All For One

Chapters

Faux Pas
Control Of The Past
Shakedown
When Worse Comes To Worse
From The Top
Welcome To Canterlot, Part 1
Welcome To Canterlot, Part 2
Mors And Tempus
Through A Lens Most Pure
Do As You Say

Faux Pas

Author's Note

Welcome to another story by yours truly. I wanted to try something a bit different than what I normally stick to with doing stories. As this is being made, I would love actual, genuine feedback to see where I'm at. Thank you.

Faux Pas

Children

"Hey, will you. . .die for me?"

A massive wave of heat surged throughout the vast mountainous landscape, charring the lush, tall grass within seconds. The dirt heated up, causing the ground to literally steam in the air. In the distance, a distinct building showed itself being consumed by flames, faint sounds of popping and screaming moving what seemed to be miles before reaching the ears of those who were forced to listen. The animals that once perforated the skies and lands fell down by the tens of hundreds, unable to cope with the growing heat that melted their skin right from their bones.

As if on cue, the skies began to darken and gather furiously like a murder of crows to a freshly killed meal. The whole time, the conflicting emotions of multiple individuals were present like the wounds that affected all the same, but differently. No matter where someone looked, there was death and malice ready to consume even the weakest person that dared showed a ounce of weakness or hesitation.

''H-Hey. . .you'll protect us, won't you, right? Y-You promised that you wou-GGRK!''

A clean swipe of a blade, and the head was removed from the body, perfectly going through the bone and veins like a knife through hot butter, so much so that the wind behind the strike first carved a path through before initial contact.

''. . .''

A low thrumming sounded, then carrying with it a giant gust of wind along with glass, small rocks, and other minuscule things that would become a hinderance to sight. What followed next was the feather to break the back of the proverbial camel. The giant building in the distance collapsed, shaking the very planet itself to its core, crushing those in its wake. Those who were wise to leave before the start of all this fared a slightly better chance than those who dared wait out the literal apocalypse for the sake of the one who offered salvation. In the span of a few minutes, the deaths of hundreds of thousands soon become millions. The situation seemed grim.

Yet, no matter what, there was one who endured almost as if he has been through the motions before.

When the dust settled, at the base of the fell monument sat a broken child, no, rather. . .a man who has more than earned what it is that made him endure the hardships up until this point. In one arm, sat the bloodied and broken body of one he considered to be a younger sister to him, and to her, the older brother she has always wanted.

However, who was in the other hit him harder than the person, or in his case, people who committed the murders.

''Hello, can you hear me?'' the male whispered, then half-screamed, afraid of what would happen next. He pressed an ear to her breast, trying to feel for a heartbeat. . .

And he did not.

''No. nonononono!'' his cries carried power, creating a wave of air that pushed back small rocks and seemed to endlessly echo for the longest time, reminding him of the pain even more until it finally died down. Now, he was left, silent, broken, and enraged.

''H-How did this happen? I. . .knew it would be bad, but. . .to this extent?'' he questioned himself. When he heard no answer, he laughed grimly.

But then something unexpected happened.

''COUGH!'' A very harsh and rustic cough immediately shifted his attention to his arms, more so his left one. ''S-S-Stop yell. . .ing so much. It's-COUGH!-bad for m-my ears,'' the pained voice of the girl sounded fed up. Not with the male yelling, but more so that this whole situation had to happen to the way that it did. That he had to get hurt. Her sister was dead before her very own eyes before her end nearly came. And most of all, that they were so easily tricked into believing what their minds told them was fake.

That infuriated her, yet she could do nothing against it at all. But not because she would not be able, to, oh no. Her fury is equal to that, if not more than those who did this. She would be sure to make them pay, living through a hell that is nigh comparable to the darkest thoughts from the most twisted and demented people known to man. But that would not even be a percent of what she would deem worthy or enough to sate her vengeance for those who did wrong for next to nothing, but again, it seemed most of anything she did, whether it be with good intentions has a tendency to have the opposite effect. . .but this was the last straw. No more.

''Hey, now, don't clock out on me now,'' the male sputtered out, his eyes shifting back and forth rapidly. ''I thought you were dead.''

The girl coughed fiercly, a bit of blood coming out of her mouth and adding to the amount she was caked in. ''Might. . .as well be. G-Given what they did to me.''

A small laugh came out, though it was not a thing funny about the situation at hand. If anything, it demanded to be paid back in tears and blood.

''Hey!'' the male yelled when the girl closed her eyes for a breif second. ''Stay with me, we're gonna get you help. Now, who could it be?. . .Dr. Eurwen! Yea, she can help, but I don't think I can get to her time. Damn,'' the male cursed, pounding the ground. ''I'll figure something out, I-I got to.''

''*Cough!*'' the girl tried to rise up, only making her condition worse as her forehead began to bleed, soaking the crudely made wrapping with ease. "D-Don't worry. . .about me,~" the woman grunted, attempting to reach for something in her cleavage.

The horizon began to set, slowly draping the vast land with shadow. The male scrambled to think of a way to fix this, however he only managed to tear a few hairs out of his head, racking his brain. His mind swam with the memories leading to this massacre. . .and exactly who was to blame for this.

". . .H-Hey," the female reached a hand for the male's cheek, pressing something into it. "We can. . .fix this. . ."

How? Everyone he knew was either dead or turned against him for petty reasons. Only a miracle could offer any type of salvation.

The male grunted, almost animalistic. "How, Adagio? How can any of this be fixed? Look! Nothing be the entire world ending can make this any better! We. . .I . . .failed. Failed you, Aria, Sonata, even Chrys. It's over," the male slumped down, his eyes blinded the most painful bout of tears yet.

Adagio chuckled in her mind. How little he knew. There was one way this could all be undone, but like most things in life; it allows for a sacrifice of equal or greater value.

"T-This will make things right. . .or you may die trying to fix it," a red light began to carve a pattern on her left cheek, sounds of grunting and wincing present as her face twisted back and forth in pain. The brand resembled three lines going up and down.
"Alister, y-you can fix this. . .you just have to believe. . .and w-watch out f-f-f-for. . .~" Adagio stopped short, her breathing reduced to practically nothing.

Watching the color literally drain from her face, Alister gripped her hand, though it long went limp and began to grow cold, her face contorted into a distant stare, eyes wide open and staring a permanent glare into his mind.

". . .Adagio?" Alister questioned, putting a hand to her chest once again, waiting for the longest time to only hear nothing in response. He bit his botton lip with more than enough anger to easily tear the skin and set his blood dripping down his chin. The last thing he registered in own mind as his last lifeline just died in front of him.

"No, I won't let it end like this so easily. I won't." Alister said, looking in Adagio's hand pressed into cheek to see a small black jewel, roughly the size of a bottle cap glowing. "I guess it's time to see if that bitch Twilight was right about that theory of hers."

In the distance, a small noise steadily grew from what sounded like a small whine to a loud precession of war cries, observed by the huge flags waving about in the air on the backs of horses charging forward.

Wasting no further time, Alister gave Adagio a kiss on the cheek that was unburned and spit on the jewel, causing it to crack and hiss, covering the man in a plume of smoke. The next thing he knew, all of his bones vibrated and his body lurched to the ground, as if a boulder was dropped on top on him.

As the world around seemed close everything in his sights, he only hoped that he could make this chance to fix things right.

End

Control Of The Past

Author's Note

Hey, guys. Hopefully the first chapter drew some attention to the story. In this chapter is where the story begins, so I cross my fingers that you guys will like it.

Control Of The Past

Gates

The idea of death never occurred at all in Alister's mind. Instead, he thought his own stubbornness would be more than enough to keep him past the brink of his intended lifespan. But, he always knew that his time would come, but he held more faith that it would be something like a cliche 'big blaze of glory' that was more than called for.

'Why do I feel like I've already lost?' Alister thought, his closed eyes twitching at the light rain. 'Maybe because I already have. . .there's nothing I can do.'

"Um, excuse me?"

'But, Adagio and the girls are counting on me.'

"Excuse me?"

Alister frowned.

'Well, I guess I should-'

"You must be deaf!" A voice jolted the young man out of his thoughts. "Get off of my dumbell of a sister before I give you a brick to the skull!"

"Huh?" Alister questioned. He hadn't noticed somebody was underneath him. Strange. Cracking his eyes open, he was met with the sky; rainclouds drifting by without a care.

However, the person he sat upon did not seem to mind his weight. Slowly getting up, his body began to throb, no doubt from whatever Adagio did to get him. . .wherever or whenever he is. As he looked around, a few stray trees stood about, along with what appeared to be benches.

"Huh?. . ." Alister squinted, a large school in the distance, three tall towers part of the foundation. From the distance he was at, he could faintly make out the outlines of windows framed in the shape of a emerald.

Huh. . .Alister felt as if he has seen this school before.

"So, are you going to get up?" The harsh voice asked in more of a exhausted tone. "My sister and I are just trying to get home, so, I'd realy appreciate you if ya got off."

Alister could sense that the girl was drained. Wiping his eyes, he got a better look at who was speaking to. The first thing he noticed was the devotion to trying to be part cat. The girl was very slim, like her body was built for track.

Secondly, her dark green hair was shoulder length with a cowlick at her forehead, one particular strand standing taller than the rest. Her skin was a light tan, her left hand readjusting the small red pouch on her waist.

"Who. . .are you?" Alister narrowed his eyes and got up, paying the slight throbbing no mind as he patted his body down to make sure he kept all his body parts. "And what's with the black Victorian coat?"

"It's part of my outfit, you twat. Dontcha know? The coat, complete with a cool cane!" The girl laughed, reaching behind the coat to uncover a well-sculpted cane made out of wood, and white shiny material, various carvings of lines and depictions of cats skewed about. The cane's handle was angled like a square. ''And it's also a estoc!''

''A what?'' Alister questioned, only to freeze to when the point of a very sharp blade prodded his nose.

''It's also a sword,'' the girl replied, amusement in her orange eyes as she sheathed it. ''It gets the job done, though it is pretty old. but-''

''Excuse me!'' a shrill voice sounded, as Alister was pushed forward, forcing him to turn around and see a girl who looked like a mime. Well, more so, her outfit was reminiscent of a farmhand, with black overalls with white stitching and white spots with what appeared to be a skin tight shirt underneath.

