Pack's Loyaltyby Pony Of The GhettoChaptersChapter 1 - A Frozen FriendshipChapter 2 - Savior in an Elderly FormChapter 3 - Pack's MeetingChapter 4 - The Pack's Origins: Lone WolfChapter 5 - The Pack’s Origins - Dead Wood for a Stray CatPack’s Loyalty Chapter 6 - The Pack’s Origins: Wings of RejuvinationChapter 1 - A Frozen FriendshipPack’s Loyalty Chapter 1: A friendship that was frozen. A heart that is shattered “Rumours are started by haters, spread by fools and accepted by idiots” It was a dark and cold night. Snow was falling and landing on any surface the flakes could get a chance to land, making it look like a white blanket. The night sky was a perfect blend of black and white. The temperature was a solid -3°C, so it was perfect for freezing. Today was 23rd December. Only two more days until the happiest day of the year: Christmas. Unfortunately, there was one teenage girl that wasn’t feeling any holiday cheer. Her name was Sunset Shimmer: former unicorn, ex-bully, redeeming anti-hero, Canterlot High defender...and now a backstabbed young lass. Sunset was trudging through the snow, with a look on her face that resembled someone who just realized that her loved one just died and she came back from the funeral. These past few days were nothing more than a living hell for her, with her new reputation gone down the toilet, the sole fact that her friends had severed ties with her and nearly the whole school had turned against her. And it was all because of Anon-a-Miss Anon-a-Miss. Those three words that were a big plague on her well-being. That cyber demon had caused the whole school to be in disarray and as a result everyone began to turn on her again, the only difference was that her friends were the first to turn on her. The reason being was that The Rainbooms had invited her to celebrate the holidays after finding out she had no one to celebrate Christmas with. They just had fun. Mucking around, wearing costumes and just having a good time. That was when the secrets began to pop-up. First was an old family nickname of Applejack which was “piggy-wiggly”, then it was Rainbow’s failed test and last of all was the pictures from the sleepovers. With all these secrets, there was one thing they could conclude: It was Sunset Shimmer. And they certainly let her know of their anger, especially as she was sobbing in the corridors “Why...after all I had done for them?” she whimpered. She still remembered what they said: “Why should we listen to your lies?!” That was Applejack, the “most honest” student of CHS. “We thought you were our friend!” Rainbow said that one. She sure showed true loyalty that time (!) “You don’t belong here, Sunset!” Rarity said that. That uptight, bitchy little snob A fresh stream of tears fell from her cheeks. Guess whoever said that Friendship is the greatest treasure must've been drinking or something. Next secrets began to be spilled from the other students in the school and they were pissed off, with assaulting and insulting happening on her left and right. Hell, even Rainbow managed to trick Sunset by getting her old friend Gilda and her gang of thugs to brutalize her and leave her near death. However, as she was walking she remembered that six students had backed her up. Sure, it made them outcasts but the fact they were there for her slightly warmed her up. ‘Flash, Vinyl, Derpy…’ she thought as she remembered those three who helped her when she was assaulted. She never expected her ex-boyfriend, the party girl and the clumsiest girl of CHS to help her out but If it wasn’t for them, then she would have been dead as a doornail. ‘Snips, Snails’ those thoughts continued as she remembered her old henchmen taking her to a local hospital to get treated. She never thought that they would still be there for her, especially after the Fall Formal. But the last person that helped her really shocked her like a sudden jolt of lightning. ‘Scootaloo…’ that one was a complete turn for the books. Rainbow’s “number one fan” was also one of the students that helped her. Actually, she couldn’t call the young girl Rainbow’s number one fan, especially with the latest post on Anon-a-Miss’s webpage. “Aw great, another new post?” said one burly student “Another Anon-a-Miss Post? Sunset is on a roll” Said a jock “Just goes to show you: the more people change, the more they stay the same” lamented Octavia. “Hah, Trixie always knew she was still a sleaze!” said Trixie in a smug voice The Rainbooms noticed and immediately groaned. After their secrets were posted, they thought that Sunset had reverted back into her old ways. They thought that they were in the right. However, their thought trains had broken when they heard what was said. “No way! Is this for real?” “What the hell?! Isn’t she her number one fan?!” “Those two are like sisters! Aren’t they?!” “Looks like Rainbow Trash lost some of her fanbase!” “I think Scootaloo may be a better liar than I thought” Confused, The Rainbooms looked at their phones and they got shown a video. Rainbow pressed play and immediately regretted it. It showed Scootaloo with a dart in her hand and was going to launch it at a dartboard...with a picture of Rainbow Dash in the centre! The Dart hit between the eyes and Scootaloo began smirking. “Aw, yeah, still got it!” she cackled. “Alright Rainbow Ass, you say you’re fast? Try and dodge this!” the dart left her hand and landed right next to the previously thrown one. What she said next really chilled everyone’s bones: “Oh, I’ve been waiting to do this...This will be so much fun...” The video stopped. The whole cafeteria was in silence taking in this new information. Rainbow’s “biggest fan” hated her guts? As soon as Scootaloo came into the Cafeteria, everyone looked with scared looks: her face, rather than being bright and full of innocence, was dark and had a cold glare on her face as she scanned the cafeteria. Silently, she got her lunch and found a place of solitude. When Rainbow saw her surrogate sister, her face was in denial, evident by the quick shaking of her head and her muttering “it can’t be true” Sunset had also saw the whole thing, eyes wide, and began to walk out the other way. Gut instinct told her that it was probably best to not get involved. Out of all the days, that day had been a complete shocker. Everyone had gotten use to the orange-skinned girl’s praises of the athlete, but the fact that she was launching darts at her picture meant that everyone needed to have a complete overhaul of Scootaloo’s being. Nobody must’ve told Rainbow that because after catching up with her and trying to convince herself that it was a cruel joke by demanding Scootaloo to say it. The freshman’s response? A heavy right cross right into her stomach right in front of the whole school. To add the final nail into the coffin, she just said: “I’ve been waiting to do that for over 3 years…” Then she walked of, with a Cheshire grin and muttering “Pathetic dumbass. Can’t believe I looked up to her” Poor Rainbow. The pain in her stomach was nothing compared to her pain in her heart. Naturally, she blamed Sunset for turning Scoots against her, going so far as punching her cheek. But the day turned into the usual assault for Sunset, when three more secrets were spilled and three boys had ambushed her outside of the school and began to wail on her like a pack of wild dogs. “You’re dead Sunset!” Said an athletic student as he gave a swift punch to her stomach. “How’d you find out about my stuffed bear?!” “You told everyone about my family hell?! You are going to die for this!” growled one of the artistic student as he back-handed Sunset. “I’ll bury you alive in front of the fucking statue!” “Oh, I’m gonna enjoy ripping your lips off, you fucking prick!” snarled Score. He was especially pissed over the fact that everyone found out he was juicing. Now he was banned from football until further notice. So he began kicking Sunset right in the stomach. She then began to crouch down, holding her stomach, coughing up blood. “It’s not me…” She wheezed out. They were about to continue until three voices rung out. “HEY!” They turned around to see three pissed students. They recognised the face as Flash Sentry, Vinyl Scratch and Derpy Hooves “Hitting a woman, now that’s just low!”, Said Flash in an outraged manner. “Stay outta this, Brad! This bitch needs to pay!” Yelled out Score. “For some pieces of trash on the web?! Are you deluded or something?! IT. AIN’T. HER!” yelled out Vinyl “She’s messing with you! This she-demon went back to her old ways! Now we’ll bury her right now!” “Seriously?! Do you bastards still believe that gossip rag?!” Snarled Derpy. Flash and Vinyl could’ve sworn that they saw Derpy’s lazy eye align with her good one. Not wanting to leave any witnesses, the three boys ran up to the three students with their fists raised. Whilst the fight was happening, three smaller kids walked up to Sunset and helped her move to the Nurse’s office. “This...is...going crazy!” Wheezed a young, pudgy boy named Snips. Sunset sure weighed a lot. “You’re... telling me! Can’t believe they still think it’s her!” grunted a lanky boy named Snails, as he held Sunset other arm over his shoulder “Hurry up! Those three will smell a rat if we don’t get out of here!” said Scootaloo, checking to make sure any more vengeful students were coming. She was more concerned about Sunset than the fact that she had many people whispering about that video. Flash, Vinyl and Derpy: With a few bruises but the attackers under their boots looked on with hopeful smiles… too bad they didn’t notice a group of students noticing the whole thing Sunset looked to see the three young juniors helping her up before she blacked out. As grateful as she was, she couldn’t help but feel a slight bit of remorse. By helping her they ended up being the school outcasts but they didn’t mind. They cared for her wellbeing more than their reputations. Sunset let out an empty sigh. “What’s the use of even living?” she lamented as she continued to trudge through the snow. She put her back to the wall and crouched down, allowing the frozen temperature to seep into her skin. If she dies from frostbite, at least her ex-friends would get their Christmas wish… however she heard a gentle voice before it was lights out for her. Chapter 2 - Savior in an Elderly FormPack’s Loyalty Chapter 2: Saviour in an elderly form “Every soul needs a saviour” “Why are you out here in the cold, young one?” Sunset looked up, with tears frozen down her cheeks and saw the sight of the person who asked her. He was clearly an elderly male, who was in his 50’s or 60’s with tan orange skin, grey eyes that sparked of youth despite his age and had ebony white hair and an ebony white beard. He was standing upright with a lean build. He wore a bright red gi with black sleeves and buttons and on the left top of the torso area was an insignia of a yin-yang symbol in a dragon’s jaw with the tail spiralling around and on his face seemed to be a look of concern and worry. “Just leave me alone” Sunset choked and she buried her her face into her knees and once again began to sob softly with words “why?” over and over. The old man, rather than leave, simply just said: “Why don’t you come with me to my house, unless you want to die from frostbite.” Sunset simply turned her head: a sign that she was refusing his help. The old man just sighed: this girl was difficult. He then whispered something and Sunset realised that her feet weren’t touching the ground. She looked up and to her shock… The old man had sprouted Dragon-shaped wings and was flying in a direction to the north! Either Sunset was suffering from hallucinations from haven’t eaten a snack in a few hours or she must of been dreaming or something. A quick pinch on her cheek and the sudden recoil quickly told her that this was real. The old man noticed and chuckled. “What? Never been flying before?” he asked with a cheeky grin. Sunset’s mind went on a complete halt as she slowly processed her thoughts: This man. Summoned dragon wings. Like a Pony-up. But he did it on his own free will. Her train of thought was broken when the old man landed in front of a bungalow located near a forest. “I assume that you have a question?” “Oh, just a couple.” Droned Sunset, still recovering from the surprise flight. “For example…. HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO...THAT?!!” she exclaimed. She was certain that there was no Equestrian magic in this world. And here this guy was sprouting Dragon wings. The Old man simply gave an amused chuckle. “I believe introductions are in order, before I explain my little trick, or did you not get taught that in your youth??” the man questioned. Sunset immediately blushed in embarrassment due to her forgetfulness. “Oh right. Sorry. Anyways, I’m Sunset Shimmer. Nice to meet you” she replied with a hand outstretched. The old man took her hand and shook it. “Lumen Draco” he answered. “So anyways, care to explain why you are not in your home and in this weather no doubt?” That was when the despair Sunset felt came back in droves. She told him everything...except the Equestria parts. He may be able to grow dragon wings but in all honesty he wouldn’t believe her being a pony from another dimension. As she was spilling her guts out, the expression on Lumen’s face was of silent fury. “After all those girls has done for them, a few secrets told and they leave her out to rot. Also, what is wrong with that school of hers? Attacking an innocent girl out of ‘revenge’?” He thought “...And you know what’s worse?!’, She yelled in anguish. ‘...After I saved their ungrateful asses from the Dazzlings, they just left me wallowing in the hallways! They were my first family, and they do this to me?! I wonder if I was actually their friend at all!” She broke down even further, tears flowing like a raging river in Canada. She would’ve broke down even more, if Lumen hadn’t hugged her, rubbing her back and soothing her emotions. After a while, she calmed down but her eyes were still puffy from the crying. “Come with me to my home. You need to warm up and get some food.” And with that, the two made their way to his home. Sunset and Lumen made to the house. It was styled like a cross between a Japanese Dojo and a normal two-story house with Grey granite walls and a brown roof. The wood was a dark brown mahogany. When they entered, the layout was fairly simple, with all the necessary rooms of a normal house, with the living room having a fireplace and television, as well as a...ya, know what, basically the house had all the necessary rooms alright? Anyways, Sunset made her way to the floor cushions and parked her rear on one of them in front of the fire. Sticking her hands out to warm her fingers. Soon Lumen came in with a cup of hot