“Whoa.” Lemon cautiously walked into the house. “This is like forbidden territory. A house of a school teacher.”

Luna closed the door and pointed at Lemon’s shoes. “Take them off and put them on the rack if you will. Bathroom’s down the hall to the left, kitchen to the right if you require refreshments. Upstairs if off limits.”

“Gotcha.” Lemon took off her shoes and placed them on the shoe rack next to the door.

The entrance was a small alcove that led into a large living room with homely style furniture that reminded Lemon of her grandmother’s house with the amount of brightly-themed furnishings, laced pillows and the vast amount of portraits and framed decorations. A hallway led immediately off to the left that had a couple doors and ended with a spiral staircase. To her right she could see the opening to the kitchen just past a small dining room.

Luna silently walked over and plopped down on a particular cushion on the couch that appeared more worn out than the rest of it. She grabbed the remote off the coffee table and unpaused the movie she had been watching.

Lemon fidgeted in place. What was she supposed to do? This was no man's land! A teacher’s house, even if she was from another school, and an adult that was a stranger as well. Nothing in a teenager’s social experience had prepared her for this. Does she take a seat and join her or wait for some sort of instruction?

She sighed in relief once she saw Trixie walking down the stairs eating a bag of peanuts. A familiar face to break her out of this situation.

“If it isn’t Lemon Zest. Welcome, welcome. Trixie didn’t expect you to make it here so fast. Now we’re only waiting on the others.” Trixie walked past Lemon and pointed over at a smaller couch. Lemon could only watch in awe as Trixie fell on the couch and ate a handful of peanuts as if this was her home. Wait, was this her home?

“Uh. If I’m not being too forward and all, do you live here, Trixie?” asked Lemon as she hesitantly followed Trixie over to the couch and took the seat next to her.

“No? Why would you ask that?” asked Trixie slightly confused.

Luna spoke without moving her gaze from the television, “Perhaps it is the manner that you conduct yourself within the homestead of another.”

Lemon nodded. “Yeah, that and you came from upstairs. That was off limits, right?”

“Oh poor, misguided Lemon. Trixie has much to teach you about the world.” Trixie shook her head slowly.

“Please do not. We do not need another problem child around here,” said Luna.

“Shush you naysayer! Trixie is hardly a problem.” Trixie put a hand to her chest and held her head high. “Trixie is a wondrous gift to the world.”

Lemon could only nod slowly in agreement, but it didn’t really answer her question. “Miss Luna?”

Heavy knocks came from the front door. With a sigh Luna paused her movie, got up and went to answer the door. “Trixie has earned her leniency, however, she should remember how far that extends.”

Trixie laughed sheepishly. “Trixie does.”

Luna opened the door fully to reveal a pale aquamarine girl with paler green and white hair with strikingly gold eyes. Her attire was a black robe with white cobweb lines across it all, complete with long sleeves and a hood. She gave a small cheery wave to Luna who gestured her inside with her own wave.

“Heyo V.P. Luna, Trix, new girl. I’m fashionably early for our assembly!” cheered Lyra Heartstrings who waved her hands in the air. She stepped inside, kicked off her shoes lazily into the lowest part of the shoe rack, and looked around the living room. “Yeah! Who’s missing?”

Luna closed the door without a word, went back to her seat and resumed her movie. “Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle along with any of their friends they decide to bring.”

“Trixie doubts any of the normal Shimmer Crew will show. Trixie said it would be mostly about dream magic and such things and horse magic users wouldn’t understand.” Trixie glanced between Lemon and Lyra. “Lyra, this is Lemon Zest. Lemon, that’s Lyra. Friend introduction over.”

Lemon gave a shy wave. “Hey.”

Lyra rushed over and slapped both her hands over Lemon’s hand. “Oh. My. Gosh. New member. You are going to be so amazing. Don’t you worry, I’ll show you everything there is to know about being a witch.”

“W-witch?” Lemon looked to Trixie who’s attention was on the movie then back to Lyra. “Is that why you’re in that getup?”

“Yeah!” Lyra looked ecstatic but upon studying Lemon’s expressions her own enthusiasm dwindled. “You’re here to join our Lunar Coven, right?”

“Um…”

“What? You’re not?” Lyra whirled on Trixie. “Trix, she is, isn’t she? I thought you said you had a new friend. You made this huge deal about it and everything!”

Trixie coughed and choked on the peanuts she was eating. She furiously beat a fist against her chest trying to ease her choking breaths. “T-Trixie never said such things. Don’t listen to her slander, Lemon. L-look, Trixie didn’t say she had a for sure member. That’s what the meeting is about. She, Shimmer and Sparkle are all new to this and need an introduction.”

Lyra held up both her hands and used her open palms to point as Lemon and then Trixie. “That’s that, this is this. Gasp, did you lie to me, Trix? Lying about getting a new friend? How could you.”

“What?! No, Trixie means, uh.”

“I’m totally her friend if she’ll let me,” said Lemon.

“Yes, that’s right. We’re friends.”

Lyra stared hard at Trixie.

“Luna?” cried out Trixie.

Luna didn’t look away from the movie for one second. “Do not involve me in your drama. I have one of my own I am trying to watch.”

Lemon raised her hand.

Lyra stepped back and pointed at Lemon. “Yes, new girl?”

“What’s the Lunar Coven?”

Lyra gave Trixie a death glare. “You didn’t even tell her? Am I the only one trying to hold this group together? After everything we’ve been through and you don’t even tell your friend about us?”

“Look, Trixie forgot as it wasn’t a subject that came up. Everything happened so fast that it slipped Trixie’s mind, okay?” Trixie held up her hands in defeat. “Do you want to explain or shall Trixie?”