The rain dripped off of her curly brown hair. ''Don't ignore Io!'' Io pouted, her slightly chubby face turning red. Alister looked down upon the dwarf of a child, silently noting the roman numeral five branded on her forehead.

"Sorry, but I don't think the big kid table isn't reserved for squirts,'' Alister stared down the child, watching as she fumed at him.

''Shut up, you meanie!'' Io kicked at his feet, to little effect. ''Io is still growing!''

Alister sighed, feeling a small amount of pity for what it was the child thought she was doing to hurt him. But, he had to focus. He had a job to do; to try and fix things so that it would be better. . .so that nobody he knew had to be hurt, or even die. It wouldn't be easy, however. He had no clue of where to go, who to talk to, or even what to do. He just knew that something had to be done if there was to be any hope of the future being changed for the better.

''So, anyways-'' the cat girl enthusiast cut in, lifting up Io by her overall straps, leaving her to thrash in the air. ''I'm sorry if we got off the on the wrong foot. It's just that I take protecting my little sister seriously. I mean, you can understand that, can't you?''

''Yea, of course.'' Alister said, chewing his bottom lip. ''No harm done, really I guess.''

''So why were you lying down on the ground? You do know that school is over with, right?'' the girl stared at him curiously. ''Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen you around CPA. Are you a student?''

'CPA?' Alister thought. 'I think I heard of that place somewhere. . .from Aria.'

''Well, I don't entirely know myself,'' Alister admitted, causing the girls to quirk a eyebrow. ''I'm doing something, but I'm 100% positive you wouldn't believe if I told you. It all happened so suddenly, and even I-''

''Oh! Oh! Is it a conspiracy plot against the rival school? Because if it is, then you can count me in!'' the cat girl smiled, drawing her blade from the sheath. ''Or do you need to fight somebody?''

''Well,'' Alister frowned a bit, looking at her. ''I don't know if I even should. I have no idea who you are, so-''

''My name's Lucille Davis. But everyone calls me Lucy," Lucille extended a hand. "And you're?"

Alister paused for a moment, staring at her hand. He still was unsure if he could trust these two, but seeing as nobody else is around, and he does have something to do, why not make a friend or two if they can help out?

"Alister Wolf." Alister said, smiling. "And possibly crazy."

"Hmph, If I had any idea that you weren't crazy, this conversation would be dead," Lucille chuckled, but then remembered something. "So what's this grand scheme that you may or may not be able to tell me?"

"If I was sure of myself, I'd tell you with no pause. But we should get out of the rain before we catch a cold," Io pouted as Alister began to walk towards the school. He could have sworn he knew this place, but where?

Picking up their school bags, Io and Lucille followed after, Lucille offering to him to talk in the gym of the school as it was the closest. She knew this guy had to be pulling her leg. The truth was as clear as day, and she and Io would have him see it.

Seconds later. . .

"You felt that, right guys?" A young raspy voice showed concern. "Well, did you see that?"

The sound of feet splashing in small puddles sounded a few times before pausing. Six figures stared ahead at the trio of the two girls and boy slowly heading towards the school.

Brushing a bit of her hair to the side, Twilight Sparkle frowned at the sight of them. She personally held no malice towards them as she does not know them, but a vibe of uneasiness was about her seeing as the boy from eariler just literally phased into exsistence.

Ever since Sunset Shimmer appeared out of nowhere, claiming to be from a place called 'Equestria', her perception of what is real was often not trusted, even with the aid of science at her side.

She personally bore witness to the things that Sunset Shimmer did, and she is more than happy that her and her friends were able to prevent it from going further. But this boy. . .was different. That much she knew.

"So, what do we make of this?" Rainbow Dash asked, keeping her soccer ball underneath her feet at she peeled at her wet sports uniform, which slightly urked her. "Could this be a repeat of Sunset Shimmer or what?"

Twilight smiled at how Rainbow Dash was handling the situation. Knowing her, she probably would jump first and ask questions later. But given how their school was pretty much destroyed just by not lending a hand or stopping to think, they all would refrain from that.

"The answer is quite simple, dear," Rarity interjected, covered from the harsh rain with a purple and black umbrella. "We should go and consult Sunset to try and figure out what we could-"

"But, what if she doesn't know, Rarity?" Twilight asked, poking her friend with her finger. "Then what?"

"Then we can at least have the fact that we tried to understand. It's not like we have any option but that." Pinkie Pie added with her cheery demeanor. "But maybe this all some mistake."

Taking her phone out and dialing Sunset's number, Twilight motioned for her friends to follow her. Hopefully the group can get the answers they seek, or it would have to be someone else's problem, and that would be bad.

Twilight eyed the school in the distance, frowning as she held some attachment to it, but she let it go as that was behind her. A different time.

'Let's go, the quicker we find out what's going on, the quicker I can put a stop to it,' Twilight thought, her inner emotions beginning to stir and flow. I'll make sure that.'

Shakedown

Author's Note

Back again with another chapter. I have went through and seen your comments and have responded. And you are right, but the issues mentioned are easy to fix. So let's get into this. And I did kinda throw this together because it will be a few days before I can update, so I would want to give you guys a little more for the moment and that you may like. Please leave any helpful feedback, and the next chapter should be posted around Febuarary 5th or 6th, hopefully.

Shakedown

Alister walked into the gym, his head beginning to dip. He felt that what his mission to save his friends was crazy, if nothing else. He doubted Adagio was right when she told him to fix the past. And he was a fool for thinking he could.

"This wont work," Alister muttered, forgetting how close he was to Lucille.

"Say something?" Lucy turned around, waking backwards, turning towards the bleachers, her shoes squeaking against the brown wood floor.

"No, it's just that-"

"It's just what?" Lucy manuevered, going around a glass podium, "Cold feet?"

Alister scoffed. "I am here, aren't I? That was something. Why don't you try dealing with this? It's not a walk in the park."

"Jeez, sorry." Lucy said. "Maybe I could try dealing 'with this' problem," the girl made air quotes. "If I knew what has you bummed."

Whack!

Kicking a stray basketball across the gym, it hit against the door and rolled to a stop.
Lucy looked over in false surpise, taking the time to sigh and grasp his hand and lead him to a seat.

"Okay, take a seat," Lucy spoke in a soft tone, cracking a small smile. "I can tell that you feel some type of way, but the best way to handle this is to talk about it. I know I've done the same with Io whenever she had problems, so I think we can handle this."

"How? Talking won't make it any better, if anything worse." Alister said, yanking his hand back. "You weren't there."

Lucy saw that he had a point. But she knew if she wanted to reach him, he would have to be in a position where he has the flow of talking under control. She backed away and gave him space and then she asked, very simply; "Can you tell me what won't take you of your comfort zone?"

Alister thought on telling her, especially since Io hasn't said a word since they got inside and was intent on having a one-sided staring contest with him. Adagio never said that telling anything would change the future, which it could, but not telling could make it to where things stayed the same.

And Adadigo and the girls dying for nothing weighed on his mind heavily.

"Okay, okay." Alister decided. He would really be shooting a shot in the dark, and he had to get it right. But they couldn't have the whole truth. They wouldn't understand. "If you saw me. . .pop into existence, then you can guess that this is some sort of time travel, or something."

"Ok, Lucy spoke quietly, urging him to continue. "I kinda figured that. Well, that or smoke and mirrors."

"And I was only able to get here thanks to a. . .good friend. A really good friend. And I've got to fix a big problem, or things may be worse than what they were when I left," Alister walked up to the scoreboard, seeing the numbers with a lack of light. He thought about how he almost finished high school, and seeing a school brought a frown to his face.

"What happened?" Io asked, hair dripping down to the floor as her she followed, looking up to see a glint in his pale green eyes.

"My friends. . ." Alister's voice echoed before settling. ". . .were killed. .in cold blood."

Lucille gasped, instantly connecting the dots, and all the more, feeling sorry for the boy. It was a sensitive topic, but Lucy didn't have any clue about losing a friend, aside from a pet or two dying. She would ask, but she would hate asking.

"Why?"

. . ."That part, I actually don't know. Maybe cause they were different, maybe revenge. But it doesn't matter. Not anymore."

"And why's that?" Lucy asked. Then she saw him flash a devilish smile, his gaze set on his clenched hand. He seemed to perk up when his eyes rose for a second. Reaching into his pocket, he brought out a black, fingerless glove.

"Because," Alister put on the glove, his mind seeming to be made up. "I know exactly who did it, but make no mistake," he growled. "They will pay. . .in blood."

"Wait, what?!" Lucy asked, walking in front of Alister to see his eyes blurred. "I don't think we should be going that route. I mean, I am sorry about what happened to your friends, but do you really think that you need to do that to get even?"

"Yea!" Io agreed. "Isnt killing wrong?"

If only the two of them knew. Alister knew that a lot of things were wrong, but people still do them, but was that so wrong? To kill only because someone else has?

"Yea, Io. It is." Alister said. "It is but I cant not stand around and do nothing. That's not what I do. And I didnt get sent here for nothing. And I have an idea what I need to do to make this worthwhile."

Shing!

"And I think I know what I need to do, too," Lucy pressed her blade into Alister's neck, causing him to freeze up. "I had hoped it wouldn't have to come to this, but I heard enough of your babbling."

"Lucy!" Io shouted, running over only to stop when her sister shot her one dirty look that instantly made her stop in her tracks and shrink. "What are you doing?"

"Just making sure he has the resolve to do what it is he says he will, otherwise it's hot air to me, Lucy commented with a grim undertone. "Because I won't have a part in this if his reasons aint true."

"But, Lucy-"

"Lucy, nothing!" Lucy shouted. "Shut it for one second, and listen. . .because I will only say this once. Tell me, right here, right now; if you know for sure you can weather this storm, and you are sure about this, and. . .you can consider me in."

"Sis!" Io tugged at Lucy's coat. "That's bad!~"

"Why."

Lucy looked up, seeing Alister back away. Why, indeed?

"Because I want you to have absolution, not vengeance. I've seen too many people lose things because of a grudge. And killing is wrong, no matter what. So I will help, but you need to promise me you wont go for that, or I'm not gonna help you," Lucy glared at Alister, determined.