cocoa that Sunset eagerly accepted because the weather outside was kind of like the Arctic “You know, Sunset. You aren’t the only person I ran into that had suffered from a case of betrayal” He said to which Sunset looked on in confusion. Before she could ask a voice rang out. “YO, OLD MAN! WE’RE BACK AND WE HAVE DEM MARSHMALLOWS YA WANTED!” Sunset Turned around and noticed five other teens coming in. The first one was a 17-year-old male with dark blue skin, light blue eyes which screamed delinquency, grey hair with a white tip in a sharp pompadour. He was wearing a snow jacket over a Navy blue t-shirt with a picture of a twisting shark in the middle, dark blue jeans and blue trainers. Next to come in was a 16-year-old boy with light grey skin, red eyes that had mischief in them, white hair with a quiff at the back. He had on a black beanie and a snow jacket over a White tank-top, grey sleeveless vest, white trousers with a picture of a tornado with a pair of falcon wings sprouting from the tornado and white trainers. The third was a 16-year old female who was currently shaking at the knees from the cold and Sunset couldn't blame her. She had tan yellow skin, brown eyes, long brown hair braided into a ponytail and currently had on a puffy jacket over a white tank-top, blue short-shorts and brown boots. The shorts have an insignia with an obelisk being wrapped by a snake. On her head was a Stetson hat. She could be like Applejack but she had an aura of subdued irritation at the moment. Next was a tall young 17-year-old man. Dark grey skin, dark red eyes, black spiky shoulder-length hair, he looked like a biker from the '60s and the attire reflected it with a Black t-shirt under a black leather biker jacket with an insignia of a white crescent moon and a wolf’s eye in black with three scratches over it in the under the moon located on the back of the jacket along with black jeans, black fingerless gloves and black and white biker boots. Finally, there was a 16-year-old female with black skin, green eyes, forest green hair two long strands cascading over her shoulders. She was wearing a Green t-shirt with a paw print in a wooden tree trunk in the middle under a White hoodie, a green skirt and light green sandals. How she was not cold was a mystery to her. Suddenly the tallest male spoke in a deep voice like Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson "Hey, who's she?" he said pointing at Sunset in confusion. Lumen only said this: "Another Betrayed Soul." Author's Note I'm Back Chapter 3 - Pack's MeetingPack’s Loyalty Chapter 3: Pack’s Meeting How you present yourself is how people first view you. What are you showcasing? The five teens looked surprised at this. A betrayed soul? The girls with the stetson had a response for that. “Wait, hold up! You sayin…?!” her southern accent bleeding through her lips as she spoke. Lumen just nodded. A few minutes of silence until the green-haired girl opened her mouth, with a Mexican accent shown slightly in her speech. “Well damn, who are the slimeballs that left her out in the cold weather.” Lumen was about to make his way up the stairs but paused and only had this to say. “That is her story to tell. Not mine. If you want to know, you need to ask her yourself.” And with that Lumen left the room with the teens looking at each other wondering where to go from here. Sunset was busy cosying up to the fire and was glancing at the five strangers that were also residents in the house. In a way, it felt like she was in a new habitat and she was out of place in this den of predators. She even felt the gaze of the five looking at her in curiosity. “Uhhh...can I help you guys”? The one with the pompadour simply strode up to her with a suspicious gaze in his eyes. “Yeah, ya can start by sayin’ who da hell are you and why da hell did de geezer invite youse in our home,” he asked in a rough tone. Sunset immediately squirmed a bit. The guy that asked had this aura of a wild shark ready to pounce. The shark-like male was then bonked on the head by the tall male in leather. “Hey, cool it.’ He then turned to Sunset. ‘Don’t mind Squalo, he is never that trusting with anyone he just met.” “Oh, that’s alright,” Sunset replied. There was a bit of awkward silence until the shorter male decided to talk. “Alright mates. As much as the silence is lovely, should we start giving the names of us cause we ain’t mind readers.” Sunset noticed the East London accent in his speech. But he had a point. “Well, I’m Sunset Shimmer, Nice to meet you” Sunset replied in a polite tone. The girl in green was first to reply. “Hola! Me Llamo Flora Sprint! Nice to meet you!” She said in an upbeat tone. Next was the British sounding male. “Pleasure to meet ya, Sunshine! Name’s Falco Highwind! Speed demon, prankster and all-around good looking guy!” That made Sunset giggle a bit. What a character this guy was The girl in the Stetson was up next. “Howdy, partner. Name’s Sandy Toxic! Hope we get along fine!” Sunset looked at her with a wary look. She reminded her of...that farmer...way too much. The one that questioned her was silent for a few minutes. He then let out a small sigh and spoke. “Squalo Demone. Dat’s all youse gonna get from me…” he grumbled, crossing his arms The final voice was the tallest male of the rag tag group. “And I’m Shade Lycan. Welcome to our abode” Sunset replied back with her name Now intros are out of the way. Tell us where that old geezer found you?” Sunset looked confused. “Uhhh...what do you mean by that?” Falco immediately got in her face “You know...are you a runaway? An accused scapegoat? I mean he did say ‘another betrayed soul’” Sunset froze up. Memories of what happened in the past few days flowed through her head like a raging river of depression and fear. All the insults. All the beatings. Them… Sandy saw this and quickly smacked Falco’s head. “Smooth move, speed freak...ya scared the chick!” “HEY! I was just asking!” Falco snarked holding his head. Shade looked on and just shook his head at the two. “Sorry about them. They fight like they are married or something.” “WE ARE NOT A COUPLE!” Falco and Sandy yelled. Squalo decided to get on the action. “Ya sure? Youse sure act like one!” he said with a smirk. “GO TO HELL, FISH FOR BRAINS!” The two squawked flipping him off. Squalo seemed to take offence and dived on top of them, all three getting into a battle royale. Sunset immediately forgot about what Falco said and looked on with a perplexed expression while Flora and Shade looked at them with a deadpanned look. “Wow. Not even a minute…” Flora muttered. “Anyways, like Falco said...where did Lumen find you anyways? It’s ok if you don’t wanna ask, we won’t rush you but…” Shade began to speak however Sunset put her hand up to stop him from talking. “N-no. It’s alright. Probably best I get it out of the way…” Sunset stuttered a bit. And so Sunset told her story. When telling them about her time as queen bee of CHS and all of the stuff she did to maintain her reign at the top from blackmail to threats. When telling some examples, they had the following reactions Squalo looked at her with a wide-eyed stare and a dropped jaw. “Wow. Youse was ruthless, ain’t ya?” Falco had a nervous grin on him and said “Remind me to never piss you off in a dark alley. I think you’ll batter me like a turkey.” Sandy had an incredulous look on her face when hearing her action. “Damn. Ya had issues. Reminds me of my family.” Shade still had a stoic look and said nothing but inside he was shocked. He met power hungry scum before but they were driven by a sadistic feeling to watch the world burn. This girl was simply starved for attention...which became a lust for power. Flora’s attitude went from upbeat to shellshocked at what she did. “OK, quick question. You are seeing a psychologist, right? It feels like you have abandonment issues.” Sunset just replied. “Don’t worry. A special someone brought me back down to Earth” She then told them about the Fall Formal and what she did to repent for what she did. Falco remarked, “Well, they do say that the road to redemption is a hard path to walk”. Sunset and the other teens nodded at that. Next came the Battle of the Bands and how the Dazzlings were causing havoc in the school, which lead to her reputation being restored and renewed. They all wanted to have a listen to her singing. Then came Anon-a-Miss. She first explained how it began with Applejack’s nickname. Then came the Photos from the sleepover she had with her former pals and the wacky costumes they wore as well as Rainbow’s disaster of a test to more secrets being spilt. Her friends blamed her, thinking she went back to her old ways. Soon, it spread through the whole school. She became the scapegoat all over again. Soon the yells became violent and her ‘friends’ were leading the mob. Rainbow sold her out to Gilda who ambushed and battered her. Applejack had gotten the wrestling team on her ass. Rarity got her kicked out of her job. Fluttershy made sure the animals rejected her so no companion and Pinkie got the Cakes to bar her from the Sweet Shoppe. “I was just wandering the streets thinking how my life went down Shit Central when I met that old man. He found me and took me in.” She concluded her tale in a mournful tone. There were a few minutes of silence as Squalo, Falco, Sandy, Shade and Flora looked at her with shocked looks. Soon they began to show an ever-growing feeling of rage… "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THEM?!" They all yelled in rage. Squalo was cracking his knuckles with an angry scowl on his face. “YOUSE TELLIN ME THEY TURNED YOU INTO A PUNCHING BAG JUST TO HOLD ONTO THEIR PRIDE?! QUANDO LE METTERÒ LE MANI SU DI LORO, IL FIUME TIBER AVRÀ CINQUE NUOVI CORPI BATTUTI CHE GALLEGGIANO IN ESSO! (Translation: WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THEM, THE RIVER TIBER WILL HAVE FIVE NEW BEATEN BODIES FLOATING IN IT!) Falco was shaking with rage as he was looking at a large Kitchen knife “GET IN LINE! THAT RAINBOW BIRD IS GOING TO HAVE HER FEATHERS RIPPED WITH A KNIFE!” Sandy was crushing a soda can in her hand, causing the soda to spill, but she was too mad to give a damn. “Y'ALL CAN WAIT! I’M GONNA BREAK OUT THE NOOSE! A CERTAIN GROUP IS GETTIN’ HANGED TONIGHT! Shade was snarling lowly, like an angry dog “YOU CAN WAIT YOUR TURN! THEY JUST EARNED A TICKET ON THE HIGHWAY TO HELL!” Flora's foot began tapping at an increased pace. Her brow furrowed in rage “SAYS YOU! I HAVE HALF THE MIND TO BURY SOMEONE!” Sunset recoiled at the sudden rage. She wasn’t sure whether to feel touched or scared. Shade managed to cool down enough to reassure Sunset. “Don’t worry. We ain’t mad at you. The fact that they never gave you a chance to explain hits too close to home for us.” Sunset tilted her head in confusion. “I’m sorry, but what?” Sandy looked at her, wiping her hands with a towel. “Ya ain’t the’ only one who suffered a betrayal. We ain’t here ‘cause the old man sought us out. He found us after our friends and family left us out to rot.” Sunset’s eyes widened. “Seriously?” Falco nodded. “Yep. Cocks we thought would help us turned tail faster than the Road Runner. You wanna hear some of our tales of woe?” “Well, it would help me understand what you mean.” So the five sat around Sunset. Each one began to tell a story about how they met with Lumen Draco. Author's Note HOLY SHIT! I BLANKED ABOUT THIS STORY!!!! I AM SO SORRY BUT UNI AND MY JOB PLUS DRIVING LESSONS MEANT THIS HAD TO TAKE A BACK SEAT!!! So anyways, Sunset met the five teens that will soon be her new pack. Maybe she will gain new friends. Also, just in case you forget. No Forgiveness in this story and you may expect some Rainboom bashing. Chapter 4 - The Pack's Origins: Lone WolfChapter 4 - The Pack’s Origins: Lone Wolf Even lone wolves will find a pack to join. It’s all about the right one to be with “So who will start?” That was the question on Sunset’s mind as she waited for them to begin their origins. And that was on their minds as they were looking at each other, trying to decide who will speak first. Suddenly, Shade had spoken up. “I’ll start I guess” There isn’t much I can tell about my past. I was an orphan, found at the steps at some run-down orphanage in Manhattan. I lived there for most of my life and before I wasn’t always like this, y’know. Sunset looked with a raised eyebrow. Looking at Shade, he was easily the bulkier of the three boys. The height helped portray the wild look he had on him. “Seriously?” Shade nodded and showed him a picture, causing Sunset’s eyes to bug out of their sockets. The picture showed someone with his looks...except he was pot-bellied, had a lot of baby fat on his face and had a rather gloomy look on his face. He only wore a plain white T-shirt and a pair of grey shorts and white trainers. “W-wow...Um...You…” Sunset was struggling to say something that wouldn’t offend him. “I look like a dwarf, don’t I? Forget about it...I know I look ridiculous.” Shade remarked with a smirk. Sunset began to wave her hands in a vain attempt to persuade him that she wasn’t thinking that. “What?! No! You don’t look- I mean- It’s not- Ahh screw it…your kid self looks like a butterball” Sunset relented “That’s alright. I get that a lot from these bozos” He said, hooking a thumb to the others behind him, who nodded in agreement Anyways, I was easily a target because of my appearance. I was called all sorts of crap. ‘Fat Shadow’, ‘Boulder of Darkness’. Hell, my personal favourite is when one person had loaded my backpack with heavy stuff, causing me to act like a turtle. Little prick… But I decided to keep quiet. “Wait...really?” Sunset was confused about that. Sandy decided to answer. “Oh yeah. He told us that the boys were like wild broncos. Big and powerful. Being a giant turkey, he would’ve been battered like one” Anyways, I may have kept quiet...butI was slowly starting to get pissed at their behaviour. But I was afraid that they would retaliate if I snitched so to help cope, I began to do some cardio to get my mind off the torment. It was a great way to release my tension. I was even beginning to burn off my fat bit by bit. Then one day… “La-la-la...Wash here, wash there, wash everywhere.” Shade was currently in the shower, cleaning up after a workout. He was getting thinner, burning the fat each time. He was so into his shower, he didn’t realise that someone was watching him. He had salt and pepper hair and a grey skin complexion. Currently, he had on a polo shirt, a pair of beige slacks and trainers. It was Jump Start, one of his tormentors. Snickering to himself, he and three other boys, grabbed him and hauled him to the hall. Shade had no idea what happened but soon...he got his answer. Thrown across the main hall, he saw