The Legend of Fauna

“And from that day forward, I have not ever tried to challenge my sister to hand to hand combat.” The girl was pleased by the boy's story. They'd only known each other for about 25 minutes in the real world, but they had so much in common. “Geez, she sounds like a bad ass.” The boy nodded in reply. “Athena is a little insane, I think. She's not... the brightest bulb but she's a great leader and a fantastic tactician. I like to think I'm at least decent with curved long swords, but all of my siblings far surpass me in the whole combat thing. Mom always tells me I'm the 'white Mage' or whatever.” Twilight laughed.

“Is that why she dyed your hair?” The Mage boy just rolled his eyes. “No it's because she couldn't tell my hair from hers when I used to steal her combs.” They both laughed at the sarcasm, and Spike continued to shovel food down his throat. He swallowed, and then spoke up. “So, not to break up your little date or whatever, but we probably need to go meet that Zephraim guy at the station soon.” Twilight once again turned bright red and immediately stood up from the pillar style cafeteria table. Friends were unusual to her, but this was something else entirely. “Oh uh, yeah, um, right. We should, uh, go do the thing. Yeah. Let's go Spike.” Before she could escape, the Mage grabbed her hand.

“Wait, don't go just yet. At least give me your number first. It would really suck if I couldn't talk to you again.” His hand was warm and comforting. She didn't want to let go, but knew she needed to. “Oh okay. Um here.” She jerked her disk out of her left leg pocket and handed it to Zeus. He took his school disk and tapped the screens together. After doing so, the ID of the teenagers appeared on the others screen with picture, multiple forms of contact information and the standard age, birth date, eye color, information on all government issued identification cards. He handed her the disk back and she started reading through it. “So, you were born in April. I guess that makes me older than you.” The boy retorted.

“By like, three months. Come on. Oh, hey. You were born exactly on the first day of the third millennium. That's pretty cool. I wonder if you were the first person born that day.” Twilight put her finger to her mouth and thought about it. “You know, there's actually a good chance of that. My parents told me that I came out the second the clock struck midnight. Huh. Never really thought about that.” Spike had come to the other side of the table and started pulling on Twilight's shoulder. “Come on, Twilight, we need to get out of here. If we miss the train, Celestia might just kick us to Pony ville.” The other boy nodded.

“Yeah, she has a habit of beating the crap out of us when she gets mad. You should probably go. Tell my brother I said hi when you get there.” Twilight put the disk back in her pocket and waved to Zeus “Okay. I'll text you or something later. Bye!” Just as Twilight turned around, she was staring at her bed in her dorm. “I hope you managed to eat your fill.” Upon hearing the sorcerer's voice, The rage from earlier started to swell up again. “YOU!” She ran up to her desk where the sorcerer was sitting and grabbed his leather shoulder plates.

“You son of a bitch! You not being there cost me that whole damn duel! I was two cards from winning, and you were one of them, but you 'weren't on the same plane of reality'! I could have figured out who his father was! And what the hell was stupid fucking message!? You had time to write me, but not enough time to be my card!?” Andromeda adopted a stoic look, and then levitated Twilight away from him to her bed. “Now, now, Master Sparkle. There is no need for that kind of language. You enjoyed yourself did you not?” Twilight crossed her legs and her arms on the bed. “Maybe...” Andromeda propped himself off of the desk with his staff.

“And you have made a friend through this experience did you not?” Twilight receded into herself even further. “Yeah...” Andromeda hoisted her duffel bag over his shoulder. “So the feelings between the two of you would not have been established had you won. Creating a new bond is far more important than winning any game, Master Sparkle. Especially one that could grow as strong as this one has the potential to. The reason this game was created was to resolve differences between beings and establish bonds. Winning and losing have no bearing in that respect. You must understand this if you ever hope to resolve the conflict in this town we're traveling to.” He looks like my father, and sounds like my mother. Who needs parents when your ancient ancestor nags you for them?

“Yeah, so, I'm gonna try and bring this back to what's going on, we need to leave. I refuse to get on the Day queen's bad side because you two want to be late.” Andromeda put his hand on the dragon boy's head. “Worry not Master Spike, We're-” He snapped his fingers. “Already there.” Twilight blinked, then looked around. She was in the same position she was on her bed a few seconds ago, but now on a black bench inside of the train station. The entire building was made of Dragon spine's white stone like many of the buildings in upper and middle Canterlot, and ornate columns shot from the ground up to the high ceiling. The large glass screen above the ticket station displayed times of departure and arrival for several cities, but what she found odd was that their destination wasn't listed among them. Another oddity was that no train was leaving or arriving before 10. the entire station was empty, save for the tellers in their booths, giving odd looks to Andromeda. The station was lit normally, but Twilight found it hard for her eyes to adjust to the rapid change of light.

“Ack, my eyes! Geez, why is it so damn bright in here.” Spike looked around, noting the fact that he was where he wanted to be, and then retorted to Twilight's comment. “Uh, I hate to break this to you, but I don't think it's any brighter in here than it was in your room.” Andromeda took a seat next to Twilight on the bench. “It is not that it's brighter here, It's that there is simply more light energy around you. You have inherited the eyes of Yamirix like myself, and as such, your photoscopic sensitivity has been raised to three times that of a normal human. I read last night that the Vampiric humans suffer from a more severe, but similar condition, and prepared for the event you would be affected by light in this way. These were your reading glasses, but as you no longer have need for them, I have tinted them to serve as sun glasses.”

The girl took the glasses from Andromeda and quickly put them on. After doing so, she could see even more than earlier.  She could see the grain of the stone on the opposite side of the station, the slightly visible foot traffic from yesterday in the recently waxed floors, the hand prints she doubted were normally visible on the teller's desks and most unusually, a written message on the column in front and to the left of her. It was faint, but it looked almost engraved in the stone, and it was written in Harmonian runes. “Hey... Andromeda, do you see that?” She pointed at the column still holding the glasses with one hand.

“'This is the spot, she should be here waiting for you.' Hmm. I wonder who that is for. There isn't likely many who can see that, and even less that could read it. I suppose this is Celestia's doing. I imagine that is for our escort.” Twilight nodded in agreement, returning to her crossed position. “Apparently, our escort is one of her sons. But, I don't know anything other than his name.” Spike pointed at the opening doors of the station at an Angel that walked in. “Do you think that's him?”

He was wearing a white coat with metal shoulder plates on it, and several belts above it. He wore a skin tight black shirt that made all the muscles in his torso visible, and a pair of dark gray military cargo pants. He had black and dark gray soldier's boots, and a duel disk pocket hanging off of one of his belts with an odd looking dark green disk inside of it. He had two silver braces along each arm at the end of the shoulder and before the wrist, with a single dark gray fingerless glove on his left hand. Just like his clothes, his hair and wings were completely monochromatic, but in a different way. On his wingtips upward, his feathers went from black to gray to white where his joints met his coat. His hair was about the same, but the black started on the right side of his head, and faded to white on the left. He had a thin layer of gray facial hair like he had just shaved, and bright green eyes. He looked like a slightly older version of Zeus with facial hair, and if what he said about being his brother was true, then there was good reason for it. He was making his way to the tellers when he and Twilight made eye contact for a split second. She could see flecks of gold in his irises as they flicked away from her. Just like Zeus and Celestia. He had a cold look in them.

“Hmm. Must be a family trait.” Spike looked at Twilight. “What?” She waved her hand at him. “Never mind, be quiet.” She continued to study the Angel. He handed a note to the teller on the far right, closest to them, with a red wax seal on it. She couldn't see the front of the seal, but if she had to guess, It had Fauna's royal emblem on it, meaning it was from Celestia or Luna. The teller looked surprised to see it, but then she mouthed 'yes sir' and walked away from the front of the booth. Next the Angel turned toward the girl, her brother, and the sorcerer. When he came close enough to stand in front of the three, he spoke with a voice far deeper than his younger brother.

“I assume you are Twilight and Spike Sparkle?” Twilight stood up from her seat to shake the man's outstretched hand. As a whole, he was smaller than Zeus. He was about half a foot so, but still a little less than a whole foot taller than her, making him about 5'11” or 6 feet tall. He wasn't as big as his brother, but he was definitely more toned. Every muscle on his arm was visible beneath the skin and he had an iron grip. “Yes we are. You must be Zephraim Iscandor?” The man's eyes went wide, and he put a hand over her mouth and grabbed her by the waist from behind. He jumped and flew to the top of the station where a ledge protruded high above the column and stood on it, Holding Twilight over the edge by the neck and waist.

“Who told you to call me that?” Twilight looked down at the ground she was on a few seconds ago, and realized the Station was about four stories tall. “Holy shit, your little brother!” The man loosened his grip and let Twilight dangle. “I don't have any siblings, What was his name!” Fear was starting to become more intense as it was apparent that he might drop her. “Zeus Sombra Iscandor! I swear!” The man sighed and let go of Twilight. As she fell, she began to contemplate what her life had come to in the last four days. Suddenly, she received a mysterious card from the immortal queen of the country. Then she duels a fellow student where she almost ends up killing him. Next she learned that her only friends up to that point had been the Immortal queens who had practically raised her since she was nine. Then she dueled her mentor and was completely destroyed and given a mission. After that, she accidentally summoned her new mysterious card that was actually the soul of an ancient Mage who was one of the first humans to exist. Finally, she made a real friend for the first time, and now she was going to fall to her death at the hands of his brother. Was this the end of it all? Was she really going to die here? She noticed that she was still floating, but had reached the ground floor now, and was no longer moving.