Io looked at her sister as she looked at Alister, putting her weapon back. He wanted to argue, but he knew it wouldn't get him any further than where he was. In his mind, nothing would deter him from the mission. He would put a bit of knowledge from Aria; to use the people around you.

He had to go along for now, if only to help his own cause. So he would have to make this seem true in their eyes.

Taking a moment to think, his head throbbed after a moment of deep-thinking. He wasnt so sure he could do this, but there was no other way to know.

"Fine. I promise I won't kill. . .but I will have answers, that much I know."

Lucy nodded, waiting with a curious eye.

"But, there is something for me that you can do to make this go by faster." Alister said. "What school is this?"

"Crystal Prep Academy. Why?" Io looked at Alister smirking.

Telling them to follow him back outside, the rain began to die down, only for the rain clouds to still linger around. He walked over to a bench and wiped it off, sitting down.

"The people that did this are closer than you think. Just over yonder, if you wanna be specfic."

"Ok, why are you telling us this? And how does help you in any way?" Lucy wondered, folding her arms and frowning.

And that was what Alister wanted to hear.

"Because, to get my revenge and make sure things are set in the place, the right way, I'm going to redo 12th grade in order to do it."

When Worse Comes To Worse

Author's Note

Just the same. Leave any helpful advice, thanks.

When Worse Comes To Worse

The Next Day, Canterlot High School. . .

The first thing that Twilight Sparkle did was seclude herself in the confines of the third floor science lab. It really was the only place besides being with her friends that brought her peace. Walking out from the back with a fresh change of her shirt and long skirt with her own emblem, a bright white lab coat, protective googles, face mask and her hair tied up in a tight bun, she was ready to work.

"Hopefully I can finally make headway with this experiment of mine," Twilight put on a pair of gloves, adjusting them until she felt comfortable. "If only the girls and Spike could see that this is the only way to prove my point is right."

Twilight worked endlessly to try and draw a conclusion to a very big question that she had to know. Every moment since Sunset Shimmer came through the statue of her school and wrecked havoc, nothing had ever been the same.

Day in and day out, her mind would play tricks on her, her mood would change, and she always felt that her actions were somebody else's. She chalked it up to sleep deprivation, but it got worse.

"These. . .visions have to be linked to Sunset Shimmer in a way. . .along with the new guy we saw today." Twilight said. "If only I could make the connection of how it affects me. Hopefully this vial of Sunset's blood provides some clues," Twilight examined the petri dish with her blood, looking to anything strange.

"Okay, I cross-referenced her blood, and it looked regular," Twilight mumbled, holding her chin. Then she introduced the blood samples of her friends and put in small amounts as it was very hard to get this, especially from Fluttershy. Splitting the blood into different dishes and exposing each to Sunset's blood, it each reacted in about the same way, however when she used her own, it remained the same.

"Auuugh! Why is this happening to me?" Twilight slammed her fist on the table, shaking the foundation a tad. "Something. . .something! Is wrong, and I can't figure out what it is doing this," Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat, laying her head down. She had been experimenting with this for a solid week. Day in. And day out. Nothing.

"Maybe I should give up," a thought began to pick at the back of her mind, though she dismissed it as phooey. Though she did begin to feel sleepy all of a sudden. Her eyelids weighted against her like a grip, Twilight spoke again but failed to understand her own words or fully realize the black mist slowly making its way in front of her face.

". . .Don't worry. . .I will take care of everything. . .Lesser."

The bright, decorated halls of Canterlot High's main entrance were adorned with the various lanes of the trophies of the Wondercolt's football, basketball, soccer, and track achievements. Bulletin boards with the events for the month of October were planned out. Students walked by to get to their classes with a certain mirth about them. The atmosphere was wonderful and calm.

In that one moment, Alister frowned, but whatever reason, he couldn't place a cause for why. But his reason for being here was anything but reason.

"Why are we here?" Lucy spat with a tongue of acid, grimacing at the fact she had to leave her items which included her sword at the front desk so nobody would feel threatened. That was already one strike in her books, the second was for being here at all, and the third. . .she didn't know yet. But it was bound to happen quick! "What do you need us here for, anyways?"

Io walked ahead, ignoring Alister as he explained the situation to them. It sounded silly to her. She only followed them because she knows not to leave her sister alone with him and it would be boring otherwise to be at home.

Seeing something move around in the edge of her eye, Io turned to see a woman who looked like a lawyer; she had pretty two tone hair, she wore a fancy-looking suit and her eyes were shiny like a pearl.

"So that's your idea of a plan? Be a student here? Are you sure that you're even able to be registered here?" Lucy doubted Alister's ability to make a sound decision. It all seemed too good to be true.

"I don't think that you have much room to talk, Lucy. Who are you to say that this won't work? Anything could happen, you know," Alister reached into his pocket, pulling out a ragged piece of paper, waterlogged. Staring at it for a few seconds, he asked Lucy for the time.

"9:30 in the morning, why?"

"You'll see in a few seconds; hopefully," Alister put on his best smile, but with the sharp jawline and loose head of black, dirty hair and somewhat long ears gave him the appearance of a elf. "I just hope I look decent enough."

"Well, given the fact we had to wash your clothes at my place and use my detergent, which I bought," Lucy jabbed a thumb towards herself, making Alister focus. "And I had to scrounge to get you some cargo pants and a decent looking jacket with some insulation, I would call myself pretty good at picking out clothes."

Alister groaned, biting his tongue until Io pointed out what Lucy did not know about fashion.

"The colors are wrong," Io pouted, tugging at the black and blue striped jacket with too many pockets to count. It clashed heavily, which gave Alister an uncomfortable vibe. He settled for borrowing a dark brown compression shirt from Io that fit him smugly. "See? Kinda better."

Lucy turned her head to the side, unamused. Her legs shook with impatience as she propped up her cowlick with some of her spit.

"Well, well, well; and who might the three of you be?" The woman Io looked at was walking towards them, smiling. In one hand, she held a couple of folders, certain pages sticking out. "It's time for 2nd Hour, students," then the woman paused. "
. .You are students at my school, correct?"

"No, absolutely not, nononono. Me-" Lucy gestured to Io and herself. "-and my sister are not interested in this school, and we do go to our own school, but Dark and Depression over here may be one of yours."

"Hmm? And what is your name, young man?" the woman stared at Alister, her focus making it seem like she had seen a ghost.

"Alister Wolf, Principal Celestia. And I should be a senior here if my credits got sent over right."

Celestia gasped. How did this young man know her name? And why was he smiling? And who were these other two? Did she accidentally lose the enrollment papers or worse, did she-

"By the way, it was on your name tag, Ma'am, I wasn't guessing," Alister smiled, offering to shake hands when she looked utterly conflicted.

"Yes, of course." Celestia said, breathing the longest breath and clutching a piece of her hair. Whenever trouble struck, things would fix themselves in some way. "So, Mr. Wolf, you are indeed enrolled in our school. But you will have to be given a tour of the school by one of your peers."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously, Mr. Wolf. Canterlot is a very spacious school, so it would be in your best interests to acclimate yourself with your new surroundings. Hmmm, let's see. . .oh! Sunset Shimmer, are you busy?" Celestia down a student who walked by herself, scaring off or prompting students to talk about her. Her head was hung low, but her eyes suddenly perked up when her name was called.

"Yes, Principal?" Sunset asked, shifting her weight to one foot when she thought something was amiss.

"If you wouldn't mind; could you show our new student around the school while I head to the office to get his schedule in order? I've been running back and forth, planning events for the seniors, and a few things here or there have slipped my mind."

Alister looked at the girl in front of him, and took in the picture before his eyes. The last time he saw this girl was seemed so long ago, that he doubted his own memory. Different he knew she looked, but to the degree of a few changes from the last time prompted him to almost do a double-take, but he had to remember that he was here for a certain reason, and he could not waver in the face of getting what he wanted more than anything. From her black biker jacket to her bright skirt that would always be her most defining quality by all that who knew her.

. . .Like most things, it would be something that would change the way he would see things.

''Uh, are you sure that I'm the best person to be showing anybody around the school? I don't really fit in with anybody here, and I did have something else I needed to do.'' Sunset said, checking her watch for the time; 9:35, which was five minutes too long for her to chatting up somebody who would just end up hating her like the rest of the school. "Can I just go-'' Sunset looked at Celestia giving her a particular frown, making her groan. "Do I really have to?"

"Sunset, I believe that you can function at your best if you are exposed to stimuli that you can handle. I have no doubt that this is well within your scope of doing, as well as it is no mere chance of luck that you have been trying to wiggle out from my eye, and we did talk about how you can make things here at CHS better. . .as well as pay off the damages if you do this."

"Damages?" Lucy asked.

Celestia draped her arm around Sunset, turning her towards Alister. ''Now, Mr. Wolf here is indeed a new student here, though his transcripts do explain his absence for the past month, which is excused. Now, won't you give him a tour of our wonderful school and explain to him what is to be expected of him while he attends Canterlot?''

"Blackmail much, Ma'am?'' Lucy asked, folding her arms in wonder. "Or selective power?''

''I have no idea to what you are referring to, young lady. Now, if you and your sister are indeed not of this school, I will have to politely ask that you vacate the premises as we are in the middle of 2nd-''

''Got you, no problem at all,'' Lucy speed-walked to the entrance. "We will talk to our friend later when school gets out, we just wanted to make sure that he made it."

''Hour. . ." Celestia pointed to the door, causing Lucy to turn around and shoot the peace sign. "Well, that was strange. Sunset, if you would? And you will also be excused from today for the two of you. I wish I could aid you on the tour, Sunset, but I have a meeting to attend. May you enjoy your time at our institution, Mr. Wolf."

Seeing her walk off, Alister began to fidget, the click-clack of her shoes long going silent with a turn of the corner. The corners of his mouth began to curl into a smile. He was internally shaking with joy and looking around, he began to understand bit by bit; things were going his way. He got his foot in the door thanks to dumb luck, and he needed to push on.

"H-Hey! Where are you going?" Sunset jogged after the boy, upset that he just took off without notice. "Do you know where you're headed?"

Alister smirked, turning to head down to the courtroom, somewhere he was certain to have some quiet. "I know this school like the back of my hand."