everyone. Soon, his brain caught up with what happened and tried to cover up everything. But it was too late. Everybody began to laugh, Jump Start and his goons laughing the hardest. Hot tears fell from his eyes, but he didn’t make a noise. “I had never been so humiliated in my life…” Shade morosely lamented. His head was down and his eyes were scrunched shut. Flora went over and rubbed his back in concern Sunset looked shocked. Even during her She-Demon phase, she wasn’t that...OK, that time with Rarity and the green hair dye job at the Spring Fling was similar, but she had a goal to be the queen of the dance. She wouldn’t do something just for kicks. “Oh my God...I’m so--” She was about to respond but Shade held a hand out. “Please don’t. I don’t like pity” Falco added his own two cents. “Trust us. He doesn’t like to be reminded of his naked truth. And feeling sorry for him doesn’t help either.” Something did click in Sunset’s mind, though. “Wait...Falco said that you were also a betrayed soul...How were you betrayed?” Soon Shade’s face grew into an angry snarl. I was hiding in my room at the time. I didn’t want to see their mocking faces. That was when I heard two voices: One was Sure Shot...the other was someone I thought I would call a friend… “Here, man. Just as I promised.” Sure Shot spoke “Aw thanks! These are gonna be good!” The other voice replied. I peeped out and saw it: Sure Shot was handing some chocolate bars to someone. He was rather pudgy with short brown hair as well as grey skin. “That info was useful, Crunch Time.” Sure Shot spoke. “Oh yeah...I know he’ll be mad but he’ll laugh it off.” Crunch Time said as he began to devour the snacks. As soon as Sure Shot left, Crunch Time went to the yard, unaware I was watching the whole thing. “GRRRRRRRRRR……” I was growling while gripping the door. Sunset’s jaw dropped. THAT was a bullshit reason to sell someone out Shade then grumbled how he never should’ve made friends with someone who thinks with his gut. “So...what happened after that?” Shade just sighed. “I skipped town. Couldn't stay in a place when the only kid who thought was your friend was only interested in his friggn' stomach. Began living my life on the streets, getting into fights, robbing people, shops. Even joined a biker gang for a bit. I left on good terms. But then came the day I met the old man. I will never forget that encounter... Shade, now 16, was busy in a garage he took over. It was a gift from the biker gang he rolled with. Currently, he was repairing the gasket on his Harley Davidson. While he did have a place to call home, he still felt kind of lonely. Now that he was out of the orphanage, he had found freedom. He bulked up and learned some basic forms of combat. Mainly, how to adapt to his surroundings and use what he can grab. If that doesn’t work? A good old fashioned knuckle sandwich. Shade sighed. Despite getting out, he was still lonely. His only friend sold him out for some candy and he was a laughing stock thanks to Jump Start. He wanted a family but...who would adopt a 16-year old biker? Suddenly, he heard the sound of a scuffle from outside. Peeking out, he saw a group of street punks in leather attacking an old man...or trying to attack an old man. One thug tried to stab the old man but he moved out of the way before using his energy, guiding his body to the wall, causing him to be knocked unconscious. Another tried to attack with a 2 x 4, however, the old man intercepted the blow, destroying it with an elbow strike, then delivered a palm strike to his torso, knocking the wind out of the thug as he fell flat on his behind. A Third tried to punch the old man with a brass knuckle on his left hand, but the old man caught the fist by the wrist, backhanding his torso three times then tossing him into a pile of garbage. A final one bought out a revolver and was about to shoot, when suddenly Shade decided to run interference slamming a wrench into his spine, bringing the revolver off course. He then kicked his legs from underneath him and kicked his fallen body into a dumpster side. Seeing his foe fallen, he proceeded to go back to the garage. “Thank you, young man.” He said in a wisdom-filled tone Shade just let out a grunt and said: “Yeah well, they were making a lot of noise.” And he walked back to the garage “So what are you doing right now?” Shade looked over his shoulder, looking at the man like he was a twit. “Why do you wanna know?” The old man just shrugged. “Normally, kids like you would be in education” Shade let out a harsh laugh “Me? In a plain building with some ass in a pinstripe suit with weedy glasses, telling me my 123s? Get real, old man. I don’t have a family so how will I get a place?” “You know, I think you may have a chance if you try.” “You wanna talk to me about taking a chance? For crying out loud, I spent a good ten years on the streets.” “You never know if you don’t try…You never know...Lone wolves eventually find a pack to be with...” And with that, he walked away, leaving a confused Shade. Shade had a look of nostalgia from the meeting. “I never understood why he told me that weird quote. My next meeting soon answered that for me.” Shade was busy riding his motorcycle on his way to a nearby diner. He was off to the junkyard to see if there were any new parts but he got hungry. As he finished his lunch, he noticed the same street punks he met a few days ago, trying to steal his cycle. “HEY! THE FUCK YOU THINK YOU PUNKS ARE DOING?!” As he rushed towards them, Shade had no idea that he was being watched. With a mighty snarl, he attacked the closest one with a hard haymaker that sent one of the thieves on his back. Turning quickly, he grabbed another by the front of his shirt and threw him into a wall. Another tried to tackle him, but Shade responded with a headbutt on the nose, causing his nose to bleed as he bent down to cover it. Shade double hammered him into the ground. Suddenly, two smaller males went and grabbed his arms, restraining him. It was a struggle, but they manage to keep Shade from moving Suddenly, the leader of the punks came up towards him. He had grey skin with blue eyes and had a red mohawk. He was dressed in a red T-Shirt and loose grey pants, showing his boxers as well as black boots. He had a sadistic look on his face as he began to crack his knuckles. “Well, well. Looks like a Lone Wolf found his way into shit central” He sneered in a high-pitched voice. Shade knew who this was. The bikers smashed this gang a few years ago. “Flame Strike...I thought you would be hiding by now.” Shade snarled. “I was. But then I heard you were in town. I decided that I won’t be happy until you are face down in front of my feet”. Soon, Flame put on a knuckle duster and began punching Shade in the stomach and face. With each blow, Shade coughed up saliva from each blow and was barely standing. Flame was about to deliver one final strike, when he felt his fist being restrained. Shade’s vision was blurry but he did see the old man from earlier. “What the hell are you doING!” Flame began but soon yelled as he was flung through the air. The rest of the punks saw their leader and began to launch an assault. One tried to attack with an extendable rod but he ended up swinging through air as the man dodged it and directed the momentum to another charging thug, causing them to crash. Another used a switchblade to try and slash him, but Draco managed to disarm him and flip him onto his back. Two more tried to come and attack from both sides with a chain and a pipe respectively. Grabbing the chain, he swung with all of his might so that the one wielding it slammed his back into the pipe user. While they were disoriented, he quickly delivered a powerful roundhouse causing the two to collapse in a heap. Flame Strike growled. This was not how it was supposed to happen! He was supposed to beat down Shade to show his dominance. With a roar of fury, he rushed towards Draco, fist ready to turn his head into paste. Instead, Draco just moved his head then delivered a flurry of touches, paralysing him. He then just pushed him back as he fell to the floor, still frozen. Shade just saw Draco walking up to him before he blacked out. Sunset looked at Shade in awe. “Yeah...He took me in and healed me up.” Shade said whimsically. “What happened?” Sunset asked “When I came to, I thanked him. Then I asked why he helped me? You know what he said?” “Why not? Youngblood like you doesn’t deserve to be wondering alone. And besides, you always feel stronger when you are fighting for someone other than yourself.” ‘“That geezer asked if he wanted me to stay with him. You can guess what my answer was.” Sunset had a knowing look. “So you found a family.” Shade simply closed his eyes and smiled. “I ain’t regretted it to this day” Author's Note Do you know the best thing about COVID-19? More time on this story. But other than that...IT IS FUCKING BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The next five will be the backstories for the other five members. Here is Shade's. Next one...Not sure Chapter 5 - The Pack’s Origins - Dead Wood for a Stray CatPack’s Loyalty Chapter 5 - The Pack’s Origins - Dead Wood for a Stray Cat “Every stray finds their way home. It just may not be their original one” After that story, Shade had shown Sunset his motorcycle and Sunset was drooling over it. Being a fellow gearhead, she was fawning over the bike like it was a holy relic. The rest looked on in amusement. “Hey Sunshine! Yer droolin” Squalo called out. That snapped out of her state and she blushed when she saw the drool coming out. After a few minutes of ribbing, Sunset asked who was next to tell their origin story. Suddenly Flora spoke up. “Don’t worry chica, I’ll go next! However…’ Her tone shifted to a more bitter tone. ‘...Let’s just say that familia isn’t always the blood in your veins.” I was born in Riverside, California but my family wasn't the greatest. Mi papa and Madre were dead due to an accident. I wasn’t sure what it was but I never knew them. I was raised by my older brother for most of my life and honestly...He was a jackass. <Pause> “Wait, seriously.” Sunset asked Flora had a scowl on her face as she looked away “I’ll tell you in the story. But yeah, he was a jackass” My brother was a weed addict. Any chance he would get, he would use the money left behind by our parents to spend on the dealers down the road. Even if I would hide the money, stuff in our apartment would go missing and there would be the scent of weed in the air. I knew he was stealing stuff to sell but I didn’t know how to prove it. So I left a trap for him. A plastic pendant superglued to a table. As soon as he went to grab it and began to struggle, I emerged. “I KNEW IT! GROVE, YOU SNEAKY LITTLE LADRÓN!” “MIERDA! FLORA!” “Wait, you managed to catch him in the act?” Sunset asked. “With his weed filled pants down” Flora said with a smirk. “Well, what happened?” Sunset was starting to get extremely invested in the story. Flora soon put her arms behind her head as she looked at the ceiling. “I got him into rehab. That weed addiction was gonna get him killed one day, and I didn’t want to lose my only family. It seemed to go well. He cleaned up, got a proper job and went to college to get his degree.” Sunset soon had to ask the question: “So if he was getting help, why are you here?” Flora soon adopted a dark look as her fingers clenched. “Turns out...he traded weed for something else...and I was an offering to his addiction.” Flora and Grove were walking down the street to a nearby building. “So Grove, why are we here?” Flora asked in a curious tone “It's...It’s a surprise.” Grove stuttered with a manic grin on his face as he began to shake to which Flora looked with confusion. When they entered the building, Flora soon gained an uneasy feeling trailing down her spine. The fact it was dark didn’t help her one bit. “We’re here! I brought her!” Grove yelled. Flora soon felt sweat pouring as he heard a deep voice that had a tone of terror in it. “Thanks, Grove...Here.” The voice said as a package flew into his arms. Grove looked at it with a giggle. “Bro...what’s going on?” Flora asked nervously. “Your brother paid his debt. He gives us you and he’ll have enough Jungle Rose to last him a year!” A nasally voice replied. Flora’s eyes widened as she saw her brother stumble away. “GROVE! WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Grove looked behind him with a gaze that showed madness “ANYTHING FOR MY FIX!” Flora’s eyes soon narrowed as she saw him stumble away giggling like crazy. ¡GROVE, HIJO DE PERRA! ¡TE MALDIGO A UNA MALDITA SILLA DE RUEDAS! SI ALGUNA VEZ SALGO DE ESTO, ¡JURO POR DIOS GUE TE VOY A DAR UNA PALIZA! ¿ESTÁS MUERTO, ME ESCUCHAS? ¡MUERTO! ¡NO TE CONSIDERO MÁS HERMANO DE SANGRE! (Translation: GROVE, YOU SON OF A BITCH! I CURSE YOU TO A FUCKING WHEELCHAIR! IF I EVER GET OUT OF THIS, I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOU! YOU'RE DEAD, YOU HEAR ME?! DEAD! I DON'T CONSIDER YOU A BLOOD BROTHER TO ME ANYMORE!) Soon a group of men stepped out as they outstretched their arms just as the building door slammed shut. There was silence in the room as Sunset’s jaw dropped in horror. Never in her life had she heard something horrible. Flora was looking at the floor in cold rage as tears dropped onto the floor. “Oh...my...God…” She whispered in horror, mouth covered by her hands “All for a drug...guess his love for pot was stronger than his love for his only sister.” She muttered in bitter hatred. Shade then piped up. “When she told us what happened, we wanted to find that son of a bitch and make him pay Falco then spoke up. “I wanted to take a rusty cleaver and neuter him right on the spot. Give him the Bob Barker treatment!” with a terrifying grin. “Yeah, We wanted to find dat goombah and make him sleep with the fishes. But grass gal here wanted foist pickins” Squalo groused out. Flora looked at the boys just as Sandy rubbed her shoulders to calm her down. “I told you, I wanted to do him in. He’s my former brother and thus I get dibs.” “So how did you end up with Mr. Draco” Flora simply smiled at that memory. Flora ran. Ran like her life depended on it. Why? She managed to escape the clutches of the gang after a week of being their plaything. The things they did...Flora didn’t want to think about that, she still got nightmares. Slipping into an alley, she waited as she saw several gang members run past it, breathing a sigh of relief as she slid down the wall, curling herself into a ball, burying her face into her knees. “Damn It, Grove...We only had each other...why would you do this?” “Hey...Are you alright?” An old voice reached her ears, causing Flora to flinch. Out of the shadows stood Lumen Draco, himself with a bag of