“You do realize that your mother has ordered you to spend the next six months with this girl, don't you?” She turned and looked at the sorcerer who was currently keeping Twilight afloat, and talking to the Angle who had just dropped her. “You don't think I know that? What I didn't expect was my dumb ass little brother going and opening his mouth to my new client. You think he'd learn to keep his damn mouth shut one of these days. Mom is gonna wipe the floor with his ass when he gets home.” The younger boy was just as dumbfounded and wide eyed as Twilight, who was desperately holding her bladder at the moment. “What in the fuck is going on! Put me down!” Andromeda released Twilight and she landed softly on the bench.

“Ground rules, Stripes. Under no circumstances are you to ever call me by my last name in public ever again. We will be living in the top floor of the Pony Ville Golden Oak Library together and you are not allowed to be naked outside of the bathroom. I will be in and out all the time, and do not lock the windows. Do what ever with the doors. If I want the TV, I get the TV, and you don't have any say in that. In the fall when school starts up again, you will be attending Pony Ville high until the end of the semester. Got it?” Who in the hell was he calling stripes?

“You listen to me Jackass, My name is Twilight, not Stripes. I will call you what I damn well please, and I don't give a damn who hears me. I don't give a shit about being naked, and I am not about to care what you want to do with a TV. I'll make sure to lock every damn thing in the Library I can find when you're gone, And I will not go to any school at any point on a Monday or Friday, Got it, Shit head?” Instead of being mad like she wanted the man smiled and started to Stroke his chin. He then turned to Andromeda.

“I like her. You picked a fun one.” Andromeda reclined on the bench, putting his legs where Twilight had got up to yell at Zephraim from. “To be quite honest, I do believe you and she share many personality traits. However, I feel this may be a problem when she meets the other descendants. Divinity knows Valkyriana and I used to butt heads as often as we did, I can only imagine Her incarnation and mine will do the same.” Zephraim nodded. “Oh, yeah. That's for sure. Cobalt got a pretty detailed record of the other five to me yesterday night. I don't see them getting along any time soon.” Twilight was even more angry now. “Hey! I'm right fucking here! I can hear you two talking about me! What the hell is this!? How do you even know each other!?” The man took his disk from it's pocket and checked the time. He then put his disk back in it's pocket, and took Twilight's bag from the reclining Andromeda.

“We can talk about that on the train. I'm going to set him as your Navi so you can still speak with him later, but he needs to go away at the moment, and we need to get on the train.” He pulled Twilight's duel disk out of his lower pocket, and retrieved Andromeda's empty card from the extra deck slot. He then pointed the empty card at the sorcerer. The sorcerer opened one of his eyes to look at the card, and then his body flashed a light blue color, and he disappeared. The man returned the him to the extra deck slot and her disk to his pocket and started toward the loading area to the right of the teller's booths. Spike followed him without a word, and Twilight was in disbelief.

“What the? When the hell did you? What? Hey! Get your ass back here, I'm not done with you yet!” The girl chased after her brother and the Angel, and ran past the teller booth to the loading area. Just out of sight from the outside was a large steel bullet train with two cars behind the cockpit. The two were already entering the first car when she got there. She ran to catch them, and as soon as she got in, the door made a whoosh sound behind her. It shut tight and the conductor said,

“This here train will now depart ta Pony Ville. We will be taking track A301 around the outer edge of the Everfree passing Sky lake and under Cloudsdale. Passengers of the Queen, I hope you enjoy yer ride.” Inside the train was the most luxurious set of furniture Twilight had ever seen outside of the castle. The entire car was completely open with six tables lining the car in pairs from either side with several well crafted mahogany surrounding the imperial violet clothed tables which she assumed to be mahogany as well. The lights were all done in gold chandeliers with hydro luminescent orbs casting off a warm fire like light, floating above each faux-candle. Hydro luminescence was a recent invention, also credited to Apollo Sombra over the past few years. Using a combination of magic, matterwaves and advanced electrical engineering, he had come up with a way to generate a small field surrounding an even smaller device that was magnetically stabilized and activated by another magnet after a current passes through it. Once the current was added to the device, the magic program to cause the 'light' begins to produce a liquid which then spins and 'light's' up, producing a rather large area of effect glow. Twilight scanned the car for her brother, but to her surprise, neither of the two she was with were anywhere inside.

“She must have made it on, other wise the door wouldn't have closed. The train is set for five people aboard.” Twilight overheard the Angel's voice, but couldn't tell what direction it was coming from... almost like... it was coming from the over comm! She threw open the door to the next car where several lounge style circular couches lined either side of the car. The seats were of some violet velvety material surrounded by Celestia's standard gold and silver everywhere. The woman decorated everything she could in gold white and violet. Specifically the real kind of gold. This train was likely only two cars long because it would affect the travel time if she added any more of the heavy metal to it. She darted past the lined seats where another wall separated her. It wasn't another car, but felt like a separate room. She opened the out of place looking double doors to a stainless steel kitchen with a lone woman cutting an apple next to a bowl filled with small shards of what looked like colored glass. She was wearing a white chef coat with what looked to be gold buttons along either side of the center with violet pants that looked like pajamas, and a white apron folded over her waist. She had bright yellow-orange irises and hair that looked like every shade of red in nature decided to stop there. It was gorgeous. She was humming a tune until the large doors slammed back together after Twilight ran through them.

“Sweet Divinity!” said the startled woman as she let go of her knife. The knife settled into her ring finger and upon inspecting it she squealed quietly into her knife-less hand. “Gods damn it.” Realizing that this was her fault, Twilight quickly walked over to the woman who looked to be about in her mid twenties and pulled the knife out of her finger. The speechless woman squealed again. “Just give me a second, I'm going to fix it!” The woman continued her wide eyed look at the violet haired teenager now attending to her finger, but remained silent now. Both of Twilight's hands began to glow with a soft violet light, and she placed the woman's hand in between hers. She recalled to mind what little healing magic she'd read about and learned in school, but none of it was for something like a gash in the bone.

The apparently frail woman was either using a knife that could cut into iron, or had the weakest skin and bones Twilight had ever seen. But then she remembered Redheart's gel that fixed her hand two days ago. Like she did with summoning Andromeda, Twilight began to concentrate on all the things she remembered while watching the gel work. She couldn't feel anything, (thank the gods for that) but she remembered how the bones seemed to spawn strings and reach out to each other and pull either side back together. She remembered how the skin did the same, how the sides of the skin latched on and enveloped itself until it formed back to what it normally looked like. As she did, she started to smell something sweet, just like the last time she tried to copy a spell by eye. She opened her eyes to see what was happening, and both of her hands had started to emit a violet vapor on top of glowing like normal. When she started to feel and hear the pulse of the woman she was trying to fix, she quickly let go of her hand and stepped back. The still wide eyed woman then began to examine her hand and her expression faded into a smile.

“Wow! Ah don't know what y'all did there, but my hand's all fixed.” Clearly, the accent wasn't as visible in her first two words. This woman was either from Pony Ville, or from another south western town. “To he honest, I don't even know what I did.” The woman stuck out her rather feminine hand to Twilight. “The name's Ruby Apple. Pleasure ta meet ya.” Tentatively, Twilight took the southern woman's a hand and was shocked at the strength it carried. Definitely a Terran. No one who looks that frail could possibly be this strong and a Mage. Trying desperately to free her hand, Twilight replied. “Nice to meet you, Twilight Sparkle... Can you let go? Please?” The Terran retracted and held her hand in front of her chin.

“Ooh, Ah'm sorry bout that. I reckon yer a Mage, huh? Almost none of my family is anythin' but Terran, So Ah guess ya could say I'm not used to meetin' people who'er, uh, weaker than me. None offense there.” This chick is so southern, she could just write the book on Faunan dialects. “Oh, uh, don't worry about it. I've never been all that strong to begin with, and it was kinda my fault that knife got in your finger. Sorry, by the way.” The woman picked up the knife and moved to the left where the sink was to wash her blood off.

“Oh, don't y'all worry none bout that. This here knife's made of geisteel from Anya. There ain't much harder metals in the world. Just look, It'll just sit in the gold!” The woman tossed the knife right past Twilight's head and it landed with a twang into the gold target on the wall behind her. After she managed to move from her shocked position, she turned to look at it. There were several slits in the wall about the same size of the tip of the knife engraved in gold metal target on a plaque bolted to the wall. Some of them were not in the plaque, and what worried Twilight was the fact that the rest of the wall was straight steel plates. This woman was not messing around. Before Twilight could complain about having a knife that can apparently split metal fly past her head, the southern woman handed her an apple piece.