"And why do I feel like this will eat up my whole day?" Sunset mumbled, only to remember something important. "And how did you know Celestia's name when she didn't introduce herself?"

"I know," Alister said. "And if you think about it or if you paid attention, you'd know that she never had a name tag to begin with. . .connect the dots on that one, Sunset."

Alister and Sunset ventured down the hall, the subtile squeaking of their shoes on the ground. The first part of his plan was more or less done, and it was only a matter of time before the rest of the pieces fall into place.

From The Top

Author's Note

Hey, guys. Thanks for tuning in. As always, leave any helpful advice. And this may be somewhat short of a chapter, but I have been a little busy, but this will not be a reoccurring thing.

From The Top

Applejack and Rainbow Dash barely managed to land without breaking their bones.

"Ow! " Rainbow Dash winced at the small cut on her leg, probably from when she ran into that wall. "This isn't exaxctly what I wanted to do today when it came to a favor for Twi," Applejack handed her a band-aid and a cloth for her to wipe and clean up.

"Yea, I know what you mean. With all those experiments of hers, it's hard to tell what she really wants. What are we looking for again; some kinda paint?" Applejack walked ahead, rubbing her thighs, and geez; they have been running for a good 30 minutes.

Looking down, the sounds of power tools and metal grinding did little to deter the pair. When Twilight said she needed paint, it seemed like a simple errand, but at this point they wanted to give up for the sake of their feet.

"Come on, Dash; the quicker, the better. But next time, anything over 2 miles, we gotta charge," Applejack joked, chuckling as they hopped down from the fire escape, touching the cold pavement with little more than a dull feeling in their joints. Taking the time to stretch, Rainbow jogged ahead, calling out to the mechanics.

In hindsight, the pair could have phoned ahead and requested the paint, but seeing as the request came at the last minute, little could be done.

"Hey, Big Mac!" Applejack called out to her brother, seeing him raise his head and stop the pneumatic wrench and take off his headphones, the dirt marks on his face and in his hair masking his true color.
The hulking man stood up and greeted his sister and friend in a hug.

"Doing ok, big guy?" Rainbow asked, seeing him brush the sweat off his brow.
"You got the stuff?"

"Yep." Big Mac said. He walked inside the mechanic shop, the sounds of horns and construction in the distance constantly giving the pair something to be aware of. The downtown area often was a hassle to even get down to, as something always needed fixing as many of the buildings were old and barely upkept as the need was not huge.

Big Mac walked back out with a can of paint, two paintbrushes and and plastic bag with rollers and a drip pan. Applejack and Rainbow gawked at all the stuff they had to lug back.

"All of this?" Rainbow groaned, taking the brushes and putting them in the bag. Good thing she brought a drawstring bag.

"Think we could bug you for a ride back to school, brother? Little strapped for time."

"Nope." Big Mac said. "Good luck," Applejack huffed and swatted her brother with her trademark hat.

Rainbow Dash just finished putting the bag and drip pan into her drawstring pack, tilting her head at the paint. "So how we doing this?"

Looking to see the way back in the crowded city, Applejack steeled herself once again, climbing back up the rusted fire escape with the bucket handle in her mouth, the mettalic taste on her lips almost causing her to drop it.

The pair began the trek back to school, the harsh wind blowing the dust from the ground into their faces, stinging their eyes and slowing their mouvement.

"Hey, Aj?" Rainbow asked, hopping over and sliding down a fallen sheet of metal. "Think we should have a talk with Twi about her plans?"

The thought made her stop in her tracks, displacing pebbles as she stopped right before the clearing that led down to an abandoned pickup truck with a ramp that provided them the way to start their journey.

Did she really want be honest? Well, yes, honesty is her only policy, but Applejack was just as wary as the other girls if not more than when it came to Twilight. She was a loose cannon at times with science experiments often letting it control her and cloud her mind.

"I really don't have a clue, Dash. I mean, yea, of course I want to; but going about it might be worse."

Rainbow Dash frowned. "How do you know? She might take it good. . .or. . .-"

"Not," Applejack interruptred.

"Yea. . .maybe we should just give up on it and the other girls handle it," Rainbow hopped down, jogging down the ramp until she hit the ground again. "But does that make us bad friends? Bad friends for not telling her?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. But something is bugging me. That guy we saw. . .do you really think he's like Sunset?"

Seeing Applejack clench her fists and exhale, Rainbow spoke.

"If we assume, it could be a repeat of what happened at Canterlot. But who knows where he could be?"

She had a point. It would be a little bit of a issue to try and track him down, and for what? To ask a question from way out of left field? The pair were conflicted. Down one road, they could help their friend, or find out more about this mysterious stranger who may or may not have a concrete connection to something in their past?

"I'll talk to Twi./I'll try and talk to Sunset about him."

The pair had made their mind up, but they doubted that they would they really be content with the choice that either made. It was as uncertain as the sky was vast.

"Come on-" Rainbow tossed Applejack the drawstring bag at her feet. "-It'll be better if we split up. I'll look for Sunset; she should be at school or home, so I'll get her and gather what I can. Meanwhile you can go and talk to Twi yourself."

"What?! You're just leaving me to carry all of this by myself? What if I-"

"Good plan!~" Rainbow called, breaking off in a jog to begin scaling a fence, her jacket getting caught for a second before having to yank a piece away and continue on.

"Great." Applejack said. "Gotta play peacemaker. All by myself. This should be fun."

Sunset Shimmer considered herself to very intelligent. So much that she was able to travel to a different world and maintain cover for a while. And with that being all good, she couldn't help but feel like she was being punished.

First, Principal Celestia picked her to lead this new student around the school, and he walked around the place like this was his home.

And second was the increasing awkardness between her and Alister. Everywhere he went, she would be forced to follow so she wouldn't incur the wrath of Celestia. But she refused to be lugged around for nothing.

"Hey, Alister, right?" Sunset asked, jogging in front to catch his attention. He looked surprised to see that she still followed him. He stopped in front of the what looked to be the science lab, and waited.

The sun's heat could be felt through the window. Alister stared out down the hallway, beginning to feel a flutter in his chest as he spied at the rusic lockers he's grown to love.

He closed his eyes for a moment and allowed his mind to wander about the road ahead and what he could do to gain vengence for the people he cares about, whether they know it or not. He was rambled with thoughts of the past.

When he opened his eyes, the very first thing he saw besides the blue and white walls of Canterlot was the confused face of Sunset Shimmer frowning.

". . .You ok? You kinda spaced out there for a minute." Sunset said.

"No, not really. I'm actually not ok, but it's something you don't need to concern yourself about. At all. So you don't get hurt, I would appreciate it if you could just leave me be in the school. . .for your own sake," Alister walked away, leaving Sunset confused. All she wanted to do was talk to him like Principal Celestia asked, or in her case, told her.

She could leave down one road and never talk to him at all. Or she could inquire about what she meant. For her own good so she wouldn't get hurt? That sounded like a threat. She didn't do threats.

"Hold it!" Alister turned around, a curiously angry look in his eyes. Sunset walked up to him, any visible trace of timidness gone. "What do you mean for my own good?" Sunset folded her arms and glared at Alister, intent on getting the answer she wanted. "Or did I hear you wrong?"

Alister almost wanted to lash out at her, but then he saw something in her eyes. It was determination, vast and familar. In a moment, his brain played tricks on him. The throbbing feeling was ever present from his head to toes.

"Adagio. . ." Alister spoke in a whisper, the last breath of his saying caught by Sunset.

". . .Who? Somebody you know?"

"No, no. . .I just thought of something out loud. . .Just leave me alone, please,'' Alister moved around Sunset, intent on getting as far away as possible from her. ''Trust me when I say that you don't want to get involved in my life.''

''You act like your life is horrible; live a day in my shoes and maybe you can speak, pal,'' Sunset commented with a sting in her voice. ''I really doubt your mid-life-crisis as a teenager is anything close to my struggle. So get over yourself-'' Alister nearly fell from being pushed. His nostrils flared and his mouth crinkled into a frown as Sunset realized her mistake. He walked over with his fists clenched, wincing when he opened a small cut from the pressure. He would be sure to make this girl understand what it would feel like if she got involved in any capacity when it came to dealing with him.

''Let me be perfectly clear when I say this; I have problems to deal with, and you do not want to be on the list.'' Alister said, his tone sharp and unwavering. The few students who could see the pair from a adjacent hallway assumed the two of them to be arguing as a couple, but a look from Alister and Sunset either further confirmed or pushed any students away. Focusing on her once again and scoffing, he continued on his path in the school, but not before shutting the conversation down. ''You may have your own issues, but for me, it won't ever compare to my pain. The type of pain that only a few people can come out of and not be broken and forgotten. If you try and get too close, you may just be part of that pain.''

Absorbing what he said, Sunset whipped her head around to see him go up the stairs at the end of the hall, his footsteps getting heavy with every step. The science hall suddenly grew quiet and desolate. Nobody there, only Sunset. She tried. Tried to understand, but she only seemed to make things worse by prying. And she may have came off as a little harsh when it came to her own issues, but the only things she thought she could do proved to be the wrong one.

''Maybe Rainbow Dash was right about me. Maybe I'm not cut out for making friends. And now I just made somebody else hate me too. I should just give up. And Celestia did want me to help,'' Sunset walked down the hall, putting her hands in her pockets with her head hung low, cursing herself that she jumped to conclusions. Again.

Little did she know, Alister managed to catch wind of her conversation as he walked back down the stairs, pausing when she mentioned how she made him hate her. That was completely wrong.

''Hmmph. If she waited and tried to hear my side of things or me her, then she would know that she had done nothing to warrant hate. Only precaution,'' Alister muttered, holding his head in annoyance. ''Don't make this hard for me, Sunset. I already have to find my own way in this world by myself, and I'd rather not have it become a problem just because you are clueless to what's to come.''

Welcome To Canterlot, Part 1

Author's Note

Thanks for tuning in. Leave a comment/helpful advice. Thanks.

Welcome To Canterlot, Part 1

Pinkie Pie and Rarity walked outside of Home Economics, the former particularly happy that she was able to indulge in her favorite subject.

"I know the goal of that class is to teach us practical skills, darling; but the teacher does go so slow!~" Rarity began to nitpick at the teacher who in her opinion often went back over insignificant topics. "And off we go to another class."

