Friendship Is Monsters: Meliorism

Chapters

The Calm
The Storm
The Eye
Changes (Turns And Face The Strange)

The Calm

The woods were still. Not a breeze blew, not a dew dropped, not even an animal drew breath, for all living things know when danger approaches.

The landscape was frozen in a portrait of its former self when someone slipped from the bushes, crouched to the ground, tense and coiled to lash out. She slipped down a narrow pathway, making no sound, until she came to the side of a cliff.

Hands dusted away at the rocks, looking for something specific, until she found a large, loose stone, almost half her size. Pushing it aside she crawled inside a hole, melding with the shadows and disappearing, heaving the rock back in place behind her.

She took a deep breath, calming themselves the best she could. It wouldn’t do to share such horrible news with the others in a panic… No, not at all. However the severity of what had happened made her stomach want to turn inside out. It made her want to scream and cry and wretch.

How nice a luxury it would be to indulge for a moment, to wallow in despair. However, if any of them were to survive, it would have to wait.

Putting a hand to the wall she crept through the blinding darkness, checking for the marks etched in the walls to show her where to go. It was a labyrinth down here, made so that one could get lost and never get out if they weren’t careful. Thankfully she had done this so much, it was second nature.

Some places the cave narrowed so tight that one could barely squeeze through, followed by free falls only bypassed by clinging to the walls and climbing over. Deeper and deeper she went until she finally came to a low ceiling after almost an hours walk. She pushed the inconspicuous stone slab aside, and was quickly met with the end of the spear.

“Who is-”

“Shut up and let me in!” she barked, shoving the weapon away.

“Silhouette!” A hand went to help her up, but she pushed that away as well, climbing into the room.

The stone room was a basement, small and cramped. It was used to store a large array of handheld weaponry and rations. A few other humans stood in the room, anxiously staring as the grey skinned girl went to her feet and covered the hole she just came from.She took off her quiver and bow, tossing them to the corner of the room, shaking out her black, grey and white streaked hair from her hood.

The crowd before her wrung their hands and shuffled until she was done. One ran up the basement steps and out the door, calling for someone.

Silhouette took a deep breath again when a woman came down the steps.

“Stalking Silhouette…” she said, pausing on the last step. “What news do you bring? Did you find out what happened?”

Silhouette stared at the woman but could only hold it a few seconds before she lowered her gaze to the floor.

“I’m sorry Eventide,” Silhouette said. “He’s dead.”

Everyone in the room gasped, one sagging to the floor and a few covering their mouths. Eventide did not join them, however, she just hardened her face and shut her eyes, gritting her jaw in anguish.

“What happened?!” Everyone froze when a tiny voice shouted from the top of the stairs. Eventide quickly turned towards it. ”What happened to daddy!?”

“Lovely…” Eventide went back up to her home. “My child.”

“No, no! Daddy said he’d be home!!”

Everyone was quiet as Eventide carried her daughter off, still reeling from the news themselves...

“So…” one woman broke the tension wearily, as she clutched at some scars on her wrist. “Even he couldn’t manage to defeat them.”

“I don’t know a mortal person who could,” a man spoke now, shaking his head. “If even Final Stand can’t kill a Queen Vampire, then what chance do we have now?”

“He never intended to kill her. He knew he didn’t have the power to do that,” Silhouette said bluntly. “Final Stand could only imprison her Not from a lack of trying, mind you.”

“And now he’s dead,” a woman mumbled. “What will we do? News will spread of his failure and his fall. The monsters will come to feast again eventually.”

“He did not fail,” Silhouette said, crossing her arms. “I went to the cave where he was setting up for the trap. He was dead on the floor, but SHE was still there. Asleep. Likely for a very long time.” The woman rolled her shoulders. “I sealed it up. A tomb for the both of them…”
“Did you get his sword?” A younger man asked, clearly close to panicking. “Maybe with that-”

“He could barely control that thing,” Silhouette said crossly. “No human alive now would be able to carry it.”

“But your his pupil!” he frowned. “His best student!”

“Yes, and I know from his lessons that that THING is not to be trifled with!” Silhouette snapped, making everyone wince. “The sword isn’t our saviour alone. Without Final Stand it would be an affliction, a curse he wouldn’t wish on anyone—I don’t need that while I try to keep everything he’s built from burning to a bloody ash in his passing!”

“Wait. Hold on,” a man raised his hand wearily. “You said before that the vampire was in a cursed sleep right? Do you mean the vampire was actually defeated?”

“Yes,” Silhouette nodded. “And Final Stand along with her. It’s one less monster in the world, but it cost us the only thing standing between us and the rest of them. And I’m afraid we don’t have much time left. Only one of the two tyrants has been removed. The other still stalks, and she will not be happy…”

“You mean…”

Silhouette looked to the ceiling, eyes narrowed.

“The sister approaches, and death follows her.”
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1000 years later…

Crystal Prep stood on its school grounds as the sun drifted lazily over the trees, sparkling dew as wind whistling through the just bloomed April leaves. Birds sang, flying through the blue skies, one pausing to land on a windstyl, preening its red feather. Suddenly a loud guitar riff startled it, sending it squawking back into the wilds.

And it wasn’t the only one disturbed.

Twilight abruptly awakened in her dorm room. She groaned, lifting her head from her pillow miserably, trying to figure out who she was and what had taken her from a blissful rest.

It didn’t take long. The blaring rock music was still playing, coming from Lemon’s room. It was so loud that the frames on her wall bounced from the vibrations. Twilight sighed. At least it wasn’t some soft rock, that was normally a clear sign that something was wrong. It seemed Lemon was in a good mood judging by all the swearing in this song. Twilight had heard it enough to know.

She threw her legs over the side of the bed, pulling out her phone and squinting to see the time without her glasses.

Seems she had an hour before classes started.

Mumbling Twilight stood and stumbled out into the main area. She went for the kitchen, feeling around blindly until she found the coffee (hopefully, it felt right…) and started to brew some. Normally she was more of a morning person, but she had been pulled, rather violently, from her deep REM sleep.

As the smell of coffee filled the room, she could hear the music continuing on behind her. Twilight couldn’t say it wasn’t a toe tapping beat, swaying with the rhythm of the song as she waited.

A door behind her opened and when she looked back sleepily, Twilight could see a creamy blob emerge, wrapped in a bathrobe. She really needed to get her glasses.

“Morning Moondancer,” Twilight yawned halfway through, stretching out a bit.

Moondancer didn’t say anything, she just came to the coffee maker, almost sniffing the air. “Mmmmm… Smells good.”

“Oh yeah,” Twilight smirked. She eyed the other after a moment. “Your in pretty good spirits considering you hate Lemon playing music in the morning.”

Moondancer didn’t say anything.

“Moondancer?” Twilight tried again.

Still nothing.

“Moony,” Twilight frowned and nudged her with her hand.

Moondancer jumped a bit and turned to her. “Huh?”

“I said your in a pretty good mood,” Twilight repeated.

“Huh?!” Moondancer blinked in confusion before groaning. “Oh right! I have noise canceling earplugs in. Hold on.” A blobish hand went to her ear, pulling the plug free. “What was- Oh god damn it! She’s playing music at this time of day?!” Moondancer snarled. “For shits sake!”

“Ah,” Twilight nodded. “There it is.”

“What?!”

“Nothing, don’t worry about it,” Twilight sighed. She pulled two coffee cups from the cupboard. “You got your glasses? Think you can measure out the sugar and cream for me?”

“I suppose,” Moondancer said, reaching in another cupboard.

BANG BANG BANG!

They both looked at the front door. Glancing back to one another they both blinked before Twilight went forward, opening it.

“Where is she?”

“Morning Fleur,” Twilight yawned.

Prefect Fleur sighed and sidestepped Twilight’s sleepy form. “Don’t answer the door in your PJs Twilight, it's not proper. But yes, good morning to you as well.” She made a beeline for Lemon’s door, which was shaking from the strain of the radio behind it blasting away. Fleur belted on the wooden surface harshly. “LEMON ZEST!”

It took about five seconds for the music to stop and for Lemon to crack the door open an inch. “H-hey Fleur, what- ah- what are you doing here?”

“Lemon,” Fleur shoved the door open, taking away Lemon’s hiding place. “We talked about this. No loud music in the morning, and no music on a speaker that has cursing, violence, drug talk or sexual references in it.”

“Technically the rule is no speaker music before seven. I waited until then,” Lemon said quickly. “Besides this songs not that bad.”

“Really,” Fleur frowned. “What about the lyrics ‘ -then you can watch me shoot cocaine into my eyes.’ ?” she asked. “Or maybe ‘Then we can share a cherry cola while we blast a savage drive-by.’ ?”

“They’re… Al Gore-ical?” Lemon winced.

“You mean allegorical. And no, their not. You’re not even using the word properly. I think you were thinking of the word metaphorical. However that's not true either, because it's used in the song as literal sense, but that’s why it’s supposed to be funny.”

“Huh?” Lemon stared through Fleur.

The prefect ran a hand down her face before leaning in to Lemon’s space a bit. “No. Music. In. The. Morning. Especially if it sings about bad or inappropriate things.”

“That’s half my library!” Lemon gasped.

“Try instrumental jazz,” Fleur gave her a fake smile before she dropped it ominously. “Or else.”

Lemon grumbled unhappily. “Yes mam.”

“Good. Now get ready for class,” Fleur ordered. As the door closed the prefect stopped her. “Oh, and Lemon.”

“Yeah?” The younger girl asked grumpily.

“I believe a few girls are talking about chipping in to watch that pay per view concert you were excited about last week. There’s going to be an event in the Community room, though you need to pay beforehand. I thought you’d be interested.”

“What? Seriously?!” Lemon blinked as she opened the door a bit. “That’d be awesome!”

“Good. I’ll let them know,” Fleur nodded. “Just keep out of trouble till then. I don’t want to have to ban you from the Community room for breaking the rules right? So no loud music.”

“Of course!”

“And one last thing,” Fleur sniffed and grimaced. “Get that ‘skunk’ out of your room. If you catch my drift.”

“Oh! Yeah. Right…” Lemon gave her a sheepish smile. “Thanks Fleur.”

“Mmmhmm.”

The door closed and Fleur came back to the two in the kitchen.

“You want some coffee Fleur?” Twilight asked, holding up her cup.

“No thank you, but do get your glasses on Twilight. You don’t want to trip with that in your hand or put it down without seeing where it’s going,” Fleur said. “We don’t want another acid stain incident do we?”

“This won’t melt through the floor…” Twilight mumbled, taking a small sip and looking away.

“Well still, you don’t want to lose any more of your deposit,” Fleur sighed. “I have to get downstairs and turn the wifi back on for the day.” Twilight heard the jangle of Fleur’s prefect keyring. “Let me know if you need anything or if anyone bothers you, ok?”

“Like always,” Moondancer nodded, raising her mug slightly. “See you later dorm mom.”

“I’m not a dorm mom Moondancer,” Fleur said, going to the door. “I just- Hey!” Something whizzed by the open front door and Fleur marched out after them. “I saw that! Suri Polomare, no running in the hall!” There a few moments of silence before Fleur spoke again, in panic. “Are you carrying god damn scissors!?”

“Doooorrrmmmm Moooooommmm,” Moondancer said into her coffee, slightly singsongish.

Twilight had to agree.

After their morning coffee and quickly changing, the three girls trekked out of their dorm building and started down the path to school to start their classes for the day.

“Why are you both so cheery?” Lemon moaned, walking in a slump, her bag only half on her back. “Don’t you guys have math or science in the morning?”

“I have math!” Twilight said.

“I have science!” Moondance chuckled. “Today is the day we learn about the composition of stars and their place in modern chemistry. I may have read ahead.”

“I have a Calculus test!” Twilight added, skipping a little.

“Ahhhh…” Lemon groaned in agony at the thought.

“Don’t you have Social studies in the morning? That’s easy,” Moondancer said.

“For you maybe. They just got into politics, I can’t stay awake,” Lemon whined.

They got closer to the school and the main entry where they would split paths and head to their respective classes, when Twilight spotted a framiler figure in the doorway, greeting students.

“Ms Lock N Key?” Twilight said, surprised. The school counselor was just waving of a set of students when Twilight spoke. The red headed human with peachy cream skin tuned to them at the sound of her name.

“Girls, good morning!” Lock N Key smiled, coming down the steps with a slight gimp. “It’s a beautiful day huh?”

“Uh yeah, but what are you doing here?” Moondancer asked. “You’re normally stuck in your office.”

“I am, aren't I?” she said, bouncing on her heels slightly. “Well I did a lot of thinking on the weekend and decided to try and be more social with students. I was drowning in paperwork and it never seemed to end! Being out here is refreshing!” She waved slightly to a clipboard. “I’m also reminding everyone to book in for our little counselling sessions! I’m sure your all just as swamped with class work and it keeps falling to the back of your mind. I figured this was a good way to help you all remember.”

“Oh, I had forgotten, I’m sorry,” Twilight said, wincing. “I’ll do that as soon as I can.”

“It’s all I ask!” The counselor said.

“Yo, Ms Lock N Key. What happened to you leg?” Lemon Zest asked, guestring to a large bruise forming at her ankle.

“Ah that.” She lifted it up to see better. “A bit of an accident on Sunday. I lost some papers in the parking lot after working all weekend. I slipped on a puddle and fell into the woods.” She brushed her hair behind her ear. “It wasn’t too bad though, I’m ok.”

“Geeze, thats a bummer.” Lemon Zest said, wincing. “Does it hurt?”

“Only a little!” She waved them off, putting her leg down again. “Thanks for your concern though!”

“No prob,” Lemon shrugged. “Listen I’ll book my appointment this weekend. When do they open?”

“Not till mid May,” she sighed. “I have so many regular students to see before then. If you can, write down some issues you want to discuss or problems you have in a journal. We can go over them when your date arrives.”

“Sounds good,” Moondancer mumbled. “I just have to get to class now so-”

“Oh! Of course!” She stepped aside. “Have a good day!”

“You too,” Twilight blinked and they made their way inside.

Once they were out of earshot Moondance grumbled. “Freak show…”

“What?” Lemon asked, confused.

“She’s always in her office, and now she’s so cheery all of a sudden,” Moondancer frowned. “I mean, it’s not out of the realm of possibility, but still.”

“Did you see her before this?” Twilight asked.

“No, but I dropped off papers,” Moondancer explained, she seemed to think about it before sighing. “Maybe I caught her on an off day those times. She did say she had a lot of paperwork.”

“Sour Sweet could tell you for sure,” Lemon said. “She saw Lock N Key a lot.”

“I don’t wanna go Hardy Boys over this,” Moondancer said, rolling her eyes. “Just freaky is all compared to how she normally is.”

Twilight took a quick glance behind her. Ms Lock N key still stood at the door, waving student in. A few paused to speak with her as well, the counselor shifting off her injured ankle slightly as they did. “She’s seems fine.”

RIIIIIINNNNGGGGG

“AND there is the bell!” Twilight yelped, skittering off to her classroom, and Moondancer also picking up her pace.

“Have a good day!” Lemon shouted after them, seeming to walk even slower than before.

Twilight left her math class, clutching her test to her chest proudly. Another A+ for the collection and another class passed! Calculus was such a wonderful brainteaser, she was sad to see it end. However her upcoming statistic class should be just as interesting!

As she left the school she took her usual route around the back of the back of the physical education building, bypassing the busy quad and coming out the other side to make it to her English class. She made it into the building untouched, slowing down now that she knew she wouldn’t be late.

She stopped outside her classroom, pulling off her back pack to switch her books, but paused when she saw her phone at the bottom. Pulling it out, Twilight shrugged, she should probably set up that appointment with Ms Lock N Key before she forgot again. Unlocking her phone, she saw she had a text from her mother.

“Twilight, your grandma is coming for dinner tonight, so please come home as soon as you can after school to help out.”

Twilight stared at the text in confusion. Grandma? For dinner? That was unusual. Sure they had visits or dinner on the holidays, but never out of the blue. Her grandma didn’t like her mom’s cooking skills because she found them lacking in effort. I mean, to Twilight her mom was a good cook, but her grandmother was one of those old fashioned, perfectionist home makers. If everything wasn’t homemade then it was just a slap dash meal. Of course that made her mom less inclined to invite grandma for dinner in the first place…

Something was going on.

SLAM!

Twilight wheezed when she was shoved, very forcibly, into the wall beside her, phone clattering to the floor. She stumbled back around, eyes wide when she found Kamikaze staring back at her with a smirk.

“Hey Twi-Twi.”

“Gah-” Twilight choked a bit, shoulder’s up around her neck. “K-K-kam-kam-”

“You shouldn’t block the hallway like that, you know.” Kamikaze smiled, hands on her hips. “It’s very RUDE, don’t you think?”

“I-” Twilight swallowed tightly. “Y-yes! Yes, I’m sorry…”

“Oh I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Kamikaze echoed mockingly. “Everytime I see you thats all you can bleet, you fuckin’ sheep. Those words have practically lost all meaning.” She moved closer to Twilight, who plastard herself to the wall. “You know, I thought I taught you better Twi-Twi… You know how your supposed to greet me.” She gave a wild, insane smile. “Why don’t you put that mouth of yours to its only use.”

Twilight winced, looking down at Kami’s filthy shoes. At least they weren’t soccer cleats… Twilight’s eyes darted around the hallway, looking for a teacher or anyone to help her. She really didn’t want to eat mud today.

All the other kids were watching, filming, or trying to avoid the conflict altogether. However, to the back of the group Twilight managed to lock eyes with someone.

Lemon Zest.

The girl froze when she realized Twilight found her and for a moment, Twilight felt better. However Lemon only held her gaze for a few seconds before turning after, shoulders hunched, clearly ashamed of herself.

Well it wasn’t any better than what Twilight could do. She was too scared of Kamikaze to even save herself, let alone someone else. Twilight look back to the bully when the girl made a ticking noise.

“Do I have to teach you all over again?” she asked, reaching over and shoving Twilight towards her feet slightly. “I guess your not really that smart, huh.”

Twilight sighed. She really wasn’t. If she was smart she would have kept her wits about her and run as soon as she saw Kamikaze. She should have known she was all on her own here. She couldn’t trust anyone to have her back.

“Well, for all its worth, I trust my friends with almost everything.”
….

Twilight frowned suddenly, looking back up into Kamikaze’s eyes, much to the bully slight confusion.

Because she wasn’t as alone as she had been before.

“Whatever those other girls said, it's a load, you got that?”

She wasn’t stupid. She wasn’t some friendless loser. She has people who cared about her and she wasn’t about to let someone like Kamikaze treat her like this.

“Let. Me. Go.”

“Excuse me?” Kamikaze asked, leaning closer. “What did you just say?”

Twilight took a deep breath. She had her neck ripped open by a vampire, she had her finger bitten off by a satyr, she held dragons and most impressively of all, she had kept a secret from her grandmother.

Kamikaze was nothing.

“I said LET ME GO!” She shouted.

Then she thrust her arms out, shoving Kamikaze off her and a few steps back. The other girl stumble, looking shocked, and the crowd that formed gave a little gasp. Twilight stood up a little straighter.

That felt good. Really good.

She squared her shoulders when Kamikaze looked to her. Not some much of an idiot now huh?!

