most compatible of the six were given to the children in the royal family who had divine right to use the elements, or the eldest sons of each daughter, save for Monarcha, who was never very compatible with any of the children.

        Around the time I turned eight, Opty and I were connected to the point that he could watch what was happening in my life, and was not pleased with it. He then possessed the most compatible of the daughter's sons and had that son send him my way in a simple envelope. After that, I spent the next seven years on the road with Opty. So here we are now.” Sombra started to scratch his chin.

        “And that explains what happened to Jupiter when he disappeared for a week when he was nineteen. But did Optimism never tell you about the contract?” Pinkie shook her head.

        “Nope. I've asked him about the contract before, but he always did his roundabout skirting until he managed to change the subject. What is it?” Sombra took a deep breath.

        “So, the contract is the deal with Divinity that Andromeda made to ensure that Humanity would survive no matter what. Two females will be chosen every two thousand years that the earth revolves around the sun. These two women were to act as envoys for Divinity's power, each one receiving an amount of his unlimited power, or really all the power that even a modified human body could hold, thus the transformation into Ascended. They become ageless after twenty-five, save for Celestia who was already twenty-eight when she received her power, making them sentinels for the world to keep it on track.

        Celestia and Luna Ascended in the year 1020. However, the time at which the queens were chosen came long before that. Almost twenty years before that. One child who was chosen has already Ascended. To keep her safe, she was relocated to the far north and now resides there with supervision. The other one though? We keep a very close eye on her.” Pinkie's eye widened.

        “You don't mean!?” Sombra nodded. “So... that presence I felt... that was really?” Sombra nodded again.

        “You have literally been a witness to the presence of a god, and the High god at that. However, this isn't the first time I've seen a god possess someone.” Pinkie started rubbing at her temples.

        “Really? Twilight? Of all the women on this earth, the unstable, just short of being as crazy as I am, and bearer of Yamirix, was also chosen to be a daughter? What in the hell are you going to do?” Sombra shook his finger at her.

        “Oh, ho, ho, no. Not me, us. If Divinity wanted to tell me that while I was alone, he would have done so.” Pinkie sat down in a cross-legged position.

        “Sigh. I can't argue with that. So why me? I've got an even more messed up background and family life than she does.” Sombra lowered his head and raised an eyebrow.

        “For as insightful as you are, you really just don't get who you are, do you?” Pinkie squinted at him.

        “Who I am? What do you mean?” Sombra smiled.

        “Hmm. Now I think I get why he showed up with you here. Let's continue our duel. I'll tell you flat out if you can't take a step back and figure it out yourself.” Pinkie let a puff of air out of her mouth, rolled on her back, and jumped up to her feet, bouncing like a boxer.

        “Whatever old man.” She started to smile. “I hope you've got something fun for me to see, because, as AJ put it,

        'Ah've got one hell of a trap!'” Sombra scratched at the back of his head.

        “The fact that you can mimic voices almost down to the tone is pretty unsettling Pink. But... Let's see if I can't teach you something today! I Draw!” Sombra was beginning to feel his own soul art slip out. Man, I haven't been this excited for a duel in a long time. It's almost too bad that I'm not using my deck... He thought. With glowing blood red hand, he drew his card, knowing what it was as soon as he touched it.

        “You know, a funny thing about soul art; it works regardless of what deck you're playing with. If you think and will it hard enough, you'll draw just what you're looking for! I activate my spell card, Xyz Energy! I can remove an Xyz material from a monster I control to target and destroy one monster you control!” Pinkie smiled and wagged her finger.

        “Ah ah ah! Silly spell cards won't do anything for you here! Trap open, Fireworks Display Case! If my opponent would target a monster I control with a spell card effect, I can negate that effect and draw a card!” Alright... here goes! That last trap I set was a bluff, so if this isn't for the ages, I'm done here! Pinkie thought. She put everything she had into her draw, and swiped a card off the top of her deck. When she looked at her hand, she saw the faint glow of pink mist circling around it.