Pinkie Pie snorted and slapped a hand over Rarity's back, the fashionista surprised at the small bursts of strength she oftem has. "It's okay, Rarity! I don't mind it. She just wants to make sure that everyone is on the same page. You can understand that, can't you?"

"Yes, yes. I suppose so." Rarity said, straightening out her white sweater and making sure her hair was not out of place in the slightest, though Pinkie giving her that slap may have said different.

Squeezing by the multitude of students, the pair walked into their English class, the spotted blue and white tiles and rustic school desks appearing the same as it did the very first day.

"Hey, Shy!" Pinkie Pie skipped over to the back, Fluttershy stopping her conversation with Bulk Biceps to smile and wave at her friends. "Hey there, Bulky! Whatcha doing?"

"We were just talking about how Bulk could change the ways of his exercise routine."

Rarity frowned. "Whatever for?"

"So I can train the younger kids to be just like me," Bulk smiled, showing his forearm with the tattoo of the word Always Focus. ''I got motivated by the younger kids to stay in shape, so it's the least that I can do.''

''Awww!~'' Pinkie Pie smiled, clapping her hands together. ''That's so nice of you, big guy.'' Bulk blushed at her comment.

''So, darling, would you have any kind of workout attire? I am sure that I can come up with some ideas if you want,'' Rarity offered, taking out a drawing pad to begin sketching.

''Sure, that would be nice. We can talk about it after class,'' Bulk said, taking out a notebook after seeing the princpal walk in.

''Okay, class, let's settle down,'' Celestia walked in, her tone strict and quick. ''The quicker we can do this, the quicker your class can start.''

Waiting until the last student calmed down talking, Celestia took a seat on the teacher's desk, taking off her blazer and laying it on the desk in a effort to cool herself down from the heat of today. While she wouldn't openly admit it, she felt so proud of her students; their determination to stay on course and see the finish line ahead gave her the true satisfaction of being a role model. And she would be able to do it again with another student as well.

''Ok, while Ms. Cheerilee is running a few minutes behind, I thought I could take this time to tell you all that we have a new Wondercolt joining us,'' Celestia observed the looks of many of the students hesitating. And of course, the majority of that would be from Sunset's little stunt. She hoped that they could be a little more understanding of what happened even though she herself was a little lost on what actually went on. ''I know some of you may be. . .confused of what happened, but I can assure you that I know what I am doing.''

Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie all could see Celestia's words failed to reach their classmates, but they had to do something before a wide-spread panic was to ensue. Bulk seemed a bit wary of the mention of a new student, but Fluttershy managed to calm his nerves by taking his focus off of that and onto their previous topic. The muttering began to unnerve Celestia. She hoped to be in and out when it came to explaining this, but it appeared a more firm hand was needed to be applied. Her mind flowed with different possible ways to lessen the mood, but when nothing came, Pinkie Pie came to her aid, seeing her distress from a mile away.

Running up to the front of the room and whipping out a whistle, she blew on it, the high-pitched sound at a close range forcing everyone to hold their ears. ''Come on, guys, it won't be so bad! Like Principal Celestia said, the quicker, the better. I know Sunset coming to the school and doing what she did was, well. . .what she did, but we shouldn't be so quick to judge at first glance-''

''Or at the actions of who came before.'' Rarity interrupted. ''We were right there when it happened, but thanks to our friendship, it served to give Sunset a different look on life and change her ways. You all were traumatized, and though it may not mean much now, we do apologize. But we all should come in with a open mind.''

''And it goes without saying-'' Celestia shot a look of thanks towards the two.''-that change is bound to happen, no matter what, and-'' Celestia was stopped by the door opening and a voice speaking.

''Change is good, and you all should embrace it. Be it good or bad, that is up to you,'' Alister walked in, his hands in his pockets, shocking a few of the students and especially Celestia. "Was thaf about right?"

"How did you-"

"Know? You can call it a feeling, but I agree. You guys have a right to be cautious, but shouldn't you give someone the benefit of the doubt?"

Skipping over to Alister, Pinkie Pie shot her hand out, a bright smile on her face. "I totally agree! Hi, Pinkie Pie here, but you can call me Pinkie. How are you?"

Alister's mind nearly went black as he looked upon her hand in front and her bubbling smile. Had it not been for some amount of self-control, the mission would all be for nothing. He would have to wait a bit longer, but he could start planting the seeds now.

"I don't do handshakes," Alister kept his arms folded, the small frown on his face the equivalent of a smile when Pinkie Pie deflated a bit at hearing that. "But I appreciate the gesture."

"Strange, don't you think?" Rarity whispered to Fluttershy and Bulk as Celestia talked with the rest of the class. "He looks like the same lad we saw the other day with the rest of the girls."

Bulk began thinking. "Maybe he's insecure about his hands?"

"It could be that," Fluttershy chimed in, but shook her head no after a second. "Maybe those were his friends? I mean, I don't think we should pry into his personal life."

"Darling, when it comes to the safety of our school and possibly the world, who else would not pry, especially after seeing the fellow just appear out of thin air. We've made this mistake with Sunset, but this is not that. At least not until we can know he does not pose a threat."

"Don't you mean Twilight? She really is pushing this on us because her research is taking a bad turn and she needs answers," Fluttershy groaned, holding her hair. "I don't like doing this."

"She is?" Bulk asked.

"Indeed." Rarity said. "But, to be on the safer side than last time. We're just being careful. . .I just know it," Rarity was unsure despite her confident tone.

"And so, students, please show your fellow Wondercolt a good time here at good old CHS. Before you know it, he'll be just like family," Celestia smiled, finally done with her long speech about what it means to be a Wondercolt, and the expectations of the school. Turning back to Alister, Celestia noticed something to be off. ''What happened to Sunset, Mr. Wolf?''

Alister had hoped that she would be easy to fool, but he figured that with being around somebody like Sunset with her her colorful hair, it would make them stand out. Given that he walked off after their little 'talk', he thought the chances of leaving her wouldn't come back on him as it is was now. He knew that he would have to do something to worm his way out of this.

''I think she said that she had to meet with somebody else, so I just wandered around the school until you found me,'' Alister admitted, throwing a small smile and a hand in his pants pocket. ''I didn't really see a issue with walking around the school; I was trying to get a feel for it, more or less.''

Celestia couldn't believe what one of her students were saying to her. Clearing her throat and giving her best authoritative voice, she spoke with the intention of making sure everyone in the room understood this part. ''Mr. Wolf, as well as everyone else; there are only a few things that I will not stand for, and that is being lied to in the face, and the disregard for rules in a place of learning,'' Celestia's voice was sharp and presice, her gaze making every student who was underneath it to go quiet almost in a second. ''I understand that this is your first actual day here, but not even you are above the rules, is that clear?''

''Oh, dang!'' a student commented under his breath. ''She's not playing around.''

''Yea,'' a girl responded, her voice hushed as well. ''He might get sent to-''

''Quiet in the front!'' Celestia snapped, hitting her palm on the desk. ''Nobody is to be speaking while I am. Now, Mr. Wolf, this is a warning, I do not want to be seeing you in my office for anything besides a good report, is that understood?'' her gaze challenged Alister's. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie all looked very intent on the response he would give. Seeing him fidget for a second or two and hiss a bit made it seem like it would hurt him to say what was on his mind. The look in Alister's eyes looked to be that contempt, but he moved back.

'I guess I kinda screwed the pooch on this one.' Alister thought, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. 'I just need to make sure I steer clear of her and that stick up her ass.'

"Yes, ma'am. No problem here," Alister said, looking right into her eyes.

"Good." Celestia hummed, looking back at her students. "Ms. Cheerilee should be arriving any minute, so you may take a seat, Mr. Wolf. As for everyone else; do not disappoint me and learn all you can."

"Yes, Principal Celestia," everyone replied in a monotone voice, Alister, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity opting out in saying that.

The first thing Alister noticed when he sat down was that the people he was in class with. The hand dealt was a short on delivery. In a ideal world, all of who he needs to payback would be in one place at one time. But, thinking for a moment, the odds would be 6 to 1.

Alister was never much of a gambling kind of teen, but even he knew when to turn the tables. It would start gradual, building up until the point where bang!

Everyone blames everyone else when the smoke clears. And nobody would be the wiser.

He began to formulate a plan in his head as he looked up to see a few kids and glancing in his direction, though ignored them, intent on beginning his plan.

And the first step to that would be to have a few allies in his corner to trust. Like Celestia said; "Learn all you can."

Alister chuckled in his mind, taking her words to heart.

He would have to.

"Hello, class!~" Ms. Cheerilee came in her hair frazzled from rushing and her lavender longcoat thrown around her haphazardly. Bags were more present in her eyes from having to stay up all night grading papers and re-writing answer keys since some students sneaked peeks. "I was told about our new student from Principal Celestia, so I wont push you to introduce yourselr today if you don't want to," Cheerilee opened up her lesson plan book and began to write down things onto the dry erase board.

The class begrudgingly started, Rarity taking note while Fluttershy did the same and Pinkie Pie did hers. . .in scented gel pen. And Alister did the same, beginning to get in the zone of learning.

Welcome To Canterlot, Part 2

Lucille speedwalked out of Cyrstal Prep, her coat tails picking up some wind and moving about. Io jogged after, carrying their backpacks after a long day of school.

"Sis, can't we slow down?" Io asked, whining. "I think I forgot something."

Lucy scoffed and pushed forward, the sun dipping down behind the school. The day itself was like any other, but she had to go, and quick. The amount of homework that piled up and the fact that a new curfew was made by her parents made that she would have to hurry home.

"We'll be fine." Lucy said. "The worst is that somebody might leave the locker open, so let's get home quick."

Io huffed, shaking her head and readjusting the straps on the bags. She didn't like to be rushed because she always forgets something. "Fine. . .but I wonder how Alister is doing."

Sunset Shimmer walked outside of Canterlot High with Rainbow Dash and Rarity, the athlete and fashionista intent on hearing her take on the new arrival, as well as Twilight's mental state in recent months.

"So, he just didn't shake Pinkie's hand? That's kinda odd, even a goofball like her can make anybody her friend," Rainbow hopped down the stairs, two at a time. "Even Cranky."