“I bet y'all've never had an apple that taste's this good! It came straight off my cousin's farm down in Pony Ville. Ah'm the chef for the royal train, but Ah'll actually be getting' off with y'all. Big family reunion goin' on later today.” Twilight carefully took the apple slice from the brash southern Terran, and hoped she would back off afterward. Upon seeing her hand retract and don an expectant look, Twilight bit into the apple. It was likely the sweetest piece of fruit she'd ever tasted, but not so sweet that she wanted to spit it out. It was... perfect. Before she ingested the rest of the apple like she wanted to, she studied the peel so she might find it again. It was such a bright red that she thought it was fake just looking at it. Upon further inspection, she could once again see the grain in which the apple grew and by looking, she could tell the grain flowed downward. Extremely unusual for fruit that grows on a tree.

“Is this magically altered? It doesn't look... right.” The woman was surprised at the remark, but retained her kind smile. “Ah'm surprised y'all noticed that. Ya must have a real keen eyes ta see it, but this here apple isn't quite like the ones y'all grow in Canterlot. My aunt n' uncle, gods bless their souls, were the pioneers of this here breed of apple. Johnny, my uncle, was a genius farmer, and respected across the land for the amazin' crop he produced. He met his wife up in Heartland, and since then, they started mixin' strains of fruit together. Somehow, without any kind of magic or otherwise, they managed to produce these here apples by graftin' two kinds of grape vines with an apple tree. While the normal result shoulda been vines just growin' off the tree, they merged together to create what he called, Jack-apples. Named em after his daughter that'd just been born. Course, Ah's just a girl at the time. Poor girl. It's been about seventeen years since then.”  The Terran had grown quiet for a moment, likely mourning the memory of her uncle. But, just as quickly as she turned away, she sprung back up.

“Oh, right, Mr. Zephraim probably wants his apple by now. Let's go ahead to the cockpit with him an' that lil' guy.” Twilight formed an evil grin. She was going to punch the shit out of that monochrome dick as soon as she got a chance. “Sure. That sounds great.” the southern woman gave her an odd look, but grabbed the bowls and headed to the end of the relatively large line kitchen at the back of the car. The cockpit door was similar to the double doors behind them, but a single door with a large switch that acted as a handle.

Ruby pushed the switch down with her elbow before Twilight could even offer to try and open it, and it opened to a small corridor with walls that looked like they were made of some kind of odd rubber material. The corridor wasn't much longer than the door that lead to it, but that was likely in case of fire or emergency where the cockpit, which housed the magnetic system that propelled the train was located, needed to be detached. Rumors still float around about monstrosities that live deep within the Everfree forest. Sometimes, trains would arrive to Canterlot without their tail ends and many of the passengers cramped into one or two cars. There's yet to be a recorded missing person, but twice a year around the ides of June and December, a train car goes missing on one of the routes around the Everfree forest.

Sometimes, it's a simple shipment that loses one of it's pieces, other times it's entire train cars. But all the same, it's always at the same times of year. Many are skeptical of the event ever occurring, but records show that around those days every year since 3000, Canterlot Express orders at least, an additional single new train car. After Twilight had exited the switch door, Ruby kicked the thing shut with an impressive amount of force for how small she looked, and the switch fell back into place. She then pivoted around pulled another switch down, this time with her still raised foot. Inside the rather technical looking cockpit were two Angels and a small green haired boy with violet bat-like wings. Twilight opened her mouth to yell at the ones she knew, but Ruby once again, cut her off.

“Howdy y'all, I got yer snacks.” She walked down the very strictly steel corridor that had four bunk beds on either sides to the front of the cockpit which had four very large, very padded chairs, three of which were occupied. She handed the bowl of what Twilight now believed to be gem shards to her little brother, and the apple slices to the monochrome Angel. “Thanks, Ruby, you're the best.” Without even turning his head where he could see Twilight, he addressed her.

“Hey there Stripes, glad to know you made it on the train.” This guy is an arrogant ass! “My name is TWILIGHT!” The man waved his hand above his head in the seat, beckoning Twilight forward. “Oh, don't get your panties in a wad, Stripes. Ruby, will you get this prissy teenager one of those jack apples? Surely your family's famous fruit will calm her down.” The Terran woman bowed to the Iscandor and said “Yes sir.” As politely as possible, and retreated out of the cockpit. Twilight on the other hand, marched right up behind the monochrome Angle, and threw a punch at the back of his head. With surprising speed, the man caught the fist before contact.

“Holy hearth's warming, is that all you've got? We, have a lot of physical training to do. Please, oh please, tell me you have more strength in your arms than that.” At this point, he had turned his head to look Twilight, who was fuming even more for being caught, with his cold, gold flecked eyes. The look he was giving her would likely scare an adult, and did scare Spike. After the boy yelped, he turned away, and proceeded to stand. It then became apparent to Twilight that he was still bigger than her, and he never let go of her fist. “Well, Stripes, before you go punching anything, let's at least be polite and introduce yourself to our nice conductor, Mr. Fume.” He tightened his grip on her fist, digging his fingers into her hand until she winced.

“Twilight Sparkle, pleasure to meet you.” She said through gritted teeth. The older looking Angel with a full gray mustache and beard with streaks of light blue inside removed one hand from the console and tipped his hat to Twilight. “Howdy, name's Raid Fume.” The old man looked away and back at the tracks, shuffling his pale blue wings into a comfortable position. Then Zephraim returned his hard gaze back to Twilight. “Now then, Wasn't that a nice thing to do? Come with me, We're going to the caboose. Spike, you stay there and watch the Tracks. Sky lake is quite the sight this time of day. The sun shines off the prismatic water that is Cloudsdale's waterfalls and it creates a really cool effect, okay?” The Angel continued to keep his death stare directly into Twilight's eyes, and Spike did not question it.

“Oh, uh, okay.” The boy hopped up with his half eaten bowl of gem shards and took Zephraim's seat. He moved the bowl of apple slices to the side and continued eating his gems. Around the time Spike landed in his seat, Zephraim had let go of Twilight's fist, spun her around, and put his arm around her shoulders and walked them forward. They passed Ruby who gave Zephraim a look, then returned to her work, whatever it was she was doing. It certainly was not cutting an apple. Zephraim forcefully continued to pull Twilight until they reached the car she started in, and he threw her into a seat.

“I see that you still seem to have a problem with me. Please, oh dear gods, please, elaborate on what that might be. I was ten seconds away from decking you in the face or throwing your ass into the windshield of the cockpit a minute ago, and I promise you, that neither would have felt good.” Twilight was nursing her hand from earlier, but was still mad enough to stand back up. “Why am I mad? Because you fucking DROPPED ME from a four story ledge! You stole my duel disk, and you have yet to use my name when referring to me! Why the fuck would I not be mad!?” The man began to rub at his forehead.

“Look, Stripes, I don't call anyone by their real names. You giving me your name makes it that much harder to remember you. Me giving you a name makes it really easy to remember. I took this-” He took her duel disk out of one of his pockets and placed it on the table next to the chair he threw Twilight into. “So HE could keep talking to you without you nearly KILLING YOURSELF in the process. Say hi Andromeda.” The disk screen flash on and an almost true to life sprite of Andromeda was flipping through internet pages. “Hello Master Sparkle. This train has fantastic reception. Far better than that of your girls dorm, I must say.” Twilight groaned. How did he do that so fast? She barely even knew how the program ran much less how to operate it.

“Probably because nobody is constantly streaming porn.” Andromeda's sprite turned to give Zephraim a disappointed look. Twilight almost defended the statement, but then remembered she was still mad at him. “You know what, I don't give a damn if you have good reason for anything you do! You still have yet to call me by name since the station, and there was literally no reason for you to drop me four stories!” The young man covered his mouth with his hand in frustration. “Master Sparkle, Zephraim was my user before you were ready to receive me. I know the boy very well, and for all of his short comings, he has grown into quite the competent young man. He dropped you to test your reaction to fear, which was quite poor, I might add.” Twilight looked at the disk to yell at the sorcerer.

“Shut up! You were in on it the whole time! My own fucking card, conspiring against me, unbelievable!” The Angel was frustrated earlier, but now he had adopted an angry look. Whatever she just said set him off. “Well, now you've gone and done it Stripes! You've pissed me off! Put the disk on. We're gonna duel right fucking now. And you know what? I'm gonna use him. He is NOT a card, and he certainly does NOT belong to YOU!” The boy grabbed Twilight's disk and ejected Andromeda. He then grabbed the girl's wrist and slapped the disk on her arm hard. By force or taping the screen earlier, the disk had already engaged duel mode, and turned itself on. The man put Andromeda's card against his right shoulder, and all of the sudden, the card changed from purple to white. He then slid Andromeda into the extra deck slot of his odd shaped green duel disk. He slapped his own pentagonal disk against his wrist, and like Twilight's, It prepared his arm in a coat of magic, then solidified.