        “That's not the face of 'I drew what I needed.' Well, whatever, I didn't care whether or not I managed to blow your monster off the floor. All I wanted was number 39 in the grave.” Pinkie's attention was quickly drawn away from the card in her hand.

        “You what!?” Sombra smiled.

        “I activate the effect of Number 99, Hope Dragoon! I can target a Number monster in my graveyard and special summon it in defense position! Arise, Aspiring Emperor Hope!” The giant gold dragon formed a black vortex with it's left hand. The white armored gold hope returned to the field again, now in defense position.

        “Oh, right, you said that earlier. Damn it.” Pinkie grumbled.

        “You know what comes next right?” Sombra shouted enthusiastically.

        “Another Xyz change?” Pinkie sarcastically guessed.

        “That's right! For where there is darkness, there must also be light! Come forth, Shining Number 39, Aspiring Emperor Hope One!” Rather than dipping itself back in the black vortex, this time Hope covered himself in gold light, much like the last summon that was performed. His body became more human, looking much less robotic and much more heavenly. He had ten golden pendants that acted like wings and a single sword on his back as opposed to all the other versions of Hope, who gained even more swords as they grew.

        “Oh boy, even more gold and blinding light. What does this one do?” Sombra shook his head.

        “Unimportant.” Pinkie was even more confused now.

        “What? Why?” And then she understood.

        “Darkening skies threaten to consume the last glimmer of hope! Break through the black with a flash of light, Shining Number 39: Aspiring Emperor Hope the Lightning!” Black clouds appeared just above the golden Emperor, and with deafening thunder, a bolt of light struck his raised sword. In the aftermath of the brightness, the New version of Hope had evolved again, in a more traditional fashion. Bigger bulkier and more swords, taking back his old robotic appearance, but keeping all the gold and white that came with it.

        “Oh, for the love of gods, will you just kill me already? Rank up this, rank up that. Xyz here, Xyz there, more light, more number 39! I've seen enough flashy summons for one day, thank you very much.” Sombra shrugged.

        “Well, I did have another one for you, but that one was just going to be for show, since Ray V can only target and destroy, which you can negate. However, you can't negate this! Battle! The Lightning attacks Azulong!” Pinkie quickly moved to activate her trap.

        “Ah! No you don't! Two effects go off when Lightning attacks! One, you can't activate cards or effects until the end of the damage step, and two, I detach all of his Xyz material to double his attack for this one blow!” Pinkie leaned her head back.

        “Oh, for fu-” The robotic Humanoid had reached and removed both of his swords before Pinkie could finish. The deafening sound of thunder covered the field as Hope slashed into the protected blue dragon. Pinkie, taking most of the attack at full force, was sent flying again. She was quicker to recover this time, shooting flames from her feet to soften the landing.

        “Geez, I can't even finish whining? Whatever, Azulong loses one more material to keep from blowing up.” She said, pushing her hair out of her face.

        “Well, that's fine and dandy, but you've only got 1000 left, and I just happen to have 4000 attack points on the field. Number 99, end this duel!” Pinkie smiled her crazy grin.

        “Yep, that's right! This duel is over! I activate the effect of my trap card, Fireworks for the Ages! When my opponent declares an attack while I control a fireworks card, I get to discard this and blow up all their monsters! And after that happens, you take damage equal to their attack! Here comes the PARTY CANNON!” In front of Pinkie spawned a blue, red, green, and yellow barreled cannon that had bright pink wheels with Pinkie's Terran's mark on them. The blast that Hope Dragoon had fired missed Azulong completely and was absorbed by the cannon. Now charged with energy, the entire cannon looked red hot and ready to burst. Pinkie pulled a string at the back of the barrel, and out came an even larger shot.

        “Unexpected? Nah. But do I have an answer to this? No.” Sombra quickly threw up a barrier and protected himself from the blast of his own doing. He was surprised at the intensity of the fire, as it's pressure started to from cracks on even his barrier. But that's as far as it went. The blast dissipated, the monsters on the field faded, and just like that, Pinkie had overcome her challenge.