"I agree, darling." Rarity said. "The way he interacted with Principal Celestia was certainly curious. And he just took a seat and drew in his notebook."

Sunset began to find that strange. Even when they had that 'talk' in the hallway, it left her down in the dumps a little. From his mysterious way of talking to the almost blank look on his face made it to where his intention could be anything.

"And you said that he might be from Equestria?" Rarity wondered, folding her arms.

"Maybe-" Sunset shrugged. "I remember when we fought. I kinda felt that. . .energy. It was faint, but I was able to get a feel for it. Either that or he's just that bent out of shape, kinda like I was before Twilight came along and. . .you guys did what you did.''

''Oh, yea,'' Rainbow blushed a bit, chuckling. ''We did do that.''

''But on a more pressing note; do you think we should get to actually finding out what his intent is? Or should we just leave it be?'' Rarity asked.

'Hmmm,'' Sunset thought, taking a seat on the stairs. 'Down one way, he just might want to be left alone. And I'm sure Celestia wouldn't want another issue like when I rose to take over the school to happen again.'

Before the she could voice another thought about it, Rainbow Dash beat her to the punch. "I think I got an idea.''

''Oh, goodness, no,'' Rarity groaned, backing away from Rainbow. ''When you have ideas, they always backfire in some way.''

Rainbow scoffed, crossing her arms and giving the straightest face ever. ''That was only one time; and what happened to faith in your friends? For all you know, it could be the best plan we may just have before we let Twilight interfere and make it even worse.''

Sunset and Rarity saw her point. The least we could is see what it is. ''Fine, darling. What is it?''

''I know how we can do this; Sunset and you can talk to Egghead and see what she has to say about her 'project' or whatever, and I can go and talk to someone who has what we need.''

''A-And what's that?'' Sunset yawned.

''Direct info,'' Rainbow said. ''Direct info, and it'll be so easy to get.''

Alister walked down the street of which Canterlot was located, only he was so far down, the school was long a blur in his mind. He walked down rows of homes, some 2 or 4 family flats homes, while the majority was single houses with varying levels of intricate brick design. He even saw some houses with awnings and small fountains with birds chirping about. If there was one thing that he knew, it would be that he would have to keep up his appearances for the benefit of keeping others in the dark. He stared down at the sidewalk, noting the very small cracks here and there. He one one thought on his mind.

''I only hope that the concept of time travel is like the way we put a theory to,'' Alister muttered, digging through a pocket to uncover a phone, the design plain and simple. It was black all around, with no noticeable buttons on the screen, as it was touchscreen. A few scratches here and there shone through the screen protector. Turning it on, the home screen came to life, displaying a picture of the one thing that he swore to right. ''I won't fail. The only ones who can fix this mess is myself. . .and that person. . .if they're still kicking,'' he dialed a number and stopped in front of one house, waiting.

''Hello?'' the phone picked up after three rings.

''It's me,'' Alister said back, his voice entirely calm. ''You said to call if I needed your help?''

''Somewhat true,'' the voice purred back, snickering a bit. ''That and also if you actually called, then it would be for the very thing we have in common. I assume you are outside?''

Alister breathed in and out came a heavy breath. ''Yep. 1543 Grand Park?''

''The very same. And Alister? Welcome back,'' the voice replied with glee.

''It'd be good if I didn't have to come back for this, but too much is on the line for us to do nothing. So this would be the time where us working together really would be the best of both worlds.''

Click!

''. . .I agree. Come on in.''

Walking inside of the somewhat small, burgundy house, Alister opened the door to see an assortment of candles, some lit in a particular way, some lit while some where not. The walls, a dark green were decorated with pictures of rivers, marshes and forests. The furniture inside gave the impression that only one person lived here.

Closing the door and sitting down on the small loveseat, Alister waited and hummed a small tune. A few seconds later, a figure emerged from the back room.

"Hello, there, Alister," the figure appeared as dark as night itself. The dress, long and simple accented the darkness of her skin tone. "How have you been?"

"You know, not really good if I have to come to you for help, Chrys," Alister rubbed his head. "I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."

Chrysalis smirked, waving her fork and bowl of steak and egg breakfast. Her eyes almost closed completely, the green in her irises seeming to glow. She was always one for the dramatic, but this was a old friend of hers, so she could make an exception. "No problem at all. It's only a good talk between two good friends."

"Is it really?" Alister asked, sounding tense. "It's been a minute since I seen you, so I would think you cut me out."

"I wouldn't have if I picked up the phone, now would I?" Chrysalis pointed her fork at him, frowning. "But tell me the specifics and we can take it from there.''

Alister saw that she had a point; so he continued with his business here. He cleared his throat and loosened a few buttons on his black collared shirt and leveled with her. ''It. . .happened. I was sent back. By Adagio.''

Chrysalis paused, a audible hmmmph coming from her throat as she took another bite. Was he telling the truth?

''Are you being for real?'' she asked, scooting her chair closer to his. ''If that happened, then-''

''Then it really does mean that they went through with their plans to change the world, yes,'' Alister whispered, some words beginning to crack. ''But what I still find a little bit puzzling is that she reason why she had to be the one to send me back when I could have easily done it myself, and it wouldn't put me off course.''

''Are you sure that it put you off course?'' Chrysalis questioned, her lips in a straight line.

''What are you getting at?'' Alister asked, accepting the fork and bowl when she motioned for him to try some of her food.

''What I am getting at,'' Alister observed her walking around the living room, taunting the candle's flame with her fingertips. ''could be the result of a planned outcome. If what we saw all those years ago was to be true, then when you woke up, you were at where it all started; Crystal Prep. Often the solution to a problem is what caused it in the first place.''

Chrysalis held about as much knowledge about the events to come as Alister did. Meaning that it would difficult to determine the outcome of an event with so many unknowns.

''Say we believe that. How come unlike last time, they didn't remember what they did? Did we come too late to stop them?''

''Try right on schedule. You hold about as much hate as I do for those detestable girls, if not more. So what we can do is to stop them in their tracks before they can gain any real footing,'' Chrysalis said, weighing the options to do nothing or risk it all. ''But are you certain you want this? Killing may not really the best of ways to instill fear into someone as I look at it, but what are your thoughts?''

That forced Alister to go back in the deepest parts of his mind to extract the reason why. The confusion, the hate, the fear, the beatings, the disrespect, the threats, the death, and most of all. . .the laughter. It fueled him to push past his limits again and again for the sake of survival. He made a vow to himself that he would never allow anyone to belittle him upon this, or any time. In his heart, Alister knew corruption as his mentor, and the way he would use said corruption made him someone worth having to look back a second time.

''Yes.'' Alister said, after a long silence to himself. ''I am. Whatever comes, it will be a choice that I made, and the results will be just what I want. And all the while, I will make them feel what I felt, down to the last thought. if my hate for one person is a river of blood, then multiply that times 6, and it will be a maelstrom of it,'' Alister clenched his fist and growled. ''I swear it.''

''Mmmm, well spoken. I expected nothing less, but now comes the actual work. We need to work on altering the past as best as we can; only then can we proceed and start to weed out our frustrations with total abandon,'' Chrysalis turned on the TV, flipping through channels until she got to the news. On it, they both saw a face that sparked their interest immediately.

''And now we turn the mic over to the principal of one of the most prestigious schools in the city, Principal Celestia of Canterlot High, '' a news reporter handed the mic over to the her, the camera panning to reveal her face with a few faces.

''Thank you. It is my great pleasure to announce that thanks to the efforts of Mr. Fancy Pants and Mr. Iron Will have both poured their time and money into ensuring that Canterlot's 25th annual Fall Formal dance is to continue on strong for many years to come,'' the camera observed the two in question talking among themselves and laughing. ''Due to the carelessness of a few individuals, whom I will not name, all seemed to be lost. But friends can appear in any fashion, and I just want to be the first to say-''

''That you want to thank them from the bottom of your gold-plated heart, yada, yada, yada. It seems that you really are a good Samaritan, aren't you?'' Chrysalis turned to a different channel, hearing the sizzling of bacon in a pan as a cooking show was going on.

''That just gave me an idea.'' Alister said. Chrysalis looked puzzled.

''Okay, I might as well bite; how?''

''If you remember, it was Sunset who had a big hand in making the Fall Formal a mess when she showed up."

"True, and that led to those girls banding together to stop her, your point?"

"Maybe if we had a hand in doing that ourselves, we could pit the blame on them, thus leading to a possible shift in the timeline.''

Chrysalis got up, the seat creaking and giving way a little as she sat back and pushed her hair back. ''It's a start, but how much will the two of us waste doing this?''

''Not that much, seeing as I go to school there, and all I would have to do to get you in is say that you're a volunteer, plus you were an alumni there, so that should help,'' Alister smiled. Then he looked a bit sheepish as he asked; ''Mind if I crash here for the night?''

''I thought you'd never ask,'' a blanket was tossed in his direction. ''The couch is yours for however long you need it.''

Mors And Tempus

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Through A Lens Most Pure

Author's Note

Read, review, Mihoy Minoy.

Through A Lens Most Pure

''Are you sure about this?'' Sunset asked Rarity, who herself was very unsure about going to Twilight to check on her. Their friend was for the most part, harmless but she was, in Rainbow Dash's words; a social train wreck.

''No, I never was, Sunset,'' Rarity said, walking into the science lab, mentally steeling herself for one of Twilight's 'lectures.' Her brain could only take so much of her talking about isotopes and the 'magic' she was going on about trying to find a concrete explanation and application of it. ''But, I actually think we are two of the better choices to do this, rather than Rainbow or Fluttershy.'' Rarity said, not meaning to talk ill of her friends, but some of them did not posses the grit needed to push Twilight that extra mile whenever she started to ramble on and on. The main room of the science room was always reserved for the day to day lessons, while thanks to a little work, the recently unused detention room that was connected was converted to suit Twilight's specifications, under the radar of Celestia somehow.

''Yea, well something tells me this won't be as easy as we think,'' Sunset said, putting on the protective googles and and clothes before walking in and seeing Twilight typing something onto a keyboard before going over to a bunsen burner and observing a green liquid in a beaker creating a mist. She then turn some knobs and guided some thin tubes that would take the mist into a mold and secured it with clamps. ''Twi, you got a minute? We need to talk.''