“What about Sunset and Twilight?” asked Lemon.

“No.” stated Trixie before Lyra could say something. “One: they have their own crew. Two: they’re Trixie’s rivals!”

“Drat. Here I thought we might have a whole bunch of new members,” said Lyra. “If our glorious leader says they’re rivals then it can’t be helped. Can’t get buddy buddy with the competition.”

Lemon winced.

Lyra took a seat on the recliner next to the small couch. “Well, one is better than none. The Lunar Coven is our group of witches!”

“Witches?”

“Witches.”

“We’re witches?” asked Lemon towards Trixie.

“No, we’re awakened.”

“Witches!” shouted Lyra. “I don’t accept anything else, Trix. Heck, you use a wand and your avatar is literally a witch! How are you not a witch?”

“Everybody is a naysayer today. No, Trixie, you can’t invite people early because we’re watching a movie. No, Trixie, you can’t make up and use words without group agreement,” said Trixie in a mocking tone. “It’s Trixie’s animus, thank you very much. We use dream magic, not witchcraft like you do so clearly we aren’t all witches.”

Lemon’s eyed widened. “Wait, you’re a real witch?”

“Okay, so you use magic that could clearly be an odd branch of witchcraft. That doesn’t not make you a witch. Why else would you call us a coven?”

Trixie thrust a finger at Luna. “That was all Luna’s idea! She thought it sounded cool!”

Luna froze and slowly looked at the group of girls. “My apologies. I personally did not think that Trixie would truly name our gathering as such. It was clearly my mistake to assume she would guess it was a sarcastic quip playing up egoism in an ironic manner at her own expense.”

Lyra huffed. “Okay, now you tell me. Doesn’t mean I’m not wrong though. Clearly we’ve derailed from the important topic.”

“That wasn’t important? Then why did you make such a fuss!” exclaimed Trixie.

“Titles matter. In any case, Lemon? Do you want to join?”

“I don’t know, this is all pretty sudden. Witchcraft and strange magic, you know? Can I answer after we have this meeting?”

Lyra frowned. “Trix will totally be your bestest friend and will totally be happy if you join.”

“I’m in,” said Lemon. “But I’m not a witch, you know?”

Lyra rubbed her hands together with a sinister smile. “Don’t you worry none. That can be fixed.”

“Um.” Lemon glanced at Trixie. “So witches are real?”

“Lyra, we all clearly agreed that this would be explained in the meeting. Now, please? Trixie is trying to watch this movie.”

A series of heavy knocks once again came from the door.

Luna rubbed her temples before she paused the movie, threw the remote against the couch, and stomped over to the door. She threw the door open so fast Lemon thought it would’ve left a dent in the wall had she released the door handle.

“See? I told you this was the home of the principal and vice-principal!” yelled Twilight Sparkle in a nervous tone.

Sunset bit her lip as she gave a weak smile to Luna. “Hey. Ahem, I mean, hello? We, um, aren’t at the wrong address, are we?”

Luna frowned. “Good afternoon, Miss Sparkle and Miss Shimmer. You are extremely early. Fortunately for you everyone else was acting upon the same agenda. Do come in. Take off your shoes and put them on the rack. Bathroom is down the hall to the left and the kitchen is to the right if you require refreshments.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you.”

Luna let the pair come inside the house before closing the door and trudging back to her seat on the couch. She threw herself down on the cushion, picked up the remote, and unpaused the movie. “And the upstairs is off limits.”

The two nervous girls, clearly feeling the same about being in a teacher’s house as Lemon did, followed the shoe instruction and stood at the edge of the living room. Sunset held out a hand to Lyra. “Lyra, right? We’ve never really met before. I’m Sunset Shimmer.”

“Twilight Sparkle, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Lyra quickly grasped Sunset’s hand and shook it hard. “We’ve met when you bullied me so tyrannically that I contemplated quitting school!”

Sunset’s smile faltered. “Uh…”

Lyra blew out air. “Nah, don’t worry about it. Nice to meet the real you and you as well, Twilight. Water under the bridge and all that. Now, here’s the real question. Want to—wait I can’t because we’re rivals, crud. Okay, new real question! Do you think magic is cool?”

Sunset grinned weakly. “Yeah, I love it.”

Twilight rubbed her arm. “I like it but it’s very scary.”

Lyra nodded. “Good, good.”

Luna coughed hard grabbing the attention of all the teenagers. “Seeing as everyone decided to void the schedule we had previously planned and arrived far earlier than the desired time I’ll say this once. I am going to watch this movie, it will end fifteen minutes prior to five, and then we will hold our gathering. Until then you have two choices. Sit down and watch it or sit down. Understood?”

"""Yes, Vice-Principal Luna.”””

Luna shot a look to Trixie.

Trixie rolled her eyes and ate a handful of peanuts. “Trixie understands.”

Luna relaxed in her seat. “Good. Ah, here comes the best part.”

Lemon looked at the movie that was playing on the television. Two young teenagers were having a romantic scene in a car on a cliff. The movie was enough to make Lemon cringe because not only was it a horror film, it was one of the cheap knockoff cliche horror films. Screams came from the speakers along with violent chainsaw noises and the sickening sound of flesh being torn apart.

Luna smiled.

Author's Note

I feel I'm overly conscious on turning this adventure into nonstop talking, but hey... don't hate me. I wonder if readers like these smaller easily-digestible chapter lengths or want longer lengths at the expense of less frequent updates. The next chapter will be slightly longer, so I'll go ahead and test that out.