        “Woohoo! Yeah! Take that! Piss off Limestone, this one is mine!” Pinkie was shouting at the top of her lungs, ecstatic with her win, and Sombra was digging himself out of the ground. While the blast didn't break his barrier, there was enough force in it to push him into the sand stone. It was simply a testament to how many times he'd nearly and actually been vaporized in a duel that his legs could withstand fighting off that much force. After he managed to free himself, he approached the occasionally fire spewing teenager.

        “So? Did you figure it out?” Pinkie just about stopped dead in her tracks, like the high from winning just suddenly ran out.

        “Maybe? Probably not. I mean, if you hadn't tried to use a spell card, I wouldn't have won at all. You're looking over a wall that I'm just not tall enough for. I will admit, however, that I did end up pulling anime bullshit right there at the end. I really just had another Zodiac monster set, and that one can't change positions, so I was just about screwed if I didn't draw that exact card, which I have one of.” She said, twirling a piece of her cotton candy like hair.

        “I'll give you one more hint. Name one thing, just one thing that you've never seen Optimism do. And I'm not talking about something way out there, I mean an every day, normal action. Based on what you told me, I imagine Opty was actually at your side for most of those years, so you would know him better than anyone outside of a card. Maybe even better than the other elements themselves.” Pinkie stood in silence thinking. Eventually, there were even little flares that would pop and burst out of her ears every now and again.

How much control over her power does she actually have, I wonder? It happens when she intends to use it, but she also seems to just use her flame randomly.

“Uhh... he never takes off his mask?”

        “Too general. Think body language.”

        “He constantly has his middle finger sticking out whenever he gets the chance!”

        “This isn't a rude action. Opty being a dick has nothing to do with this.”

        “He... likes to pull a major Armstrong and flex with his clothes off while producing pink sparklies!”

        “I said not off the wall, are you even trying? Think about his face.”

        “Oh. He never frowns.” She said after snapping her fingers.

        “On the money. Why do you think that is? He's a sarcastic fuck, cynical to the bone, loves the darkest and dirtiest of humor you can find, laughs at pain, and enjoys destroying innocence. Knowing all that, you'd think a frown would be his default facial expression.” Pinkie's brow furrowed again.

        “That... sounds right. So, why doesn't he?” She asked.

        “Optimism. Hope, joy, laughter. It's what he embodies. If he ever told you the stories of what he used to do on his own, he went from place to place, spreading laughter and happiness to the world, with his own twisted style. He lived for it. He still does. He always finds a way to make people smile, only showing his true cynicism around those he cares about. He simultaneously loves and hates people as a whole. As much as he pretends to laugh at it, he can't stand to see people despair, and violently opposes cruelty. Opty is a man of contradictions, but if one thing is constant, he can always make someone smile.

        He told me once, that he decided to never frown one day, eons ago. He believes that even in the bleakest of situations, a smile can still brighten the world. When he wants to be a creep, his smile backfires on it self a little bit, but even when he himself is sad, he always keeps that smile on.

        'Never let hope die, and always keep your greatest weapon against despair on your face. Even a single smile can bring light to an abyss.'” Sombra scratched at his neck.

        “Sorry about that, your impressions are on a whole other level compared to mine. But the point is, you are his incarnation. Based on what my punk told me, you managed to get that blue headed little prick to smile. During a duel, no less. No ordinary person could ever accomplish that. Tell me again, what exactly caused you to get your Terran's mark?” Pinkie scrunched her face.

        “It was a fireworks show. Late in the day, a rainbow colored explosion set off a whole bunch of them, right when I was just about ready to give up on life...” She paused for a moment, looking for words to say. “It... it was like, just what I needed to see to keep going. For once, I was just, so filled with happiness, that I didn't care what would happen next... that one sight was worth all the smiles I could ever make. I didn't even notice I had gotten my mark until I went inside, on that cold November day.” For a moment, it looked like Pinkie was lost in memories, until Sombra brought her back to reality.