groceries. “AYE! Stranger Danger!” Flora yelled “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.” He commented, but Flora didn’t believe him “YEAH RIGHT!” She yelled as she went on the attack with a flurry of punches...which didn’t connect as Lumen blocked and re-directed them all, further pissing her off. “LET ME HIT YOU, DAMMIT!” She yelled. “Please...That ain’t gonna happen.” A deep voice rang out. Turning her head, she saw Shade leaning against the wall. “The geezer may be wrinkly but you might as well look for a flying porker than try to hit him”, Shade said “SCREW YOU!” She replied as she continued to attack. This went on for ten minutes until she began to sway. “You got too much rage in your attacks. It’s blinding your judgement. Something tells me that you are suffering from a deep pain in your heart. “You don’t know shit! You didn’t have to deal with gangbangers and drug dealers hunting you down! And you didn’t have to deal with the fact that it was due to your older brother causing this due to being a druggie!” She screamed as she began to step forward. She made three steps before fainting from exhaustion. Walking over, Shade check her out <Pause> “Like a perv looking through his porn” Falco chimed in only to get a foot to the face by Shade “Ignore bird brain.” Shade said with a tic mark His eyes widened by the state of her body. She was extremely thin, her ribs were showing and she looked really pale. “We need to get her to the house...NOW” “By the time I woke up, I was in this place. There was a bowl of soup and a bread roll to which I decided to scarf down” Flora said looking at the ceiling Sunset had another look of awe at this girl. She managed to show some extreme endurance “At first I was worried that they would force me to leave” But she was interrupted by Shade “Worried? You BEGGED Draco to let you live with him!” Shade spoke out in an amused tone as Flora blushed in embarrassment as she looked at Shade “OK, so I bowed down to him and said I would do anything as long as he wouldn't drop me off at that alley! At least he gave me a good offer!” Flora shook her head as she remembered that moment “That training may have been brutal, but it was worth it. I found a new home” Author's Note I am on a roll!!!!!!!!!!! Pack’s Loyalty Chapter 6 - The Pack’s Origins: Wings of RejuvinationPack’s Loyalty Chapter 6 - The Pack’s Origins: Wings of Rejuvination “When the wind dies out, it will pick up. It just needs some time to gain speed” “Wait. Training?” Sunset asked with a tilt of her head. Flora however didn’t say anything. Just smiled with exhaustion. “Trust me, hon. Ya’ll find out soon.” Sandy said with a grin “You’ll be put through the ringer like they would do in the armies all around the world.” Shade said, lips twitching upward Squalo had a nasty smirk on his face, teeth showing. “Hope ya body is ready. Youse roll with us, you better put some devotion to it.” Falco soon began to snicker. “Or you can just write your will right now. I call dibs for those swanky boots you got!” He sang out. Sunset began to pale a bit, but she’ll ask later. Right now, she wanted to find out more on their backgrounds. “So...what about you, Falco? How did you meet Lumen?” She asked quickly. Falco’s smile soon dropped as he collapsed to the ground with a hand to his forehead in a dramatic pose. “Oh geez…” Sandy groaned, facepalming “I will tell you. But it is a sad story. A tale of betrayal. A script of a poor young man who’s dreams were dashed and destroyed by a bunch of popular arseholes who turned him into a laughing stock. A young man who lost passion for his favourite sport. A tale of woe. A tale of…” “GET TO THE POINT, DRAMA KING!” Everyone yelled in annoyance. He was getting annoying with his monologue. Pouting, Falco stood up crossing his arms. “Nobody has any appreciation for the arts nowadays…” Sunset put a hand on his shoulder and just spoke gently. “You can tell us if you want. Just don’t make a big show out of it, OK?” Perking up a bit, Falco took a seat on the floor and began his tale. Well. It all began in the city of Seattle. Me and my family weren’t the richest of the lot. Then again...We were in a street consisting of a lot of rich kids and snotty popular pillocks. Sunset had a deadpanned look on her face. “What?” “You sound like you came from a sitcom or that cartoon with a buck-toothed kid and his fairies.” Falco just stuck his tongue out at her and continued. Yeah well, at my school the popular and the rich run the roost. They have a lot of power and throw the best parties. Me? Well, I was somewhere along the line of the middle. I had a few friends but not that many. I honestly wasn’t a fan of any of the popular kids there. Something about them rubbed me the wrong way. And besides. I had my own hobby than being concerned whether or not I had a status in the school. I was a top track runner. “Top runner?” Sunset asked Falco then turned his head up with a proud smirk. “Fastest kid in the whole school.” “Which is why people said he could never get a date.” Flora said to Sunset Falco still looked proud as he said “That’s rig-!’ His eyes shot up before screeching out “HEY!” They all laughed at his antics. “Anyways…” <Resume I was the fastest runner they had at the school. Our track team was the highest on the charts. Though things took a dive down shit central on the day of the qualifiers… Falco began to growl angrily at the memory. Sunset soon looked a bit worried “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t-” Falco put a hand up to stop her from talking. “I won’t stop. I might as well tell you now. But let’s just say...you should NEVER let a bunch of rich pricks come and join you. They’ll find a way to screw you over.” It was the day of the qualifiers. Falco was busy warming up before the race. This was it. If he won the race, he’ll be getting that scholarship. “Why hello there, Highwind.” A high-pitched snooty voice spoke behind him, causing Falco to groan in annoyance. “Hello Gold Rush” He spoke in a deadpanned tone. He never liked the guy. He may be rich, he may be popular, but he was an arrogant little shit that deserved a foot up his ass. He was slightly taller than Falco with yellow skin and golden coloured hair plus yellow eyes. Currently he was wearing the track uniform. He joined a few weeks ago and somehow won everyone on the track team over. Everyone except Falco. His gut was telling him something about him and he did not like it. “Well, that’s not the right response. We’re teammates.” He said in a joyful tone. Falco raised an eyebrow. He watched enough films to know there was something hidden in that voice. “Look. Just get ready. We got a race to do.” He said as he walked out of the changing room, totally unaware about the sneer on Gold’s face. “Well little birdy...I’m afraid you’re going to have to get your wings clipped.” He said as he took out a phone and dialled a number. [Hello?] “It’s me. Commence the plan.” [So it’s time?] “Oh yes. I’ll make him pay for dismissing me and YOU and your ‘pals’ will be welcome into my circle [Sweet! It will be worth it!] *click* “That there was the worst day of my life…” He mumbled. Sunset soon noticed a change in his demeanor, as he went from joyful and jokey to somber and miserable. “Falco. What happened?” She dared to ask. Falco didn’t say anything. He just lifted his pant leg and Sunset lightly gasped at the sight. The leg was slightly purple like a plum and was shown to be bent at an angle. Falco then rolled the leg down to move his jacket to show a darker patch on his left shoulder as well as a scar. “The accident happened.” he grunted. It was an average day. Falco was doing some last minute running before the big race. He heard that there were gonna be college scouts. This was his chance to get a scholarship for college. He was currently in a park in his running outfit then he would head off to the track. “OK. That’s training done. Now time to head off to the track. I smell a scholarship coming!” He sung in joy. Soon, it would be time to go to the track meet. Just as he was crossing the road, he heard a low hum on the right. “Huh?” Falco said as he turned his head only for his eyes to widen to see a fast car coming into him at high speeds. “CRASH!” Falco was blasted a few feet from where he was. The last thing he saw was several people asking if he was alright. “By the time I woke up, my arm was in a sling and my arm was in a cast while I was lying down in some hospital bed with some shitty jelly to eat with my parents looking like a death sentence was revoked.” Falco said. Sunset’s eyes widened with shock. He had been hit by a car badly but he was still alive. “You must be a survivor if you withstood that.” Sunset commented in awe. Suddenly something clicked in her head. ‘Hang on? A car came out of nowhere? That can’t be a coincidence.” Falco then looked serious. “It wasn’t” Falco was using a crutch when he came back. Doctors said that he shouldn’t be running and take it easy for a few weeks. Everyone gave me looks of pity but Falco figured that it was because of the missed out sponsors. It wasn’t until he overheard a conversation with his track team and Gold that he found out why he was given. “Look! I know we wanted to go to your party but this was not worth it!” One voice spoke in a panicked tone “Oh come on! How bad can it be?” Another replied. I knew it was Gold “We told you where Falco usually trains! When you asked where he trained, I figured it was so you could...I don’t know...scare him or learn his secrets. Not arrange an accident!” the same voice asked. “Look, you all wanted a shot at that scholarship. I mean, there will be another one and when Falco is all healed up, he can try again. Plus, going to my fantastic party was worth it AND I am now a star in sports, giving my reputation a boost. Falco…’ Gold Rush began but… ‘...will find out.” he growled out, much to the shock of Gold Rush and the rest of the team “F-Falco! You’re here!” One member stammered “Hello, ‘friends’ Falco said in an overly sweet tone. ‘How was the party?” “Party? What party? We don’t know any party.” The other said in a rather quick tone. Falco soon showed a snarl. “QUIT THE BULLSHIT! I HEARD EVERYTHING! YOU TOSSERS SOLD ME OUT! I WAS STUCK IN A HOSPITAL FOR TWO WEEKS AND FOR WHAT?! SO YOU COULD GO TO A PARTY?!” Falco roared out causing the team to flinch. He then levelled a glare to Gold which could melt steel “And you...you set me up.” He snarled quietly, shaking with rage Gold didn’t seem to be aware of the danger. “Oh cool down bird brain. There will be another sponsor, you can just go for them. I mean, it’s not like anything bad happened -” He didn’t get to finish as he soon was smacked to the ground by an angry Falco. He then began to smack his cane on his body. “THERE WON’T BE ANOTHER SPONSOR FOR A LONG TIME! YOU RUINED MY LIFE!” He roared as he continued to attack him. “By the time I was finished, he was a bloody mess. Both literally and figuratively. I was expelled soon after.” Falco said as he clenched his eyes. “Oh my God...he actually did that?” Sunset spoke in a hushed horrified tone “You would be surprised what people will do to become popular. Lie, cheat, destroy. That is what some people will do.” Sunset grimaced. She knew what that was like. “So how did you meet these guys?” Sunset asked. Falco was staggering as he went for a walk, drinking some extra strong energy drink with extra caffeine. Right now, that’s all that he could do. Drink and walk aimlessly. It was only a week since he was expelled and right now he felt his life had taken a trip down the toilet. His parents were not angry or disappointed in him, especially when they found out how his accident happened. Needless to say, hell hath no fury like parents scorned, especially when the principal let it slip he was taking bribes from Rush. Now he was stuck doing online classes. His days running on the track were history thanks to that, and now he only had two things: Online classes and drinking energy drinks, which he ended up getting addicted to. “Stupid Gold Rush...Stupid track team...stupid school…” He muttered to himself in a caffeine filled haze. He was busy wondering the street when he heard the sounds of fists and skin smacking each other. When he turned, he saw Shade, Flora and Lumen. Shade was throwing punches at Flora, who was able to dodge them. Flora responded with a high reverse roundhouse, which was blocked by Shade’s arm, before she spun around and launched an axel kick to his face before falling onto her front, supporting herself with her hands. She then performed a front flip, righting herself back to her feet. Shade then grabbed her waist and did a GErman suplex, her head slamming onto the grass. Flora flipped back up and got into a fighting stance, with Shade crouching down. “Enough!” Lumen called out, causing them to relax. “You are progressing well. But you still have a lot to work on. Shade, you need to work on your instincts. Observe your opponent and look for a sign of attacks. Flora, stick to simple strikes. Try and do any advanced moves will only slow you down.” “Right.” Shade and Flora spoke as they bowed down. Soon both went to grab some water bottles when Shade noticed Falco watching from the distance. “Hey! Who the hell are you?” He called out. “Oh...Uh…I’m Falco. I was just watching your little display.” He replied, rubbing his head in embarrassment. “Shade. So what are you doing here?” Shade replied “I was just walking. Saw your fighting display and got curious.” “Cool. Say, me and Flora are about to start again. You wanna watch?” Falco thought for a minute and shrugged his shoulders. Steadily climbing over the gate, he limped to where the rest were. He may as well see. What was going to happen if he did? As he followed Shade, Flora noticed Falco following Shade. “Hey, who's the limper?” She asked. Lumen also looked at Falco with interest. “Just a spectator. You don’t mind if he watches our match, sensei?” Shade asked “No I don’t mind. Now then, let’s try again and this time, work on your instinct.” Lumen said as they got into position. “Ready? HAJIME!” Flora and Shade began to fight as Falco looked on with awe. Falco sighed in reminiscence. “After watching that martial arts session, I felt like it was like a show.” “Really?” Sunset asked, as she sipped her drink “Yep. Lumen noticed and asked if I wanted to take part. I wasn’t sure at first as I was still injury but Lumen insisted, telling me that the physical therapy would heal me faster. Hell, when I was recovering he told me this “It isn’t just physical injuries but mental. You think that your injury is long lasting but it is all in your head. Just remember that you are taking a new step on a new path. All your injuries will fade away” Falco laughed in nostalgia “Turns out. He was right. I got my speed back”. Author's Note Say fellas' DID YA MISS ME?! Sorry for the wait, but you know. Uni and life.