Something glinted, a girl in the crowd yelped and Twilight found herself pinned against the wall again, eyes wide. As Twilight tried to keep her breathing steady, a very sharp pocket knife pressed against her collar bone. She stared down into Kamikaze’s enraged eyes and knew.

She was definitely an idiot.

“Oh-Oh-Oh-OH-OH” The girl snarled, getting louder by the word. “Look at this- Look at you, huh, all grown up and ready to fight like a big girl, huh?! I’m gonna gut you OPEN and make you a noose from your intestines!” Kamikaze pressed closer and Twilight tried to not swallow, incase the knife dug in. “You want your independence, you gotta earn it with blood sweetheart, and I’ll make sure there's lots of it!”

Twilight’s previous bravery failed her, her self defense training failed her. She could only stare back, terrified.

“I’m about to paint the walls!” Kami screamed in her face. “You ready to pay for the paint?!” She started to press the knife into Twilight;s neck, making a cut. “Lamb to slaughter!!!”

“Hey.”

Everyone stopped, Kamikaze turning around to find Fleur standing behind her. The crowd parted nervously for the prefect to approach, still dressed for her morning gym class, with a.. bag thrown over her shoulders.

“What?” Kamikaze spat, eyes burning and knife not moving.

Fluer dropped her bag on the floor and reached to her waist. The crowd around them backing up a few more feet when the older girl unsheathed her fencing sabre from its holder.

“I was just passing by when I noticed you had a thing for blades.” Fluer said lowly. “I’d be happy to teach you some fencing, though I doubt that tiny thing will do you much good.” She crouched into a lunging position, sword ready. “Unless, of course, you might be late for class?”

Kamikaze stared at the sword, then shoved Twight to the ground, turning to Fluer with a dark look. “You think that scares me?”

“I know it doesn't,” Fluer said cooly. “But I know word getting back to your dad about this incident might, especially since your one chance away from being sent to a ward. Are you really willing to risk your freedom over this?”

Kamikaze paused, teeth clenching before she closed her knife, shoving it back in her pocket. “None of you are worth shit.” She glared down at Twilight. “Don’t you forget it.”

Fleur watched her leave, sword out until the girl rounded the corner. She took a breath before sheathing the weapon. Fleur rolled her shoulders, glancing around the crowd with a scowl.

“Show’s over, get to class.”

The hall cleared in record time.

Fleur made sure they were all gone before heading over to Twilight, who was still sitting on the floor. The prefect crouched in front of her. “You ok?”

“...” Twilight put a hand to her neck, feeling the small cut and the trickle of blood. Fleur watched her before pulling her up, off the floor and onto shaking legs. Fluer looked her over, reaching into her gym bag for a towel, pulling Twilight’s hand from her neck to press the cloth there.

“Lets go to the washroom for a second,” Fleur more ordered than suggested, taking Twilight’s things up off the floor. There was one nearby and Fleur herded her in. It was thankfully empty. Which meant during all the commotion, the bell had likely rung.

“My class…” Twilight spluttered, eyes darting to the exit.

“I’ll put in a good word. A prefect is more than a fancy word to put on college applications, is it not?” Fleur sighed, going to the sink and wetting some paper towels. “So take a second to calm down.”

Twilight took a very deep breath. Pressing the towel closer to her cut. It felt like it was in the same area where Sunset had bitten her almost two months ago. Hopefully this wouldn’t leave a mark either…

“I must say, it’s been a very long time since I’ve seen anyone stand up to Kamikaze who wasn’t me,” Fleur spoke, handing Twilight the paper towel. “That’s a bit of a change of pace. Especially for someone so shy Twilight.”

“Well…” Twilight mumbled, pulling the towel away to wipe at the cut. She studied it in the mirror and it wasn’t as big as it felt. Or as deep. “I guess there have been a lot of changes in my life recently.”

“Well you were very brave Twilight,” Fleur said. “I wouldn’t recommend it again, but it's a step in the right direction for you.”

“Yeah, until Kamikaze uses this to be more aggressive with me,” Twilight groaned. “Now she’ll never leave me alone.”

“I’m sure if she stays, she most likely will,” Fleur agreed, looking through her gym bag as she spoke. “However I doubt that will happen after I talk with Principal Cinch.”

“What?” Twilight asked, surprised. “But you said-”

“I say a lot of things,” Fleur shrugged. “I mentioned her dad finding out maybe an issue for her. I didn’t say I’d keep my mouth shut.” Fleur pulled something from her bag, but turned to Twilight, hand on her hip. “I wanted to say something when that god awful video was posted about you, but you didn’t want to stir the pot on an already horrible situation. So I respected your wishes, because I knew you needed someone to actually listen to what you want, for once, during that time. I’ve always kind of regretted that…. Kamikaze has been doing small, unprovable damage to people and property since she started here. Now though, she brought a weapon onto school property. I cannot let this slide any farther.” Fleur looked mournfully into the mirror. “Someone might die if I keep quiet any longer.”

“I guess everyone else was too scared to say anything to, huh?” Twilight frowned.

“Students and faculty alike. Her dad is a very gracious alumni who donates annually. The school doesn't want to piss him off. Still some whispers have made it back to him, and he’s seen some of her work first hand at home, so this might be the straw to break the camel’s back.”

“Then what will happen?”

“Kamikaze will likely leave, but outside that, who knows. More may happen if you told your parents what’s been happening though.”

Twilight grimaced. “I don’t want to worry them…”

“They’re your parents Twilight,” Fluer said, putting a hand to the younger girl’s shoulder. “They’re supposed to worry.”

Twilight looked to the floor. “Well… I’ll think about it.”

“Good,” Fluer nodded. “At any rate, are you feeling better?”

Twilight checked her cut again, it seemed to have stopped bleeding… “I, I think so… A little jumpy still but other than that, I’m ok.”

“Here.” Fleur handed her a bandage. “Try to take it easy, I’ll walk you back to class and then go to see Cinch.”

Twilight put the bandage on with help from the mirror before she smiled to Fleur softly. “You really are the dorm mom.”

“Wha-!? I!” Fluer scowled. “No I am not! Now let’s get you back to class!” The older girl shoved Twilight’s things into her hands before grabbing her own bag and marching from the washroom.

“Doooorrrm Mooooommm.” Twilight said under her breath in slight amusement, but followed her out.

English passed without much fuss, Lunch was quiet, as was the following Computer Science class. Twilight was just saving her GUI project for the fifth time (Computer Project Rule 1, save always, even if you just saved) when the bell rang, telling the student to make their way to their next class.

Since that morning Twilight refused to take the chance of waiting out in the halls, especially when Kamikaze might be waiting to swoop in at any moment, blade in hand. She wasted no time getting to her science class and dropping into a seat. Her teacher spared her a confused glance, but shrugged and started to write today’s lesson on the black board.

Twilight looked to the doorway nervously. There hadn’t been any word from Fleur or Principal Cinch yet, maybe the prefect hadn’t had the chance to talk to her yet. Twilight wrung her hands nervously.

This morning had been so scary. However the warning signs about Kamikaze’s behaviour had been getting worse and worse. To humiliate someone in a video was one thing, even if it was done so viciously… yet Twilight hadn’t said anything when Kamikaze tried to burn her with a cigarette and now this knife. Geeze, this was really out of hand.

Maybe Fleur was right, maybe she should tell her parents.

Not tonight of course though, her grandma was coming for dinner. She could do it tomorrow sometime, once we worked up her nerve and a way to explain it all.

And a way to keep her mother from going on a rampage.

“Hey Sparkle!” A pencil poked her in the back and Twilight lurched forward, eyes wide. She spun around, finding Indigo and Sugarcoat sitting right behind her.

“Hey.” Sugarcoat offered her a small wave.

“Uh, hi?”

“I heard you threw hands with Kamikaze,” Indigo said quickly, leaning forward in her chair, looking Twilight up and down. “How’d you get away without a scratch?!”

“I didn’t…” Twilight gestured to her neck with a frown, where the light pink bandage sat.

“No, I mean your like, alive. How the hell are you alive?” Indigo asked, face scrunched up in confusion.

“Fluer.”

“Ohhhhhhhhh.” Indigo slide back in her seat, looking bored again. “That makes sense. How’d she get Kamikaze off you?”

“Well she brought out her fencing sword and challenged Kamikaze to a duel, as she had her pocketblade out, against my neck.”

“Nah!” Indigo grimaced. “Jeeze, I kinda figured she was packin’ something. She’s crazy enough to.”

“I’m more surprised about what happened before hand,” Sugarcoat said plainly. “ Word around school is that you actually stood up for yourself. Which is very out of character.”

Twilight sighed. “I know, I know. I just- well, got sick of it, I guess.”

“Well I DO NOT want to be in your shoes, that's all I can say!” Indigo put her hands up in defense. “She’s gonna hunt you down and turn you into a rug.” Indigo leaned back in her chair. “But, uh, you know, good for you. I guess. Getting a back bone and all.”

“Thanks,” Twilight mumbled, looking back at the board.

The bell rang as a few stragglers hurried in the door. The teacher went to shut it, before starting the lesson. “Ok everyone, continuing our exploration of Electro Chemistry and Electro Alchemy, we will be doing some experiments that involve volatile chemicals. If you’d all be so kind as to get your safety gear from the back cupboard we can get started.”

The chairs squealed as everyone stood, going to get gloves, goggles and surgical masks. It took a bit for everyone to get settled again, and the teacher continued. “Today we’ll be doing The Volta’s Pile, an experiment to show the production of electricity by chemical means. Then we will do a very similar experiment, called The Witches Pile, where instead of using copper strips and lemon juice, we will use black magic infused metal strips and and white magic holy water. This is to show that, while both experiments see the same results, one should make a far more powerful result than the other.”

He paused when a hand shot up in the air. “Yes Indigo?”

“Isn’t it dangerous to combine the two kinds of magic?” Indigo asked, brow raised.

“Yes, if its pure then it will just explode, which is another way to make power. However when they are simple infused with other objects, they more fizzle. The metal will lose it’s magic and the water will heat up, but nothing else will happen,” the teacher explained. “Now come up in pairs and get the necessary objects for the-” he paused when the phone on his desk rang. “Hold on.” He picked it up.

The talk was short, but he seemed surprised before hanging up. “Uh, Twilight Sparkle, Principal Cinch wants you to go down to her office.”

The kids around her began twittering at the news. They all likely knew why she was being called. Twilight stood and edged out of her seat, taking her bag before going out the door. As she went down the steps to the first floor she could feel her stomach twisting.

Was she in trouble? No, no she couldn’t be in trouble! It was all Kamikaze’s fault… Then again, Fleur did say Kamikaze’s family were big donors to the school. Maybe they’d try to spin this around on her.

By the time she got to the office, she was sweating a bit. The secretary gave her an odd look when she arrived, but waved her along to Cinch’s office.

The room was long and dark, with thick purple curtains covering the windows. There were shelves built into the walls for trophies and awards, all bursting at the seams. Then, above her principal's desk, was a lone ceiling light.

It's like a villain lair…

Twilight kept her thoughts to herself and went in, sitting on the stool provided. The large, golden chair behind the desk swiveled around, to reveal Principal Cinch, shining a trophy in her hand.

Yeah, definitely a villain's lair.

“Hello Ms Sparkle, or may I call you Twilight?” she asked, not looking up from her work.

“Uh, sure, ma’am,” Twilight shrugged, not caring.

“Very well then, Twilight. I must say it’s been a little while since we last talked,” Cinch said, now glancing to her. “When was that? I think it was when your paper won the MONN Competition for High School Science Students.” She gestured to an award on the wall with Twilight’s name on it, very similar to the one she had at home. “Beat every other paper on a national level, got you a pretty penny for your college fund and the school a nice grant for our science classes. Very impressive.”

“Ooooh, it was just a little paper on atoms, nothing big really…” Twilight blushed a little.

“Yes well I- AH! Nothing big! Atoms, yes I see, very funny!” Cinch smiled, turning to face Twilight fully. “At any rate, you are a good student Twilight, which is why I was very… saddened, to hear about this morning from Prefect Fleur.”

“Yeah…” Twilight deflated a bit.

“From what I was told, Kamikaze has been causing issues here and there around the school for a while and you are one of her main targets. I only found out today how severe these actions are, and I assure you, action will be taken.” Cinch stood, taking the trophy back to the case, she turned it a bit and Twilight swallowed tightly.

Because it was a soccer trophy. With Kamikaze’s name amongst the teams.

“Now, before I start anything, would you like to add anything to Fleur take of the events? She said you were accosted in the hallways by Kamikaze, and when you went to stand up for yourself, she pulled a knife on you,” Cinch said, hands behind her back.

“N-no, that’s it,” Twilight frowned.

“Alright then.” She started to pace the room. “Twilight, may I ask you, what do you think is the most important thing is to this school, or to humanity for that matter?”

“Ummm…. Kids?”

Cinch paused, looking thoughtful. “Hm. Well yes, I suppose that correct, or at least a close second.” She straightened her jacket. “But what I was going for more was ‘reputation’. As you are the granddaughter of Soft Twilight, I’m sure you understand how important that is.”

“Oh yeah,” Twilight winced at the thought. “I know.”

“Marvelous woman, how the council survived without her I’ll never know,” Cinch said with a smile. “Anyway, good reputation is something this school has strived to achieve and uphold, ever since its founder, Crystal Heart, opened its doors 150 years ago. To this day we have been bolstering our name and gaining recognition as one of the top private schools in the country.”

She walked back to her desk, standing over Twilight slightly. “However, such a thing doesn't happen without, erhm, sweeping a few things under the rug, so to say.”

Uh oh.

“Now I know it wasn’t your fault Twilight. Kamikaze has a history of unruly behaviour, though the extent, as I said, I have only just learned.” She started to go back to her seat. “I assure you, punishing one of my top academic students is not what I want to do. Nor do I wish to have a violent student running a muck in my halls. That is not the way to make a good reputation.”

She sat, hands folded in front of her. “However, Kamikaze’s family also have a reputation to uphold. I have spoken to them and they have agreed that Crystal Prep may not be the best fit for her. They are looking into-” Cinch narrowed her eyes, gazing to the wall. “Alternative schooling. Something that may help with Kamikaze’s slightly different needs. Both physically… and mentally.” She looked back to Twilight. “That being said, they have stated, very firmly may I add, that making a fuss over this would not be in either of our best interests. Kamikaze’s father has legal connections that could make life very difficult, both from the school and your family. So we think it maybe best to ‘keep calm and carry on.’”

“Sooooo, Kamikaze is changing schools and I just have to not say a word about her again?”

“Well, yes, I suppose so.”

“I can do that!” Twilight said excitedly. “I can totally do that!!”

“Good- HOWEVER,” Cinch stopped Twilight for celebrating too much. “I should let you know that while Kamikaze will no longer be attending Crystal Prep, her little entourage will. I have no evidence against them, so you may wish to keep your guard up.”

Twilight swallowed tightly.

“Now then, hurry back to your science class,” Cinch said, turning her chair to the back wall. “And Twilight, do return that gear to the proper classroom.”

She blinked, until she realized she had never taken the science safety gear off the entire conversation.

Whoops.

Twilight pushed open the door of her dorm, squinting through the afternoon light drifting in through the window. It had been one hell of a day, but school was finally over and she could head home.

Depending upon how dinner went, she may be able to make to the end of the day without anymore trouble. Mom and grandma withstanding.

Moondancer was sprawled on the couch, book in hand, when she spotted Twilight come in. “So, you’re alive.”

“As I’ve been told,” Twilight said, heading for her room. “I gotta get my stuff together to go home.”

Moondancer sat up, leaning over the arm of the couch to watch her in her room. “What the heck happened this morning?”

“Kamikaze happened, but I’m sure you’ve heard,” Twilight said, tossing a few pieces of clothes in her bag, so they could be washed at home.

“I heard she got escorted off school property by security this afternoon.”

Twilight paused. “Really?”

“Pulled her right off the soccer field.” Moondancer made a vague swishing movement with her hand. “So she must be happy.”

Twilight sagged. “Really?”

“Oh yeah. I mean, Kamikaze been in trouble before, but this is new. Everyone is talking about it. I mean, I’m never one for gossip and it got to me, that says how widespread it is.”

Twilight groaned. “Great, perfect! Just what I need.” She hoisted the bag up over her shoulders. “At least she won’t be an issue after this.”

“How so?”

“Well, A little birdy told me Kami’s parents are going to change her to a new school, one more suited for her needs,” Twilight sighed, closing her bedroom up for the weekend, locking the door once she had everything she needed. “So that’s a plus…”

“Unless her dad backtracks, hands over a big stack of bills and has this all just go away,” Moondancer said. “Just like when Kamikaze got in trouble for shooting at birds with the automatic baseball pitcher. Or when she dumped elephant toothpaste all over the handicap ramp so they couldn’t use if for days. Or-”

“Did I do something to you? Like by accident or something, because you just seem interested in killing all the joy in my life,” Twilight frowned at her roomie.

“I’m a realist,” Moondancer huffed.

Twilight stared her down before groaning. “They’re totally gonna backtrack aren’t they?”

“Who knows? I mean, she drew blood officially. This could be it,” Moondancer hummed. “ I think this is uncharted territory for everyone.”

“Well the indecision is gonna give me anxiety all weekend. So that’s shot,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes. “I’ll see you Monday.”

“Have fun sleeping,” Moondancer called after her as Twilight marched out the door.

Twilight made quick work of the stairs, bag banging against her back as she went. She tried to take a deep breath, because once she was home, all of these issues would be over until Monday. Or whenever she told her parents. Or if the school decided to call them instead…

Yep, there's that nice, nauseating anxiety.

When she got to the entry Twilight reached out for the knob, only for the door to pull open before she could reach it. Looking up Twilight paused.

“Uh, hey Twilight…”

Lemon Zest.

She looked guilty and it seemed appropriate, seeing as how Lemon had basically hung her out to dry. Just like before Twilight couldn’t blame her, she couldn’t expect others to do things she wouldn’t do herself… but Twilight had had a hell of a day, and she really wasn’t in the mood for this conversation.

“I’m late for the bus,” Twilight mumbled, pushing past her and keeping her gaze at the ground. She tried to not imagine the hurt expression on Lemon’s face and kept walking.

She came to the bus area, where all the large coach buses were waiting to take students back home. Twilight went to bus number 8, which went to Everfree Estates. It was usually pretty packed, as ‘many students from Crystal prep lived there, so getting to it early was imperative to have a good seat. Thankfully Twilight had moved quickly enough that it was still pretty vacant. Soon enough it be bustling though, given ten more minutes.

As she walked, Twilight could see she wasn’t the first to arrive. Fleur herself was standing near her bus, leaning against a plastic waiting shelter. She seemed to be on her phone…

Twilight was walking past when she heard some of the conversation.

“-was so nice to see you at my fencing competition last week. I really appreciate you showing up, I just wish I placed better,” Fleur said, chuckling a little. She listened for a moment before laughing. “Oh stop! I didn’t even make it to finals!” She shifted as the other spoke, then her voice lowered. “Mmmm… Well you don’t look half bad yourself.”

Oh. Twilight paused, still out of Fleur’s sight. Seems she has a boyfriend.

“I wish we could go out together… Oh, but what would my mother say,” Fleur sighed. The caller seemed to make a joke, because she laughed loudly again. “Yes, I suppose that’s not all we’d have to worry about!! Your business associates at work wouldn’t think highly of it either.”