        “'A sight that filled you with so much joy, you thought you might burst. Such wonder in such a simple display of color.'

        Opty said he received his when he discovered an aurora in the night sky exploring the north with his parents, in a similar situation to yourself, no less. Do you understand now? He left a torch, and you're the only one who was deemed qualified to pick it up for him. Even though she's a little crazy, and still needs to grow, one day, that mean little Mage could fix this place one of these days.

        But you? You've already got the one thing you need to set your destiny in motion. You wear it proudly on your face, and even when things are grim, you can always use it to your advantage. A tool, a weapon, a shield, a sword, a smile. It might be heavy to hold sometimes, but you're the one he believes can do it.” Pinkie sat down and stared wide eyed off into the distance.

        “Geez, lay it on thick why don't ya. What are you, my father? Nah, you'd be a better dad than that friggen stone. I swear, the guy like, doesn't have emotions. Mom is even worse, she's all anger. Bah,” Pinkie jumped up off the ground, letting a smirk creep up her face. “Screw them. I don't need them to be me, and do what Opty has been trying to shape me to over all these years. Heh. I might even grow up enough to forgive them one of these days.” She stuck her hand out for a shake and gave Sombra her widest grin. “I gotta hand it to ya. I was being a real bitch earlier, and you didn't give up on me. So... thanks. For getting me out of my mood, and over that wall I guess.” Sombra grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a hug.

        “It's about damn time, you little nut.” He said, rubbing his knuckles in her hair. He released her, and she simply smiled and looked to the ground.