“You ready for a beating, Stripes?” The girl looked almost as angry as he did, and both of them seemed to emit rage. “Fuck you! I'll kick your ass and take MY CARD off your corpse!” The man's arms tensed up even further, and the visible veins on his neck contrasted even stronger against his skin. “DUEL!” In unison, the disks shot beams of light at each other, and the magic restraint field enveloped the train car. Both players drew five cards, and Zephraim took the first turn.

“You know, for a while there, I think I understand what mom felt like after she lost you guys a hundred years ago. I don't know if it's you, or what, but you two added a completeness to my deck that my own soul can't seem to fit alone. She said that when she finally married dad, her soul felt complete again, and her deck gained cards with it but, I missed you dude.” From his disk, Andromeda's voice replied. “While I understand your feelings, Master Zephraim, I do believe you are letting Master Sparkle get 'under your skin' so to speak. As I said before, you and she share very similar personality traits, and this is just another example of how... volatile you used to be.” The young man shuffled his wings after receiving the statement.

“Ah, you were the one who liked to try and bring me around. But Ephraim would have at least a similar problem with her, the way she talks about you, if nothing else, and I just can't let that slide. You know he wouldn't.” An audible sigh came from the disk. “There is no disagreeing with that. If anything but his own pride ever interfered with his pursuits, he wouldn't be my brother. Very well. Do as you must. I apologize in advance for this, Master Sparkle.” That old indigo bastard thinks he can still apologize to me!? “Don't you apologize for shit! When I take you off his dead body, you better grovel at my fucking feet!” The comment did not resonate well with Andromeda.

“On second thought, Please, Master Zephraim, allow me, to do the honors.” The man smiled. “But of course. That was the plan from the beginning. First off, I summon Grayscale Equalizer!” The monster resembled an old fashion weight scale like the one used to represent the judicial system in Fauna's courts, however, as the name implied, this monster was completely in black and white. Every detail, even the shading and lighting was in black and white. The whole monster looked hand drawn, and even details that would normally just be shadow were crosshatched to match the lighting.

“When this card is summoned while I control no monsters, I can special summon two monsters from my hand with the same level! I summon Grayscale Pallet Swap and Sapphire outside the Grayscale!” These monsters resembled the first one with their hand drawn and cross hatched style, but the Sapphire one was done in blue instead of white. All the lines, the edges, and most details were black, every where that wasn't was blue. It was in the shape of a girl that was interesting. She looked like she came straight out of an old Mega Man game, including single hand cannon on the right arm. Pallet swap was a man holding a giant Pallet with various shades of black white and gray covering it and a large brush in his other hand. He was wearing almost normal clothes, and a beret.

“Next, I'll activate Pallet Swap's effect! Once per turn, I can target one other Grayscale monster and change it's type and attribute! I turn Sapphire into a Dark monster! Then I tune, the level 2 Pallet Swap, the level 3 Equalizer, and the level 2 Sapphire! He who controls the colors of light and all that fall within, appear now, Andromeda, The Magic Grayscale Arcsage!” And finally, Andromeda had arrived. His outfit remained mostly the same, but he was adapted to the stylization of the other cards every where except where his skin was present. At those places, his light skin, dark violet eyes and indigo blue hair broke the style. Inside his cape, instead of stars and galaxies, was the color spectrum. Like Zephraim's hair, the right side was black, which then bled into the full color spectrum, which then ended in white on the opposite side. His staff followed this same pattern, but oddly, the crystal on the head of his staff retained it's red to light blue gradient, even though the lines on the crystal were clearly visible, like they were drawn in pencil.

“Andromeda, if you will.” The sorcerer bowed to his Master. “When using Master Zephraim's soul as a base, I am given the category 'Synchro' and my effects change to match his soul accordingly. When I am summoned, Master Zephraim is allowed to call 2 of the non tuners with different attributes used to summon me back to the field. Once per turn, Master Zephraim is allowed to add one Grayscale trap to his hand, and finally, If master Zephraim controls a fellow extra deck monster, Grayscale monsters are allowed to attack directly for half damage.” Twilight retained her angry demeanor, still feeling betrayed after Andromeda sided with Zephraim. “Whatever, flunkey. You took his side. I don't want to hear anything from you.” Andromeda sighed.

“Very well. May I, Master Zephraim?” The Angel gave a look of disgust Twilight's way, and then nodded to Andromeda. He pointed his staff to the left, and it began to glow his signature light blue, then the female Sapphire and the machine Equalizer returned to the field. “Next up, I'll use Andromeda to add one Grayscale trap to my hand, which in this case, I need Grayscale Modulator Apparatus. Got it buddy?” The sorcerer nodded. “Of course, Master Zephraim.” The sorcerer tapped his staff to the Violet velvet carpet of the train car twice, and a card was pushed outside of Zephraim's deck, which he then added to his hand.

“Finally, we need to get our next player on stage!” When Twilight heard the phrase, she remembered that it wasn't the first time. The last Iscandor she dueled said it too. But these two couldn't have more different personalities. The younger brother was kind, a little shy, and eager to please. This one was rude, all about himself, and did everything with all the confidence in the world. Funny, it was almost like looking at both sides of their mother's personality. “From my hand, I activate the spell card, Grayscale Lighting Apparatus! Since Andromeda is a synchro monster, I can activate this card, and because he's Dark, I can special summon one monster from my deck whose level is equal to another monster I control. I summon Color Spectrum Editor of Grayscale!” Like the others this monster kept the hand drawn style, but this one resembled Twilight's own cards. He wore heavy looking robes, a tutors cap, and carried a magnifying glass that had a moving color spectrum inside the lens.

“And now that he's out here, we can call our next friend out! I activate the effect of editor! I can target one non extra deck monster whose level is less than 5 and make all non extra deck monsters that level until the end phase! I target the level 3 Equalizer! Now, I overlay my three level 3 monsters to Xyz summon! The darkness and the light are split into vibrant color by the invisible blade of the assassin! Xyz summon, Photorefractor, the Grayscale Assassin!”  This one followed the trend Andromeda had set by having normal skin showing and being stylized everywhere else. On his chest plate, under his hood and scarf, was a mark Twilight had seen reoccurring on all of his monsters, but this one was slightly different. Three hexagons in black, gray through cross hatching, and white, with the white and black hexagons touching, and the 'gray' one above the other two, all sharing three lines. However, this one had a Sword, a Lance, and an Ax crossing at each point the hexagons began to touch. She couldn't see the monster's face, but what she could see were his glowing green eyes. His 'cape,' if that was the appropriate word, carried the spectrum like Andromeda's on the inside, and his body was mostly hidden in cloths and armor plates. He wielded a blade in his left hand, but but he held it where the hilt was closest to his face, and the blade followed his arm.

“When Photorefractor is summoned, I can target one Spell card in my graveyard and set it, but I can't use it this turn. I set two cards and end my turn. And by the way, good luck with this one. If you don't out right beat me here, there is no chance I'll let you see a second turn.” Twilight's anger burned just as bright as the man she was facing. The air in the room was thick with emotion, and as she took in a breath, she noticed it was warm. Almost hot. She turned to the window, after being dead locked to the green and gold eyes of her opponent for so long, she'd forgotten they'd been on the train the whole time.

The window outside displayed the most beautiful colors she'd ever seen in her life. The lake had a dark spot to it along the center, but along various points at the edge of the shadow that the cloud city above cast were rainbows. The entire hues of the color spectrum on display in the glistening water, shining in the bright light of the noon sun. For several moments, she had lost all anger, and forgotten everything that that was happening. She was mystified by the scene. While Twilight was stunned by the picturesque scene, Andromeda floated away from his spot to speak with the man.

“I believe she has finally looked out the window.” The man nodded and whispered back. “It's about time. I swear, she was going to burn through my eyes with her own. This girl has anger issues on my level. And she doesn't have the luxury having it beat out of her. This is the one you picked? Really?” The sorcerer shook his head in disagreement. “Her anger is worse than yours. Her emotions are even more unstable than yours. And she did not grow up with the most stubborn man to walk this earth at her side like I did, nor the parents you have. She has a very thin line to tread, and I want to keep her on it. In one year, she will receive an even greater power than what has awakened in her yesterday. However, this power could be the ruin of her, provided she does not grow. It is critical to her development that she learns how to deal with these emotions before then. For if she doesn't... I fear she may follow my footsteps exactly. I cannot allow her destiny to end the same way mine did. I... destroyed so many lives...” The sorcerer's eyes told more than he could say in words.

“Look, I won't let that happen. She is my client, and by my last name, I will never abandon her. You know exactly who I am, and I am the best person for this job, regardless of what I said before.” The sorcerer looked to the man. He had grown so much since they first met seventeen years ago. “I trust you. It has been a long time since we met, and as I said before, you have become a man I'm proud to call my descendant.” The man took a bow to the sorcerer. “I think it's about time we brought this around. We're going to run out of track at this rate.” The sorcerer agreed and returned to position. The Angel started jumping in place and rolling his arms out to try and recreate his anger. In truth, he'd learned how to let go of the anger a year ago. At the same time, he'd become a rather good actor.