Work?

“How was your board meeting any way?” Fleur asked. “Oh, boring like always? That’s too bad. Did your plan for that fundraiser go through though? It did?! That’s great news! You’re sure to make a lot of money for food bank.” She chuckled again. “Oh no! I just made the suggestion Fancy, you did all the work!”

She giggled, leaning closer to the phone. “No I love you!” She giggled again. “No I love you more!”

Twilight started walking twice the speed away from the conversation. How OLD was Fleur’s boyfriend?! He worked at some kind of company, high enough to be in a board meeting! Was this anything to be concerned about? Was it something that she should make her business?! Who would she even talk to?! Twilight cursed herself for listening in. This was the last thing she needed right now.

She finally found her bus near the back and the driver, taking one look at her face, decided to let her board early.

At least something was going right today...

The bus arrived at Everfree Estate almost an hour later, filled to the brim with shouting, excited kids. Twilight sat in her usual seat near the back, clutching her bag tightly. Every now and then a few kids could glance back at her, talking to one another in hushed whispers.

And so the gossip wheel keeps rolling. Twilight huffed a little.

After the other kids finished stampeding out of the bus doors, Twilight tentatively followed, almost getting her bag caught by the door when the driver shut it. They too seemed eager to get this day over with. As it drove off, Twilight kept walking, and the stress kept building.

Entering her house didn’t help much.

The house looked really nice when Twilight entered, and it smelled really nice too, like something good was cooking. Only it seemed fake and sterile, the main floor looked so clean you could make rocket parts in it. Then there was that foreboding, anxiety inducing pressure in the air. Walking deeper into the house Twilight could now see the dining room, which was clothed and decorated. Candles waiting to be lit and napkins folded.

“Night Light! Where are our soup spoons!?” Her mother shouted from the kitchen.

“We have soup spoons?” Her father responded from upstairs. “When did we get soup spoons?”

“When we got married!” Velvet called up to him, frantically scrubbing at the tile floor grout in the kitchen with a toothbrush. “My mother gifted them to us!”

“Oh! Well then, likely the attic!”

“With the edamame extractor and the cheese slicer?! Or with the fondue set and pasta maker?!”

“We have those too!?”

“Oh my-” Velvet threw her head back with a heavy moan. “So much useless crap!”

“Mom.”

“Oh Twilight honey! Hello!” Velvet said, standing quickly. “Go put your things away in your room. Then see if you can find the good hand towels for me.” She hustled up the stairs. “I need to go to the attic!”

“Wait! What hand towels? The blue ones? The pink ones from this christmas? Or the ones with the weird floral pattern?” Twilight asked, hurrying up after her mother.

“The ones with the- you know, weird tassly looking doodads on the bottom.” Velvet said, going to the attic hatch in the middle of the hall. “I think my mom called them Passementerie?”

“Oh those lace things?” Twilight asked. “Didn’t Spike chew those up?”

“Ah crud… that’s right,” Velvet grumbled in defeat. “This is what I get for laughing when he did that instead of stopping him. Pink then.”

Twilight pulled open the hall closet, looking inside for the pink hand towels while her mom had to jump to try and get the latch string. She gave it a few good goes before admitting defeat.

“Night Light! Help me with the attic hatch!”

He came out of their room when summoned, almost fully dressed in a fancy suit, though he was struggling. “Oh honey, you still haven’t gotten the tie done?!” Velvet groaned.

“It’s impossible!” Night Light frowned, leaving it draped around his neck.

Velvet grabbed it in both hands and with in a few movements she was pulling the slip closed, almost choking her husband in the process with her speed. He made a slightly loud ‘hurk!’ noise when she finished. “Now help me with the attic door!”

“Here you go dear,” Night Light choked out, pulling it open for her. Velvet shot up faster than either could follow. Her dad loosened the tie knot slightly as they both listen to Velvet run around the attic.

“Here they are!!- Oh, and I found that serving tray!”

“Great!” Night Light said, taking them when his wife handed them down.

“Nighty go check the vegetables, make sure the chicken isn’t over cooking, clean up those table pieces and start making the charcuterie board!” Velvet ordered. “I need to shower, do my make up, get dressed and put on jewelry! Twilight! You get the towels in the bathroom, nicely folded, then you get cleaned up too!” Velvet almost rolled down the attic steps before she rammed it back up into the ceiling. “I want everyone looking like they stepped out of a catalog in an hour!”

As Velvet marched to her room, Twilight blinked. “She’s really riled up… I mean, more so than usual.”

“It’s always like this when your grandma has important news,” Night Light sighed. “By the by, go to the bathroom before your grandmother gets here, or your gonna have to hold it till she’s gone.”

“I know the drill dad.” Twilight waved him off before going to the main floor bathroom, towels in hand. After putting them on the rack and replacing their regular ones, Twilight did as instructed and headed up to her room to change.

She didn’t have much in the way of regular attire. She had about five outfit total without her uniform, but she did have a couple for formal situations. A dress was likely the best idea, so she pulled out her favorite one, a black dress with constellations in the skirt area. Her dad bought it for her at an astronomy convention.

She put that on with a pair of black tights. Sitting on her bed she faced her mirror, brushing out her hair only to put it back up in the same way as before, just a bit neater. As she finished tying her bun back, she caught a glance of the bandage on her neck.

She stiffened at the memory of hard walls and cold steel. Her hand drifts to the injury, pulling the patch away to look. The cut was angry and red, way too noticeable to hide in plain sight, but wearing some kind of scarf would be a dead give away that she was hiding something.

Should she just lie? What could she say happened? Scratched herself too hard? No, too sharp and deep.

Twilight sighed. She should just do what she did best and feign ignorance. ‘What scratch? Where? Here? No, here? Oh wow! How did that happen?!’ Yeah, that should work fine.

Twilight sighed. She was getting really good at this. There wasn’t much pride to be found in the art of deception. Fleur wanted her to tell her parents about Kamikaze… She should really tell them about her new friends.

Maybe she could keep having her finger bitten off to herself though.

Her eyes darted down to the pale ring of scar tissue around the site of old injury. It hadn’t been noticed for now, but it was a very odd injury to explain. At least with her cut neck, it looked inconspicuous. With her finger, it was clearly an injury you could see when you got it, especially with its shape.

She should really say something.

“Velvet! Where’s the charcuterie board?”

“With the Spiralizer!” Velvet shouted down, sounding stressed.

“The what?!”

“I’ll help him!” Twilight yelled, standing up and running for the main floor.

She should say something later. When Grandma wasn’t looming over their heads.

Soft Twilight was punctual.

She had likely never been late a day in her life. An accomplishment she was well known for in the community and with her family. It could be a bit tiring, especially since she expected the same level of timeliness from other people, but at least you knew what to expect.

So when 4:58 came, Velvet had them standing at the front door for a final assessment. She scanned them both over with eagle eyed precision, stopping to straighten Night Light’s tie again, or spit wash something from Twilight’s cheek.

“Where did you get that cut?” Velvet asked, thrown off for a moment.

“What cut?” Twilight lied.

“That one.”

“Where?”

“There.” Velvet gestured vaguely to her daughter’s head.

“Here?”

“No, there.”

“Huh. No clue.”

Hook, line and sinker.

Already reeling with her mother coming for dinner, Velvet let the topic go. “Well just be more careful honey.”

Night Light leaned back on the balls of his feet to look out the window. “I see her car outside.”

“Doesn’t surprise me. We have 30 seconds,” Velvet frowned, doing a quick inspection of the pristine main floor.

“24,” Twilight corrected her, watching her mom make tiny adjustments to framed pictures and decorative doo dads.

“I never get used to it. She just stands outside the door, watching the clock so she can knock right when the time comes,” Night Light muttered, trying to see if he could spot Soft through the glass around the door. “You know, when you were little I actually opened it five seconds early, just to see how’d she’d react.”

“How did that go?” Twilight asked.

“She gave me the stink eye for about two years and I’ve gotten socks for my birthday ever since,” Night Light sighed.

“Ok! 15 seconds people!” Velvet said, clapping her hands. “I want 110 percent! No drifting off in thought, no interrupting her and absolutely no running off to another room for something. I have locked the bathroom upstairs.”

“Damn…” Night Light said.

“Now if either of you can’t think of a new subject to talk about or a good response, here are some cue cards,” Velvet ordered, handing them both a set. “I know you’re experts by now but you’ve started reusing old bits too frequently and she’s noticing.”

Night Light shuffled his around. “What sorts of things have you been baking recently?” he said, reading one.

Twilight also checked hers. “I like you hair grandma, what have you done with it?” She frowned. “That's not like me at all…”

“We’re shaking things up!” Velvet ordered. “Now put on your semi happy faces and prepare to hold them three hours at least!”

Both gave a simper.

“Perfect!” Velvet checked her watch. “Three, two, one-”

Knock Knock Knock!

Velvet opened the door and gave her mother a smile. “Hello mom! So nice to see you! Come in and make yourself at home!”

Soft stepped inside, her posture was tense and she seemed to be eyeing main floor in suspicion. “Yes. Hello.”

Velvet blinked, slightly confused as she shut the door. “Erh, well… I made roast with potatoes and homemade gravy! Your favorite!”

“Hm.”

Sensing danger, Night Light came forward to try his turn. “Hey Soft, so good to see you! How was the council?”

“Fine.”

Ooph! One word responses! That couldn’t be good. It was clear her grandmother was ticked off about something. Velvet leaned back and waved to Twilight frantically behind her back. As her grandmother’s favorite, Twilight was the last line of defense with her bad moods.

Twilight came forward with a timid smile. “Hi grandma! How was your day?”

Soft glanced to her, and seeing her eyes narrow slightly sent a jolt of dread down Twilight’s spine, because it told her one thing, loud and clear.

I am angry with YOU.

“Good,” Soft said shortly, shoulders tense.

“Well, ah, why don’t we sit down?” Velvet asked quickly, herding Soft to the dining room. “Let me get you a drink!”

Night Light and Twilight watched as the two disappeared behind a wall. Once gone, Night Light let out a whistle. “I don’t know what you did, but that was worse than the stink eye I got for two years,” he said.

“This is gonna be fun,” Twilight moaned.

“Hey, welcome to the I Disappointed Soft Twilight Club,” Night Light joked, trying to ease the tension. “ I’ll show you the secret handshake later.”

“Dad!” Twilight moaned. “This is serious!”

“Not really. She got mad when I opened a door, Twilight. Your grandmother is a bit high strung.” Night Light chuckled. “For all we know she’s mad you misparked your bike and it was brought up in a meet of hers.”

Twilight bit her lip.

Night Light seemed to notice and put a hand to her shoulder. “Don’t worry honey! Everything will be fine! We’ll have dinner, talk, and then she’ll head home.” He led Twilight into the dinning room to a seat opposite to her grandmother. “For now, let’s enjoy the food, ok?”

Twilight sat, glancing up at her glaring grandmother nervously.

Yes. Enjoy….

What followed was likely one of the tensest dinners the family had ever hosted. Soft was only responding with one word the entire meal and her parents were left floundering on what to do. They had never experienced this with Soft before. Even when angry before this she’d at least respond in sentences.

By dessert Night Light had run out of cue cards and Velvet was massaging her temples. Soft’s gaze was still hot enough to melt steel and Twilight hadn’t said a word. She was just shuffling through her cue cards while her grandmother picked at her food, when she finally looked up with an expression closer to neutral.

“This is good,” she said, making Velvet double take.

“What?”

“I said it’s good Velvet, you made a very nice mousse.”

Velvet seemed to stare at her in shock. “Y-you like my food?!”

“Yes, please try to listen,” Soft frowned. “I won’t say it again.”

“I- I just-” Velvet glanced to her husband, who offered a shrug and a confused expression. She whipped back around to her mother. “You’ve never said that before! Never!”

“I don’t think your a bad cook Velvet, I just think your a tad overworked to do everything the old fashioned way.”

Velvet reeled, eyes wide. “Overwork- “ She threw her hands up. “You said last week my job was a hobby!”

Soft seemed to think about that. “Yes, I suppose I did, didn’t I… Sorry.”

This time everyone at the table stared at her, mouths open in shock. Even Night Light, who had a spoon halfway to his face was frozen.

Velvet backed her chair up. “What’s going on?” She asked, suspicious.

“Whatever do you mean?”

“I don’t like this,” Velvet said quickly. “Your moody and cross with Twilight for some reason, then you compliment my cooking- something not adding up here.” She squinted, “This isn’t like you at all.”

“Well that makes two of us.”

Twilight withered when her grandmother looked in her direction. She caught her parent’s eyes as well and could only give a helpless, bewildered shrug in response. She had no idea what she did!

“Mom, what do you mean?” Velvet asked, a skeptical look in her eye.

“Hmmm, well I suppose I should get to my reason for visiting,” Soft frowned, straightening her posture a bit and clasping her hands. “I had a very interesting run in with Mr Code Red at the last meeting.”

“Old Red? Hey I went to school with him, how’s Hazelblossom and the kids?” Night Light asked.

“I DON’T know, I didn’t ask.” Soft sent him a glare and he sunk down in his seat. “At any rate, we got talking, and he told me he had something for Twilight. Figured it be easier to give to me than mail it.”

“Mail what? Is it a fine?” Velvet asked.

“Why don’t we let Twilight explain?” Soft pulled an envelope from her purse and handed it to Twilight. The teen took it apprehensively after a few moments of hesitation. Flipping it over, Twilight could see her name on it but not much else. Confused, she opened it up, finding come money inside, along with a letter.

‘Reimbursement for 1 charmed necklace, which was voluntarily surrendered under Everfree’s Magic Control Contraband Rules. If you have any complaints, inquiries or suggestions to change these rules, then please-’

Oh.

Oh no.

Twilight tensed, eyes wide. She likely paled somewhat as her mother seemed concerned.

“Twily, honey? Is everything ok? What’s that letter say?”

“Yes, Twilight. What does it say?” Soft asked, tone clipped. Glancing up Twilight realized her grandmother had a knowing look in her eyes.

She knew.

“Uh-” She choked out, looking to the letter a few times. “It’s… ahhh…”

“Are you in trouble?” Velvet asked, tilting her head. “We won’t be mad honey.”

“She’s not in trouble,” Soft snipped. “Or at least not yet!”

Twilight tried to take a deep breath. This was not how this was supposed to go! She was being pushed into a corner here!

Well a horrible day deserves a horrible ending…

“Then what is it all about?”

Soft looked at Twilight crossly. “It SEEMS, Velvet, that your daughter has been leaving the Estates to go galavanting around the city on HER OWN!”

“What?!” Velvet asked, eyes wide. Night Light’s eyes darted to all three of them in surprise.

“Oh yes! I got this letter from Code Red. He said it was a refund for a contraband item Twilight brought back into the eastes with her!” Soft snapped. “So I snooped around-”

OH NO…

“And as it would turn out, not only has Twilight been leaving without adult supervision, she has been seen leaving with- with-” Soft threw her hands up in the air. “MONSTERS!”

“Monsters?!” Velvet frowned and while she did still seem concerned, she also started to settle slightly. Velvet shot her daughter a look.

“She’s been in contact with a wide variety of monsters. First was some sort of plant thing! Then a Fey creature! Then, worst of all, a Unicorn monster!!”

“What’s so bad about those?” Night Light asked.

“THEY EAT US!!!” Soft shouted, slamming her hands on the table.

“Oh, yeah that’s not good…”

Soft took a few moments to collect herself, still livid when she returned to her seat. “Well Twilight. Do you have anything to say for yourself?!”

Twilight stalled when the three adults turned to her, expecting an answer. She shifted, eyes darting until she noted something in her hands under the table.

“I-I like you hair grandma… what have you done with it?” Twilight gritted out, wincing slightly.

Velvet stared at her, shocked, while her father snorted out his nose with a barely contained laugh.

Soft wasn’t as amused. “Twilight Sparkle!” she said crossly. Twilight winced at her grandmother’s tone. “Do you think this is some kind of joke?! Is this funny to you?!”

“N-no…”

“Well you could have fooled me!” She glowered. “Who are those monsters your running off with?!”

Twilight looked down at the table. Like it or not the moment of truth had been thrust upon her. Lying at this point would just make things worse… So with a tight, shaky voice she forced it out.

“They um, they’re my friends grandma…”

Silence.

Twilight was too scared to look up, but the air around her began to thicken as the tension in the room started to swirl. She could also still feel their eyes transfixed on her.

“Friends?”

Twilight hunched over slightly.

“FRIENDS?!”

“Mom-”

“What do you mean friends!?!”

Twilight flinched.

“Mom please-!”

“Velvet! Your child has been going off to dance in the jaw of danger! You shouldn’t let this slide!”

“I’m not going to-”

“She could have died! Who knows what those things really want from her!”

Twilight blinked, looking up at that. Her mom and grandmother arguing at each other, face to face and out of their chairs. Her dad seemed uncertain of what to do, looking at them with his hands clenched in the table cloth. Twilight shifted a bit more up.

“They’ve been good friends grandma,” Twilight said, voice steady. “Don’t talk about them like that.”

“Don’t talk about th- Their monsters! For goodness sake we are direct descendants of Final Stand!” Soft snapped. “You’re a Twilight!”

“Again with the Final Stand and the Twilight legacy!” Velvet groaned.

“Twilight Legacy?” The girl paused at the new information.

“It’s not as fancy as it sounds honey,” Velvet said, running a hand down her face. “Basically our family follows the first born girl as a direct lineage to Final Stand. That’s because the only blood of his to supposedly survive after his death was his youngest child and only daughter, Lovely Twilight.” She sighed. “Ever since then the first born daughter of the main branch has had Twilight in their name. You’re Twilight Sparkle, I’m Velvet Twilight, Your grandma is Soft Twilight, her mother was Glowing Twilight, then your great grandmother was Twilight Song-”

“It shows who we are! It shows where we came from!” Soft interrupted. “Twilight Song’s mother was named Starry Twilight because her mother was still amazed to see the stars! Then Starry’s mother was Hopeful Twilight! She was named that because there was actually HOPE for our kind! She was born twenty years after the treaty was signed!” She held up a hand, counting on it. “We were only legally made sentient people, rather than animals only 6 generations ago!” She groaned loudly. “It’s only been two hundred years! Many monsters from those days are still alive and waiting! Don’t you get it!? It’s not safe for us!!”

“I’ve been fine!” Twilight said quickly.

“You’ve been lucky!”

Twilight sucked in a breath and the rest of the family seemed to pause. Even Soft seemed momentarily stuck in her own mind before she forced herself forward. “I just don’t want you to get hurt!” She said finally. She collapsed into her chair with a groan. “Why couldn’t you just make friends at school?”

Twilight rubbed her neck and frowned. “I don’t get along well with people at school.”

“But you do with monsters?!” Soft groaned. “You get along fine with them!” She rubbed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “How long has this been going on?”

“Grandma-”

“HOW LONG?”

Twilight winced. “Ahhhh, almost two months?”

“Two months?!”

“Wait… Are these the friends you had a sleepover with?” Night Light asked, now also looking uneasy.

“Well, yes-”

“You slept over at one of their homes?!” Soft almost screeched. “You slept near them?!”

“How many times have you left the Estates?” Velvet asked now, eyes narrowed.

“A lot…” Twilight looked to the floor.

Now Velvet groaned, beginning to pace the room with her head in her hands.