Chapter 1 - A Frozen FriendshipPack’s Loyalty Chapter 1: A friendship that was frozen. A heart that is shattered “Rumours are started by haters, spread by fools and accepted by idiots” It was a dark and cold night. Snow was falling and landing on any surface the flakes could get a chance to land, making it look like a white blanket. The night sky was a perfect blend of black and white. The temperature was a solid -3°C, so it was perfect for freezing. Today was 23rd December. Only two more days until the happiest day of the year: Christmas. Unfortunately, there was one teenage girl that wasn’t feeling any holiday cheer. Her name was Sunset Shimmer: former unicorn, ex-bully, redeeming anti-hero, Canterlot High defender...and now a backstabbed young lass. Sunset was trudging through the snow, with a look on her face that resembled someone who just realized that her loved one just died and she came back from the funeral. These past few days were nothing more than a living hell for her, with her new reputation gone down the toilet, the sole fact that her friends had severed ties with her and nearly the whole school had turned against her. And it was all because of Anon-a-Miss Anon-a-Miss. Those three words that were a big plague on her well-being. That cyber demon had caused the whole school to be in disarray and as a result everyone began to turn on her again, the only difference was that her friends were the first to turn on her. The reason being was that The Rainbooms had invited her to celebrate the holidays after finding out she had no one to celebrate Christmas with. They just had fun. Mucking around, wearing costumes and just having a good time. That was when the secrets began to pop-up. First was an old family nickname of Applejack which was “piggy-wiggly”, then it was Rainbow’s failed test and last of all was the pictures from the sleepovers. With all these secrets, there was one thing they could conclude: It was Sunset Shimmer. And they certainly let her know of their anger, especially as she was sobbing in the corridors “Why...after all I had done for them?” she whimpered. She still remembered what they said: “Why should we listen to your lies?!” That was Applejack, the “most honest” student of CHS. “We thought you were our friend!” Rainbow said that one. She sure showed true loyalty that time (!) “You don’t belong here, Sunset!” Rarity said that. That uptight, bitchy little snob A fresh stream of tears fell from her cheeks. Guess whoever said that Friendship is the greatest treasure must've been drinking or something. Next secrets began to be spilled from the other students in the school and they were pissed off, with assaulting and insulting happening on her left and right. Hell, even Rainbow managed to trick Sunset by getting her old friend Gilda and her gang of thugs to brutalize her and leave her near death. However, as she was walking she remembered that six students had backed her up. Sure, it made them outcasts but the fact they were there for her slightly warmed her up. ‘Flash, Vinyl, Derpy…’ she thought as she remembered those three who helped her when she was assaulted. She never expected her ex-boyfriend, the party girl and the clumsiest girl of CHS to help her out but If it wasn’t for them, then she would have been dead as a doornail. ‘Snips, Snails’ those thoughts continued as she remembered her old henchmen taking her to a local hospital to get treated. She never thought that they would still be there for her, especially after the Fall Formal. But the last person that helped her really shocked her like a sudden jolt of lightning. ‘Scootaloo…’ that one was a complete turn for the books. Rainbow’s “number one fan” was also one of the students that helped her. Actually, she couldn’t call the young girl Rainbow’s number one fan, especially with the latest post on Anon-a-Miss’s webpage. “Aw great, another new post?” said one burly student “Another Anon-a-Miss Post? Sunset is on a roll” Said a jock “Just goes to show you: the more people change, the more they stay the same” lamented Octavia. “Hah, Trixie always knew she was still a sleaze!” said Trixie in a smug voice The Rainbooms noticed and immediately groaned. After their secrets were posted, they thought that Sunset had reverted back into her old ways. They thought that they were in the right. However, their thought trains had broken when they heard what was said. “No way! Is this for real?” “What the hell?! Isn’t she her number one fan?!” “Those two are like sisters! Aren’t they?!” “Looks like Rainbow Trash lost some of her fanbase!” “I think Scootaloo may be a better liar than I thought” Confused, The Rainbooms looked at their phones and they got shown a video. Rainbow pressed play and immediately regretted it. It showed Scootaloo with a dart in her hand and was going to launch it at a dartboard...with a picture of Rainbow Dash in the centre! The Dart hit between the eyes and Scootaloo began smirking. “Aw, yeah, still got it!” she cackled. “Alright Rainbow Ass, you say you’re fast? Try and dodge this!” the dart left her hand and landed right next to the previously thrown one. What she said next really chilled everyone’s bones: “Oh, I’ve been waiting to do this...This will be so much fun...” The video stopped. The whole cafeteria was in silence taking in this new information. Rainbow’s “biggest fan” hated her guts? As soon as Scootaloo came into the Cafeteria, everyone looked with scared looks: her face, rather than being bright and full of innocence, was dark and had a cold glare on her face as she scanned the cafeteria. Silently, she got her lunch and found a place of solitude. When Rainbow saw her surrogate sister, her face was in denial, evident by the quick shaking of her head and her muttering “it can’t be true” Sunset had also saw the whole thing, eyes wide, and began to walk out the other way. Gut instinct told her that it was probably best to not get involved. Out of all the days, that day had been a complete shocker. Everyone had gotten use to the orange-skinned girl’s praises of the athlete, but the fact that she was launching darts at her picture meant that everyone needed to have a complete overhaul of Scootaloo’s being. Nobody must’ve told Rainbow that because after catching up with her and trying to convince herself that it was a cruel joke by demanding Scootaloo to say it. The freshman’s response? A heavy right cross right into her stomach right in front of the whole school. To add the final nail into the coffin, she just said: “I’ve been waiting to do that for over 3 years…” Then she walked of, with a Cheshire grin and muttering “Pathetic dumbass. Can’t believe I looked up to her” Poor Rainbow. The pain in her stomach was nothing compared to her pain in her heart. Naturally, she blamed Sunset for turning Scoots against her, going so far as punching her cheek. But the day turned into the usual assault for Sunset, when three more secrets were spilled and three boys had ambushed her outside of the school and began to wail on her like a pack of wild dogs. “You’re dead Sunset!” Said an athletic student as he gave a swift punch to her stomach. “How’d you find out about my stuffed bear?!” “You told everyone about my family hell?! You are going to die for this!” growled one of the artistic student as he back-handed Sunset. “I’ll bury you alive in front of the fucking statue!” “Oh, I’m gonna enjoy ripping your lips off, you fucking prick!” snarled Score. He was especially pissed over the fact that everyone found out he was juicing. Now he was banned from football until further notice. So he began kicking Sunset right in the stomach. She then began to crouch down, holding her stomach, coughing up blood. “It’s not me…” She wheezed out. They were about to continue until three voices rung out. “HEY!” They turned around to see three pissed students. They recognised the face as Flash Sentry, Vinyl Scratch and Derpy Hooves “Hitting a woman, now that’s just low!”, Said Flash in an outraged manner. “Stay outta this, Brad! This bitch needs to pay!” Yelled out Score. “For some pieces of trash on the web?! Are you deluded or something?! IT. AIN’T. HER!” yelled out Vinyl “She’s messing with you! This she-demon went back to her old ways! Now we’ll bury her right now!” “Seriously?! Do you bastards still believe that gossip rag?!” Snarled Derpy. Flash and Vinyl could’ve sworn that they saw Derpy’s lazy eye align with her good one. Not wanting to leave any witnesses, the three boys ran up to the three students with their fists raised. Whilst the fight was happening, three smaller kids walked up to Sunset and helped her move to the Nurse’s office. “This...is...going crazy!” Wheezed a young, pudgy boy named Snips. Sunset sure weighed a lot. “You’re... telling me! Can’t believe they still think it’s her!” grunted a lanky boy named Snails, as he held Sunset other arm over his shoulder “Hurry up! Those three will smell a rat if we don’t get out of here!” said Scootaloo, checking to make sure any more vengeful students were coming. She was more concerned about Sunset than the fact that she had many people whispering about that video. Flash, Vinyl and Derpy: With a few bruises but the attackers under their boots looked on with hopeful smiles… too bad they didn’t notice a group of students noticing the whole thing Sunset looked to see the three young juniors helping her up before she blacked out. As grateful as she was, she couldn’t help but feel a slight bit of remorse. By helping her they ended up being the school outcasts but they didn’t mind. They cared for her wellbeing more than their reputations. Sunset let out an empty sigh. “What’s the use of even living?” she lamented as she continued to trudge through the snow. She put her back to the wall and crouched down, allowing the frozen temperature to seep into her skin. If she dies from frostbite, at least her ex-friends would get their Christmas wish… however she heard a gentle voice before it was lights out for her.
Chapter 2 - Savior in an Elderly FormPack’s Loyalty Chapter 2: Saviour in an elderly form “Every soul needs a saviour” “Why are you out here in the cold, young one?” Sunset looked up, with tears frozen down her cheeks and saw the sight of the person who asked her. He was clearly an elderly male, who was in his 50’s or 60’s with tan orange skin, grey eyes that sparked of youth despite his age and had ebony white hair and an ebony white beard. He was standing upright with a lean build. He wore a bright red gi with black sleeves and buttons and on the left top of the torso area was an insignia of a yin-yang symbol in a dragon’s jaw with the tail spiralling around and on his face seemed to be a look of concern and worry. “Just leave me alone” Sunset choked and she buried her her face into her knees and once again began to sob softly with words “why?” over and over. The old man, rather than leave, simply just said: “Why don’t you come with me to my house, unless you want to die from frostbite.” Sunset simply turned her head: a sign that she was refusing his help. The old man just sighed: this girl was difficult. He then whispered something and Sunset realised that her feet weren’t touching the ground. She looked up and to her shock… The old man had sprouted Dragon-shaped wings and was flying in a direction to the north! Either Sunset was suffering from hallucinations from haven’t eaten a snack in a few hours or she must of been dreaming or something. A quick pinch on her cheek and the sudden recoil quickly told her that this was real. The old man noticed and chuckled. “What? Never been flying before?” he asked with a cheeky grin. Sunset’s mind went on a complete halt as she slowly processed her thoughts: This man. Summoned dragon wings. Like a Pony-up. But he did it on his own free will. Her train of thought was broken when the old man landed in front of a bungalow located near a forest. “I assume that you have a question?” “Oh, just a couple.” Droned Sunset, still recovering from the surprise flight. “For example…. HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO...THAT?!!” she exclaimed. She was certain that there was no Equestrian magic in this world. And here this guy was sprouting Dragon wings. The Old man simply gave an amused chuckle. “I believe introductions are in order, before I explain my little trick, or did you not get taught that in your youth??” the man questioned. Sunset immediately blushed in embarrassment due to her forgetfulness. “Oh right. Sorry. Anyways, I’m Sunset Shimmer. Nice to meet you” she replied with a hand outstretched. The old man took her hand and shook it. “Lumen Draco” he answered. “So anyways, care to explain why you are not in your home and in this weather no doubt?” That was when the despair Sunset felt came back in droves. She told him everything...except the Equestria parts. He may be able to grow dragon wings but in all honesty he wouldn’t believe her being a pony from another dimension. As she was spilling her guts out, the expression on Lumen’s face was of silent fury. “After all those girls has done for them, a few secrets told and they leave her out to rot. Also, what is wrong with that school of hers? Attacking an innocent girl out of ‘revenge’?” He thought “...And you know what’s worse?!’, She yelled in anguish. ‘...After I saved their ungrateful asses from the Dazzlings, they just left me wallowing in the hallways! They were my first family, and they do this to me?! I wonder if I was actually their friend at all!” She broke down even further, tears flowing like a raging river in Canada. She would’ve broke down even more, if Lumen hadn’t hugged her, rubbing her back and soothing her emotions. After a while, she calmed down but her eyes were still puffy from the crying. “Come with me to my home. You need to warm up and get some food.” And with that, the two made their way to his home. Sunset and Lumen made to the house. It was styled like a cross between a Japanese Dojo and a normal two-story house with Grey granite walls and a brown roof. The wood was a dark brown mahogany. When they entered, the layout was fairly simple, with all the necessary rooms of a normal house, with the living room having a fireplace and television, as well as a...ya, know what, basically the house had all the necessary rooms alright? Anyways, Sunset made her way to the floor cushions and parked her rear on one of them in front of the fire. Sticking her hands out to warm her fingers. Soon Lumen came in with a cup of hot cocoa that Sunset eagerly accepted because the weather outside was kind of like the Arctic “You know, Sunset. You aren’t the only person I ran into that