“Hey! You done sight seeing yet? Or are you just done already, Stripes?” The girl snapped back to attention. They had almost passed the entirety of sky lake, which was the largest land locked body of water within Fauna's borders. “What? Wait a minute, where... what were we doing?” The girl shook her head and looked at the cards in her hand. She looked to the hand drawn version of Andromeda and the assassin on the Angel's field. That's right. He took Andromeda and then Andromeda sided with him. That son of a bitch! He's MINE!

“That's right... you have something that belongs me... and I'll be taking it BACK!” The man sighed. He once again adopted his cold burning rage.  As it were, the girl wouldn't take a lesson without a beating. If only she knew, he was the same way a few years ago. “Will you now? Can you really? From what I can tell, you're just some arrogant girl that believes the world over owes her a bow. What is it that makes you think you own it all? If I must, I will take the place of the second Iscandor to put you in your place.” The girl disregarded his words and drew her card. And wouldn't that be the one that could take her monster back?

“Maybe I'll put you in your place! First off, I activate The Stars Align! While you control a monster and I don't, I can special summon two level 4 or lower monsters from my hand! I summon the level 2 Star Magician Halley and the level 4 Shooting Star Pendulum! When Halley is summoned, I add one Star Quick play spell card to my hand, and I'll add Orbiting Stars.” The sorcerer frowned. He gave a quick glance to the Angel who had yet to break character in front of the Mage, and the Angel nodded, almost knowing what he wanted to say. Andromeda almost felt conflicted about seeing his own from this side of the field. All of Twilight's deck was based on people who were descendants of his own, as she was, but closer to him than they were her. Every one of them shared a similar face and a similar end, with knowledge either consuming them in old age, or worse, using magic until their life force had been fully expended. Twilight was the most recent inheritor of the Stars, and if he could help it, she would not end up like them.

“Next, I summon Shooting Star Ram. Then I activate Orbiting Stars. I target one light monster I control and one monster you control, and the two switch places. I'll be taking Andromeda back now!” She stared directly into the Angel's eyes and in response, he drilled back into hers with his own. She almost wanted to look away, his stare was so intense. If anything could be taken from their interactions, it's that this guy was just as stubborn and head strong as his mother. The fluffy energy ram with the constellation made visible inside it's clear body hopped across the field to Andromeda, who was then headbutted by the ram to Twilight's field. The sorcerer strictly avoided making eye contact with the girl, and focused his attention on the Angel instead.

“Finally, I activate Star Fusion! I fuse the Halley and Pendulum on my field! The Galaxy who is defined as undefined, the stars who never align! Show yourself, Star Irregular, the Galaxy Magician!” Andromeda watched as the magician and the machine turn themselves into tritium, and then Irregular reveal himself from the Violet light. Irregular was Andromeda's own first son, in a time long ago, and now his image was all that remained. Irregular once had the name Ptolemy, and was a gifted Mage, as he would be. But, in the same way his father before him had been driven to the brink by the power that he inherited, Ptolemy was consumed by it.

As a man, he went rampaging across where Fauna now lies, leaving his daughters and wife behind, completely under the influence of his own dark powers. In the end, It was Andromeda who had slain him. And he would only be the first to do so. Every other generation before the great Nightfall, one generation of his line would fall beyond the brink of insanity, and the generation before would be forced to kill them. He always believed it to be the cruelty of the world, or simply the darkness inside the human heart that would cause these things to happen, but soon he realized that it was his own blood that tainted the mind. Even now, Irregular kept that same crooked smile he bore when Andromeda finally had to slay him. And if all went as planned, next turn, Andromeda would do it again.

“Once per turn, I can target one monster you control, banish one monster in my grave yard, and then destroy that monster. I target Photorefractor and banish Pendulum from my grave!” The Angel had been waiting for this. “Chain! Grayscale Free-line Apparatus! If my opponent would activate an effect that would destroy cards, I can negate that effect and special summon one monster from my deck that shares an attribute with a monster you control! I summon Grayscale Shade! If this card is summoned, I can add one Grayscale monster with an attribute I don't control to my hand. I add Ruby outside the Grayscale!” The monster was similar to the others, but it looked like a ghost. It was in the shape of a man, but there was no outline, just shadow marks where it would be, if the card were a whole person. Damn. I'll just have to beat him next turn. If I get rid of his monsters now, I can use ram's effect to stop him from attacking, then get Halley back on the field to add gathering stars to my hand. Then I'll have everything I need...

“I activate the effect of Star Magician Halley in the graveyard! By banishing him, I can add one Star Magician to my hand, and I'll add Star Magician Ptolemy!” The name hit Andromeda, and for a moment, he expected to see his son again, in a state before he had lost his mind. But, he was far gone, and his soul had either been recycled or destroyed since then. “Now I activate his effect! By banishing him, I can add one Star spell card to my hand! I add Shooting Star Illumination!” The sorcerer was now trying to piece together what Twilight was trying to do. She wouldn't be able to keep adding cards to her hand, and she certainly wouldn't be able to get rid of him, her ram, and Photorefractor, and win the duel this turn. At best, she could try to destroy his cards, but what she was about to do was tantamount to sealing her own fate. It was a good attempt, and she would be rid of the spell he had set, but the other card...

“I activate the effect of Illumination! All face down spell and trap cards you control are flipped face up and if they can be, activated. If not, they're sent to the grave!” The Angel developed a smile. The first card set was his spell from earlier, so that went. But the other was a continuous trap, and it was activated. “Well, it seems you saved me the trouble of activating it myself. Grayscale Modulator Apparatus, if you control a monster that shares an attribute with mine, your monsters with the same attributes can't declare an attack. Now that you have nothing else to do, unless you want to add fusion to your hand, which wouldn't really be in your best interest at this point, would you say your last words and end your turn?” Cocky asshole. This was his plan all along. And what's worse is that he's right. Summoning my banished stuff and getting Star Fusion back won't do anything for me. Might as well summon Pendulum in defense. Wouldn't hurt at least.

“Ugh. I activate the effect of Star Irregular. I can target one of my banished Star monsters and special summon it. I summon Pendulum in defense position. I... end my turn...” And now Zephraim felt bad. The one time she decides to act like a girl is when she's hopeless. This is pathetic. She's hiding her eyes with her hair and clutching her cards. Of all things, the haughty, self centered girl looked vulnerable. Andromeda and the Ram traded places as per the 'orbit' from earlier, and Zephraim drew a card. “My turn. I summon Ruby Outside the Grayscale!” It was almost difficult to keep enthusiasm with her like this. It was more fun when she was mad. The monster like sapphire, was done in red and black with that hand drawn style, but this girl looked like she came out of a Mario game. Bright red hat and shirt, black overalls with white buttons, gloves and a red/black hammer.

“When Ruby is summoned, If I control monsters with different attributes, I inflict damage to you equal to the number of different attributes times 300. You take 900 damage!” The plumber girl started to grow a flame in her open hand, tossed it in the air, then whacked it across the field with her hammer. The ball flew across the train until it arced toward Twilight's head and exploded.  When the smoke cleared, a small shield of light was covering Twilight's face with several cracks in it. Even out of the mood, the Angel's soul still produced a good amount of energy in the game. She looked to the now cracked shield and was stunned. She had dueled another student once who was not a Mage, but some how that student managed to put a crack in her shield as well. How was it that non Mages even managed to do that? Then she remembered Andromeda's speech from last night and talking with Zeus this morning. This game had nothing to do with Magic, in the normal sense. It was all done through the 'soul' as they said.

“Next, I activate the effect of Shade. When I control a monster with an Earth, Fire, Water, or Wind attribute, I can send this card and that card to the grave to perform a Fusion summon!” And now he was going to fuse? And with no spell at that? “The Spectrum of Light glows in all the colors of red! Bring down the rain of fire, Color-absorber, the Grayscale Knight!” The two monsters grabbed hands and began to spin in the air until finally, they were a blur of black white and red. When the color elongated and started to slow down, a large knight took their place who shared the stylization of Andromeda and Photorefractor, but in red. He wore armor that very much resembled the Day queen, with it's pointed shoulders and mostly triangular plates. He carried an ax that looked identical to the one on the mark in the center of it's armor. Now that she looked at it, the sword that Photorefractor was holding looked almost identical to Celestia's, and the mark's. There must be another one that completes the set, but Andromeda was clearly not it.

“When Color-absorber is summoned, he gains the Attributes of the monsters used to summon him, and loses his own, making him Dark and Fire. His effects change based on his attributes. Because he's Dark, I can target one monster you control and banish it, so good bye Ram.” The knight raised his ax above his head and it turned violet. He swung it down in a crescent shape and sent the color away from the ax. It spun and flew across the field and ram was disintegrated by it. At this point Andromeda was readying his staff to go in for Irregular, when Zephraim called for the next effect of Color-absorber.

“The next effect of Color-absorber activates! Once per turn, I can target one monster you control and destroy it, then inflict damage equal to it's attack! Say good bye Irregular!” The monster's ax coated itself in flame, and once again, the knight raised it and swung. The flaming projectile collided and passed through the other sorcerer and slammed directly into Twilight. Another explosion, and another cracked shield, this time, it looked almost completely shattered. One more would finish her. Andromeda cringed at the sight. She was barely protecting herself, and she had simply given up at this point. It was a sad sight to behold.