“She can’t keep doing this!” Soft said, looking to Velvet sternly. “This needs to be put to bed, once and for all!”

Twilight tensed, eyes wide and frightened. “What?! No! You can’t!”

“Twilight-” Velvet started, sounding tired.

“PLEASE!” Twilight was shouting now. “Mom please! They’re my friends! They’re my only friends!! The only ones I’ve ever really had! They’re amazing and kind and if you just met them, you’d know!” Twilight gripped the table. “Please mom, please!!”

Velvet stalled, face scrunching up as she thought, eyes jolting one side to the other as she did so. “I-I Don’t- Well… Maybe-”

“Velvet!” Soft whipped around to face her. “You can’t be serious!”

Velvet stopped to glare back at her. “Mom, Twilight is my daughter. I will deal with this-”

“They’re MONSTERS Velvet! Who knows what could happen to her! She could just about lose a limb!”

‘Too late,’ Twilight thought nervously, rubbing her hand.

“There are rules mom…”

“Who gives a toot about rules when you’re a powerful and rich monster that can just make their problems go away!” Soft argued. “The system is against us at every turn Velvet! Maybe not overtly, but it is! All it takes is for one thing to go wrong-”

“That's true with everything!” Velvet said, shaking her head.

“That doesn't mean she should be free to galavant about as she pleases-”

“She won’t! Trust me but-”

“She could die Velvet!”

The woman grimaced at that. “Well- she could, but…”

“She can make other friends Velvet! She just needs to try harder!”

“Mom, just- I will handle this!”

“You know I never approved of your free and easy mothering and now look where it’s gotten you!”

“-! E-excuse me?!”

Twilight leaned back with a sigh. This was a mess… She should have told her parents sooner… Now her grandma and mom were at each other’s throats. Now her parents knew she had been keeping secrets from them. Now she may never be allowed to see her friends again…

She rubbed her eyes, chin quivering.

“Twily honey, why don’t you take a second to calm down and step out of the room?” her dad suggested quietly, glancing to his wife for a second. “This may take a while…”

Twilight nodded, standing up and going for the entryway. She sat on the bench by the door, hunched over with her head between her knees. Of course one of the worst days of her life could only grow more terrible every hour it lasted. First Kamikaze, then Cinch, then Fleur’s secret she wasn’t even supposed to know about. Why not top it off with her darkest secret coming out to her entire family?!

She really wished Spike was here, but he was at the neighbors’ until dinner was over… Hell, she wished anyone was here to comfort her...

DING DONG

Twilight looked up, but couldn’t make out who was behind the door. Even though Everfree Estates is a gated community, that didn’t mean there weren’t solicitors. Never salespeople, but some charities or fundraisers, along with a few pamphlet people. Of course they always come around dinner time...

With a groan Twilight stood and opened the door. She was met with broad shoulders, and she had to look up to see who it was.

…

It was officially the best day of her life.

“Shiney?”

Author's Note

Hey guys! I actually got this out less than a year after the first! Woo hoo! Sorry theres not as many monsters for this chapter, and likely not the next, but were going more story driven then character and world building now! So buckle up!

Special thanks to Blazeblast4 for editing once more! This story wouldn't be here without them!

Happy Halloween

The Storm

The village was frantic.

Humans were running everywhere, gathering what little possessions they had and freeing the livestock. The fear in the air was so potent one could taste it, sour and wet.

Eventide, newly made widow of Final Stand and now acting leader of the settlement, began to help tie everything to carts and hurry everyone underground.

Because she’s coming. Because it's coming. Because death's coming.

Eventide strode over their hidden forest town. It was a home she and Final Stand had built with their own, two bloodied hands for twenty long years, hidden under pines but close enough to hear the ocean beyond the cliffs, where the sea beasts sang.

She was really going to miss this place.

And she was thankful that while Final Stand had been out fighting monsters and keeping the borders safe, she had been planning for failure.

Not her husband’s mind you, but for anything that could go wrong when it did. One did not defy the monsters and get away scot free. So while the village was built above, she had carved the cave system below.

The one they would use to make their escape.

Eventide paused when she spotted a young girl crying by the well. She hurried to her and pulled her into a hug.

“We’re gonna die!”

“No,” Eventide said firmly. “Dry your eyes little one. There will be time to weep later, for you have many more days to live. Right now you are needed with your family. Look deep inside yourself for the courage and strength to push forward. I know it is there.” She wiped the girls eyes. “It is in all of us.”

The girl whimpered for a few seconds before taking a few deep breaths, wiping at her own eyes harshly. Eventide patted her shoulders and when the girl looked at her, Eventide forced a smile. “You are not going to die.”

The girl gave a watery smile back, looking away when her mother called. Eventide offered her a gentle squeeze of her hand before she let the girl run back to her family.

Eventide stood and went to face Stalking Silhouette who was lingering behind her quietly.

“We’re all gonna die,” She stated.

Eventide looked to the ground. “I know.” She marched to a group who were packing up another wagon, gesturing to Silhouette to help her. The girl did so without complaint. As they started to tie the bundles down, a man came over to their side.

“What’s the plan going forward?” He asked, adjusting his hold on his sword.

“If you weren’t moonstruck by yond consort of yours, dear brother, you might have heard the orders before this,” Silhouette groused, knotting the ropes. The man scowled and went to respond, but he didn’t get very far.

“Quiet. Both of you,” Eventide’s voice cut their bubbling argument to ribbons. “It is not the time.”

Both looked away.

“I understand tensions are high, but we must stay on task. Fear and anger are our greatest enemies tonight.” She quickly scanned the area for any signs of an encroaching monster before speaking again. “Our best bet is to break into two groups. The caves go north and south, each will take a route to escape. The North cave is a three day journey through a tight series of tunnels that lets out in the Crystal Mountains. The south follows a wider, but longer and more complex route. It will take a week to reach the end, and it comes out the other side of the Macintosh Hills. Best bet from there would be to make for the Badlands, while trying to avoid Arimaspi Territory.”

“When do we regroup?” Silhouette asked.

Eventide took a deep breath, brushing the hair from her face. “We don’t.”

“What!?” They both looked to her, shocked.

“This is where our people part ways. The only way to survive is to have two smaller groups, rather than one big one. If we’re caught there’s no point in fighting, the monsters will kill us in an instant. If we can lose them in the caves, and be stealthy, there maybe a way out for us…” She grimaced. “Some of us.”

“That does make sense...strategically at least,” Silhouette admitted with a frown. “We’ll need more backpackers for the north, which means more youth.”

“The South can take the heavier set and wagons,” the man added, patting the wagon beside him. “They’ll need the supplies for the longer travel.” He looked to Eventide. “Who goes with what party?”

“...” Eventide shut her eyes. “I have a difficult request for you two.”

“Oh?” The man asked, cocking his head. His sister just narrowed her eyes.

“I want one of you to lead the group South and the other to take North,” Eventide explained, crossing her arm. “You're our strongest fighters, and the others respect you. They will all feel safe with one of you in their group.”

“We’d never see each other again though, right?” Silhouette said.

“That’s the gist of it.”

The two siblings shifted, discomfort evident, though the man snorted. “That shouldn’t be too hard to deal with, mayhaps I could actually have a moment's rest without you henpecking me all the time.”

“Well I would have much more time to get my own chores done if I didn’t have to keep reminding you of your own dear brother,” Silhouette sniffed.

They eyed each other before starting to lightly push at the other teasingly.

“Alright. I suppose that's what's happening,” Silhouette said simply, pulling away from her brother again. “When do we move out?”

“It seems most of the villagers are in the caves already,” Eventide explained, gesturing to the near empty town. “Silhouette, take the north route, you know it best. Bleak Shadow, take the South, you will be more useful with the wagons.”

“And which will you travel?”

Eventide stared through them.

“Oh.”

“Get them ready,” Eventide ordered. “Take this wagon down with the others. “

“Of course,” Bleak Shadow said, walking to the head of the wagon, helping the villagers lead the horses underground.

Silhouette and Eventide watched as it disappeared into the darkness. Almost everyone was in the caves now. The younger woman brushed her hair behind her ear before speaking. “Are you sure we can do this?”

“Silhouette.” Eventide took her hand into her own, making them face each other. After staring at her sternly, the face fell into a sad smile. “Silly.”

“Don’t call me that! I’m not a little kid anymore…” Silhouette whined.

“You’re not, are you?” Eventide sighed. “It's been years, but they have flown by so fast… Ever since Final found you, I raised you and your brother like one of my own. Alongside my own as well.” She put a hand to Silhouette’s cheek. “ You know Final saw something special in you two. I could find nobody better to take care of our people now. You’ll do the best you can.” Eventide sighed. “I can ask nothing more of you.”

Silhouette pulled the woman in for a hug tightly, which she returned.

“My Silly girl...” Eventide said. “I’m so proud of you.”

Pulling apart Silhouette backed away sadly, adjusting the bow on her back.

“Mommy!”

Both looked up when Lovely Twilight ran to them from the house. Her eyes were still red from crying. “Mommy! Where's everyone going!? You said there are monsters coming, it’s not safe!”

Eventide knelt, letting her child run into her arms. She held the girl tightly, before standing up and transferring her to Silhouette’s arms. “It is not safe here, my lovely. Everyone is leaving for the caves. You’ll be ok down there.”

The girl looked to Silhouette in confusion, but her attention was drawn back to her mother when she kissed her head.

“Promise me you’ll be good for Silly?”

Lovely glanced to Silhouette again, who forced a tight smile. “I guess?” She offered.

“That’s my girls, I love you so much!” Eventide pressed her forehead to Lovely’s.

“I love you too,” Lovely said back

Eventide stood back, clutching her skirt with a white knuckled grip. “Take care of her Silhouette. I pray you make it to the Crystal Mountains safely.”

Silhouette bit her lip, but bowed slightly to Eventide, then started down into the cave system. Lovely twisted in her grasp, looking back over their shoulder.

“Wait. Wait, when are you coming mommy?”

Eventide turned away, face tight.

“Mommy!?”

The two disappeared into the darkness. Though the girl’s calls could still be heard. Eventide took a deep, heavy breath, shuddering slightly, before she straightened her posture. All that was left of the village were the houses, items that were left behind in the hurry, and four humans climbing the rock face above the cave.

“You boys should get inside,” Eventide said, looking up at them. “I’ll close the entry.”

“What, and leave you all alone mum?” Her oldest son asked with a crooked smile.

“Not on your life! Dad’ll beat our hides thin in the afterlife if we did that!” His Twin added, just getting to the top of the rocks.

“The more of us those beasts must fight through, the more time the others have to escape!” The Third said sternly. “We are of more use here, then down in the caves.”

Her youngest son just gave her a thumbs up.

“Lord, they’re all like their father…” Eventide muttered, shaking her head. “If that’s what you’ve decided, just know there is no going back once done.”

“When have we ever backed out of a hopeless situation?” The eldest asked. “We were born into one!”

“This is just a Thursday,” His twin said.

Eventide could have scolded them, but she knew the twins were just trying to lighten the mood. Besides, she didn’t want the last thing she said to them to be criticism.

“Are you boys ready?” She asked.

“Got the braces mum!” Each boy took hold of a log, keeping a torrent of rocks above the cave’s entry in place.

“Then let them go.”

With a great heave the logs were pulled free, rocks tumbling down in a cloud of dust in dirt. It was a thundering noise, shaking and rattling until the entry was little more than another slope.

It would take days for even a vampire to dig out.

The boys quickly came down.

“No way they didn’t hear that,” Her eldest said, pulling out his sword.

“Hush Donjon Key,” His mother shook her head.

All the boys fell silent, save for the wind whistling in the trees. They circled, pulling out weapons, with Eventide’s coming from her belt loop. They braced when they heard a low growl emitted from the trees.

Everything was still.

When a large monster burst from the woods, claws outstretched-

Donjon Key caught it with the edge of his silvered tipped blade. The beast caterwauled into the night, burning and turning to dust upon contact with the metal. More emerged from the woods, running towards them with the same fury and bloodlust.

Eventide took a few on at once, cutting and slicing through flesh, which quickly became air and ash. They were well equipped for such a battle, but Eventide knew the only reason they were seeing such early victory was because these were nothing but the peons. Low level vampires that were likely human slaves, turned just recently, to tire them out before the real fighter arrived…

Or, judging by the amount that were streaming out of the woods now, to overwhelm them with the sheer numbers of enemies alone.

The fight got harder, Eventide found herself starting to lose breath. She and the boys were separated, Eventide barely keeping up with the sea of enemies before her. They were beginning to thin, but more powerful vampires were starting to appear. Soon it took two hits, then five, then more to take down one enemy.

Suddenly a scream erupted on the battlefield. One that Eventide knew well, as it belonged to her youngest son.

“Dusk Shine!” She broke through the crowd, killing vampire after vampire just to try and reach the direction of the sound.

Oddly she only took out a few more before they backed away, giving her room.

Eventide eyed them suspiciously, but any thoughts of trickery left her when she saw what stood beyond the mass of monsters before her.

First was her son, injured on the ground, missing his arm. He had likely blacked out from the pain…

However, standing over him, looming like a reaper of death, was the vampire matriarch. The Queen. She wore a white, flowing dress that was stained by flecks of blood, her sword still poised from striking. The monster pulled Its gaze from her son on the ground, to lock on Eventide.

She felt like an ant.

Yet what ant would bow to any creature threatening its nest?

She screamed, angry and violent. Moving forward, her sword raised, ready to cut through the beast’s neck-

There was a flash and Eventide found herself jerking forward, her weapon falling from her grasp. She gave a strangled gasp, blood dripping from her mouth. Her free hand came down to grasp at the large, steel sword that impaled her just below her rib cage. She curled inward, heaving slightly as it made itself at home.

The vampire queen stared down her, holding the steel sword’s hilt tightly. She shifted, easily lifting the human off the ground by the sword, and held it up on an angle. Eventide gagged as gravity pulled her down the sharp blade slowly, inch by miserable inch of steel cutting through her body until her ribs met the sword guard. She wheezed, the speckles of blood in her mouth becoming a river. So much it started to drip out her nose as well.

The beast held her higher, looking Eventide in the eyes.

“Where. Is. She.”

It was an order. Not a question. The creature’s voice colder than the steel in her hands, eyes glowing in the darkened night. It took Eventide a moment to understand what the thing wanted. Her confusion must have been evident as it snarled.

“WHERE IS MY SISTER!”

Eventide’s eyes started to dim, but she chuckled slightly, voice little more than a whisper with a speared lung.

“You’ll never know…”

She spat in the vampire’s face.

The beast blinked through the blood and mucus, saying nothing. Instead it adjusted its hold on the blade, took Eventide’s arm in her hand...

And cleaved her clean in half.

The body dropped to the floor.

The queen reached out beside her, where an underlying appeared with a cloth for her. She wiped her face and sword clean before dropping it to the ground. She didn’t glance at her lesser vampire as she spoke. “Report.”

“Your majesty,” It bowed deeply. “Four of the five humans are dead. We only have this one left.” He gestured to Dusk Shine behind them, still bleeding out.

She spared the human a glance. “Clean him up and add him to the stock.”

“Of course my lady!”

“And what of the other humans?”

“Ran like cowards my lady! Into the caves!” The underling hissed. “Covered the way with stones.”

“Dig. It. Out.”

The Underling bowed again, backing away before issuing her orders to the horde. The digging began, but their numbers were low now. It could take a while. The Queen watched them work unblinkingly, not willing to lose sight of her hunt.

Something rustled behind her and the vampire growled deep in her throat.

“My, my! Is that how you greet all your allies?” A creature asked as it emerged from the trees, body pitch black and eyes narrowed.

She snorted out her nose. “Pesky Bee.”

“Cutting,” The creature said mockingly. “But not wise if you ask me. After all, you are all alone now with your sissy gone. “

“SHE will return-”

“I’m so sure,” The creature clicked. “ But that may take a long time, if at all. You know your kingdom is too large to manage alone dear, but I could help you.”

“Are you just here to pick at the remains of my life?” She snarled. “Be gone vulture.”

“Mmm, apologies,” It hissed and started to back away. “ Best of luck catching those humans, but they’re craftier than you think… If you need any help with them- or anything else- you know where to find me.” It slunk into the woods once more. “Now Lone Vampire Queen Celestia.”

Queen Celestia bristled, hair almost rising and spiking in her rage. She gripped her sword tighter and set her jaw. Looking down she found a toy horse, big enough for a child to ride. She reached out to her side with her free hand, until another underling cautiously approached and handed her a torch.

Celestia lowered the torch, lighting the horse aflame, then she kicked it viciously into a nearby home. A few seconds later, it began to smoke.

“Burn it all.”

The horde started to work quickly at her word, but the queen’s eyes locked back on the wall of earth before her. She moved closer, purposely stepping on Eventide’s remains as she went.

“M-my lady?” An underling asked when she got close enough.

“I don’t want a trace of these rats left. I’ll get them all, even if it means I have to burn this forest to the ground and shatter the mountains. “

If she couldn’t have her sister back, then she wanted all of Final Stands accomplishments to burn to bitter ash. Gods she hoped there was an afterlife, so Final Stand could see her actions and suffer.

For eternity.

Present Day.
_______________________________________________________

It took Twilight a few seconds to recognize him, he had changed so much.

Five years ago, Shiney had been a string bean, with a slightly choppy haircut and an awkward stance. Standing before her now was, a toned, tall, and strong human being, hair finely cut and clothes ironed, though his hair was still that navy blue, just like dad’s. He smiled instantly when he saw her.

She just tackled him into a hug, almost squashing herself to his chest.

Shining Armour chuckled, hugging her back just as tightly. “Twily! Is that you?” He lifted her off the ground slightly. “You got so tall!”

“Y-yeah!” She gave him a simper. “It’s me!”

“You sure? I dunno…” He feigned suspicion and set her back on the ground.

Twilight punched him in the shoulder.

“Ugh!” He winced and laughed a little, rubbing his arm. “Yep! It's you alright! Now you just hit harder.”

“I missed you so much!” Twilight smiled and sniffled slightly. “Even your doofy sense of humor.”

“Hey I resent that!” Shining scoffed. “My humor is dad level at worst-”

“And at best.”

“Why I outta-” He grabbed her in a light headlock, mussing her hair and skewing her glasses. Twilight giggled and tried to wriggle free until Shining released her of his own accord. After righting her glasses Twilight looked back up at him, her smile drooping a little.

“I really did miss you, you know?” She said, eyes looking a touch misty.

Shining Armour deflated a bit as well. “Yeah, I’d imagine.... I’m sorry Twilight, I just couldn’t stand Grandma's tight grip on the family reins. I needed to go out, find myself…”

Twilight frowned. “I- it would have been nice to get a letter sometimes.”

“I didn’t really know what to say.” He scratched the back of his head. “When you make a show of storming out like I did, you can’t really send a casual letter.”

“I guess, but we were really worried…”

“... Ok, dropping off the radar was a kinda dick move,” Shining admitted with a wince. “But if grandma even had a sniff of where I was, she would have tried to drag me back by my ear.”

“...” Twilight just stared back at him sadly.

“Aw Twi, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then why didn’t you stay in contact with me?”

Shining looked to the ground. “Sorry Twily, Grandma kinda had her hooks in you. I wasn’t sure if she could get info out of you or not…”

“Oh.”