        “Now go stand on the spot I've marked with my magic. I'm going to release the dimension field before we get out of here, and you don't want to be out of place when the world comes back into focus.” Pinkie did as she was told, and then Sombra started to glow with his magic. The dark red circle she'd seen earlier had flipped backwards underneath his feet, and then there was a sudden vision of all the world pulling inwards. Pinkie was dazed and out of focus for a good few minutes before she managed to shake it off. When she finally did, the day was just as hot as they had left it, but the sun was just about gone from the horizon.        “Well... that was weird.” Sombra rolled his shoulder until it popped.        “Do it as many times as I have, and you get used to it. I took an entire city out of time once you know. Skipped almost two thousand years. Being frantic, powerful, and pushed to the brink can make one do some crazy things. You'll be around her more often than I will, so keep an eye out for Twilight, will ya?” He said looking her in the eyes and putting a hand on her shoulder. Pinkie turned red faced and pushed him away.        “Uh, sure. Yeah, I'll do that. W-we should go back!” Sombra frowned.        “Oh... Kay...?” Sombra snapped his fingers, and the two appeared on top of the table in the library. The rest of the girls were doing one thing or other in the main room of the library. Twilight was, as expected, reading. Rarity was scrolling through something on her duel disk and writing notes on the little virtual keyboard just behind it. Rainbow and Fluttershy were playing a game. The blue Angel was attempting to touch the shoulder of the yellow one, but making no progress. Fluttershy was wearing her metal boots too, which made it all the more sad that Rainbow had yet to accomplish her goal. Finally, Applejack was wearing some kind of monocle and tampering with her new duel disk, looking at the internals and taking pictures with her old one. Sombra noticed and crouched down to eye level with the blonde.        “What are you doing?” He said with a chilling voice. The blonde shrugged it off.        “Seein' what's different between this one and mine. As it turns out, these parts aren't even available ta the public. Like, this processor is three models ahead of the ones Ah could get a hold of online. And on top of that, Ah've never even seen this part that's connected ta the wave generator. What does it even do?” The girl looked up at him finally, and nearly jumped out of her chair. “G-gods! When did ya get so close!?” Sombra left his crouched position and jumped off the table.        “That piece is new tech that Apollo is looking into implementing. While only he and Light know the specifics of what it does, in a basic sense it acts as a conduit for opening portals. However, I didn't know he was going to have you six test it out... I'll have to talk to him about that later... For now, put it back together. I imagine Z is just about done cooking.” Applejack shrugged and said,        “Yes sir.” Then went to work putting the plates back on.        “I'm gonna go make a few calls. If he brings the food out, one of you send me a text.” Sombra made his way out of the library, and then shut the door. The room was silent, save for the sounds of Applejack snapping plates back together. It stayed that way until Zephraim came down with all the food. He had one tray in each arm, and carried another with his wings above his head.        “Dude, ask for help. You're gonna get feathers in the food.” Twilight called out, reacting to the noise breaking concentration on her book. The man rolled his eyes.        “Oh, gee, thanks for offering to help Stripes. Here, take it!” He said tossing the tray in his wings at her.        “Gah!” She flinched, freezing the tray in mid air with her magic. It took her a moment to realize she was doing it before she moved the tray to the table.        “Now, was that so hard? You could have done that at any point before I threw it at you.” Zephraim said, setting the other two trays down. Twilight stormed up to him.        “I'll have you know that-”        “You were getting around to it? Sure you were. I'll believe it when you actually do something along those lines in the future.” He took something out of his pocket and put it in between the finger she was pointing at him and her curled up index finger. “Oh, and here's this back.” He said, sneering at her. Twilight was silenced in position as he went around the room returning the others their Harmonians.        “So, how do I get her to show up in here?” Rainbow asked, pointing to the new disk she was wearing. To her surprise, Valkyriana answered.        “I'm already in doll face. You ain't gotta do anything but ask.” The digitized and pixelated Valkyrie showed up on the new disk's screen.        “Oh, cool! It's like a video game sprite.” The valkyrie looked left, right, down then up before tilting her head confused.        “A what game?” Rainbow got a nasty grin on her face.        “Oh, ho, ho, yes. You're gonna learn today...” The room collectively rolled their eyes and returned to what they were doing. Zephraim started setting the table, and Fluttershy joined shortly there after.        “It's been a long time since we did this hasn't it?” the pale Angel said.        “Too long by my count. I can't even remember the last time I cooked like this.” He replied, placing forks next to plates.        “Maybe... Didn't you do this for Dad's birthday last year?” She asked, putting spoons next to forks and cups above plates.        “Oh, that's right! Gods, he got so wasted that night... has it really been eight months since then?” He said, pausing what he was doing. Fluttershy quickly started counting on her fingers until she reached her second middle.        “Yeah, eight months... Time really does fly by, doesn't it?” She said, slowly coming to a stop with what she was doing. The two were still for a moment.        “You know... We can do this again. Or, more often than we used to at least.” He said, putting his last plate and fork down.        “What do you mean?” She asked.        “This. Eating together. Just like we used to. I won't be going anywhere for the next half year as far as I know, and you... I guess, you've moved to this town right? We might not share a house anymore, but we could still see each other every once and a while. It... it would be a shame if you just up and vanished again...” He said moving the dishes around. This time, it looked like he'd made Journian linguine and clams with Caesar salad and fresh bread. She turned to look at him        “I'd like that.” She said, smiling.        Shortly there afterward, the night progressed into another lively dinner, with even more people. Sombra returned with a straight face, not giving anything away to what his conversation entailed, and Eclipse showed up with Eris giving the excuse that he didn't have anything to eat tonight. All the same, it was a good time for everyone involved. Eventually, Applejack decided it would be best to head home, and then slowly but surely, the group dwindled one by one.        “Don't stay up too late, you've still got work to accomplish tomorrow. And if I find you sleeping in again, you and I might just have a game ourselves, now won't we?” Sombra said to his son.        “I can take you on. But, don't worry about it. I just didn't have an alarm set this time. It should all be set up before the time comes.” Zephraim replied.        “Good. I expect nothing less. Night Zeph.” He said, exiting the library.        “Night Dad.” And then the door shut. Now only the library residents remained. Zephraim started collecting empty plates, only to be joined by Spike and later, a reluctant Twilight.        “You guys can just Go to bed if you want, I can take care of this.” Zephraim said.        “Nah, I'd feel bad if I didn't help out. I always helped mom do this back home, So it's kinda routine. I'm just surprised that she decided to help too.” Spike said. Twilight groaned.        “You could do something other than make me look like an ass in front of others. Was it necessary to let everyone know that I have a plushie collection? No, no it wasn't.” Spike laughed.        “How does that make you anything but a girl? No, making you look like an ass would be me telling anyone about that time at the zoo.” He said. Twilight could feel a vein on her forehead.        “I swear to gods, if you say anything about that, I will personally see how much current it takes to kill a half dragon.” She said through gritted teeth. Spike laughed again.        “So wait, what happened at the zoo? And don't worry Twilight, everybody already knows you're an ass.” Twilight felt like she needed to let one of her hands free so she could pretend to be emperor Palpatine for a moment.        “Oh, she electrocuted a monkey for stealing her ice cream. I was like, four, so this happened about seven years ago...” He said as the group reached the top of the stairs.        “Ha! You would have.” Zeph replied. But the silence that followed was not what he expected. He looked behind him, and the other two were just staring at the dishes in their hands.        “What's up? No response, no electricity? Nothing to say to that?” Twilight sighed.        “No, you're still a dick, it's just that... That was the last time all five of us went out together. As a family.” She said, softly.        “Oh. I see...” The three put all the dishes in the sink, and Zephraim went to work on them. Spike had just about dropped in to his bed only minutes after, and Twilight took to the couch with her book. Eventually, Zephraim had had enough of the sounds of dishes alone, and decided to start up a conversation.        “So... how long has it been since you've seen them? Your parents, that is.” He asked. Twilight closed her book and put it aside.        “Together? Years. Separately, I see them both about once for a week every six months.” She said, no emotion in her voice.        “Oh... So they split up, huh?” He said, almost regretting it.        “Yeah. Things got rough. Dad never could get over the alcoholism he picked up that year, and eventually, Mom got fed up with him. She figured she'd dealt with the three of us alone well enough already, she could probably last on her own with out him. And that's what she did. I was still with the Queens when it happened, so I wasn't actually there for the event. Spike was the only one that had to hear it.        Shining had just about moved out, sleeping at a friend's house whenever he could, really only coming back to retrieve his things when necessary. He was more angry at them both than he was at just Dad, though. He's a nerdy, hopeless romantic, while simultaneously a field combat superstar. And now he lives in crystal with his girlfriend, so, I think I've seen him even less.” She sounded like she was reciting an answer to a math problem, robotic.        “Ah. That's... interesting.” Zephraim knew very little about Twilight's family life, so this was all new information. Gods, that's rough. And here I though she was just a bitch by nature...        “Do you... ever miss them?” He said, stopping what he was doing to look at her. Her expression remained like ice.        “Honestly? No. When it finally came time to live with the queens, I was more excited about leaving home. I mean, I wasn't sure about leaving Spike alone again, but since I could come back at least every quarter of the year and see him, that was enough. Shining and I have been in the same room together twice since I left the first time, so he was just about non existent in my life anyways. I don't care what happens to Dad, and Mom can handle herself. And now that he's with me, I have nothing to be concerned about in that respect.” She said. Her hand had been glowing and a few basic shapes made of magic were floating in a circle as she rolled her fingers.        “Mm... So that's just how it is?” He asked, hoping for even a little bit of emotion. She crushed the shapes in her fist.        “Yep. As far as I'm concerned, Spike is my only family.” Zephraim didn't have anything to say. He bit his lip and finished his dishes. When he put the rubber apron away, Twilight spoke again.        “You can have the bed. I think I'll be just fine here. On the couch. Alone.” Twilight was staring directly into his eyes with her dark, slitted pupils. Zephraim frowned. He was a little disappointed.        “Oh. Right, sure. Well... good night then.” The monochrome Angel made his way over to the bed on the opposite side of the room. It was a cold night in Ponyville.