had suffered from a case of betrayal” He said to which Sunset looked on in confusion. Before she could ask a voice rang out. “YO, OLD MAN! WE’RE BACK AND WE HAVE DEM MARSHMALLOWS YA WANTED!” Sunset Turned around and noticed five other teens coming in. The first one was a 17-year-old male with dark blue skin, light blue eyes which screamed delinquency, grey hair with a white tip in a sharp pompadour. He was wearing a snow jacket over a Navy blue t-shirt with a picture of a twisting shark in the middle, dark blue jeans and blue trainers. Next to come in was a 16-year-old boy with light grey skin, red eyes that had mischief in them, white hair with a quiff at the back. He had on a black beanie and a snow jacket over a White tank-top, grey sleeveless vest, white trousers with a picture of a tornado with a pair of falcon wings sprouting from the tornado and white trainers. The third was a 16-year old female who was currently shaking at the knees from the cold and Sunset couldn't blame her. She had tan yellow skin, brown eyes, long brown hair braided into a ponytail and currently had on a puffy jacket over a white tank-top, blue short-shorts and brown boots. The shorts have an insignia with an obelisk being wrapped by a snake. On her head was a Stetson hat. She could be like Applejack but she had an aura of subdued irritation at the moment. Next was a tall young 17-year-old man. Dark grey skin, dark red eyes, black spiky shoulder-length hair, he looked like a biker from the '60s and the attire reflected it with a Black t-shirt under a black leather biker jacket with an insignia of a white crescent moon and a wolf’s eye in black with three scratches over it in the under the moon located on the back of the jacket along with black jeans, black fingerless gloves and black and white biker boots. Finally, there was a 16-year-old female with black skin, green eyes, forest green hair two long strands cascading over her shoulders. She was wearing a Green t-shirt with a paw print in a wooden tree trunk in the middle under a White hoodie, a green skirt and light green sandals. How she was not cold was a mystery to her. Suddenly the tallest male spoke in a deep voice like Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson "Hey, who's she?" he said pointing at Sunset in confusion. Lumen only said this: "Another Betrayed Soul." Author's Note I'm Back
Chapter 3 - Pack's MeetingPack’s Loyalty Chapter 3: Pack’s Meeting How you present yourself is how people first view you. What are you showcasing? The five teens looked surprised at this. A betrayed soul? The girls with the stetson had a response for that. “Wait, hold up! You sayin…?!” her southern accent bleeding through her lips as she spoke. Lumen just nodded. A few minutes of silence until the green-haired girl opened her mouth, with a Mexican accent shown slightly in her speech. “Well damn, who are the slimeballs that left her out in the cold weather.” Lumen was about to make his way up the stairs but paused and only had this to say. “That is her story to tell. Not mine. If you want to know, you need to ask her yourself.” And with that Lumen left the room with the teens looking at each other wondering where to go from here. Sunset was busy cosying up to the fire and was glancing at the five strangers that were also residents in the house. In a way, it felt like she was in a new habitat and she was out of place in this den of predators. She even felt the gaze of the five looking at her in curiosity. “Uhhh...can I help you guys”? The one with the pompadour simply strode up to her with a suspicious gaze in his eyes. “Yeah, ya can start by sayin’ who da hell are you and why da hell did de geezer invite youse in our home,” he asked in a rough tone. Sunset immediately squirmed a bit. The guy that asked had this aura of a wild shark ready to pounce. The shark-like male was then bonked on the head by the tall male in leather. “Hey, cool it.’ He then turned to Sunset. ‘Don’t mind Squalo, he is never that trusting with anyone he just met.” “Oh, that’s alright,” Sunset replied. There was a bit of awkward silence until the shorter male decided to talk. “Alright mates. As much as the silence is lovely, should we start giving the names of us cause we ain’t mind readers.” Sunset noticed the East London accent in his speech. But he had a point. “Well, I’m Sunset Shimmer, Nice to meet you” Sunset replied in a polite tone. The girl in green was first to reply. “Hola! Me Llamo Flora Sprint! Nice to meet you!” She said in an upbeat tone. Next was the British sounding male. “Pleasure to meet ya, Sunshine! Name’s Falco Highwind! Speed demon, prankster and all-around good looking guy!” That made Sunset giggle a bit. What a character this guy was The girl in the Stetson was up next. “Howdy, partner. Name’s Sandy Toxic! Hope we get along fine!” Sunset looked at her with a wary look. She reminded her of...that farmer...way too much. The one that questioned her was silent for a few minutes. He then let out a small sigh and spoke. “Squalo Demone. Dat’s all youse gonna get from me…” he grumbled, crossing his arms The final voice was the tallest male of the rag tag group. “And I’m Shade Lycan. Welcome to our abode” Sunset replied back with her name Now intros are out of the way. Tell us where that old geezer found you?” Sunset looked confused. “Uhhh...what do you mean by that?” Falco immediately got in her face “You know...are you a runaway? An accused scapegoat? I mean he did say ‘another betrayed soul’” Sunset froze up. Memories of what happened in the past few days flowed through her head like a raging river of depression and fear. All the insults. All the beatings. Them… Sandy saw this and quickly smacked Falco’s head. “Smooth move, speed freak...ya scared the chick!” “HEY! I was just asking!” Falco snarked holding his head. Shade looked on and just shook his head at the two. “Sorry about them. They fight like they are married or something.” “WE ARE NOT A COUPLE!” Falco and Sandy yelled. Squalo decided to get on the action. “Ya sure? Youse sure act like one!” he said with a smirk. “GO TO HELL, FISH FOR BRAINS!” The two squawked flipping him off. Squalo seemed to take offence and dived on top of them, all three getting into a battle royale. Sunset immediately forgot about what Falco said and looked on with a perplexed expression while Flora and Shade looked at them with a deadpanned look. “Wow. Not even a minute…” Flora muttered. “Anyways, like Falco said...where did Lumen find you anyways? It’s ok if you don’t wanna ask, we won’t rush you but…” Shade began to speak however Sunset put her hand up to stop him from talking. “N-no. It’s alright. Probably best I get it out of the way…” Sunset stuttered a bit. And so Sunset told her story. When telling them about her time as queen bee of CHS and all of the stuff she did to maintain her reign at the top from blackmail to threats. When telling some examples, they had the following reactions Squalo looked at her with a wide-eyed stare and a dropped jaw. “Wow. Youse was ruthless, ain’t ya?” Falco had a nervous grin on him and said “Remind me to never piss you off in a dark alley. I think you’ll batter me like a turkey.” Sandy had an incredulous look on her face when hearing her action. “Damn. Ya had issues. Reminds me of my family.” Shade still had a stoic look and said nothing but inside he was shocked. He met power hungry scum before but they were driven by a sadistic feeling to watch the world burn. This girl was simply starved for attention...which became a lust for power. Flora’s attitude went from upbeat to shellshocked at what she did. “OK, quick question. You are seeing a psychologist, right? It feels like you have abandonment issues.” Sunset just replied. “Don’t worry. A special someone brought me back down to Earth” She then told them about the Fall Formal and what she did to repent for what she did. Falco remarked, “Well, they do say that the road to redemption is a hard path to walk”. Sunset and the other teens nodded at that. Next came the Battle of the Bands and how the Dazzlings were causing havoc in the school, which lead to her reputation being restored and renewed. They all wanted to have a listen to her singing. Then came Anon-a-Miss. She first explained how it began with Applejack’s nickname. Then came the Photos from the sleepover she had with her former pals and the wacky costumes they wore as well as Rainbow’s disaster of a test to more secrets being spilt. Her friends blamed her, thinking she went back to her old ways. Soon, it spread through the whole school. She became the scapegoat all over again. Soon the yells became violent and her ‘friends’ were leading the mob. Rainbow sold her out to Gilda who ambushed and battered her. Applejack had gotten the wrestling team on her ass. Rarity got her kicked out of her job. Fluttershy made sure the animals rejected her so no companion and Pinkie got the Cakes to bar her from the Sweet Shoppe. “I was just wandering the streets thinking how my life went down Shit Central when I met that old man. He found me and took me in.” She concluded her tale in a mournful tone. There were a few minutes of silence as Squalo, Falco, Sandy, Shade and Flora looked at her with shocked looks. Soon they began to show an ever-growing feeling of rage… "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THEM?!" They all yelled in rage. Squalo was cracking his knuckles with an angry scowl on his face. “YOUSE TELLIN ME THEY TURNED YOU INTO A PUNCHING BAG JUST TO HOLD ONTO THEIR PRIDE?! QUANDO LE METTERÒ LE MANI SU DI LORO, IL FIUME TIBER AVRÀ CINQUE NUOVI CORPI BATTUTI CHE GALLEGGIANO IN ESSO! (Translation: WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THEM, THE RIVER TIBER WILL HAVE FIVE NEW BEATEN BODIES FLOATING IN IT!) Falco was shaking with rage as he was looking at a large Kitchen knife “GET IN LINE! THAT RAINBOW BIRD IS GOING TO HAVE HER FEATHERS RIPPED WITH A KNIFE!” Sandy was crushing a soda can in her hand, causing the soda to spill, but she was too mad to give a damn. “Y'ALL CAN WAIT! I’M GONNA BREAK OUT THE NOOSE! A CERTAIN GROUP IS GETTIN’ HANGED TONIGHT! Shade was snarling lowly, like an angry dog “YOU CAN WAIT YOUR TURN! THEY JUST EARNED A TICKET ON THE HIGHWAY TO HELL!” Flora's foot began tapping at an increased pace. Her brow furrowed in rage “SAYS YOU! I HAVE HALF THE MIND TO BURY SOMEONE!” Sunset recoiled at the sudden rage. She wasn’t sure whether to feel touched or scared. Shade managed to cool down enough to reassure Sunset. “Don’t worry. We ain’t mad at you. The fact that they never gave you a chance to explain hits too close to home for us.” Sunset tilted her head in confusion. “I’m sorry, but what?” Sandy looked at her, wiping her hands with a towel. “Ya ain’t the’ only one who suffered a betrayal. We ain’t here ‘cause the old man sought us out. He found us after our friends and family left us out to rot.” Sunset’s eyes widened. “Seriously?” Falco nodded. “Yep. Cocks we thought would help us turned tail faster than the Road Runner. You wanna hear some of our tales of woe?” “Well, it would help me understand what you mean.” So the five sat around Sunset. Each one began to tell a story about how they met with Lumen Draco. Author's Note HOLY SHIT! I BLANKED ABOUT THIS STORY!!!! I AM SO SORRY BUT UNI AND MY JOB PLUS DRIVING LESSONS MEANT THIS HAD TO TAKE A BACK SEAT!!! So anyways, Sunset met the five teens that will soon be her new pack. Maybe she will gain new friends. Also, just in case you forget. No Forgiveness in this story and you may expect some Rainboom bashing.
Chapter 4 - The Pack's Origins: Lone WolfChapter 4 - The Pack’s Origins: Lone Wolf Even lone wolves will find a pack to join. It’s all about the right one to be with “So who will start?” That was the question on Sunset’s mind as she waited for them to begin their origins. And that was on their minds as they were looking at each other, trying to decide who will speak first. Suddenly, Shade had spoken up. “I’ll start I guess” There isn’t much I can tell about my past. I was an orphan, found at the steps at some run-down orphanage in Manhattan. I lived there for most of my life and before I wasn’t always like this, y’know. Sunset looked with a raised eyebrow. Looking at Shade, he was easily the bulkier of the three boys. The height helped portray the wild look he had on him. “Seriously?” Shade nodded and showed him a picture, causing Sunset’s eyes to bug out of their sockets. The picture showed someone with his looks...except he was pot-bellied, had a lot of baby fat on his face and had a rather gloomy look on his face. He only wore a plain white T-shirt and a pair of grey shorts and white trainers. “W-wow...Um...You…” Sunset was struggling to say something that wouldn’t offend him. “I look like a dwarf, don’t I? Forget about it...I know I look ridiculous.” Shade remarked with a smirk. Sunset began to wave her hands in a vain attempt to persuade him that she wasn’t thinking that. “What?! No! You don’t look- I mean- It’s not- Ahh screw it…your kid self looks like a butterball” Sunset relented “That’s alright. I get that a lot from these bozos” He said, hooking a thumb to the others behind him, who nodded in agreement Anyways, I was easily a target because of my appearance. I was called all sorts of crap. ‘Fat Shadow’, ‘Boulder of Darkness’. Hell, my personal favourite is when one person had loaded my backpack with heavy stuff, causing me to act like a turtle. Little prick… But I decided to keep quiet. “Wait...really?” Sunset was confused about that. Sandy decided to answer. “Oh yeah. He told us that the boys were like wild broncos. Big and powerful. Being a giant turkey, he would’ve been battered like one” Anyways, I may have kept quiet...butI was slowly starting to get pissed at their behaviour. But I was afraid that they would retaliate if I snitched so to help cope, I began to do some cardio to get my mind off the torment. It was a great way to release my tension. I was even beginning to burn off my fat bit by bit. Then one day… “La-la-la...Wash here, wash there, wash everywhere.” Shade was currently in the shower, cleaning up after a workout. He was getting thinner, burning the fat each time. He was so into his shower, he didn’t realise that someone was watching him. He had salt and pepper hair and a grey skin complexion. Currently, he had on a polo shirt, a pair of beige slacks and trainers. It was Jump Start, one of his tormentors. Snickering to himself, he and three other boys, grabbed him and hauled him to the hall. Shade had no idea what happened but soon...he got his answer. Thrown across the main hall, he saw everyone. Soon, his brain caught up with what happened and tried to cover up everything. But it was too late. Everybody began to laugh, Jump Start and his