“Hey! That doesn't mean I should have just ghosted you like that.” He said quickly, holding his arms open. “Tell you what, if I promise to never do that again would you be willing to forgive your jerk of a big brother?”

“There's a possibility.”

They hugged again.

When they pulled back again Shining offered her a crooked smile. “So what’s been happening since I left?” He glanced over to the wall that cut them off from the dining room. “Sounds like the same stuff as before.”

“Same argument, different kid,” Twilight explained, glancing to the wall as well with a grimace.

“Accepted to college already?”

“Maybe a few steps back.” Twilight explained. “They’re not happy in my choice of companions.”

“Oh hey!” He smiled at her. “You got some friends outside the compound?”

“Compound!?” Twilight chuckled.

“Might as well be if you ask me.” Shining snorted. “They giving you a hard time?”

“Mmmm, Grandma is-”

“Say no more.” He grunted, pounding his chest. “Your big brother is here to be the family scapegoat once more.”

“What do you mean?”

“Trust me, after I’m done talking to them, they won’t even remember you were born,” Shining said, dusting his fingernails off on his shirt. “Stand back and watch the master shit stirrer at work.”

“And you're sure you won’t disappear again afterward?” She fretted, going to stand in front of him and blocking his path. He had just come home...

He blinked, but set his face into a commanding and frim expression. He carefully placed two hands on Twilight’s shoulders. He leaned down to her level and looked her straight in the eye. “Twi, I promise,” He said seriously.

She stared back for a few seconds, then nodded, slowly stepping out of his way.

She really hoped he was telling the truth.

Shining, meanwhile, looked back at the dining room archway and took a deep, bracing breath. With one last adjustment of his collar, he straightened to almost military posture, and marched forward.

Twilight followed shortly behind, biting her lip.

Instead of speaking, Shining just walked to the entry and stood stock still before the bickering people in front of him, quietly waiting for them to notice his arrival.

Twilight watched behind him. Grandma and mum were way too into their argument to even sense he was there, but it only took dad a few seconds to see him. He was taking a miserable looking sip out of his drink when he glanced up, then choked violently. He sent most of the liquid out his nose and onto his shirt, eyes never leaving Shining form. He coughed a bit, unable to speak.

As his father collected himself, Shining locked eyes with him before nodding to his mother and grandmother. The message was clear.

Can you make them stop for five seconds?

Night Light opened and closed his mouth like a dying fish until his teeth clicked together. He took his wife’s blouse in his fingers to give it a few yanks.

She tried to swat him away until she was pulled out of her argument with a deep groan. She glowered down at her husband darkly. “What!?”

He wordlessly pointed to Shining and both women looked over.

The room fell quiet.

Dad was obviously still in shock, and still trying to work out any of his drink left in his lungs. He blinked a few times, clutching at the table cloth with his hands.

Grandma was also bewildered at his sudden appearance. She put her hand to her chest, clutching at the broach there over her heart. The way her shoulders lifted, it looked like she was raising her hackles, andher mouth was in the shape of an O.

Mom recovered the fastest.

“Shiney?” She asked in a small voice, eyes wide. She looked frightened, like he was more of a ghost than anything else. Mom inched out from behind the table, hands hovering in mid air. “Shining Armour!?”

Shiney watched her come over before offering her a small smile. “Hey mom.”

Mom crumpled.

She threw her arms around him and wept, clutching her son as tightly as she could. As if letting go meant he’d melt away into thin air, never to be seen again. Shiney returned the hug just as tightly, resting his chin on her head. She was crying so loudly that Twilight almost couldn’t hear Shiney speak to her.

“I’m here mom, I’m here.”

“S-son!” Dad was next, standing up from his chair and stumbling over. Shining opened one of his arms so his dad could join the hug, and the older man wasted no time doing so. He was just a bit less teary than his wife.

But not by much.

“Look at you!” Nightlight laughed, though the tone was somber. “You’ve grown so much!”

“Yeah, it's been a while.” Shiney smiled at him and patted his back. “I missed you guys.”

“WE MISSED YOU TOO!” Velvet wepted loudly. “WE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!”

“Mom, it’s alright.”

Twilight inched closer, just in time for her dad to pull her into the group hug. She smiled at the reunion, but her eyes were drawn to the corner of the room. Grandma was standing there and looked a little awkward. She was toying with her broach and trying not stare, frowning sadly.

Shiney noticed her before sighing. “Get over here grandma, I missed you too!”

Soft Twilight blinked, surprised by his words, but was quickly across the room to join the hug. Shining shifted his head to press it against his grandmother’s. The only sound was Velvets sobbing but even that was slowly ebbing away.

“Oh! Oh look at you!” Velvet whimpered and reluctantly pulled away. Her eyes glancing over her son for any signs of injury. “You're ok! I was so worried…”

“I know mom, I’m ok though.” He rubbed her shoulder. “I can take care of myself. Learned from the best after all!”

Velvet snuffled and wiped at her eyes. However she also hit him lightly in the chest. “You never called!”

“I know!” Shiney admitted, hands up in defeat. “I should have, but…” He pettered off.

“Pride runs a bit too well in this family,” Soft sighed, adjusting her glasses. She returned to her seat at the table, taking up her drink. “I think I know a thing or two about that.”

“And then some,” Shiney said, looking away.

If Soft heard him she had no reaction beside sipping from her glass. Velvet, however, groaned. “Shiney…”

“I know! I know,” He grumbled. “Look, I came to visit for a bit. Not staying too long- BUT i’m not just gonna drop off the face of the earth again,” He finished quickly before his mother could interject.

“You're not coming back?” Twilight asked, a bit disappointed.

“Well, no. Not in the same way!” Shining smiled at her and put his hand on her shoulder. “I mean, I have a job and a house. Don’t really want my room back.”

“You have a house?” Night Light asked in surprise.

“You have a job?” Velvet asked at the same time.

“Yeah, I mean I am 26.” Shining shrugged. “I finished up at the academy with some scholarships, got a job at the precinct in Mid Canterlot. The house part wasn’t that hard either, I mean in the city anyway! I also had some help with that, I didn’t do it on my own…”

“My baby is a police officer!” Velvet cried, though it was clear she was proud.

“In Mid Canterlot!?” Soft said in shock. “Are you out of your mind!? You’ll be killed!”

“The last officer killed in Mid Canterlot was a bank robbery gone wrong, and he was a monster,” Shining groaned, frowning at his grandmother. “I’m fine.”

“Well still, I could get you a job with security here, they pay very well.”

Shining took a deep breath, but seemed to steady himself. “Grandma, I know you love me, and I know you're worried, but I’m happy with my job and I’m ok. Thanks for the offer though…I know it would have taken a lot of work to get me in.”

“Well at least let me get you on the waiting list for houses! It's quite the wait right now, but since you have family here already it could be sped up.” She raised her glass. “It’s very safe here-”

“And I respect that,” Shiney said with a bit of effort to stay calm. “However, I don’t think it’s best for me.”

“Shiney, honey,” Velvet looked to him, worried. “I know you like it in the city, but Everfree does offer a bit of peace of mind.”

“And a homeowners association,” Her son said with a smirk.

Velvet’s eye twitched at his words.

“Honestly, you guys, it's not that scary out there!” Shining said, looking around him. “Sure there's the odd jerk, but that's true anywhere! It’s not as bad as you think!”

“Its not,” Twilight said, withering when the adults turned to her. She winced. “It’s really not!”

Soft grunted, putting a hand to her face. “What is happening to this family?”

“Mom…”

“I will say it until I am blue in the face!” Soft snapped. “Monsters are dangerous!”

“Mom.”

“Sure, but humans are just as dangerous!” Shining argued. “What about Blue’s family?”

“We don’t talk about them!” Soft said quickly.

“Oh of course! We can talk about all the bad things the monsters can do, but when humans start hurting one another your little association sweeps it all up under the rug!” Shiney frowned.

“Humans have a tendency to have more mental and physical illnesses due to our history!” Soft snapped. “It happens when you're treated like animals and bred like them to! A limited gene pool will do that!”

“WHICH is why we can’t just hide away here or it’ll get worse!” Shiney argued.

“ALRIGHT!” Velvet stepped between them. “There is no end to this argument! Please! Shining just came home!” She looked at her mother. “He’s made it very clear mom, he doesn't want to move to Everfree! We need to accept that.”

“Velvet, he’s going to get himself killed!”

Velvet glanced at her son, looking worried, but forced herself to speak. “That's his risk to take, and his decision to make.”

Soft huffed, shaking her head.

“Thank you,” Shining said, running a hand through his hair. “It’s not that big of a risk, but I promise you I am being careful.” He seemed to pause, biting his lip. “Not to mention I can’t really live in Everfree soon anyway…”

Soft slowly looked up at him. “And why… is that?”

“Well. I’m getting married.”

…
…
…

Twilight blinked a few times. “What?” She asked.

“What?” Her dad echoed, just as surprised.

“WHAT!?” Mom spun around on her heel to face him, eyes wide.

Grandma’s glass dropped and shattered on the floor.

Shiney looked around, a little perturbed. “What? You don’t think I could get a wife?”

“Wife-wh- ma- wha-!!” Velvet staggered back into a chair. “Married!!??”

“Son that's amazing!” Nightlight said first, taking his son into another hug. “This is incredible! You're getting married!”

“Whoa!” Twilight came out of her stupor next. “I’m getting a sister in law!”

“M-ma-” Mom grugled, head in her hands and slumped forward in her chair.

Soft was just trying to breathe steady.

Twilight ran over and shook her mom. “Come on! He’s getting married! This is a good thing mom!”

“Y-yes! Yes it is!” Velvet said, still sounding shocked. “I just- oh my god!”

“Who’s the lucky lady!?” Night Light asked quickly.

“You mean unlucky lady.” Twilight chuckled.

“Quiet you!” Shining scoffed, waving her off.

“What is she.”

Everyone looked at Soft.

“What?” Twilight asked.

“You can’t move to Everfree because you're getting married,” Soft said flatly, glowering up at them. “So she’s not human. What is she?”

Shiney crossed his arms. “She’s my wife.”

“Soft it doesn't matter!” Nightlight said, shaking his son. “Shining Armour is in love! That’s all that’s important! If he likes her then so will I!”

Shining sent his dad a thankful smile.

“If Shining likes her she must be great!” Twilight agreed.

Soft just groaned, rubbing her eyes in frustration.

“What is she like!?” Twilight asked, trying to ignore her grandmother for now. “What does she do?”

“Well, she works for the school board! She works as a temporary guidance counselor when a school needs a substitute. Right now she’s at the Hooffield Highschool just outside of the city, filling in for a maternity leave. They specialize in agriculture and animal studies. Lots of hooved and nature monsters there.” Shiney shrugged. “She was in marriage counseling for a while, but she wanted to work with kids more.”

“Where ARE you going to live?” Soft grunted, shaking her head.

“My fiancée and I bought a nice row house in the historic district. We moved in together a year ago,“ Shining said, then put his hands on his hip, looking at Soft out the corner of his eye. “And it's very nice, it has a great security system grandma.”

Soft huffed a little, though her shoulder dropped a twitch.

“When is the special day anyway?” Nightlight asked.

“Few months down the road.In Fact-!” Shining pulled some envelopes from his pocket. “I got some save the date invitations right here!”

He handed one out to every member of the family, even Grandma Soft. Twilight looked over the shimmering, golden envelope with a smile.

“They’re pretty!” Twilight said, opening it up.

“My better half picked them out,” Shining snorted with a smile. “I trust her excellent taste! She picked me as a husband after all.”

“So only one misstep.”

Shiny elbowed her lightly in the shoulder with a playful expression. She giggled and managed to fish the invite from its holding.

‘You are cordially invited to the wedding of Sir Shining Armour to Mi Amore Cadenza, taking place on the 15 of July. Events begin at 1 PM, with the ceremony and a celebratory party afterward.’

“That’s so soon!” Velvet remarked as she and Nightlight read theirs over.

“We should have some money saved away to help out!” Nightlight said. “So if you have any last minute additions you want to add just let us know!”

“I think we got everything! It’s a pretty small ceremony. Family and close friends!” Shiny explained. “As for gifts we’d rather you just donate to a charity in our name.” He glanced around before adding, “Buuuuutttt a nice chocolate bar or coffee card would be a nice surprise.”

“Sold!” Nightlight said, marching into the kitchen. “I’m putting this on the calendar right now!”

“Married,” Velvet mumbled, still a little dazed. “I can’t believe it…”

“Neither can I,” Soft grumbled, rubbing the side of her head. She suddenly stood, putting the invite away carefully in her purse. “Thank you for dinner Velvet but I need to go home and… think.”

Velvet didn’t seem to notice what her mother said but nodded anyway.

“I’ll call you later on when I have my head back on straight.” She sighed. “It’s been one hell of a day.” As she headed for the door she stopped before Shining Armour with a slightly tired look. “Thank you for the invitation to Shining Armour, I’ll be sure to clear my schedule.” She patted him on the shoulder. “It’s good to see again and in good health.”

Shining exhaled heavily but had a small smile on his face. “You too Grandma.”

She stared at him a moment longer, then made her way to the front door. Twilight heard it shut before Shining shifted. “So, I said I wasn’t staying too long, I should probably go to-”

“Hold it!” Velvet said, a little panicked. “You just got back after being gone for so long! Can’t you just stay a few hours?”

“Aw, mom,” Shining said softly. “I promise I won’t disappear.”

“I know… I just-” She seemed to struggle to think of an excuse.

“Your mother made some mousse!” NightLight shouted from the kitchen. “You wanna stay for a bowl!?”

“Mousse eh?” Shining looked a bit conflicted. “Well I promised Cadance I’d try and lay off the sweets, gotta fit into my tux… but what the heck!”

As he slid into a seat mom ran to the kitchen to get the dish together. Twilight took a seat next to him, glancing over the invitation she had gotten. When Shiney tapped her shoulder she looked up at him.

“Told you they’d forget you were born,” He muttered to her with a smile.

Twilight just gave him a smirk back and nudged him with her foot under the table.

Between the eating of Mousse and talking about wedding preparations, Shiny found himself staying much later than he intended. They looked at Twilight’s school photos he missed. She went next door to get Spike so they could meet. He went to see his dusty bedroom and practically squealed when he saw his comic collection just as he had left it, save for one Spike had somehow gotten his teeth on and chewed up, leaving Shiney to dramatically scream, much to his family’s confusion. He was impressed his ant farm was still alive though, thanks to Twilight’s care, and had been very excited to see his old action figure of Brutish Force.

“They don’t even make these anymore!” Shiny smiled, holding the toy up high.

“Well, it’s your stuff Shining. If you want to take it to your new home in the city, we can have it delivered, or drop it off,” Velvet offered with a smile.

“Aw, that be awesome!”

The plans were mostly up in the air for that, but the rest of the night was spent reminiscing on the couch on old times until after midnight. Though it had been hours, Twilight felt like he had just arrived moments before. It was a bit sad to see him getting ready to leave once more. Thankfully he dialed their numbers into his new phone, sending them each a text so they all had his number now.

“We’ll have to get together sometime,” Velvet said, “Maybe go out for dinner, our treat! We can get to know your fiancée!”

“She’d love that!” Shiny smiled. “It’s a bit busy right now with the wedding prep and her covering menterity, but I’m sure we can find a night that works with everyone!”

“You’ll come back to see us soon though, right?” Twilight asked, worried she was being a bit clingy. “I-if you have time…”

“Hmmm, do I have time for my favorite sister? I dunno….” Shiny said, tapping his chin and looking doubtful, though his tone was joking.

She snorted.

Shiney laughed as well. “Yeah, of course I’ll come by again real soon! I own you a bunch of birthday presents don’t I? We can get ice cream or something, maybe with the whole family.” He pulled her in for another headlock, noogieing her head teasingly. She struggled in his grip, giggling all the while.

“Shiney! Come on! Stop!” She said with a smile. He finally let her go, giving both his mom and dad a hug as Twilight straightened her glasses once more.

“I’ll talk to Caddie and we’ll see if we can find a day to get together!” Shiny said. “It’ll be fun!”

“It’ll be nice to spend more time with you! We’ve missed you so much,” Velvet said fondly. “Just send us a date and we’ll make it work.”

“Well alright then!” Shiny smiled. “I’ll text you before the end of the weekend! You guys take ok, and Spike right?” He pointed down at the dog, who straightened at the attention. “Take care of Twily till I get back ok?”

Spike barked, face very serious.

“Good boy!” Shiny gave his head a rub before heading to his car. “See you soon guys! Love yeah!”

Twilight and her parents waved to him as he backed out of the driveway and headed off down the street. Once his car turned the corner, Velvet sighed.

“Oh, our little boy went and grew up without us.”

“It’s true, but we can still be there for him now!” Night Light said, putting his arm around her. “What do you say we go and find a good gift idea online? I’ll get us some wine.”

His wife chuckled. “Stop reading my mind!”

As the two headed in Twilight couldn’t help but smile. It seemed Shiney had spoken the truth, for the moment, at least, mom and dad didn’t seem to remember she was in trouble…

Hopefully that meant he was telling the truth about sticking around.

Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 7:30 AM

Wow. Thats crazy! Your parents really didn’t remember you’d been sneaking out after all that?

Twilight blew a hair from her face.

Sent from Twilight Sparkle: 7:31 AM

They’re really excited Shiney is back! I mean, so am I, I even forgot I was in trouble for a bit there. They spent the rest of the weekend looking at gift ideas and texting him. There's still no good date for us all to get together, but we’ll find one.

Indeed the rest of the weekend had been pretty quiet! Even grandma hadn’t called to check back in again. It was a quiet, calm few days where Twilight had done her homework, played with Spike and listened to her mum and dad’s plans on what to do when they met up with Shiney’s fiancée. So far they were hoping for dinner and bowling as a first introduction. Really though, whatever she wanted to do was fine. They did want to make a good first impression.

Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 7:34 AM

Well I’m really happy for you Twilight. I know he was gone for a while. However you should bring the topic back up before your parents remember on their own. It’s not going to go away on its own.

Wasn’t that the truth? Twilight figured that she’d have to face the music eventually. She had friends now and she really wanted to keep them. From how the conversation had been going, before it devolved into Grandma and mom having another fight, it seemed like her parents were open to the idea.

They weren't happy with her, but they we’re willing to listen.

Sent from Twilight Sparkle: 7:36 AM

I know, I gotta tread lightly though. I feel like it's a conversation that could go either way. Maybe best to do it without my Grandma around though.

Her mom was less likely to get a hernia that way.

Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 7:37 AM

Well try and group chat us all later! I’m sure the girls have some ideas on how to help. Rainbow has gotten out of trouble with her dad tons of times, and Rarity knows a thing or two about sweet talking the parentals.

Twilight chuckled as she read that going to text back-

BONK!

Twilight spluttered when something lightly struck her in the back of the head, glasses dropping from her face. Thankfully they ended up in her lap. She scrambled to put them back on as someone yelled from far behind her.

“Ah crap! Sorry!”

She turned to see them, shaking a bit as the bus hit a pothole. It was another Monday morning and another full bus ride back to Crystal Prep. Kids were still riled up from the weekend, chit chatting and catching up. A few in the back had taken to tossing around a soccer ball, which had just pelted Twilight in the back of the head. From her seat she could even see a few kids sleeping, drawing on the walls and rough housing with each other.