Twilight sighed, the sound of the flame of the burner being extinguished. ''What could it be this time?''

''Darling, I think you know,'' Rarity said, laying a hand on her friend's shoulder. ''Your recent obsession with this new fellow ever since you had a reading on one of your instruments,'' Twilight growled but Rarity pressed on. I thought we weren't going to repeat the past.''

''We're not, we'll talk to him and stuff, but I have to make sure he's not like Sunset,'' Twilight gestured to her friend, then realized her fault and blushed. ''Sorry.''

''I'm used to it,'' Sunset said in a monotone voice, then she smirked a little. ''These things take time, but I don't want you guys to make the same mistake twice and end up hurting an innocent guy.''

''Is he really so innocent?'' Twilight asked, Rarity wondering what she said. ''I heard from Celestia that you had to give him a tour of the school and he pretty much left you. Doesn't that say something that may be wrong? Or his attitude? He seems curious. He could have something up his sleeve he doesn't want anyone to know, or what about those girls he was with?''

''We don't know any of that, and while I would love to know about that, this is a whole another person's life we don't need to be prying into,'' Sunset became the voice of reason. ''You try being a new kid here, and at this school, no less and you tell me if being the tiniest bit secretive is reason to assume he's up to no good. I defy you to tell a valid reason outside of your own paranoia and I'll go suck on a lemon,'' Twilight tried to combat her friends' point but was too angry underneath her frown to care.

'That boy is nothing but trouble if you ask me.' Twilight thought. 'But knowing these two, they won't give up unless I give in and let this go.'

''You must not let them stray you from your path. . .'' that same voice spoke again, making my head throb as I clutched it and sucked in air, trying to block it out. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. It kept resonating against my skull. I whined, looking for something to make this stop, but nothing in my lab could help cure this right away. My legs wobbled, soon giving out on me and Sunset catching me and asking if I was ok.

'No, they can't. . .know,' my body involuntarily shivered and my eyes blurred, my floor looking like a mashup of different, ugly colors.

''Twilight, darling, are you ok?'' Rarity felt my forehead. Her hand was cold, and did nothing but make my headache worse. ''Do you need to see the school nurse?''

No. Nobody must ever know.

''Y-Yea,'' I lied, smiling through my pain. ''I just must be hungry from being in here all day, hehehe. . .'' I chuckled to try and lighten the mood and away from myself. ''We should go to the cafeteria and get some food.''

Sunset smirked, her hands on her hips as she stood up. ''It's 3:45. We'd have better luck going to get a shake and some fries at the diner.''

''Ugh.~'' Rarity made a disgusted face. ''I still cannot see how you would eat hot and greasy fries with all of that sugary ice cream? You're almost as bad as Pinkie that day she ate an entire tube of frosting for lunch,'' I smiled, seeing the two of them chum it up and ignore me for a second.

''Hey-'' Sunset picked me up, taking off my lab coat and goggles and gloves. ''Sometimes, some of the things you think are bad for are actually good for you every now and again, and I can count on Twi's big brain to back me up on how one cheat day won't hurt, isn't that right Twi?'' Sunset smiled at me, patting my back.

''Oh yea,'' I half-listened. ''You should be good.''

As long as they don't question me anymore.

''Ok, and what exactly does this have to do with our plan?'' Alister asked from his place on the corner, staring at people walking about the downtown area. The day was starting to wind down and get a little cold, so he was sure to bring a decent hoodie so he wouldn't freeze.

''Because,'' Chrysalis said through the call, Alister readjusting the earbuds connected to his phone so he could hear better. ''We have to move right along with our plan, and it's gonna take more than just the two of us and the very limited stuff between us. We get one shot at this, so it has to be perfect.''

''Ok, so what do I do?''

''Well, we both have a pretty good layout of the school between the two of us, so we just need to get our wish list of crap to make the dance a non-factor. DO you see a store called Rick's?''

Alister turned his view to a small business on the corner a few blocks down from him that spelled out the name Rick's in black lettering. It looked to be restaurant of sorts, with a upper balcony for people to dine. ''Yea, why?'' he began to walk towards there at a normal pace.

''Well, I am owed a few favors by a few people in this swanky town of ours, and it so happens we have a man on the inside who may be on our side just because this incident lines up with a bit of revenge as well.''

''Do I know this person?'' Alister asked, wondering who else could want to have close to whatever kind of revenge like he and Chyrs did.

''It's Garble.''

And now it made sense. He hasn't heard from him in ever since he graduated, and who would think he would still be town after being made a fool of by Twilight and her friends. Somebody like Garble, in his rough and often failing ways, but with the drive to want to do just as Alister wants would be prove to be a good team, if the pair could work together.

''So, what do I say to him?'' Alister wondered as he walked inside, the nearest crew member greeting him, the mood of the room being laid back and casual. Booths ran along both all sides, with a small bar towards the center with swivel seats. In the back of the restaurant, he could see a flash of red hair in a hairnet moving back and forth as small amounts of steam from the grill whipped about.

''Just get him alone and talk to him, if he doesn't decide to try to chew your head off.'' Chrys said, chuckling.

''Oh, great, this shouldn't be too hard, now shouldn't it?'' Alister asked with a dab of sarcasm. ''A means to and end, I suppose,'' Alister walked to the bar, taking a seat as the waitress bartender greeted him.

''I don't think you're old enough to be sitting here, my guy,'' the dark skinned male chuckled, handing Alister a glass of water.

''Yea, so I've been told time and time again,'' Alister flashed a small smile, but then narrowed his eyes. ''You know a Garble? I need to speak to him for a sec. It's. . .important.''

''Really, how important could it be?'' the bartender asked, leaning on the counter. Alister sighed and put on his best face of anger mixed with an ice cold stare, the bartender looking a bit shocked as the glare in Alsiter's eyes seemed false, but the longer he looked, the more he realized that he was wrong.

''Important.'' Alister clenched his fist. ''Enough. Garble, please.''

''Whoa, kid, I don't want any trouble, and can you stop looking at me like that? It kinda is creeping me out. Just. . .wait here, I'll get him.'' the bartender left, going into the kitchen, the sounds of yelling and pots clanging going on for a few seconds before a figure came out, dressed in a dark blue collared shirt, black pants with a apron with different stains on it and a greasy spatula in his hand as he surveyed the restaurant before seeing Alister and pointing his cooking utensil at him. ''You motherfucker. . .'' Garble hissed, advancing towards him.

''Hey!'' a voice called from the back. ''You got 10 minutes so make it quick, stop sign!'' a woman's voice harshly called, the sound of hacking coming soon after. ''Ignore that.''

''Crazy woman,'' Garble whispered, shook his head and then stared a death glare in Alister's eyes as he sat down and frowned, the veins in his forehead trying their best to not burst. His teeth grit, body tensed and demeanor full of anger, Alister knew he would be in for a little more than a talk. ''Why are you here, Wolf? If you're here for a free burger, then try somewhere with someone else.''

''Ok, I guess he must hate you a little more than we both thought,'' Chrys said over the phone, sounding surprised.

''You're still mad, I get that, but this is-''

''-We were like brothers, man, and you sold me out. To them.'' Garble said, grabbing Alister's shirt and bringing him close, the smell of cigarettes on his breath making his nose crinkle. ''After all we did for each other, you got some nerve showing your face where I work.''

Garble positively looked heated, even going so far as to call Alister out his name multiple times, but Alister drowned it out, just waiting for him to stop. When he began to cry, he knew his chance was there.

''Look, I'm sorry for what I did those years ago, really I am, and I know you may never want to deal with me after today, but this is the one time since then our objectives align.''

''And how do you figure? And besides losing my job possibly, what else is stopping me from punching your teeth down your throat?'' Garble asked.

''Because-'' Alister put a hand on his friend's, or frenemy's shoulder and smiled. ''we both want revenge on Twilight and her friends,'' Alister saw the look of disbelief on his face but pushed his point further. ''They've done me wrong, a lot more than you, but what they did to both of us is bad, and just like you, I want. . .to make them pay.''

''You serious? How? They're your best friends, even more so than me,'' Garble spit on Alister's shoes, daring him to do something. Chrys wanted to say something but decided against it as she wanted to hear this. ''You said it yourself, you'd do anything for them, and now you're going against them just like that?'' Alister's eyes drooped, his voice going to the deepest register it could.

''. . .Yea. They were. But now, they're not and the more I think about it, the more you and I are the same, and putting that in mind, we can make it work, but I figured it wasn't going to be easy with just me. So what do you say, you think you can look past what happened? I know, in the moment, we both said somethings that we really didn't mean, but I don't have anybody else that I can turn to really, and it looks like you're my best option, if not my only.'''

Chrys frowned over the phone, though nobody could see. Alister had her, didn't he? She knew he didn't really mean that because of the circumstance, but he should know with him, Garble and herself, they can pull this off and may even be able to. . .

No. Alister didn't need to know.

''You know, even if we work together, I'm not going to forgive you so easily, if at all,'' Garble spoke in a low whisper. ''But seeing as I've been itching for a change to pay back those who did me wrong, I'm willing to make an exception to the rule.'' Garble said, offering his hand. ''But don't think I won't be keeping an eye on you.''

''Yea. . .'' Alister said, taking his hand in kind, his former friends still having the tight as ever grip that almost would pop a knuckle out of place. He knew Garble would be good for this, but not so much as for how long he would be along for the ride. ''Let's even the playing field. So what can you contribute?''

Garble stood up, patting Alister on the shoulder. ''Depends. What do you want done?''

''I want their blood. More than anything.''

''Hmm. I think that can be arranged, but just know; once you cross that line of no return, there's no regrets or pulling back,'' Garble slithered back into the kitchen, running a hand through his curly red hair and laughing. Then he yelled. ''Who told you to grill lettuce, you retard?!''

Do As You Say

Author's Note

Welcome back, all. It's been a minute. But now back to the story. Meep.

Do As You Say

Alister groaned.

"Why this school just decides to leave crap out in the open will forever be beyond me," Alister fiddled around in the science lab, looking a few textbooks to confirm a idea he had in his mind. "I know it has to be around here somewhere."