“With 700 left and three monsters to attack with, there is no way for you to make it out of this, so I'll give you a choice. I want an apology. Not for me, but for him. He has done nothing but shown you kindness and you treat him like a piece of meat. You place no value on his feelings, and you have no respect for him. I want you to grovel at his feet. And then, I will end this. The duel will be dropped, and this will be over. If you refuse though... The next few weeks will be hell for you, and I will damn well make sure of it.” Twilight was struggling to stand. She didn't want to get hit again, she'd had enough. She fell to her knees and said three words.

“I'm so... sorry...” The Angel shook his head. “Yeah? And what for? I want a detailed list of what exactly you're sorry for. I want to know why you're sorry Stripes. Tell me, and look him in the eyes and say it again!” The girl started to tear up. “I'm sorry! I don't mean anything I say! I'm an insecure teenager! I don't know how to talk to people, I don't know how to be nice, I don't know how to interact! I just don't get it! I hate being mean, I hate being the way I am, but I don't know how to change! I don't know how to do this, and I want help... Andromeda... I'm sorry...” The girl fully in tears now, the Angel believed he had done enough. He removed his deck from his disk, and the monsters other than Andromeda retreated to their slots. The burn marks on the carpet faded away, and the car was returned to the way it was before the duel. He walked toward the girl and stood in front of her.

“I can't say that covers everything, but I'll call it good for now. Anything to say to the girl?” the Angel looked to the now grounded sorcerer, who carried a similar sad look to the girl. He kneeled down next to the Mage in his hand drawn appearance and placed his hand on the girl's shoulder. “And so you were defeated again. You lacked the spirit and drive to win, and you were far to angry to play with your mind. But all the same, you tried to take me back. Whether you realize it or not, you wanted me at your side, and that alone has me believing that you feel for me. In time, you will learn. You can make bonds, and these people will teach you things you could never learn on your own. This game you play has given you a new bond twice today, and one with the man that stands before you.”

The teary girl looked up to the Angel through watery eyes. For a moment, she thought she saw her mentor. And then she thought she saw the man who had kept her alive during that year on the streets. And finally she saw Zephraim, her bodyguard. He looked like a mix of the two. His hand appeared in front of her face. “Come on. Get up, there's no need to sit on the floor, Twilight.” Words she'd heard before, from someone who looks like the man that said them. “Who are you...?” She said as she took his hand. He pulled her up and brought her to her feet.

“Zephraim Iscandor, and I will be your body guard for the next six months. But that doesn't mean I can't be your friend either.” Friends. Bonds. Is that what this was? How often had she asked herself this same question in just the last few days? The girl looked to her feet. What happened in her life that made everything suddenly different? A week ago she didn't have friends to speak of, and today, she had an entire hand full. The man took her hand and kneeled. For whatever reason, Twilight blushed. “From today until my contract ends, I will never leave your side. You may not see me all time, but you will never be out of my sight. Twilight Sparkle, I accept you as my client.” The girl didn't know how to react. What do I do? This is twice! In the same gods damned day! A then whisper came through her head. Say, thank you. It's easier than you think. She took the advice.

“Uh, thanks... I... I'm sorry about earlier...” The Angel stood and hugged the girl. Without letting her notice, he took Andromeda's card off his disk and placed him against the mark on her back. “That's all I could ask for.” He let go of the red faced girl and took a step back, then held Andromeda in the form he was given to her in. “Here. You need him far more than I ever could, and to be completely honest, I think he needs you too.” Twilight took the card and just stood there looking at him. Quickly she sank again and the tears began to flow. “I'm so sorry... How could I ever deserve you? You never abandoned me... you've only been at my side, and I abused you... I'm so sorry...” The man kneeled next to his client.

“Man, for such a bright girl, you sure are dense. Don't you get it? I really hate to sound like mom here, but, she's right you know. The goal here isn't to be perfect. No one is. You have to learn. Wasn't there a time in your life where you had no one to turn to because you thought that you couldn't believe in anything? But then suddenly, as if the gods sent him themselves, a man showed up to bring hope back in your life? You didn't know how to live then, you didn't know how to survive then, so what's changed now? You don't know how to make friends, you don't know how to be social, but suddenly, out of nowhere, this guy is handed to you, and people have just started walking into your life.

You don't know this, but once upon a time, I was the exact same way you are now. I lived my entire life up until I turned eighteen in that castle, and I had nothing but my family. I made one friend in school, and that was it. I graduated and rushed into a dangerous job because that's what I wanted to do, and then I was alone. I didn't have any experience in team work, and I didn't know how to make friends. But two months pass, and look where I was! I was the leader of that unit, I knew all their strengths and weaknesses, I knew their personalities, and I was their friend. I was on top of the world! I was the best! And I believed it, just like you did a week ago. But then something happened.

An accident that should have taken my life didn't because of that same person that took you down a peg. She nearly expended her entire power to keep me alive, and I didn't think anything of it. It wasn't until that I saw that very same woman in tears on the floor crying at me while I was in her wings did I realize that I shouldn't be alive right now. That picture hit me so hard that I had to quit my job for almost an entire year. And you know what? I'm still not perfect. I have doubts, I have insecurities, but I've learned how to deal with them and move on.

I didn't want to take this job. I didn't want to know you. I wanted to continue as I was, and just live the life I had finally managed to piece together, but that woman asked me to do it, and I couldn't refuse her. It wasn't until later that night when my aunt came to talk to me about you did I realize something. She told me that there was this sad, angry, little blue haired girl who was afraid of the world that needed me desperately. She told me that this girl was a dear friend of hers, and just that morning did this girl start to open up after all the trauma she'd been through. And she told me that this girl, was just like me.

I'm an introvert. I don't like to talk to people, and social gatherings make me want to... do violent things. When I get mad a someone, there's this little voice in my head that says, 'don't you know who your parents are? What's the worst that could happen if this annoying little shit was just suddenly gone?' That duel you had the other day with that student? I've done that too. Eleven or so years ago, I was still in possession of Andromeda and Ephraim, and I used both of them to cut the bastard open. I was then punished for it, and the next week when I got let back in school, that kid wouldn't stop bothering me.

Today, he's my best friend. You never know when you've suddenly met someone who could be in your life until it ends. And this, weird, magic game just seems to get those people together. And who knows? Maybe I'm one of those people. So get up, wipe your eyes, and think about it. High points and low points are just part of this even weirder game we like to call life. And unfortunately, there are at least three people in this world who will never see it end, and two of them just so happen to be my parents.”

He pulled her to her feet, and put an arm and a wing around her shoulder. Then, he gave her a genuine smile. The girl wiped at her face until she felt it was sufficient, then she tilted her head down to avoid eye contact with him. He started to make her feel like his younger brother did, and this guy would be living with her for the next six months. “Uh... I... think I can walk on my own now...” He put his left arm away and crossed them both, but kept his wing across her back.

“Just because you say something doesn't mean I'm going to believe it. Aunt Luna made it very clear that you are also a compulsive liar, miss, 'I don't do class on Monday and Friday.'” The girl let out a small laugh, and the man grabbed her shoulder again. “There we go. Cheer up. We just passed the lake, so we've still got a couple hours or so before we finish circumnavigating the forest. Ruby is making lunch, so we'll have a nice comfy ride to the cursed town.”

The two started back to the cockpit, as Twilight was still processing all that was said. As they moved to the next car, she noticed that his feathers were almost blue in the sunlight, and the lake was slowly growing further out of sight. From here, the lake looked like a blue spot with a few hues floating around. Only if you get close to it can you see the beauty hidden just beyond the field of view. It reminded her of him. The two passed through the kitchen doors and Ruby had prepared a full meal since the two had started dueling. “So y'all are done huh? Just in time! Lunch is just about ready. Do ya want it in the cockpit like usual Mr. Zephraim?” The bright personality of the Terran was always easy to warm up to.

“Yeah that'd be fine Ruby. Did you cut that Apple?” The Terran opened a door which hid a refrigerator, and pulled a bowl of sliced apple out of it. “Just like ya asked.” The man took the bowl and the two made their way to the cockpit. When they opened the hatch, Spike turned around and stared at the girl in the arm of the Angel. “You really need to stop hitting on Celestia's kids Twilight.” Almost as soon as he finished his sentence did Twilight pluck an apple slice from the bowl in Zephraim's left hand and nail him in the forehead with it. The boy gabbed at his forehead and yelped.

“Ow! What the hell!” Twilight continued forward as if nothing happened. “That's what you get for being a smart ass.” She then reprocessed what Spike said, and nearly jumped from the position she was in to be not touching Zephraim. The Angel took a wing and pushed her into a seat with it. “Oh, calm your tits, you're four years younger than me, almost to the day.” The girl had yet to lose her red face. If anything it was even more red now. “And you, out of my seat.” The younger boy quickly moved to the seat behind the navigator seat, and continued on his nearly empty bowl of gem shards.