Twilight was tempted to complain to the bus drive, but the last time she did that he said, and she quoted, “Don’t make me tap the sign.”

Twilight glared at the ‘sign’ posted above the driver’s seat.

‘Don’t talk to the driver’

Twilight winced when the ball hit her again, the kid calling out apologies, just as a paper plane flew down the aisle.

It was like some Lord of the Flies BS in here.

Well, she supposed survival of the fittest was better than the ‘Bunny’ technique her bus driver used in elementary school.

Twilight sighed before returning to her phone.

Sent from Twilight Sparkle: 7:40 AM

I will, thanks.

The bus ride wasn’t much longer than that, thankfully. It pulled up to the usual stop and everyone started getting their things together. Twilight shouldered her bag and backpack, heading for the doors, when a sea of students flooded up around her, rushing for the exit at the same time. Twilight floundered wildly, caught in the stream. She frantically tried to get her footing again as she was carried away to the doors.

“Ah! Help!” She shouted as they approached the stairs.

The busdriver tapped the sign, not looking at her. Twilight sent him a glower before she was spat back outside. Somehow, by chance, she landed on her feet, stumbling a bit from the force. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath-

When someone purposely shoved her from behind.

She yelped, falling to the walkway roughly, bags going with her. Her glasses fell off for the second time today, but she managed to find them a few seconds later. She hefted herself to her hands and knees, listening to someone chuckle as they walked past her. Looking up she saw it was Nettlekiss. One of Kamikaze’s gang and someone less than happy Twilight had managed to get the girl kicked out of school…

Nettlekiss locked gazes with Twilight as she went past, then scoffed and flipped her off.

Twilight blew the hair from her face again, getting to her feet. Right! That was still going on.

She picked herself back up, dusting off her knees and picking a few rocks from her skin. Twilight grunted and continued onto the school, something in her gut telling her today was not going to be the best day.

I WONDER why.

As she walked Twilight spotted Moondancer up ahead, walking slowly with her bags, a cup of coffee held in both hands. Despite the mid day May weather, she held it to herself like it was the only warmth she had left, bags under her eyes. Twilight frowned and ran to catch up.

“Moondancer, are you ok?” She asked, squinting at the other girl.

“No, no talking,” Moondancer mumbled, blinking one eye at a time. “Not alive yet.” She took a generous sip from the steaming cup. Twilight was sure that, had she been more awake, Moondancer would have felt the burn from the hot drink.

“Why are you so tired?” Twilight asked, giving her an apologetic smile when Moondancer glared at her.

“Was playing Prophecy Of Power all weekend.” A dark grin came over Moondancer’s face. “ I made at least three twelve year old cry. It was a very good night.” Then it dropped. “Course I didn’t watch the clock and only got two hours of sleep for today.”

“The fates can be cruel and order unkind,” Twilight smirked, nudging her roommate.

“Go away!” Moondancer groaned deeply, taking another violent mouthful of her coffee.

They stumbled up the dorm steps and Twilight fumbled with the keys to unlock the door, Moondancer watching groggily. Once inside they made their way to their rooms and put their things away.

Twilight leafed through her books and papers, finding everything she needed for her classes. Her book report was due today, then she had a test in the afternoon during self defense… she should practice her bobs and weaves during lunch.

Twilight sighed. This close to summer break everything started to get busy, especially with end of term exams were getting closer and closer. Twilight carried her backpack out into the living area, looking at Moondancer's door. It was open and she was already gone, likely having some early activity in class today. Twilight turned back to the front door and adjusted her bag, only to pause when it opened and Lemon Zest spilled into the room.

Lemon looked tired as well, dumping her things on the floor behind the door. When she looked up and saw Twilight there she paused, eyes wide and nervous. For a moment Twilight was confused until she recalled last Friday again.

Right. That was also still going on.

Well, after this weekend Twilight was in a much better mood to handle this. The last time she had seen Lemon she had been too tired for anything else school related, so she had blown the girl off in favour of retreating to the bus.

Now she was in a better mood.

“Hey Lemon,” Twilight offered her, keeping her tone light.

“Uh, hey…” Lemon scratched the back of her head, eyes darting.

“You wanna walk to school together?” Twilight asked, gesturing to her bag.

Lemon looked confused, but nodded hesitantly. “Uh, sure… I guess so. If you want to.”

Lemon quickly grabbed her backpack and the two of them headed back out towards the main school. Lemon was shifting and chewing on her lip, not looking at Twilight directly. She realized that, for as much as she had been worrying about Kamikaze all last Friday, that Lemon may have been worrying about facing Twilight all weekend. They had not left things in a good way… Twilight wasn’t even really mad at her.

She had been a little rude.

“So, listen,” Twilight began, catching Lemon’s attention. “I’m sorry about blowing you off in the stairwell.”

“Huh?”

“Well I kinda pushed right past you without stopping to talk,” Twilight explained. “I was so tired and grumpy afterschool on Friday, I didn’t really think-”

“Whoa, hey whoa!” Lemon turned to stare at her. “Are you apologizing? To me!?” Lemon pointed to herself in emphasis.

“Um, yes. I am indeed.” Twilight blinked. “I was rude. I’m sorry. I hope it didn’t bother you too much this weekend or anything…”

“Bother me- What!?” Lemon shouted, hands in the air. “Twilight, I bailed on you! I let Kamikaze almost make a second mouth of your throat!” Lemon winced. “I kinda deserved to be brushed off, maybe even more than that!”

“Well, that’s not your fault.” Twilight shook her head. “I wasn’t mad at you last week, I was just done with the day. It was crazy and I was tired…”

“What do you mean you're not mad!?” Lemon asked. She stopped walking to grab Twilight by the shoulders, giving her a little shake. “I ABANDONED YOU”

“Like I said, that's not your fault. I may have done the same thing in your place. Kamikaze has that effect on people. She makes you freeze up. She’s unpredictable. I’m scared of her too.” Twilight shrugged. “How can I be mad at someone for not doing something, if I couldn’t do it either? That's asking too much of another person.”

Lemon stared at her, frowning. “Well… It still didn’t feel right after.” She turned away and they both began to walk again.

“If it helps, I’m not upset with you.”

“I think I’d feel better if you were…”

“Really?”

“Yeah… no… I dunno.” Lemon scratched her cheek, looking out over the empty founder’s pedestal still in front of the school. The statue of Crystal Heart was still behind the art building, being fixed. Lemon sighed. “It’s complicated.”

“Life tends to be that way.” Twilight smiled sadly.

They rounded the bend and headed for the doors. Off to the side Twilight could see the outdoor exercise area with a few of the morning gym courses warming up. One group was the fencing class. There were five or six students practicing lunges, with Prefect Fleur talking to the instructor.

Fleur.

Right. That was also, ALSO still going on.

“Has Fleur seemed ok to you?” Twilight asked, looking to Lemon quietly.

“Perfect Mc Fleurrie?” Lemon asked, brow raised. She peered over at the exercise yard. “I haven’t seen anything off. Last time I saw her she was her usual, well meaning, but bossy self.”

“Hmmm.” Twilight looked back at the girl.

“Why do you ask?”

“Well… can you keep it a secret?” Twilight asked.

“Ugh sure?” Lemon said, looking suspicious and concerned.

“Well, last Friday, when I ran off to the bus, I saw her talking on her phone,” Twilight explained. “Sounded like a boyfriend or something.”

“Oooh!” Lemon said, wriggled her brows. “Lover spat?”

“No, it was pleasant.” Twilight frowned. “It just, they were talking like the guy was already working, and had business meetings to go to. Like he’s older than us.”

“Oh,” Lemon said, reilization crossing her face. “Older. Ok…” Lemon hummed. “I mean, Fleur is almost eighteen. She can, kinda make her own decisions… maybe? I guess it's ok to be worried, but the girl knows fencing! If anything happens she can just slice n’ dice him, right?”

“I guess so,” Twilight sighed.

Lemon pursed her lips and made a popping noise before speaking again, looking uncertain. “Look, I won’t say anything, but if you got a bad feeling, then talk to her about it!” Lemon weaved her head back and forth in thought. “Maybe it’s not as bad as it sounds? You did just hear one conversation.”

“I guess that's true,” Twilight admitted. “I just don’t want to underestimate how much trouble she could be getting into. What if I don’t say anything and she gets hurt! Or worse…”

“Yeah… Not acting when you should can be a horrible kind of regret,” Lemon mumbled.

Twilight chewed on her cheek idly.

Oh dear….

After they parted ways Twilight made her way to her morning classes. Math and English passed as they normally did and her teacher was very pleased with the look of her book report. In between though, the halls were filled with whispers and watching eyes. Kamikaze had not returned after the weekend. She wasn’t in any classes and her dorm room had apparently been emptied. Why she was suddenly gone was no mystery, but now Twilight seemed to be the talk of the school. Somehow she had gotten the blood hungry girl removed. Some people were very pleased with this result.

Others were not.

After lunch Twilight sat down in Science, twitching when someone jabbed her with a pencil. Turning around she found Sugarcoat and Indigo Zap, as usual.

“Dude, what the hell,” Indigo said flatly. “Do you know how much trouble you're in!?”

“Excuse me?” Twilight asked, completely bewildered.

“Word around school is that Kamikaze was booted, permanently,” Sugarcoat explained. “And that you were the one to do it.”

“I didn’t even tell on her though! Fleur did that! All I did was get a knife pulled on me…” Twilight said, eyes darting.

“Try telling that to her old clique!” Indigo explained, waving her hand vaguely. “Without Kami they’re all bark and little bite. She was the insane powerhouse that ran this school like a well greased machine. Now they can’t get away with jack.” Indigo frowned. “ They are not happy.”

“Namely with you.” Sugarcoat said with a shrug.

Twilight sighed, already tired. “Well, you said it yourself. All bark, little bite.”

“Doesn't mean they can’t kick your ass Sparkle,.” Indigo grunted. “Just cause they can’t skip or hustle lunch money as easily doesn't mean they’re any less mean.”

“I’d suggest you fake an illness and hide out in the nurse’s station,.” Sugarcoat said flatly. “Before it’s too late.”

Ahhhh….. Crud!

“Why me….?” Twilight moaned, laying her head on her desk.

“I dunno, but just watch your damn back!” Indigo scowled. “Lemon was worried about you this weekend and I don’t need her worried the rest of the week either!” The girl crossed her arms. “Stresses me out.”

Twilight sighed. “Well, she has nothing to worry about now. Whatever happens I’ll just deal with it alone.” Twilight crossed her arms and put them under her head. “I always do…”

Indigo and Sugarcoat shared a look behind her, but Twilight didn’t see it.

After science Twilight made her way across the school grounds and to the gym. Her last class of the day was Self Defense and she just needed to get changed. She was hoping her practice during lunch would help her, but given Ms Trenchbull’s standards she’d be lucky to get a B. Twilight shivered as the winds picked up and when she looked up she could see the cloudy morning sky was gone in favour of some dark, rolling clouds.

Suited her mood today just fine.

“Twilight!”

She paused, looking up to see Prefect Fleur approaching her. “Hey, what’s up?” Twilight asked, not sure what the girl could want.

“I just wanted to make sure none of Kamikaze’s old crew were bothering you,.” Fleur said as she came over. “Word around school is that they’re not very pleased with how things turned out.”

“I’ve heard, but besides some pushing, nothing has happened.” Twilight sighed.

Fleur glanced down at Twilight’s skinned knees with a raised brow. “I’m sure.” She huffed before looking back up. “If they do anything though, let me know. I’ll set them straight.”

“Thanks Fleur.”

“Anytime Twilight,.” Fleur smiled. “I gotta look after my underclassmen.” She patted Twilight’s shoulder. “Till then, I’m needed in English.”

“H-hold on, Fleur.” Twilight grabbed the girl’s hand before she could leave. “Can I ask you something?” Twilight grit her jaw.

“Ugh, you just did,.” Fleur said jokingly.

“Oh-wha-!” Twilight spluttered and Fleur gave a soft laugh.

“Go ahead Twilight, it’s fine.”

Twilight froze before sighing. “Right, well… I was just wondering… Are you- Wait no, that won’t sound right!” Twilight struggles for a few seconds. “Ah, what I mean to ask is, do you have a boyfriend?”

“Boyfriend?” Fleur seemed leery at this. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I kinda, sorta, mmmaaayyybbbeee-” Twilight swallowed. “H-heard you talking on the phone at the bus area last Friday.”

Fleur blinked.

“It sounded like you were all ‘lovey dovey’ and you were talking about him being in meetings and working…” Twilight continued.

At this Fleur instantly paled and she grabbed Twilight by the arm. She yelped as she was dragged around the back of the building. Fleur released her to pace for a moment and Twilight had a few seconds to rub her arm before the Prefect turned back to her.

“Who have you told!?” She asked quickly. “What else do you know!?”

“Th-that’s it!” Twilight stammered, hands up in surrender. “I don’t know anything else and the only person I told was Lemon Zest, but only because I wasn’t sure what to do.”

Fleur mumbled and started to chew her nails a little. She was clearly frazzled and Twilight winced at the nervous actions.

“Listen, Fleur, is he like, a LOT older or is he…?” She left the question open ended.

Surprisingly Fleur waved the question off dismissively. “Oh he’s only twenty three! It's a family business, he’s being taught the tricks of the trade by his father.”

Ok, Twenty three… Not too bad…

“Still not the best though…” Twilight frowned. “Are you worried your parents will freak out?”

Fleur looked at her in surprise, then gave a very loud laugh, though she still looked a bit stressed. “Oh, that is rich! My mother is TEN years younger than my father. If anything me dating a budding, rich business man would make her over the moon.”

“But?” Twilight asked.

Fleur stalled and mumbled to herself, scratching her face. “But… he’s not exactly… human.”

Oh.

OH.

“That’s not a bad thing.” Twilight shrugged.

“Not many around here would agree,” Fleur sighed. “An older, gentleman monster dating a slightly younger, human woman isn’t how fairytale relationships usually turn out.” She got a bit of a fond smile on her face. “However in this case he’s been more than a prince! We’ve been together for almost five months and he refuses to even kiss me anywhere but the cheek or the hand.” She sighed. “ We’ve talked about it a lot but he wants me to graduate university before we start making big plans.”

She came closer to Twilight and grabbed her hands. “If this were to get out it could ruin everything for me. My parents will lock me down. My social status could be affected. Scholarship opportunities. University applications. Who knows what other problems this kind of gossip could cause!”

She leaned in, Twilight twitching back at the intensity of her stare. “I need you to keep this to yourself! Please, please, please don’t say a word!”

“I understand why you're worried Fleur, it's just… Are you sure you're ok?” Twilight asked. “I mean, I trust your judgement, but I’m just worried.”

“Oh Twilight, that's really nice of you,” Fleur smiled. “I know it's a bit sketchy but I’ve never felt like this before. I love him a lot and we really connected. He’s given me a lot more respect than some of my own family members. We’re moving very slowly and I feel very secure! Please don't worry! I’ll be ok!”

Twilight hummed. “I guess. I won’t tell, but only if you give me your phone number. I’ll feel better if you have somebody to talk to that knows, just in case.”

“Aw, Twilight!” Fleur chuckled. “That's so sweet! You don’t have to do that!”

“Well, it would make me feel better about it,” Twilight said. “Besides, you always had my back, I should have yours.”

And honestly, it would. At least if Fleur needed help then she had someone to call instead of worrying about how she was going to explain everything. Sure, Twilight wasn’t sure what she could do to help, but it was better than nothing.

Fleur just laughed brightly before taking Twilight’s phone and typing in her number. “Well I guess if it will make you feel better, but only if I can return the favour.” She handed it back after she was done and Twilight sent her a quick text so she could get the contact as well. “No matter how small, right?”

“Right!” Twilight agreed.

Fleur put a hand to her chest. “I’m glad you came to talk to me instead of making assumptions, Twilight. It means a lot.” She patted the teen on the shoulder. “However we had best get to class before we’re late.”

“Ok, I’ll talk to you later then!” Twilight smiled and held her phone up. As Fleur walked off back to her class, Twilight looked down at her messages and sent a quick one off to.

Sent from Twilight Sparkle: 1:11 PM

Have a good class!

Twilight tucked her phone back in her bag and headed towards the field before the gym building. The wind blew again and Twilight shivered, getting a bit cold. May was such a turbulent month, you never knew if it was going to be steaming hot or freezing! Either could happen, sometimes on the same day. Well June was right around the corner…

Twilight looked back at the school quietly.

Things seemed to be improving around Crystal prep. She was on better terms with Lemon, Moony and even Fleur. Were they friends? Maybe just a step below? Well, either way, she didn’t feel as isolated as she used to.

Yet, even with the more friendly setting and lack of her usual bully, Twilight found Crystal Prep to be lacking. As for what it was lacking…

Well, certain monsters came to mind.

Everything was the same, both here and at home. She was trapped in a rut and didn’t even know it until Sunset stumbled into her life, bringing her friends with her. Everytime she had left to spend time with them, in the outside world, Twilight found herself wanting to return to her bubble less and less. Sure Everfree and Crystal Prep were safe, but without a little risk what was there to gain?

“You got some friends outside the compound?”

‘However you should bring the topic back up before your parents remember on their own. It’s not going to go away on its own.’

Twilight sighed. She should, she really, really should. Her parents should know she wasn’t happy here, why she wasn’t happy here, why she met her friends and how wonderful they were. Both were a part of her life and she wanted them to peacefully coexist.

Somehow…

It seemed like a pipe dream though. How could she combine the two? She could change schools, but the only real way that could work is her parents drive her into the city everyday, if she woke up at the crack of dawn to catch a bus, or if she went to an entirely new boarding school all together. The last one not even fixing any of the problems because it will be, once again, far from her friends.

There wasn’t much else she could suggest without being outlandish or sounding crazy. She could only hope her parents would just let her keep meeting up with them.

Which seemed unlikely.

Twilight sighed, reaching for her pocket to get her locker key, almost at the door of the gym-

When someone tackled her!

Air whistled out of her and she fell to the ground. She landed on her side, shoulder taking the brunt. Disoriented, Twilight shifted to her back, trying to figure out what just happened, only to get punched in the head.

Oh my gosh, ok, this is happening!!

Instinctively her arms came up to block her face, just in time to avoid another hit. Twilight’s head rang as her attacker tried to punch her again and again. She squawked when they grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked. HARD.

“You stupid jackass, you ruined everything!” Her attacker snapped, clearly female and clearly pissed off.

“Get her Nettlekiss!”

“Yeah, kick her ass!”

Oh good, all of Kami’s old crew were there. Now it was a party. Someone tried to kick her as Nettlekiss kept ramming her head and arms with blows. Something mumbled in the back of Twilight’s brain, under her headache, until it clicked.

Oh yeah, my lessons.

Twilight hooked Nettlekiss’s left leg with her right and rolled into it. Caught off guard, Nettlekiss fell to the side while Twilight rolled on top. Twilight stumbled and fell forward, but was able to stick her elbow out and land a lucky hit on Nettlekiss’s solar plexus, knocking her out of breath. Before she could do anything else, someone grabbed Twilight’s hair and yanked her off of Nettlekiss.

Twilight yelped and stepped towards the one who yanked her, using the momentum to elbow them, half out of surprise at being grabbed and half lost in the memories of the horrible night Kamikaze made that video. The girl grunted angrily, taking the blow and threw a hook, catching the side of Twilight’s face and sending her glasses flying.