goons laughing the hardest. Hot tears fell from his eyes, but he didn’t make a noise. “I had never been so humiliated in my life…” Shade morosely lamented. His head was down and his eyes were scrunched shut. Flora went over and rubbed his back in concern Sunset looked shocked. Even during her She-Demon phase, she wasn’t that...OK, that time with Rarity and the green hair dye job at the Spring Fling was similar, but she had a goal to be the queen of the dance. She wouldn’t do something just for kicks. “Oh my God...I’m so--” She was about to respond but Shade held a hand out. “Please don’t. I don’t like pity” Falco added his own two cents. “Trust us. He doesn’t like to be reminded of his naked truth. And feeling sorry for him doesn’t help either.” Something did click in Sunset’s mind, though. “Wait...Falco said that you were also a betrayed soul...How were you betrayed?” Soon Shade’s face grew into an angry snarl. I was hiding in my room at the time. I didn’t want to see their mocking faces. That was when I heard two voices: One was Sure Shot...the other was someone I thought I would call a friend… “Here, man. Just as I promised.” Sure Shot spoke “Aw thanks! These are gonna be good!” The other voice replied. I peeped out and saw it: Sure Shot was handing some chocolate bars to someone. He was rather pudgy with short brown hair as well as grey skin. “That info was useful, Crunch Time.” Sure Shot spoke. “Oh yeah...I know he’ll be mad but he’ll laugh it off.” Crunch Time said as he began to devour the snacks. As soon as Sure Shot left, Crunch Time went to the yard, unaware I was watching the whole thing. “GRRRRRRRRRR……” I was growling while gripping the door. Sunset’s jaw dropped. THAT was a bullshit reason to sell someone out Shade then grumbled how he never should’ve made friends with someone who thinks with his gut. “So...what happened after that?” Shade just sighed. “I skipped town. Couldn't stay in a place when the only kid who thought was your friend was only interested in his friggn' stomach. Began living my life on the streets, getting into fights, robbing people, shops. Even joined a biker gang for a bit. I left on good terms. But then came the day I met the old man. I will never forget that encounter... Shade, now 16, was busy in a garage he took over. It was a gift from the biker gang he rolled with. Currently, he was repairing the gasket on his Harley Davidson. While he did have a place to call home, he still felt kind of lonely. Now that he was out of the orphanage, he had found freedom. He bulked up and learned some basic forms of combat. Mainly, how to adapt to his surroundings and use what he can grab. If that doesn’t work? A good old fashioned knuckle sandwich. Shade sighed. Despite getting out, he was still lonely. His only friend sold him out for some candy and he was a laughing stock thanks to Jump Start. He wanted a family but...who would adopt a 16-year old biker? Suddenly, he heard the sound of a scuffle from outside. Peeking out, he saw a group of street punks in leather attacking an old man...or trying to attack an old man. One thug tried to stab the old man but he moved out of the way before using his energy, guiding his body to the wall, causing him to be knocked unconscious. Another tried to attack with a 2 x 4, however, the old man intercepted the blow, destroying it with an elbow strike, then delivered a palm strike to his torso, knocking the wind out of the thug as he fell flat on his behind. A Third tried to punch the old man with a brass knuckle on his left hand, but the old man caught the fist by the wrist, backhanding his torso three times then tossing him into a pile of garbage. A final one bought out a revolver and was about to shoot, when suddenly Shade decided to run interference slamming a wrench into his spine, bringing the revolver off course. He then kicked his legs from underneath him and kicked his fallen body into a dumpster side. Seeing his foe fallen, he proceeded to go back to the garage. “Thank you, young man.” He said in a wisdom-filled tone Shade just let out a grunt and said: “Yeah well, they were making a lot of noise.” And he walked back to the garage “So what are you doing right now?” Shade looked over his shoulder, looking at the man like he was a twit. “Why do you wanna know?” The old man just shrugged. “Normally, kids like you would be in education” Shade let out a harsh laugh “Me? In a plain building with some ass in a pinstripe suit with weedy glasses, telling me my 123s? Get real, old man. I don’t have a family so how will I get a place?” “You know, I think you may have a chance if you try.” “You wanna talk to me about taking a chance? For crying out loud, I spent a good ten years on the streets.” “You never know if you don’t try…You never know...Lone wolves eventually find a pack to be with...” And with that, he walked away, leaving a confused Shade. Shade had a look of nostalgia from the meeting. “I never understood why he told me that weird quote. My next meeting soon answered that for me.” Shade was busy riding his motorcycle on his way to a nearby diner. He was off to the junkyard to see if there were any new parts but he got hungry. As he finished his lunch, he noticed the same street punks he met a few days ago, trying to steal his cycle. “HEY! THE FUCK YOU THINK YOU PUNKS ARE DOING?!” As he rushed towards them, Shade had no idea that he was being watched. With a mighty snarl, he attacked the closest one with a hard haymaker that sent one of the thieves on his back. Turning quickly, he grabbed another by the front of his shirt and threw him into a wall. Another tried to tackle him, but Shade responded with a headbutt on the nose, causing his nose to bleed as he bent down to cover it. Shade double hammered him into the ground. Suddenly, two smaller males went and grabbed his arms, restraining him. It was a struggle, but they manage to keep Shade from moving Suddenly, the leader of the punks came up towards him. He had grey skin with blue eyes and had a red mohawk. He was dressed in a red T-Shirt and loose grey pants, showing his boxers as well as black boots. He had a sadistic look on his face as he began to crack his knuckles. “Well, well. Looks like a Lone Wolf found his way into shit central” He sneered in a high-pitched voice. Shade knew who this was. The bikers smashed this gang a few years ago. “Flame Strike...I thought you would be hiding by now.” Shade snarled. “I was. But then I heard you were in town. I decided that I won’t be happy until you are face down in front of my feet”. Soon, Flame put on a knuckle duster and began punching Shade in the stomach and face. With each blow, Shade coughed up saliva from each blow and was barely standing. Flame was about to deliver one final strike, when he felt his fist being restrained. Shade’s vision was blurry but he did see the old man from earlier. “What the hell are you doING!” Flame began but soon yelled as he was flung through the air. The rest of the punks saw their leader and began to launch an assault. One tried to attack with an extendable rod but he ended up swinging through air as the man dodged it and directed the momentum to another charging thug, causing them to crash. Another used a switchblade to try and slash him, but Draco managed to disarm him and flip him onto his back. Two more tried to come and attack from both sides with a chain and a pipe respectively. Grabbing the chain, he swung with all of his might so that the one wielding it slammed his back into the pipe user. While they were disoriented, he quickly delivered a powerful roundhouse causing the two to collapse in a heap. Flame Strike growled. This was not how it was supposed to happen! He was supposed to beat down Shade to show his dominance. With a roar of fury, he rushed towards Draco, fist ready to turn his head into paste. Instead, Draco just moved his head then delivered a flurry of touches, paralysing him. He then just pushed him back as he fell to the floor, still frozen. Shade just saw Draco walking up to him before he blacked out. Sunset looked at Shade in awe. “Yeah...He took me in and healed me up.” Shade said whimsically. “What happened?” Sunset asked “When I came to, I thanked him. Then I asked why he helped me? You know what he said?” “Why not? Youngblood like you doesn’t deserve to be wondering alone. And besides, you always feel stronger when you are fighting for someone other than yourself.” ‘“That geezer asked if he wanted me to stay with him. You can guess what my answer was.” Sunset had a knowing look. “So you found a family.” Shade simply closed his eyes and smiled. “I ain’t regretted it to this day” Author's Note Do you know the best thing about COVID-19? More time on this story. But other than that...IT IS FUCKING BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The next five will be the backstories for the other five members. Here is Shade's. Next one...Not sure
Chapter 5 - The Pack’s Origins - Dead Wood for a Stray CatPack’s Loyalty Chapter 5 - The Pack’s Origins - Dead Wood for a Stray Cat “Every stray finds their way home. It just may not be their original one” After that story, Shade had shown Sunset his motorcycle and Sunset was drooling over it. Being a fellow gearhead, she was fawning over the bike like it was a holy relic. The rest looked on in amusement. “Hey Sunshine! Yer droolin” Squalo called out. That snapped out of her state and she blushed when she saw the drool coming out. After a few minutes of ribbing, Sunset asked who was next to tell their origin story. Suddenly Flora spoke up. “Don’t worry chica, I’ll go next! However…’ Her tone shifted to a more bitter tone. ‘...Let’s just say that familia isn’t always the blood in your veins.” I was born in Riverside, California but my family wasn't the greatest. Mi papa and Madre were dead due to an accident. I wasn’t sure what it was but I never knew them. I was raised by my older brother for most of my life and honestly...He was a jackass. <Pause> “Wait, seriously.” Sunset asked Flora had a scowl on her face as she looked away “I’ll tell you in the story. But yeah, he was a jackass” My brother was a weed addict. Any chance he would get, he would use the money left behind by our parents to spend on the dealers down the road. Even if I would hide the money, stuff in our apartment would go missing and there would be the scent of weed in the air. I knew he was stealing stuff to sell but I didn’t know how to prove it. So I left a trap for him. A plastic pendant superglued to a table. As soon as he went to grab it and began to struggle, I emerged. “I KNEW IT! GROVE, YOU SNEAKY LITTLE LADRÓN!” “MIERDA! FLORA!” “Wait, you managed to catch him in the act?” Sunset asked. “With his weed filled pants down” Flora said with a smirk. “Well, what happened?” Sunset was starting to get extremely invested in the story. Flora soon put her arms behind her head as she looked at the ceiling. “I got him into rehab. That weed addiction was gonna get him killed one day, and I didn’t want to lose my only family. It seemed to go well. He cleaned up, got a proper job and went to college to get his degree.” Sunset soon had to ask the question: “So if he was getting help, why are you here?” Flora soon adopted a dark look as her fingers clenched. “Turns out...he traded weed for something else...and I was an offering to his addiction.” Flora and Grove were walking down the street to a nearby building. “So Grove, why are we here?” Flora asked in a curious tone “It's...It’s a surprise.” Grove stuttered with a manic grin on his face as he began to shake to which Flora looked with confusion. When they entered the building, Flora soon gained an uneasy feeling trailing down her spine. The fact it was dark didn’t help her one bit. “We’re here! I brought her!” Grove yelled. Flora soon felt sweat pouring as he heard a deep voice that had a tone of terror in it. “Thanks, Grove...Here.” The voice said as a package flew into his arms. Grove looked at it with a giggle. “Bro...what’s going on?” Flora asked nervously. “Your brother paid his debt. He gives us you and he’ll have enough Jungle Rose to last him a year!” A nasally voice replied. Flora’s eyes widened as she saw her brother stumble away. “GROVE! WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Grove looked behind him with a gaze that showed madness “ANYTHING FOR MY FIX!” Flora’s eyes soon narrowed as she saw him stumble away giggling like crazy. ¡GROVE, HIJO DE PERRA! ¡TE MALDIGO A UNA MALDITA SILLA DE RUEDAS! SI ALGUNA VEZ SALGO DE ESTO, ¡JURO POR DIOS GUE TE VOY A DAR UNA PALIZA! ¿ESTÁS MUERTO, ME ESCUCHAS? ¡MUERTO! ¡NO TE CONSIDERO MÁS HERMANO DE SANGRE! (Translation: GROVE, YOU SON OF A BITCH! I CURSE YOU TO A FUCKING WHEELCHAIR! IF I EVER GET OUT OF THIS, I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOU! YOU'RE DEAD, YOU HEAR ME?! DEAD! I DON'T CONSIDER YOU A BLOOD BROTHER TO ME ANYMORE!) Soon a group of men stepped out as they outstretched their arms just as the building door slammed shut. There was silence in the room as Sunset’s jaw dropped in horror. Never in her life had she heard something horrible. Flora was looking at the floor in cold rage as tears dropped onto the floor. “Oh...my...God…” She whispered in horror, mouth covered by her hands “All for a drug...guess his love for pot was stronger than his love for his only sister.” She muttered in bitter hatred. Shade then piped up. “When she told us what happened, we wanted to find that son of a bitch and make him pay Falco then spoke up. “I wanted to take a rusty cleaver and neuter him right on the spot. Give him the Bob Barker treatment!” with a terrifying grin. “Yeah, We wanted to find dat goombah and make him sleep with the fishes. But grass gal here wanted foist pickins” Squalo groused out. Flora looked at the boys just as Sandy rubbed her shoulders to calm her down. “I told you, I wanted to do him in. He’s my former brother and thus I get dibs.” “So how did you end up with Mr. Draco” Flora simply smiled at that memory. Flora ran. Ran like her life depended on it. Why? She managed to escape the clutches of the gang after a week of being their plaything. The things they did...Flora didn’t want to think about that, she still got nightmares. Slipping into an alley, she waited as she saw several gang members run past it, breathing a sigh of relief as she slid down the wall, curling herself into a ball, burying her face into her knees. “Damn It, Grove...We only had each other...why would you do this?” “Hey...Are you alright?” An old voice reached her ears, causing Flora to flinch. Out of the shadows stood Lumen Draco, himself with a bag of groceries. “AYE! Stranger Danger!” Flora yelled “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.” He commented, but Flora didn’t believe him “YEAH RIGHT!” She yelled as she went on the attack with a flurry of punches...which didn’t connect as Lumen blocked and re-directed them all, further pissing her off. “LET ME HIT YOU, DAMMIT!” She yelled. “Please...That ain’t gonna happen.” A deep voice rang out. Turning her head, she saw Shade leaning against the wall. “The geezer may be wrinkly but you might as well look for a flying porker than try to hit him”, Shade said “SCREW YOU!” She replied as she continued to attack. This went on for ten minutes until she began to sway. “You got too much rage in your attacks. It’s blinding your judgement. Something tells me that you are suffering from a deep pain in your heart. “You don’t know shit! You didn’t have to deal with gangbangers and drug dealers hunting you down! And you didn’t have to deal with the fact that it was due to your older brother causing this due to being a druggie!” She screamed as she began to step forward. She made three steps before fainting from exhaustion. Walking over, Shade check her out <Pause> “Like a perv looking through his porn” Falco chimed in only to get a foot to the face by Shade “Ignore bird brain.” Shade said with a tic mark His eyes widened by the state of her body. She was extremely thin, her ribs were showing and she looked really pale. “We need to get her to the house...NOW” “By the time I woke up, I was in this place. There was a bowl of soup and a bread roll to which I decided to scarf down” Flora said looking at the ceiling Sunset had another look of awe at this girl. She managed to show some extreme endurance “At first I was worried that they would force me to leave” But she was interrupted by Shade “Worried? You BEGGED Draco to let you live with him!” Shade spoke out in an amused tone as Flora blushed in embarrassment as she looked at Shade “OK, so I bowed down to him and said I would do anything as long as he wouldn't drop me off at that alley! At least he gave me a good offer!” Flora shook her head as she remembered that moment “That training may have been brutal, but it was worth it. I found a new home” Author's Note I am on a roll!!!!!!!!!!!