“Here, this is for you. If I know Ruby, you'll want to eat this now. She's likely got us a four course lunch ready in the next two minutes, and gods know, you won't want to eat for the rest of the day after wards.” Four courses? Has she been working since the train started moving this morning? Just as Twilight bit into the uniquely sweet apple, the small Terran woman slammed the switch door open and brought a cart in with several plates on each tier. The smell of roasted pork, limes and corn immediately started to fill the cockpit, and suddenly she was much more hungry than she thought.

“All right y'all! Ah made a Leviathinos spread this time round! There's shredded pork, fire roasted corn, tomato rice, mashed beans, and of course, fresh toasted butter tortillas! Here ya go.” She pressed a button on the back of Twilight's chair, and a table folded out of the wall just above her lap. She set a roll of what Twilight assumed to be silverware on the table, and then a giant plate with at least three servings of each item, aside from the whole cob of corn. She then placed a wine glass on the table and filled it with a dark brown liquid from a carafe that Twilight thought looked familiar, but couldn't place since it was cold. She moved on to the other three. She set out the same things for Spike, but in addition, she left a pepper shaker on his table, which after he started to use it, let out very small colorful granules that looked like glass. The boy's eyes went wide, and then he started to cover all of his food in it. Ruby looked pleased with her work, and moved on to Zephraim. He received the same set up that she did, with a butter tray in addition to the food, and a small cup of cut lime.

“Okay Uncle Fume, yer all that's left. Do ya want me to leave it here, or go put it in the fridge?” The older man rubbed at his beard, then said, “Y'all can leave it there. I'll get to it.” The woman looked pleased with his answer and another table slid out of the control center to the right of the conductor's chair. She placed all the same food on it, but left a large wooden and steel mug in the corner where she'd poured the brown liquid for everyone else. The old Angel looked at it in surprise. “What in the hell? You tryin' ta get us all killed?” The Terran woman laughed.

“Come on Grandpa Fume, y'all know Ah know better! This is Jack cider! The apples don't ferment like normal fruit, so this ain't hard.” The old man seemed to accept the answer and took a large gulp of the drink. He then stared at the mug in amazement and put it down. “Damn, this crap is sweeter than moonshine. But I'm still not goin' ta that reunion with ya. I'm gonna visit my granddaughter, and that's it.” The woman made a pout. “Oh, come on, Grandpa! Cain't ya just bring her with ya? It's been ages since ya came!” The older man just looked forward and ignored the woman. “I told ya once, I'll tell ya again, I don't want nothin' ta do with that stubborn family.” The woman's face grew red.

“Why do ya always do this!? There ain't nothin' wrong with my family, your family! Ya can't keep avoidin' them forever! Ugh! You call us stubborn, but yer just as bad! I've had it with ya! I'm goin' back to the kitchen. Enjoy yer meal!” The southern woman's eyes had started to water, and she quickly took her cart back to the kitchen in the other train car. From the look of it, it still had enough food for another person. The door slammed behind her, and the switch fell down into place. “You know you can't keep refusing her like this. This is the fourth year in a row.” The Angel had half finished his plate of food, with a single taco, and half of everything else remaining. The old man's feathers were legitimately ruffled.

“I'll refuse her till the day I die! If she want's ta go then by all means, she can go!” The siblings in the row behind gave each other a look, and then Spike motioned for Twilight to ask about it. “Um, if you don't mind me asking, why was she so mad? Is there... more going on?” The old man sighed, and looked down at the plate of food. “Well, she's real fixated oh that blasted reunion. It was her dad's tradition. She turns twenty three today. And if they were still round... then they'd be bout in their fifties. Guess I might as well tell the whole story then, we've got bout an hour before we reach Pony Ville anyways. My son and daughter went inta service of the queens when they reached the age ta do so round thirty years ago.

Both Angels like me and their mother, highly skilled with rifles, and like myself naturally colored ta blend in with the clear sky. This was a few weeks after my wife died of sickness, so they were real eager ta get away from everything. They both served fer about ten years, and as luck would have it, they both found spouses within. My son was named Blaze, real fiery kind of kid, and he married one o them lil' infantry girls who don't take shit from no one, gods knows she didn't, and she was just perfect fer him. But my daughter, Crystal, was another story. She came upon this stubborn old fool who called himself Gold Apple. Terran man, could toss boulders clear across the sky if he wanted ta, real good cook. He was one of them galley chefs, and he stole my daughter away from me. He and I were... never really on good terms, until... well, he just isn't round anymore. There was an accident in some kinda energy company a few years back, uh, seven or so.

Supposedly, Gold 'n Crystal were still workin' fer the Queens doin' a job that we weren't allowed ta know bout. I had taken Ruby fer the week, since she was still young at the time, and I've been workin' trains fer gods know how long, so it was relatively easy ta take her ta school. I was only supposed ta have her fer a week, but ten days passed, and I never heard from Crystal. Then, the Night Queen herself showed up at the door one evenin'. As it turned out, both of them perished in an explosion. They weren't allowed ta disclose the nature of their jobs, as they worked fer the secret service known as the angels of death.”

It was here that Zephraim shuffled his wings. She couldn't tell why, but the story was making him... almost nervous. “Some buildin' was bein' used as a cover fer some mafia's money launderin'. They raided that place, but it was set ta blow the minute some poor fool walked in the front door. And unfortunately, some fella named Night or somethin' was still 'employed' by them at the time.” The siblings gave quick startled looks to each other. Night? Seven years ago? An explosion? This was all becoming very familiar very fast.

“From what they could tell, the guy tripped the wire, and they had two minutes ta escape. The six of them ran as fast as they could ta get out of the buildin' when they realized that magic was sealed after the wire was tripped. They couldn't escape the way they came, so they just tried ta run out the front door, and then they ran into the guy. Gold and Crystal tried ta save him. But... then time ran out. Their close friend... uh, I think his name was Magus Heron, and he tried ta protect them, but died along side them instead. They managed ta save the poor bastard, but he ended up losin' his feet in the process. She apologized fer what happened, goin' on bout how she shoulda planned better, and such.

Now, I've been round a long time, but them Queens have been round much longer than me, and she was actin' like my own daughter when she got all stressed. So, as I would, I just tried to calm her down, and she did. She offered me anythin' I wanted, seein' as she felt personally responsible fer my daughter's life, and really, I didn't want nothin'. I've been round here fer about eighty years, and I've had been a train conductor since I was twenty. I just wanted Ruby ta have the life she always dreamed of, so that's what I asked fer. She ain't got parents no more, and I'm really the only one who could afford ta take her in. Her father's family is real big, I tell ya what, but there's bout two or three who actually have the money ta support more kids. On top of that, she was a year away from college, and I couldn't just bring myself to let them try and take up the torch when I damn well could.

So, she's lived with me fer the last six or seven years, and she's my granddaughter. I was given the job of the Royal conductor, and I was allowed ta bring Ruby with me. She'd always wanted ta be a chef like her dad, course, she don't know the real story, but she was goin' ta school fer it anyways, so the Queens let her start cookin' fer em. They were impressed with how well she did for how young she was, so they hired her. I only ever see so many people on this train, side's the queens themselves, but this guy here always seems to be on it.” The old man gave a hearty slap to Zephraim's wing. “I've given rides ta the Solar Knights, and that big rich guy Apollo. I've also seen a couple a school students with the queens as well, fer... some reason or other. The Lunar Knights have been on here, and the group that my daughter worked with have ridden too. But I guess that's about it.”

Twilight was chewing on her fingernails relatively quickly. Luna showed up the day that the accident happened. She was the one who told us about dad's legs. And that means... if his story is true, then my dad is the reason Ruby's parents are dead! How could all these people be connected like this!? The old man likely doesn't even know that he just mentioned all of Celestia's kids, and probably some of Luna's too. What do I do? She looked to Spike in the other chair, and he was chewing on his thumb and rocking in place. In that year without her, their father started to drink heavily just to ease the pain he was suffering, and Night Sparkle is an angry drunk. Hell, that was half the reason she ran away in the first place. She was about to say something, when she felt her leg vibrate. She looked down to her pocket, and realized that she had her disk on her. She pulled it out and read the message from an unknown sender.

“Try to avoid saying anything that I'll have deal with later okay? Just say your sorry for his loss and keep quiet. We have five minutes before we reach the town. Watch the forest go by, and don't say a word. Save my contact while you're at it. I'm sure it will come in handy. -Zeph.” Monochrome ass hat. “Oh... I'm, uh, sorry for your loss, Mr. Fume.” The old man waved a hand at her. “Don't worry yerself none. That's the past. Ain't no reason tryin' ta live there, it's just not possible. How did you two end up on my train anyways? That blonde kid and the white headed kid are here pretty often, but you're a new face.” She looked to Zephraim for an answer. He nodded, so she went ahead ant told him what she thought she could.