Suddenly the girl made a noise and let Twilight go, though she could still hear fighting going on.

“Leave her alone!”

“Lemon!?” Twilight shouted in shock.

She got no answer, but was swiftly overtaken again by some of the other girl’s in Kami’s old group. Nettlekiss grabbed Twilight and tried to force her to the ground, but Twilight caught her leg, causing them both to fall. Before either could recover, another girl kicked Twilight, knocking her off balance. Before the new girl could follow up, she was hit by a backpack and turned to face whoever threw it. Twilight and Nettlekiss rolled a few times, thrashing to try and get the upper hand over one another.

It was now just the two of them, locked in battle, kicking and punching and pulling hair, trying to break free. Twilight made a frustrated scream when the other girl pulled her hair hard enough for there to be a small ripping noise. With a mighty twist she brought her leg up and kicked as high as she could.

Somehow she managed to kick her in the mouth.

Nettlekiss screeched angrily.

Yeah, how does that shoe taste you jerk!?

All around them was chaos. Twilight could hear numerous fights happening at once, the voices running together too much for her to know who all they were. She knew Lemon Zest was here, but other than that, she was clueless. It didn’t help that some students were just standing by, chanting ‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’ as loud as they could. She did hear one girl shouting that she was being BITTEN but Twilight didn’t recognize the voice.

Twilight then actually managed to get overtop of Nettlekiss, but she knew she couldn’t hold it long. So instead of trying to punch her, Twilight snorted.

And spat on her.

Partly to shock her, partly to disgust her, partly to distract her-

-and partly to repay her for all the bullying.

Boy did it work judging by the horrified noise the other girl made.

“OH MY GOD!!!” She coughed. “IT GOT IN MY MOUTH!!!!”

Oh.

Well, happy accident.

The girl loosened her hold on Twilight’s hair and she took the opportunity. Twi grabbed her by the wrist and yanked it away. She held the arm across Nettlekiss’s body, locking her free arm down at her side. Twilight then punched the girl in the chest.

She might have missed the face if she aimed there.

Nettlekiss squirmed under her, cursing and using her legs to try to kick at Twilight from behind. Twilight reeled her arm back for another hit, when a large hand grabbed her by it and yanked her up and away from Nettlekiss.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!”

Twilight went stiff, eyes wide when she recognized Ms. Trenchbull’s voice. All around her the other students fell quiet as well. Not a soul dared speak as the large woman panted, sounding like an enraged animal.

Thunder rang out over their heads.

As Ms. Trenchbull took stock of the situation, someone nudged something into Twilight’s free hand. She confusedly took the object and realized they were her glasses. She managed to get them on with one hand, frowning when she realized they were cracked and not sitting right on her face.

All around her were girls, just as equally roughed up as she was. Lemon Zest was there, covered in bruises. As was Indigo Zap, which was odd. Surprising there was also Moondancer, sporting a ripped sleeve and a battered look, standing next to her, clearly the one who found Twilight’s glasses. She must have been on her way to self defense as well and saw what was happening.

What took Twilight’s attention though was her tight breathing. She was wheezing and blinked, surprised that she hadn’t noticed this before. A quick look around finds her bag on the ground nearby. Twilight turned, looking up at Ms Trenchbull’s red face, knowing she’d have to likely ask the woman to let her go if she wanted her inhaler.

Thankfully it was then Ms. Trenchbull chose to release her.

“Get your shit together!” She shouted, all the girls scrambling for their things at once. Twilight managed to get a puff or two of her inhaler before Ms. Trenchbull screamed again. “You're all coming with me to the Principal's Office. NOW.”

The vein in her neck was bulging. Not a good sign of things to come.

As they were herded back to the sidewalk, Ms. Trenchbull leering over them, they passed Sugarcoat standing on the sideline, holding Indigo’s bag in her hands.

“You guys are in a lot of trouble,” She said flatly.

“What? Nooo,” Indigo groused sarcastically, taking her things back.

“MARCH!”

They picked up the pace after that, eyes locked on the ground as Ms. Trenchbull kept forcing them onward. Not a soul spoke and Twilight swallowed tightly.

Well, she had been right. Today was not going to be a good day.

And it was about to get way, way worse.

Author's Note

So. That was a while...

Life got so busy and the Covid happened and well, suddenly its Halloween again! I promise doing these updates once a year is not what I want, or we'd be here a while... I really want to do the next update sooner than that and I'll do my best! I'm really sorry guys...

Anyway, I hope this chapter wasn't too much hype for people. Nothing too big happened and it likely wasn't the family feud you wanted, but we are moving along. We'll have more of the main six in the next few chapters, this is kinda more set up stuff.

Also as a side note I know Fleur's relationship is kind of sketchy (Or suss as the young people may say) *I honestly don't know, I'm not young anymore* but its more of just a nice side story. Fancy is a nice guy in this, but be careful out there young people! Most older romantic interests in real life don't work out well...

Special thanks to Blazeblast4 for editing once more! Also for writing a chunk of the fight scene. Man do I suck at those!

Thanks for reading guys!

The Eye

The farther they went, the more treacherous it became.

There was almost no light down here, save for some glowing mushrooms or their few remaining torches. It was easy to trip over uneven rock and impossible to tell the passage of time. They had been down here for… Hours? Days? It didn’t matter anymore.

So long as the vampires didn’t catch up to them.

Stalking Silhouette was tired, angry, and hungry. Her feet were aching and she could feel the stress catching up, with the eyes of her followers drilling into the back of her head. They were all thankfully quiet. Even Lovely had settled down, after wailing and sobbing for her mother for so long.

Honestly Silhouette wanted her here too, Eventide would know what to do better than anyone. Though it shouldn’t be too hard, she had left pretty basic instructions for the tunnel, it was what was on the other side that worried Silhouette more. The Crystal Mountains were cold and inhospitable. They would need to find a safe place and gather firewood first things first. Hunting for furs and such. Hopefully it would be fine weather, but beggars could not be choosers.

And hopefully the vampires would give up the chase by then.

Though that too was a fool’s dream and Silhouette knew it. The remaining Vampire Matriarch was ruthless and uncompromising. So long as there was a chance, she wouldn’t let up on her hunt. They were still in very real danger, even if they managed to cross the mountain range.

But how was that any different than before?

Silhouette shook the dark thoughts from her mind. There was no use for them now. This was the situation, they were as prepared as they were going to be. Whatever happens next was out of her hands, but she’d deal with it when it came. What else could she do?

A tiny hand grabbed her tunic hem, tugging harshly. Silhouette blinked and looked down, finding Lovely Twilight staring back blearily.

“How much longer?” She asked.

Silhouette bit back a groan, glancing behind her. All the villagers had their eyes on her expectedly.

Had they set Lovely up to this? Good gracious.

“I don’t know,” She said honestly. “Could be a day or so more, but don’t be too excited. A frozen tundra awaits us.”

“Snow?”

“...yes, snow.”

Lovely grinned widely. “I love snow! It’s fun to play in!”

Ah the naivety of youth.

“Yes, but it’s cold and we’ll need supplies, which will be hard to find. So we’ll ALL HAVE TO WORK HARD!” She whipped her head to glare over her shoulder. The villagers instantly looked away, a few starting to whistle.

Silhouette rolled her eyes.

“What can I do?” Lovely asked, tugging her tunic again.

“Well…” Silhouette stopped to think. “You were taught to sew right? I’m sure you can help with that.”

“Yeah!” Lovely jumped a bit. Then ran back to the crowd. “I’m gonna help sew!”

A few of the villagers murmured in enthusiasm to her.

Silhouette certainly hoped Lovely would make it far enough to sew anything. She was already expecting to lose a few people to just the elements, the children would be very susceptible to those. As cold as it was to think, Silhouette knew they’d need to outfit the adults with cold weather gear first though, or they may not last long enough to make any for the kids. Though losing any of the children to the cold could greatly damage morale and thus efficiency.

Silhouette sighed through her nose. One thing she knew for sure was that she wasn’t wearing a lick of cold weather clothes until every other villager was covered first.

They needed to make it out of the tunnels first anyway.

Though Silhouette doubted the light at the end would be very welcoming or bright.

~tisk~

Silhouette froze mid step, ears pricking. She could hear some of the civilians chatting softly behind her, but beyond that, she strained to hear… Thankfully everyone realized she had stopped moving and stalled as well, growing deathly silent. Then the tunnel was hummed with the horrible noise of strained quiet. The air stained with tension.

Silhouette turned to stare into the darkness behind them. There was no noise… She waved her hand forcefully and the people quickly moved behind her, noone daring to make a sound. They didn’t stop behind her either, heading deeper and deeper, leaving Silhouette in the shadows. Her hand went to her hilt, gripping the burning cold steel tightly.

Then, in the depths of the shadows pricked two, small red lights.

Silhouette had hardly a moment to thrust out her sword before a monster rushed her. Her weapon cutting smoothly through the beast’s neck, head flying off someplace behind her. The people murmured at the sight, but many kept moving back, only a few remaining to see if they could be any assistance.

More red lights blinked into existence before the vampires ran out, hissing and spitting. Silhouette cut them down as well. It was likely that the opening they managed to dig out was too small to send a large group at once, but Silhouette could also be looking at a large line of unending undead, stretching back the cave for days.

Thankfully she had enough stamina to last for days as well.

The more that came the bigger the pile of ash accumulated at her feet. Creatures howled deeper in the cave and Silhouette began to sweat a little. These were not some weak underlings. These were trained vampires. It seemed the queen was quite intent on catching them.

Suddenly something else caught her eye, flying out of the inky well towards her. Far too small to be a beast. She adjusted her weapon in the knick of time, deflecting the arrow to the floor. She then just managed to kill another vampire and dodge the arrow that followed it by centimeters.

The cowards!

“You fear facing me in combat, you pale faced Levereter!” Silhouette shouted, sidestepping an arrow as it whistled by. “Maybe you know when you're bested!”

That did it.

A whole gang of them charged her at once. Silhouette huffed, sword slicing through air. She was covered in blood now, the pile before her becoming a mountain of ash. She stabbed one final vampire right through the mouth when an arrow finally found its mark, burrowing into her shoulder. She grit her teeth, but could tell that her protective padding had softened the blow. It was in, but did not hit anything important. She would live.

The vampires were still coming, but were hesitant to get at her. Their dead comrades had turned to ash, spilling into the air and fogging their sight. It slowed them down. Silhouette smirked. Not only did the ash slow them down, it stopped the archers as well. Not only was she harder to see, the archers were risking hitting other vampires.

Now you have no choice, face me as an equal on the battlefield you beasts!

Ah but that was truly too much respect to expect.

There was a cry from above as the arrows rained down on her people, higher up in the tunnel. Silhouette cursed and began to back up, hoping to draw its attention again. “Get back! All of you back!” She shouted, sword raised. “They won’t think twice about firing, don’t think twice about fleeing!”

“What about you!” One of them called back. “We can’t just leave you beh-AHH!”

An arrow hit them and Silhouette spared a panicked look back over her shoulder before refocusing on the battle.

“I SAID GET THE HELL AWAY!” She screamed angrily.

Thankfully they listened, pulling their wounded with them. With them gone the shooters returned to Silhouette with a vengeance. She had a harder time deflecting with one arm partly out of commission, but she managed. Beyond the vale of shadows and flying arrows was an entire wall of red, hungry eyes.

Silhouette bristled. How the hell were they gonna get out of this one?

Maybe they wouldn’t…

Just as she was about the back farther into the cave, something whistled loudly. Silhouette tilted her sword and sent the arrow up into the roof of the tunnel, when there was a crusty rumble.

Slowly Silhouette looked up, seeing a large crack growing along the ceiling, the arrow right at the center. With a mighty roar of thunder rock and dirt fell like a tidal wave, filling the cavern in seconds. Something struck Silhouette on the head and everything went quiet…
……
…
.

By the time she regained consciousness hands were on her, pulling her from the destruction. She felt a flash of pain before lashing out wildly. If these beasts thought they could finish her off in a moment of weakness then-

WHAM!

“Ahh!” Something yelped when she connected. “Silhouette calm down!”

“Please, it’s us!” Another voice spoke, someone patting her shoulder.

Opening her eyes, she found the dark outlines of humans standing over her. A few people were dusting dirt and rocks off her body as others murmured nearby.

She looked around wearily. “Wh-where are the monsters?” She asked, coughing a bit in strain.

“On the other side of all… this!” One gestured to the rubble she had once been buried in. “I think the tunnels are unstable. It's been shaking a few minutes at a time.”

“You were only out twenty minutes or so,” A woman answered her unasked question, stroking her hair. “They haven’t dug through yet, doubt they will either. No support left for it now.”

Silhouette took in the information, a bit relieved to hear. If the creatures wanted to continue the chase, they’d have to dig a whole new tunnel, possibly feet away from the original and try to sync it back up to this side. It would be hard to do.

“Is everyone ok?” She asked.

“Yeah, I mean, mostly,” A villager sighed. “Red Wooly got caught with an arrow around the neck, he bled out quickly after… Adventure took one to the knee.”

“Doubt he’ll be doing much of that now,” Someone mumbled.

“Other than that, we’re ok. Somehow.”

Silhouette sighed and tried to sit up, about three pairs of hands helping her. Looking over her body she found the arrow embedded in her shoulder had the back snapped off, though there was enough left to pull it out later. Looking farther down she almost groaned.

Both legs were broken. One had bone sticking out, the other was almost mangled.

God she hoped those could be fixed.

“Don’t worry, the healer is coming. They went with the children, deeper into the tunnels,” A villager said. “They found a natural series of caves, unearthed in the quakes. They seem more stable.”

“Good,” Silhouette said through gritted teeth, the pain beginning to come to her now.

“There is some bad news though…” A woman said. “The tunnel farther down, it caved in as well with all the shaking. I don’t think we can go through there now.”

“So we’re trapped underground?” Silhouette asked.

“I guess so. Thankfully it seems the natural cave system has a spring of fresh water, so we should be okay for a few days.”

It seemed the universe was not so cruel as to bury them alive this day.

Though given their track record, Silhouette wandered if the universe was really just saving them for a worse fate down the line.

That seemed most likely.
_______________________________________________________________
___________________________________
___________________

Present Day.
_______________________________________________________

Thunder.

Twilight’s eyes darted from the linoleum on the floor to a nearby window. From what she could see with her broken glasses, the dark, threatening clouds from before were now pouring rain. The wind was thrashing the nearby trees, small objects a toss in the air.

Though Twilight was safe and warm inside, she couldn’t help but take it as a warning. Things were calm here, but just outside, waiting, was a storm…

Slowly she looked over to the door across the room, leading to Principal Cinch’s office.

Soon she’d be in the thick of a different storm alright.

Ms Trunchbull had marched the girls into the reception office with a lowly grumbled “SIT. WAIT HERE,” before going in to speak to the principal. That was twenty minutes ago. The longer the ‘talk’ they had, the worse it was going to be for them, Twilight just knew it.

At least she was not alone.

Sitting on some equally as uncomfortable plastic chairs as her own were the other girls from the fight. Kamikaze’s old crew, led by Nettlekiss, had seated themselves on the other side of the room, glowering at her or the floor respectively. At least they seemed to realize how much trouble they were already in. They didn’t seem keen on making it worse…

On either side of Twilight were Lemon Zest and Indigo Zap. Both lazing in their seats, wincing at their bruises and watching the door worriedly. Lemon was someone Twilight sort of understood being here. The girl had felt bad about not helping her before, she clearly didn’t want to feel like that again. Indigo though, Twilight had no idea why she had come to her aide. Indigo mostly ignored her thankfully, but she had never tried to help Twilight either. The change was a bit sudden, but thinking back Twilight had some theories.

While not friends with Twilight, Indigo was friends with Lemon. If she saw Lemon in the scrap, she likely came to help her. Or else she knew Lemon was feeling down about Twilight being hurt, maybe she stepped in before Lemon to try and ease her friends worries.

Didn’t work though, seeing as how Lemon was watching the Principal's door with the most fear out of all of them.

That left Moondancer, who was just looking at her phone boredly. She didn’t seem to care where she was at the moment, or what kind of trouble she had found herself in. That was pretty on point for her though. She knew Moondancer and her were close. Maybe not friends yet, but getting there. It seemed Twilight had passed a level somewhere in the last few months, for Moondancer to come help her, but she wasn’t sure when that happened...

No one said anything as time ticked on. Aside from Cinch’s secretary typing away on the computer, shooting them disapproving looks every few minutes. Twilight twiddled her hands a bit, not sure what was going to happen now.

Some things were to be expected. Punishment for one. It didn’t matter who started the fight, everyone involved would have some kind of punishment. It wasn’t fair, but it was school policy. Usually it was some kind of suspension, the reasoning that it gave students a chance apart to cool off and settle down. It didn’t look good on permanent records and left the students at the mercy of their parents. However Twilight could tell the school would have a punishment for them outside of that.

A big public brawl was not so good for ‘reputation’.

It was then the quiet was broken by Lemon giving a low, whimpering groan and shoving her face into her hands. Indigo seemed to rouse at this, her drifting gaze returning to her friend. The blue haired girl put a hand to Lemon’s back.

“It’s fine,” Indigo mumbled to her quietly.

“My dad’s gonna kill me,” Lemon hissed.

“It’s fine,” Indigo repeated.

“He’s got a show tonight! He might have to miss it for this- oh god!”

“Shhh, it’s fine.” Indigo whisper yelled, gaze flickering to the receptionist worriedly. The woman seemed to be watching them, but didn’t move to quiet them, likely to see if they could calm Lemon on their own first.

“I already texted my parents,” Moondancer said in a normal speaking voice, making them all look up. “Less of an unpleasant surprise that way.” She side eyed them. “My step father says to keep our mouths shut until we figure out how bad this really is.”

“Miss Moondancer,” The receptionist said curtly, putting a finger to her mouth.

“Trust me, already on it,” Moondancer snorted.

The receptionist rolled her eyes but Twilight found herself following Moondancer’s advice. Her step father, Loop Hole, was a high ranking civil rights lawyer. He likely knew what he was talking about.

It looked like Lemon was close to a panic attack when the principal’s door finally opened. They all looked up wearily as Ms Trenchbull came out. The muscular woman rolled her neck, making a loud pop as it usually did, before jerking her head to the side, indicating for them to come inside. She still looked angry, so Twilight could only guess how the pregame chat went behind the closed door.

They stood, going into the room one at a time. Twilight shrinking under Ms Trenchbull’s glare and twitching when, as she went past her through the door, she felt the woman give an angry huff of air and breathed out her nose forcefully.

The room was even darker with the rain outside than it had been last Friday. The light still hung ominously over Ms Cinch’s desk, but it seemed the Principal was in no mood for dramatics today. She was facing them fully, head leaning against her fist, pressed against her mouth. She glared at each of them as they came in, eye twitching a bit in irritation.

Once they had lined up Principal Cinch shut her eyes and took a deep breath. Nothing moved for a few seconds and Twilight felt some sweat trickle down the back of her neck.

Cinch slowly straightened back up. She took some loose papers on her desk and tapped them into order. She then put them in her drawer and turned fully back to them.

“So,” She started.

No one responded.

She shifted in her seat. “Had a bit of an altercation did we?” She asked, voice pitching a bit higher, as if she were speaking to very small children.