Pack’s Loyalty Chapter 6 - The Pack’s Origins: Wings of RejuvinationPack’s Loyalty Chapter 6 - The Pack’s Origins: Wings of Rejuvination “When the wind dies out, it will pick up. It just needs some time to gain speed” “Wait. Training?” Sunset asked with a tilt of her head. Flora however didn’t say anything. Just smiled with exhaustion. “Trust me, hon. Ya’ll find out soon.” Sandy said with a grin “You’ll be put through the ringer like they would do in the armies all around the world.” Shade said, lips twitching upward Squalo had a nasty smirk on his face, teeth showing. “Hope ya body is ready. Youse roll with us, you better put some devotion to it.” Falco soon began to snicker. “Or you can just write your will right now. I call dibs for those swanky boots you got!” He sang out. Sunset began to pale a bit, but she’ll ask later. Right now, she wanted to find out more on their backgrounds. “So...what about you, Falco? How did you meet Lumen?” She asked quickly. Falco’s smile soon dropped as he collapsed to the ground with a hand to his forehead in a dramatic pose. “Oh geez…” Sandy groaned, facepalming “I will tell you. But it is a sad story. A tale of betrayal. A script of a poor young man who’s dreams were dashed and destroyed by a bunch of popular arseholes who turned him into a laughing stock. A young man who lost passion for his favourite sport. A tale of woe. A tale of…” “GET TO THE POINT, DRAMA KING!” Everyone yelled in annoyance. He was getting annoying with his monologue. Pouting, Falco stood up crossing his arms. “Nobody has any appreciation for the arts nowadays…” Sunset put a hand on his shoulder and just spoke gently. “You can tell us if you want. Just don’t make a big show out of it, OK?” Perking up a bit, Falco took a seat on the floor and began his tale. Well. It all began in the city of Seattle. Me and my family weren’t the richest of the lot. Then again...We were in a street consisting of a lot of rich kids and snotty popular pillocks. Sunset had a deadpanned look on her face. “What?” “You sound like you came from a sitcom or that cartoon with a buck-toothed kid and his fairies.” Falco just stuck his tongue out at her and continued. Yeah well, at my school the popular and the rich run the roost. They have a lot of power and throw the best parties. Me? Well, I was somewhere along the line of the middle. I had a few friends but not that many. I honestly wasn’t a fan of any of the popular kids there. Something about them rubbed me the wrong way. And besides. I had my own hobby than being concerned whether or not I had a status in the school. I was a top track runner. “Top runner?” Sunset asked Falco then turned his head up with a proud smirk. “Fastest kid in the whole school.” “Which is why people said he could never get a date.” Flora said to Sunset Falco still looked proud as he said “That’s rig-!’ His eyes shot up before screeching out “HEY!” They all laughed at his antics. “Anyways…” <Resume I was the fastest runner they had at the school. Our track team was the highest on the charts. Though things took a dive down shit central on the day of the qualifiers… Falco began to growl angrily at the memory. Sunset soon looked a bit worried “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t-” Falco put a hand up to stop her from talking. “I won’t stop. I might as well tell you now. But let’s just say...you should NEVER let a bunch of rich pricks come and join you. They’ll find a way to screw you over.” It was the day of the qualifiers. Falco was busy warming up before the race. This was it. If he won the race, he’ll be getting that scholarship. “Why hello there, Highwind.” A high-pitched snooty voice spoke behind him, causing Falco to groan in annoyance. “Hello Gold Rush” He spoke in a deadpanned tone. He never liked the guy. He may be rich, he may be popular, but he was an arrogant little shit that deserved a foot up his ass. He was slightly taller than Falco with yellow skin and golden coloured hair plus yellow eyes. Currently he was wearing the track uniform. He joined a few weeks ago and somehow won everyone on the track team over. Everyone except Falco. His gut was telling him something about him and he did not like it. “Well, that’s not the right response. We’re teammates.” He said in a joyful tone. Falco raised an eyebrow. He watched enough films to know there was something hidden in that voice. “Look. Just get ready. We got a race to do.” He said as he walked out of the changing room, totally unaware about the sneer on Gold’s face. “Well little birdy...I’m afraid you’re going to have to get your wings clipped.” He said as he took out a phone and dialled a number. [Hello?] “It’s me. Commence the plan.” [So it’s time?] “Oh yes. I’ll make him pay for dismissing me and YOU and your ‘pals’ will be welcome into my circle [Sweet! It will be worth it!] *click* “That there was the worst day of my life…” He mumbled. Sunset soon noticed a change in his demeanor, as he went from joyful and jokey to somber and miserable. “Falco. What happened?” She dared to ask. Falco didn’t say anything. He just lifted his pant leg and Sunset lightly gasped at the sight. The leg was slightly purple like a plum and was shown to be bent at an angle. Falco then rolled the leg down to move his jacket to show a darker patch on his left shoulder as well as a scar. “The accident happened.” he grunted. It was an average day. Falco was doing some last minute running before the big race. He heard that there were gonna be college scouts. This was his chance to get a scholarship for college. He was currently in a park in his running outfit then he would head off to the track. “OK. That’s training done. Now time to head off to the track. I smell a scholarship coming!” He sung in joy. Soon, it would be time to go to the track meet. Just as he was crossing the road, he heard a low hum on the right. “Huh?” Falco said as he turned his head only for his eyes to widen to see a fast car coming into him at high speeds. “CRASH!” Falco was blasted a few feet from where he was. The last thing he saw was several people asking if he was alright. “By the time I woke up, my arm was in a sling and my arm was in a cast while I was lying down in some hospital bed with some shitty jelly to eat with my parents looking like a death sentence was revoked.” Falco said. Sunset’s eyes widened with shock. He had been hit by a car badly but he was still alive. “You must be a survivor if you withstood that.” Sunset commented in awe. Suddenly something clicked in her head. ‘Hang on? A car came out of nowhere? That can’t be a coincidence.” Falco then looked serious. “It wasn’t” Falco was using a crutch when he came back. Doctors said that he shouldn’t be running and take it easy for a few weeks. Everyone gave me looks of pity but Falco figured that it was because of the missed out sponsors. It wasn’t until he overheard a conversation with his track team and Gold that he found out why he was given. “Look! I know we wanted to go to your party but this was not worth it!” One voice spoke in a panicked tone “Oh come on! How bad can it be?” Another replied. I knew it was Gold “We told you where Falco usually trains! When you asked where he trained, I figured it was so you could...I don’t know...scare him or learn his secrets. Not arrange an accident!” the same voice asked. “Look, you all wanted a shot at that scholarship. I mean, there will be another one and when Falco is all healed up, he can try again. Plus, going to my fantastic party was worth it AND I am now a star in sports, giving my reputation a boost. Falco…’ Gold Rush began but… ‘...will find out.” he growled out, much to the shock of Gold Rush and the rest of the team “F-Falco! You’re here!” One member stammered “Hello, ‘friends’ Falco said in an overly sweet tone. ‘How was the party?” “Party? What party? We don’t know any party.” The other said in a rather quick tone. Falco soon showed a snarl. “QUIT THE BULLSHIT! I HEARD EVERYTHING! YOU TOSSERS SOLD ME OUT! I WAS STUCK IN A HOSPITAL FOR TWO WEEKS AND FOR WHAT?! SO YOU COULD GO TO A PARTY?!” Falco roared out causing the team to flinch. He then levelled a glare to Gold which could melt steel “And you...you set me up.” He snarled quietly, shaking with rage Gold didn’t seem to be aware of the danger. “Oh cool down bird brain. There will be another sponsor, you can just go for them. I mean, it’s not like anything bad happened -” He didn’t get to finish as he soon was smacked to the ground by an angry Falco. He then began to smack his cane on his body. “THERE WON’T BE ANOTHER SPONSOR FOR A LONG TIME! YOU RUINED MY LIFE!” He roared as he continued to attack him. “By the time I was finished, he was a bloody mess. Both literally and figuratively. I was expelled soon after.” Falco said as he clenched his eyes. “Oh my God...he actually did that?” Sunset spoke in a hushed horrified tone “You would be surprised what people will do to become popular. Lie, cheat, destroy. That is what some people will do.” Sunset grimaced. She knew what that was like. “So how did you meet these guys?” Sunset asked. Falco was staggering as he went for a walk, drinking some extra strong energy drink with extra caffeine. Right now, that’s all that he could do. Drink and walk aimlessly. It was only a week since he was expelled and right now he felt his life had taken a trip down the toilet. His parents were not angry or disappointed in him, especially when they found out how his accident happened. Needless to say, hell hath no fury like parents scorned, especially when the principal let it slip he was taking bribes from Rush. Now he was stuck doing online classes. His days running on the track were history thanks to that, and now he only had two things: Online classes and drinking energy drinks, which he ended up getting addicted to. “Stupid Gold Rush...Stupid track team...stupid school…” He muttered to himself in a caffeine filled haze. He was busy wondering the street when he heard the sounds of fists and skin smacking each other. When he turned, he saw Shade, Flora and Lumen. Shade was throwing punches at Flora, who was able to dodge them. Flora responded with a high reverse roundhouse, which was blocked by Shade’s arm, before she spun around and launched an axel kick to his face before falling onto her front, supporting herself with her hands. She then performed a front flip, righting herself back to her feet. Shade then grabbed her waist and did a GErman suplex, her head slamming onto the grass. Flora flipped back up and got into a fighting stance, with Shade crouching down. “Enough!” Lumen called out, causing them to relax. “You are progressing well. But you still have a lot to work on. Shade, you need to work on your instincts. Observe your opponent and look for a sign of attacks. Flora, stick to simple strikes. Try and do any advanced moves will only slow you down.” “Right.” Shade and Flora spoke as they bowed down. Soon both went to grab some water bottles when Shade noticed Falco watching from the distance. “Hey! Who the hell are you?” He called out. “Oh...Uh…I’m Falco. I was just watching your little display.” He replied, rubbing his head in embarrassment. “Shade. So what are you doing here?” Shade replied “I was just walking. Saw your fighting display and got curious.” “Cool. Say, me and Flora are about to start again. You wanna watch?” Falco thought for a minute and shrugged his shoulders. Steadily climbing over the gate, he limped to where the rest were. He may as well see. What was going to happen if he did? As he followed Shade, Flora noticed Falco following Shade. “Hey, who's the limper?” She asked. Lumen also looked at Falco with interest. “Just a spectator. You don’t mind if he watches our match, sensei?” Shade asked “No I don’t mind. Now then, let’s try again and this time, work on your instinct.” Lumen said as they got into position. “Ready? HAJIME!” Flora and Shade began to fight as Falco looked on with awe. Falco sighed in reminiscence. “After watching that martial arts session, I felt like it was like a show.” “Really?” Sunset asked, as she sipped her drink “Yep. Lumen noticed and asked if I wanted to take part. I wasn’t sure at first as I was still injury but Lumen insisted, telling me that the physical therapy would heal me faster. Hell, when I was recovering he told me this “It isn’t just physical injuries but mental. You think that your injury is long lasting but it is all in your head. Just remember that you are taking a new step on a new path. All your injuries will fade away” Falco laughed in nostalgia “Turns out. He was right. I got my speed back”. Author's Note Say fellas' DID YA MISS ME?! Sorry for the wait, but you know. Uni and life.