“Well, I guess you could say we're apprentices of the queens. I'm Celestia's personal student, and my little brother is a... unique race, so they just kinda scouted us. The three of us are headed to this town to do a job for them.” The old man grunted with a laugh somewhere in it. “Heh. Guess they'll just take anybody they see potential in. Fer whatever reason, I get the feelin' that y'all don't want ta tell me somethin', but I'll leave it be. If my own daughter couldn't tell me what she really did, then I guess there's no reason fer me ta expect a couple a kids I don't know ta do the same. Well, here's a little advice from an old man whose been round the block. You don't have ta hide everythin' from everybody. No matter what you do, the truth will come out eventually. Now, I'm not tellin' you that you have to tell everybody everythin' either. Just don't lie. Nothin' good ever comes from that...”

The old man pulled down on a lever that he'd had his hand on the whole time. The train started to slow down, and Twilight realized that they were pulling into a station. It was a relatively small one, made mostly out of red brick and mortar. She noticed that they were still a good way away, and that she still had half a plate of food left. She ate everything on it as fast as she could and then tried to put the table away. Almost as if she knew, Ruby seemed to materialize beside her and take her plate. She then moved to grab the other three empty plates with mauled corn cobs on them, and the bowls from the two boys. She stopped to give her grandfather a glare, then quickly walked back into the kitchen.

“Um... Mr. Fume?” The old man turned to look at the girl. “Yeah?” Twilight scratched her head. She was in no position to give family advice, considering the barely held together state her own was in, but she wanted to help the guy. “I know it's not really my place to say anything, but... maybe you could just visit that reunion for a few minutes? I... really think it means a lot to her, and I know that if my dad ever died, I would want to at least try and honor him when I could.” The old man started to scratch vigorously at the back of his head. Then he let out a long breath

“I... guess I could at least see her there. Blaze and Rainbow don't expect me fer another hour anyways, so I might as well.” By now the train had come to a complete stop, and Mr. Fume pressed a few buttons and flipped several switches. The sound of sliding wheels and clicking locks went through the train, and the door at the back opened to Ruby. “Well, Ah hope y'all had a fantastic ride on the Royal express this here afternoon. Uh, we depart back to Canterlot at nine tonight right?” She looked to the old man, who then got up from his seat. Twilight couldn't see what he was wearing earlier, but now that he stood, she noticed an interesting pattern in his wings. At each tip of the light blue wings were five feathers that were different from the rest. A green one, a yellow, an orange, a red, and a violet.

He was wearing a navy jumpsuit with black boots and a long violet, gold, and white coat. He had a black hat that was shaped like a police officer's, complete with a gold badge at the center with Fauna's emblem on it and the words 'Royal Express' embellished in the metal. His irises were almost pink, but not quite there. Darker than that. He didn't have any hair left, save for some almost silver tufts sticking out of the sides of his head, but his beard was much more interesting than she had first thought. It was very faded, but now that she could see the whole thing, it bled from violet, to blue, to green, to yellow, to orange, and finally to red. In the world, there is a strain of people who carry the unique trait of prismatic hair. This group of people have only been know to come out of Cloudsdale city, but when they're in their prime, they usually have a full rainbow on their heads. There are only about ten or so in the world who have this unique genetic inheritance one of them being Celestia herself, but even she doesn't have the full gene. This man was a very rare breed.

“Uh... Listen here, Ruby. I guess I really don't have ta be anywhere till one, So I thought I might as well see ya ta that reunion before I go see yer uncle.” The Terran woman's face lit up and she hugged the old man, apparently with a lot of force because the Twilight heard several popping sounds come from the old Angel's back. “Ah'm so glad y'all finally came around grandpa! They're gonna be so excited ta see ya, Ah just know it! Ooh! Why don't y'all come too? Y'all are gonna be livin' here fer a while aren't ya? If ya are, the Pony Ville Apples are a good bunch to know. If ya ever need anythin' at all, they'll help ya the best they can!” The woman's enthusiasm was too much for Twilight to respond to, but Zephraim answered for the three anyways.

“I don't see why not. One of these girls we need to meet is part of that family. Uh... Ruby, her name is Jaquline. Do you know her?” Ruby put Raid down, who then simply cringed his way back to his seat, and became very quiet. “Oh, right. Uh... Applejack has been through a lot recently, what with the relatively poor harvest last year. She and her brother have been workin' to the bone just to keep afloat. I can show ya to her, but from what granny tells me, she's been in a sour mood lately.” Twilight remembered that Ruby told her that those grape-apple things were named after some girl. And she said that her and her brother were working. Good chances are this was the same girl. “Oh, uh... What about her parents?” Ruby looked down.

“They're not... with us anymore. Her mother passed away in labor with her little sister, and her father went three years later. I told ya about him, remember? He was Johnny.” The cockpit had turned silent for a moment until Raid broke the silence. “Now, now, don't y'all get all depressed on me. Let's just go over there and have ourselves a good time, alright?” The Terran woman perked up again. “Yeah, Grandpa Fume is right! Come on y'all, I'll lead ya there.” Without question, the trio and the conductor moved through the train to the second car where the bags were stored above the tables covered in their violet velvet cloths. Twilight managed to beat Ruby to grabbing them, and moved everyone's things down with magic.

She struggled with Zephraim's bag though. She found it odd. The bag itself wasn't very heavy when she tried to pick it up with her hands, but when she tried with magic, it was near impossible to grab anything but the straps on the top. What ever he had in there did not like magic at all. The Angel quickly took it from her, and gave her another cold look, but dropped it and left the train. Twilight picked up her own bag, and she and her brother exited. The station looked just as outdated on the inside as it did on the outside. Wooden panel flooring that could use a coat of wax, wire metal benches that needed some rust treatment, a single counter with a single teller present, brick walls with a few windows that weren't quite clean. Wooden rafters with visible ventilation above them. The building just looked old. The teller gave a wave to Ruby, who then waved back and said hi, then the group exited the station.

The town itself was quiet. There was a person out doing yard work here and there, but there was no activity anywhere else. All the buildings were either made of a red colored wood, or various colors of brick, and each one looked to be no more than a single family home, with the rare two story house dotting the city here and there. No roads were paved, at most there were sidewalks around large buildings that looked more like multi-single, resident housing, or old military barracks. As the group moved further in, residences turned to shops and city buildings. One of the shops caught Twilight's eye in particular.

It was very round and out of place looking, yet it felt like it was a needed accent to the relatively red town. It was made of either white stone or white painted concrete, and was very smooth all along. It had blue violet drapes along the beginning of what Twilight thought was the second floor, and had a relatively small pillar balcony above that. The roof was made of some form of metal, and was painted violet to match the drapes. There was a sign out to the front, but they were to the back right of it, and she couldn't read it. The continued onward and passed another large round building made of the same red wood like every other building here, but this one was taller than all the others, so she assumed it was city hall. Around this area, there was more activity, but even so, the people that did see them gave them cold looks and slowly backed away. Almost like they were afraid, or suspicious. It was really bright outside, and the sun was beating down on them.

Twilight was beginning to sweat. She raised her arm to wipe at her forehead when she noticed something pink moving in the distance. There was a good cloud of dust following it too. And it was moving fast. Really fast. Twilight stopped, and after noticing her, Zephraim did too. He followed her line of sight, and saw the dust cloud with the pink center. Immediately, he unzipped his duffel bag, and produced a sword, then took a stance in between her and the cloud. The cloud had moved close enough to see the shape of a figure rushing at them. In his gloved left hand, he held the sword in a defensive position, and in his other he had a small black object that he clocked the top of. The cloud was closing in, and Twilight was beginning to panic. The pink hing was some kind of puffy hair, and this person was wearing goggles and a mask to hide their face.

They had closed in, and Zephraim charged at her. He swung, and she leapt over him, then moved in to Twilight. For a brief second Twilight made eye contact with this person. The eyes were wild, and almost smiling on their own. They were bright blue with long feminine eyelashes. The mystery girl winked at her, and grabbed her bag off her shoulder in a single fluid motion. Twilight then saw Zephraim throw the black thing in his hand at the girl, and she continued moving past them at an increasingly rapid rate. Speechless, Twilight watched the girl run, then coughed at the dust cloud that had followed. Zephraim sheathed his sword, then walked up to Twilight.

“Damn pickpockets. Man that guy was fast. You didn't have anything super valuable in that bag did you?” The Mage was still recovering from the event, but managed some words. “...Uh... I... I don't know... Andromeda... he packed us...” The Angel rubbed at his forehead. “Ah, shit. Well. Nothing we can do about it right now. I threw a tracker on him, so we'll be able to find the thief later. It will activate in an hour or so. We'll just have to wait for now. Come on, they're leaving us behind. Guess they didn't see him.” Twilight's adrenalin was beginning to fade, and she corrected him. “Her. That was a girl. She looked me directly in the eyes. There was no mistaking it. Those... crazy blue eyes...” The Angel scratched his head with an irritated look on his face. “Ugh. I think I know who that was. Don't worry about your bag. Chances are, We'll see her again before the day is over.” The Angel grabbed the girl's hand and led her back to the group. Then, they kept walking through the sandy, dusty, old style town.