Chrysalis smirked at her friend as she kept a lookout for anybody who would be sticking their nose to close to the science lab. Another half hour to find the ingredients they need and to combine the right amounts to get what they needed and they would be to get the ball rolling. Even though the pair was working with Garble for the moment, it didn't mean they would have to like it. "He better deliver on his end after we get him what he needs."

"He will," Chrysalis smirked, swiveling her head left and right outside of the room. "He owes me, and I've yet to cash out my favor to him, so he has the incentive of not owing me just to get this over with." Alister hmmped at his friend. "And what are you even looking for?"

"Quite simple, the ingredients to make a type of drug. If I can find out where the exact ingredients are in this school, hopefully I can make it in a dosage high enough to get the results I want," Alister stopped at a page and took a picture of it with his phone.

"Well, hurry; my neck hurts from all this movement." Chrysalis groaned and sighed.

"That's what she said," Alister quipped, looking around for a few more minutes, heading back into the room where some more books were located before coming out and preparing to clean up.

"Dick," Chrysalis frowned, blowing a raspberry at him.

Alister chose to poke fun at his friend. "It takes one to know one." If she wanted to play this game, she would need ammo.

"No, no, it's good, go on and relish in that victory. But, next time it'll be different, because just like your mother, I take all comers," Chrysalis chuckled at Alister hissing in retaliation. She continued her sweep of the hallway. Point for her.

"Still, I'm surprised though."

Chrysalis hmmmed in response. "About what?"

"How the school was able to procure all of these resources when most times, there's barely been a sponsor or partner in years. A lot of this stuff is outdated and bland."

Chrysalis saw her friend's point of view and she was just as in agreement with him as he thought. Celestia always had a way to get the results from the people she wanted to get results from. This seemed to be no different. "Well you know how principals are, always putting on a front for the press. But, nowadays, Luna does more then Celestia when it comes to managing the money, paying the bills, arranging trips and everything else under the sun. Cele's just a figurehead at this point.''

''And all of that work is no doubt killing her little sister,'' Alister said, wrapping up his search in the front and walking to the back of the science room where a few of the non-volatile substances were secured away under lock and key. "We may have to do some recon on this,'' the tall, grey reinforced cabinet was given a tug by Chrysalis as the gargantuan pad lock was fiddled with before hitting the cabinet doors with a ding.

The pair looked on with bored expressions, as well as curiosity as how they would get in and out without leaving evidence. . .

''I got it.'' Chrysalis said, but soon regretted saying so. ''But it won't be as easy as we think.''

''Nothing has been so far, so what's one more complication to the list? We're thinking the same thing, right? Janitor.''

If only he thought more about him saying what he said.

Chrysalis walked out of the back room with Alister in tow, the pair walking down the long hallway, the shutters on the windows long being closed, providing little natural light coming in to show the way. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Click. Click. Click. Click, the rhythm of their shoes against the tiled floor as they went down one floor, past another hallway which led them through the gymnasium, past the library, and finally into the spacious cafeteria.

''Come over here,'' Chrysalis had the both of them duck behind one of the lunch booths. ''We only get one shot, and I would rather not get found out about being here when we really shouldn't.''

''She makes it sound worse then what I think she realizes.'' Alister thought. But, he was curious, so he bit the bullet. ''Who we dealing with?''

''Big Macintosh.''

Alister almost burst out in laughter.

''Do you honestly think that I am scared of that fruitcake?''

''A little,'' Chrysalis said, shrugging and looking at Alister. "I mean, he did drop you on his back that one time.''

''Only because,'' Alister gritted his teeth, clutching at something invisible in the air. ''He caught me off guard because I didn't believe he could run that fast that quick.'' the imagery of Alister's world literally being turned upside down made him commit to at least going to the gym to work up a decent muscle tone.

Big Macintosh came through the loading dock area of the cafeteria, his tan janitor's clothes and small cap making him stand out like a candle. Inhaling and blowing out a small cloud of gray smoke from what looked to be a joint of sorts, Alister frowned but continued to watch on. A series of small coughing fits followed after before he caught a cough in his throat and spit out some mucus into a nearby trash can.

''Well, you know what this means,'' Alister began his crawl to follow Big Mac before being stopped by Chrys. "What?''

''We're gonna get some of that, right?'' Chrysalis said, a hopeful gleam in her eyes. Alister knew what she meant 100%.

''Yep, let's go beat him like a marching band drum and get the keys and get what we came for.'' Alister said. Chrysalis deflated immediately. ''You were trying to get high?''

Chrysalis hissed silently. ''Work is hard, ok? I need something to take the edge off a little.'' Alister groaned at her making a smoking motion. ''He's faded right now, so why not get in where I fit in?''

''Why not buy your own supply?''

''Too frugal.'' was Chryslis's response. ''So why not get faded with him, again?''

''High is better to use in this situation, and I don't need you of all people to be high, right here, right now.''

''So does that mean?-''

''Let's do what we came here, Chrys, and you can get higher than Wiz and Snoop on Cloud 9 smoking a blunt designed for God.''

He had a feeling he would regret it later.

''So what's the plan?''

Alister, in all his wisdom, uncovered a book he had been carrying with him. ''A literal hit and run. When you see your chance, take the keys, go to the science lab and get the stuff and we meet outside the school before anybody has a chance to see that anything iffy happened.''

Chrysalis had to frown and scoff. Before anything iffy happened? the very thought him trying to beat down a brick wall with a book was if anything, iffy. But, seeing her friend suffer for being overly stupid most of the time could be rewarding for her, at least until she can start her ascension. So much nonsense and bs. But, she might as well be along for the ride, if nobody else is there to-

THWACK!

''He just had to do it.'' Chrysalis whispered, sulking behind the table and trying her best to see the situation without being seen.

''Boy,'' Big Macintosh's voice reverberated with the sound of a bass speaker. ''What do you think you're doing?'' he held his joint in between his fingers as he turned around and peered at Alister at more or less eye level though his vision was a bit blurry.

''Oh, sorry, thought I could get you to read something that could help you,'' Alister smirked, internally cursing himself not hitting harder. Or having a thicker book. ''Wanna know the title?''

''Why not?'' Big Mac's eyes narrowed, unamused.

''The Headshot!'' Alister swung the book with all his might, catching Big Mac across the face and forcing him to look immediately to the right and him to take exactly two steps back to correct himself.

. . .

''Well, that was certainly somethin'.'' Big Mac said, turning his head back and rubbing his cheek a bit. Then to Alister at least, he did something that should have been a red flag for him to run. ''Let's go on and git this over with,'' Big Mac put his joint back in his mouth and held his fists up, with the calmest voice and demeanor.

''Bring it,'' Alister brandished his book again, taking another move to hit Big Mac, only for his weapon to be blocked by Big Mac's hand. Then his boot. Then his shoulder as he slowly descended upon the younger teen. There was a glint of something in his very bloodshot and watering eyes as he followed through with his advance.

Possibly beside him being high.

''Oh, damn it all,'' Alister said, walking back as Big Mac advanced on him. He could have thought about going about this plan of his a little better than what he developed in his mind just a few minutes before springing into action. Big Mac sized him up and smirked, of course, even if being high, he's still as confident as ever. Alister decided that just fighting him would be a better idea than using a book. "Haaaa!'' Alister rushed forward, throwing a right punch only for Big Mac to step back and lazily slap his hand with his own calloused one.

''Ya done yet?'' a slew of Alister throwing left and right punches, following the same effect afterward before mixing in palm strike which were met with Big Mac's fist that rocked his entire body like a speaker, yet he did not relent.

''Oh, this is not good,'' Chrys said, watching his friend try and fight a fight that was sure to end in pain. After a few seconds of the same things happening, Big Mac grew tired and socked Alister in the stomach, causing him to grit his teeth and some spit to fly out of his mouth. "Ooooo.''

She doubted much of a chance to grab the keys would surface at this rate. Alister limped for a moment but shook it off as he held his own waited for the finish of a particularly slow punch from Big Mac, allowing him to strike one decent blow on his jaw, causing the mountain of a teenager to stumble back and snort, exhaling smoke from his mouth with a pained hiss.

''Uh. . .uh. . .'' Big Mac began to feel a bit dizzy, his attacks stopping for a second before he caught himself on one knee as Alister looked on with a watchful eye. A few moments of him slowly shaking his head, and then a thud as he fell completely over, going silent.

''Looks like my chance came after all,'' Chrys said, walking over to Big Mac to poke him with her foot. ''He's sleeping, right?''

''Hold on, let's see-'' Alister positioned himself Big Mac's head, lined up, and kicked him with all his might, the scraping of his face against the floor the only sound being the loudest. No effect. ''That's a yes in my books.''

''How did he not kill you? He was about to cream you.'' Chrys said, looking very much surprised that her friend came out with minimal injury. Then again, Alister was somewhat confident in his abilities to diffuse the situation, though just barely. But then, a thought came. ''Won't he remember this?''

Alister had already grabbed the keys and walked away as Chrysalis was in thought. ''There's not that big of a chance. He was high, plus I doubt he would, honestly, plus we just need to get what we need and we should be good to go.''

Chrys doubted her friend's words for a minute, but still had to pry with another question that would surely connect them to their little 'outing.' ''Won't there be camera footage of us going into the school after hours and assaulting the janitor?''

''This little neighborhood is the epitome of safety, so I'm sure that they don't check the cameras unless something happened,'' Alister said. ''Plus Garble already had one of his supposed friends that's one of the security guards cut the cameras just for today, ergo-''

''-There's nothing for Macintosh to go on if he decides to go on a rant about what happened if he remembers it.'' Chrys said. Then she looked to Big Mac still on the ground knocked out and decided to rummage through his pockets. ''Found some!'' a zip loc bag covered in foil held a few grape-sized green buds.

''You really ran this man's pockets for weed, what is the world coming to?'' Alister chuckled. ''You should put it back, though in all honesty.''

''He won't miss it; knowing him, he'll probably just think that he smoked the rest being as high as he was,'' Chrys hopped away from Alister trying to snatch the bag away from her. ''And besides, that is an opinion you are having. Now let's get the stuff and go.''

''Fine, the sooner I can get my revenge, the better,'' Alister said, twirling the keys about as the pair headed back to the science lab. It would only be a little while longer before things start to take shape and the real game can begin.