Then again, given their behavior earlier, maybe it was warranted.

Principal Cinch gave a short, unamused laugh. She stood and circled around her desk slowly. She paused at the trophy case and straightened a group photo there. “I wonder,” She began. “If you can answer a question for me.”

Some of the girl’s glanced at the others out of the corner of their eyes.

“What is it-” She turned and began to pace in front of them carefully. “-that separates a self aware being from an animal?”

She paused in front of Nettle Kiss at the other end of the line. Principal Cinch stood there until Nettlekiss blinked, realizing she actually wanted an answer. “Uhhhh…” The girl seemed to think. “Education?”

Ms Cinch moved onto the next girl, who looked up at her owlishly. “Industry?”

“Uh, Capitalism?” The next offered.

“Clothes?” Indigo Zap offered when Ms Cinch looked at her.

Lemon practically jumped at the bit to answer, likely trying to appease the woman. “The art- um, invitation! No- creation!-”

“Thank you Miss Zest,” Ms Cinch said cooly, making the nervous girl wince. When the principal's eyes fell on Moondancer, the girl just offered her principal a moody shrug. Ms Cinch narrowed her gaze before grumpily glowering and moving to Twilight, who withered.

Think Sparkle! Think!

“Uhhhhh… Reputation?” Twilight offered lamely, grimacing halfway through her answer.

Principal Cinch sighed and turned back to her desk.

Dammit.

She leaned against her desk, glaring at each student darkly. “WHAT it is that separates us from the animals, girls, is CONTROL.” She grit her teeth. “Specifically, I mean self control.”

They lowered their heads.

“I don’t think you quite grasp the seriousness of the situation,” Cinch huffed, returning to her seat. “When our founder, Crystal Heart was but a young girl, human kind had just managed to claw its rights from the grasp of monsters by prying their hands open, one finger at a time. Crystal herself was raised partly in the city of Underlot, doing so because living on the surface meant being hunted, killed-” She grunted. “OR WORSE.”

Twilight swallowed tightly.

“We were ANIMALS up until two hundred years ago,” Ms Cinch said shortly. “ We were seen as nothing more than property and food, maybe a pet if you were lucky, or unlucky enough depending. It took decades of hard work, even after our rights were given, for us to shake such losome connections.” She gestured around the room. “Building fine education establishments, learning manners and etiquette, exploring the arts, developing the sciences and even- “ She picked up a nearby trophy. “Beating monsters at their own games.”

She put that back down. “There are NOT many humans in this area. Most who do live here send their children to Crystal Prep. Everyone you see here in the halls may be the entire, next generation of humans in Canterlot.

“So wherever you go in life, in Canterlot, you will not see many other humans around. Do you know what that means?”

Lemon went to answer again frantically, but Cinch continued, cutting her off before she could make a noise.

“IT MEANS-” Cinch snapped. “That wherever you go, other creatures are not just judging you for your actions.” She stood.

“They are judging all of humanity through your actions.”

Twilight blinked.

“If you're a well mannered, smart, respectful individual, it will tell the monster races that humans are just as so. If you ATTACK one another-” She looked at each of them slowly. “By ‘bitting’ and ‘hitting’-” Her eyes zeroed in on Twilight. “And ‘spitting’-”

Twilight winced.

“-if reflects back on humanity as well.” She straightened her jacket. “A monster who meets a human who is rude or violent, especially with almost no other human to draw reference from, is a monster who will think, even subconsciously, that all humans must be in a similar vein. They may not shop at human stores, they may not hire a human worker, they may even slip to worse.”

She leaned over her desk. “Fair or not, you are all unwilling ambassadors to the human race whenever you step out of human inner circles. That is why I impress such a strict regimen at this school! Top grades! Best behavior! Nothing else will do in this world!” She slammed her first loudly on the wooden surface. “Reputation is not just a pretty word that gets us money or fame! It dictates how others will react to you before they even talk to you! Your ancestors have jumped through hoops to make sure you're not getting met with a spear to the CHEST! I think the LEAST you can do is act civil and not reverse possible years or decades even of work!”

Cinch was breathing hard, a stray hair drifting down over her face. All the girls were quiet, looking at the floor. Taking a deep inhale, Cinch stood up, straightened her appearance and put her hands on her hips.

“Am I understood?” She said simply.

“Yes ma’am…” All the girls said softly.

“Good,” Cinch said sternly. “Now you are all suspended for a few days, that much I’m sure you know! I have my secretary calling all your parents and not one of you is going home until we have a nice, long talk.”

Lemon swallowed tightly.

Twilight shared that sentiment, especially since her parents were a bit busy today. Mom had a meeting with a few writers and Dad was charting stars with some colleagues. She’d be under Cinch and Trenchbull’s care likely for a few long hours. Of course depending on her parent’s reaction, it may be a nice break in comparison.

“Next we need to ensure this does not occur again,” Cinch said “Now I’m sure some social kerfuffle and hormonal fluctuations played a part in this.” She sniffed. “Perhaps you haven’t had a chance to properly learn how to vent such intense emotions before. Anger can be very hard to manage after all and you all are still growing young women.” She smiled a bit, making the girls all wince. “And what is this place if not one of education. I’m sure we can show you a few excellent outlets for future issues.” She looked at the ever imposing Ms Trenchbull, standing at the side of the room. “What do you think, Ms Trenchbull?”

Twilight looked at Ms Trenchbull nervously. The correctional teacher seemed to smirk. “I’d say these LADIES just had too much energy stored away! High strung emotions are best worked out through physical action, which we need to divert from fighting each other, into more ‘positive’ exercise!”

“An excellent idea.” Ms Cinch looked down on the girl’s assembled with a dark chuckle. “I trust I can leave the lesson to you Ms Trunchbull?”

Trunchbull cracked her knuckles. Loudly.

“Of course.”

The girls began to sweat.

The rain was really cold.

Twilight panted as she rounded the bend on the muddy running track. Her shoes kept sticking and sinking into the muck, making it harder to pull them up. Her broken glasses were now foggy with raindrops and the heat of her heavy breathing. Her clothes stuck to her body like a second skin and the wind felt like knives on her chilly skin.

At least the thunder and lighting had stopped before they came out here…

As Twilight slowed a bit she felt her lungs tighten. The cold and exercise were doing double duty on her asthma. She took another hit of her inhaler, the fifth hit since she started running, to ease the tension in her chest. She more felt than saw another girl run past her, overtaking the slower girl with ease and continuing along the track.

Twilight wasn’t sure which girl they were or why they were running so fast. Ms Trenchbull had led them out into the downpour and informed them that they were running laps until ‘mommy and daddy’ came to get them, however long it took. There was no controllable finish and so long as they didn’t slow too much Ms Trenchbull didn’t bark at them.

It was likely Indigo Zap. The girl could be really competitive. Even when there was no way to win.

A fat drop of rain hit her square on the nose and if Twilight had the luxury of lung space, she would have sighed. This was not how she wanted this day to turn out. Not that she had any control over what happened, but when was that unusual for her? She wheezed softly as she rounded the bend again, almost losing her shoe in the loose dirt.

This sucks.

Still she had to give it to Ms Trenchbull. She really didn’t have the energy to fight with someone anymore and she was willing to bet neither did the other girl. This punishment may be enough to keep Nettlekiss and the others off her back for a bit, even if she had to endure it too. Not to mention Ms Trunchbull hadn’t left them to run and gone back inside, or even moved to get cover from the rain under a nearby picnic structure. She stood stock still, rain running down her as she gloweringly watched the girls do their laps. The fact that she was willing to withstand the rain with them somehow gave Twilight a small, very small, amount of respect for her teacher, even if she had them do laps in a rainstorm.

The wind picked up and Twilight shivered. She winced when her foot splashed in a puddle, soaking her socks and deep into her shoes. Every step was a squishing feeling now. Ugh!

Twilight took her seventh hit from her puffer now.

She wasn’t sure how long they had been out here, but it was long enough for some parents to arrive. The first taken off the track was Moondancer. Then a couple of Nettlekiss’s friends. Then a shaky Lemon Zest was led away. It left just three of them on the track now and Twilight didn’t care how bad a punishment her parents gave her, she just wanted to get out of the rain and stop this god forsaken running.

Where was that runners high she had heard so much about?! Lousy endorphins!

She made another lap, feet sloshing through a good number of puddles now. The rain wasn’t stopping anytime soon and Twilight had a feeling she maybe swimming laps before too long, rather than running them. Her chest tightened and Twilight tried her inhaler again.

It helped, but she could tell the effects were lessening. It wasn’t fully working now, making her think that she was getting worse.

She may have to stop soon, or else she’d risk an asthma attack with no workable solution but a rescue bronchodilator inhaler and a trip to the ER. Of course if she stopped running then she risked getting yelled at by Ms Trunchbull…

Hmmm. Decisions, decisions…

However, as usual, she had no control over what happened to her. She heard a shrill whistle from Ms Trenchbull, who had a walkie talkie pressed against her ear. At least it seemed like it, Twilight really couldn’t see well.

“Sparkle! Get back to the principal's office! Your parents are here!”

Oh thank god.

Twilight stumbled to a stop, bending over to try and catch her breath. Thankfully the slight whistle she had started to get died down, though her chest still really hurt. Someone ran around her before Twilight straightened back up and wiped off her glasses with her sopping wet sleeve.

She could see the other girls were not as bad a shape as she was, but it was clear which one of them was the soccer star and which one wasn’t. Indigo was running like a professional, in form, speed and breathing. Nettlekiss looked tired and out of puff but not in any danger.

“NOW SPARKLE!”

Twilight stumbled from the track, back to the main building. The campus was quiet, most of the students back at the dorms by now. It was well after classes and most outdoor sports were canceled by the weather. Twilight’s slow trudge got her to the administrative area and as she pulled the door open she coughed, the kind that was deep and echoing in her chest.

Please don’t let me get sick from this!

Twilight left a large puddle of water as she walked down the hall to the Principal's office. She was soaked to the bone and shivering a little.

One thing was for sure, she really didn’t want to get into another fight on school grounds if she could.

She reentered the waiting room and Principal Cinch’s secretary waved her to the door. Apparently they were all set for her. Twilight approached the door and groaned. She took a second to brace herself before pulling the door open. It creaked loudly and all conversation on the other side was halted. Cinch was seated at her desk, her attention drawn away to Twilight’s entrance.

Twilight winced as her parents turned around in their seats to see her as well, not looking amused. She took a deep breath and stepped into the room. Best to get this over with-

“TWILIGHT!” Her mom shouted, getting out of her seat and running over. “Honey, why are you soaking wet?!“ She put her hands on Twilight’s arms, but yanked them back as if they burned. “You’re freezing!”

“Huh?” Twilight asked, confused.

“Whoa, that's quite a rasp kiddo,” Night Light said, standing up as well. “You should use your inhaler.”

“Where is it? Do you have it?” Velvet asked, patting down Twilight’s pockets and squirting water out of one. “Here it is!” She pulled it and held it up to Twilight’s face. The teen rolled her eyes, she could do it herself, honestly! However she did as she was told. Her mom was just worried after all. It puffed into her mouth, easing her discomfort, but her mom frowned and held the inhaler up, shaking it next to her ear. “This is empty! What in the-” She read the dates on the side. “You got this a week ago! It should last at least a month! What were you doing?”

“Well ah-” Twilight said, voice still rough. “Ms Trunchbull was keeping us busy until you arrived by having us run laps outside-”

“Laps?! OUTSIDE!? Now?!” Velvet asked, shocked. She turned to look at the only uncovered window in the room, as if to double check that it was indeed still raining hard outside. That action, however, turned her sights back to Cinch. Velvet scowled. “That’s your idea of a fair punishment?!”

“Well-”

“Our daughter has a breathing condition!” Velvet snapped angrily. “The cold and the running could have sent her into an attack!”

“I assure you that Ms Trenchbull has everything under control!” Ms Cinch said quickly. “What we need to talk about is the fight you daughter was in-”

“That's another thing!” Velvet said lowly, stalking over to the principal's desk. “Our daughter was in a fight?! Twilight ‘Straight A’s, socially anxious, and very shy’ Sparkle was in a fight?!”

“That is pretty weird,” Night Light agreed, rubbing his chin. “Twilight does everything she can to avoid conflict!” Then under his breath he said. “Think she gets that from me…”

“Nighty please!” Velvet said quickly, then turned back to Cinch. “What were they fighting over?! What could have caused this to happen?! Twilight has never had a fight in her entire schooling history, so why start now?!”

“Well it would likely be because of the incident with Kamikaze,” Cinch said simply.

“Indicident?” Velvet asked darkly, eyes narrowing. Night Light, sensing danger, backed away to Twilight’s side.

“Well yes,” Cinch shrugged, the fool not realizing what she was doing. “Your daughter has been having altercations with Miss Kamikaze for a long stretch of time! I was informed of the severity recently when your daughter was accosted in the halls last friday with a knife-”

“A KNIFE!?” Velvet yelled. “NO!”

“Why did she have a knife?!” Night Light asked, putting his hand on Twilight’s shoulder.

“Did Twilight not tell you?” Cinch asked, looking surprised. “I assumed she would. We had a chat about the incident and everything. Twilight agrees to keep it hush hush from the news and any gossip and Kamikaze has been expelled.”

“So she can just do it again at some other school?!” Velvet shouted. “Why didn’t you call us?!”

“I told you, I assumed Twilight would tell you,” Cinch said, brow raised. “Did that cut not raise any questions?”

“That-” Velvet looked back at Twilight, momentarily surprised and Twilight withered. Thankfully Velvet swung back around to Cinch again, leaving her alone for the moment. Twilight shivered, though she wasn’t sure if she was cold or upset. Either way her dad set his planetarium uniformed blazer over her shoulders.

“How long has this been happening?” Velvet asked darkly.

Cinch had the audacity to look thoughtful for a few moments. Finally, after a few moments, she hummed.

“Quite a while I suppose?” She shrugged. “Since the start of middle school perhaps?”

Velvet spluttered angrily and Night Light harrumphed. “And you didn’t think that was something we should know?” He asked.

“Well-”

“Let me get this straight!” Velvet yelled. “Firstly, my daughter has been bullied for, what could possibly have been years and you didn’t tell us. Next she was attacked with a knife and you didn’t even call! Then she was attacked again today and you wanted to PUNISH her for it by having her run in the rain and the cold, almost activating her asthma and killing her, then you tell me that we should make sure to dole out punishment at home too, for something she couldn’t control?!”

Cinch looked around wearily. “Well Twilight’s actions have an effect on the reputation of the school and all the human race-”

“Oh don’t give me that reputation bullshit! My mother has been shoveling it down my throat since I was five!” Velvet shouted. “It was teenagers having a fight! Teenagers fight! Even monster’s know that!”

“They wouldn’t have seen it as the same and you know it!” Cinch frowned.

“Maybe, but I don’t see any monsters around here. Do you?” Velvet frowned. “You keep parroting about reputation but now that's just a word people use to try and one up each other! By having higher paid jobs, better, more expensive schools and houses! You are all so concerned about what monster’s think of you that you’ve started treating the humans who don’t have the same opportunities as you as beneath you! Just like what we’ve been trying to put a stop to with the monsters for years!” She snapped. “You think that nice manners and the occasional fundraiser will make everything better, but it won’t! We’re no better than anyone else, just like Monsters are no better than anyone else!”

Cinch blinked as Velvet straightened back up. “I don’t know what kind of reputation a school has if it would put looking good over the health of its students! Letting them bully each other and viciously compete for praise and rewards! It’s sickening!”

“Mrs Twilight-”

“I have had it up to here with people caring more about reputation and legacy and their own fears of the world than other people’s wellbeing!” Velvet said, gesturing the measurement with her hand up over her head. “In fact, I’ve had it up to here with this school! I didn’t like going here! Night Light told me he didn’t like going here! Shining Armour hated it here! I only sent him and Twilight here because I was assured it was the best school, but clearly it's not!”

“Uh, what's happening?” Twilight asked in confusion. Her father looked just as lost as she was.

“What are you trying to say?!” Cinch asked, looking shocked.

Velvet took a deep breath.

“What I’m saying is don’t worry about Twilight being suspended because SHE’S NOT COMING BACK!”

“What?!” Twilight gasped.

“What?” Night Light asked more out of bewilderment.

“What!?” Cinch stood up. “Mrs Twilight! Your daughter is one of our best academic students, you can’t-”

“I can and will!” Velvet poked Cinch in the shoulder harshly. “You said it yourself, Twilight is one of your best academic students, she’ll be fine wherever she goes! What she needs is a healthy social environment that you have failed to supply!” Velvet snorted. “In fact, as long as this school is so expensive and exclusive with the students it allows, I don’t think you ever could! So say buh-bye to your grade point average because Twilight Sparkle is OFF your books!” Velvet turned on her heels and marched for the door. “We’ll send for her things later on!”

Cinch stared after them in shock as Velvet Twilight slammed the office door open and stormed out. Night Light and Twilight hurried after her. Out in the waiting room there was a man and a woman, both busy typing on their laptops furiously. The man looked up briefly at Velvet stomping past, then over at the two of them. “Hey Nighty,” He said.

“Hey Speedy,” Night Light sighed. “How’s the business.”

“Fine, busy though,” He glanced back down at his screen worriedly. “Gotta pick up Indigo. Weird she got into a fight off the field though...”

“Tell me about it,” Night Light said, patting Twilight’s shoulder.

“Speedy, did you send the orders for the baseball equipment?” The woman asked next to him, her yellow eyes darting the screen before her.

“Yeah, just did, honey,” Speedy replied, starting to work again. “Sorry Nighty, I’ll catch you for a drink down at the bar this weekend ‘kay? I’m sorta burning the candle at both ends here…”

“Yeah, talk to you later,” Night Light chuckled a little, taking Twilight into the hall. “We’d better hurry anyway, your mother might be tempted to do some property damage.”

“I don’t think mom would do that,” Twilight mumbled.

Halfway to the exit they saw Indigo heading towards the office. She looked wet and miserable, but also sort of startled. “Hey Twilight, is that your mom outside kicking apart the flower beds?”

“Oh cheese and crackers!” Night responded, hooking Twilight around the middle and hoisting her off the ground, running outside as quick as he could go.

Apparently she would.

As awkward as it was to try and tear her mother away from causing further damage to Crystal Prep’s prize winning flower gardens, it was quite a bit more awkward to be sitting in the quiet car as they drove home. Twilight was in the back seat, buckled in and still wearing her dad’s blazer over her uniform. She was drying off now at least and not shivering anymore, but that was pretty much the only improvement.

Mom was looking pointedly out the window and Dad seemed torn between looking at his daughter in the rearview, his wife beside him and keeping his eyes on the rainy road. The wipers squeak a bit as they clear the windows. It’s the only sound in the car.

Well Sparkle, you don’t learn do you? You should have told them about your friends but you didn’t. You should have told them about the bullies before this, but you didn’t! You waited too long and now we’re in the thick of this.

Good job.

Twilight almost groaned.

She was trying damn it!

….

She really hated how silent it was in here.

Upfront her dad seemed to be in agreement because he gave a long, heavy sigh. “Twilight honey,” He said tiredly. “Why didn’t you tell us you were being bullied?”

Twilight bit her lip. She could recall why she didn’t want to tell them, but in hindsight they kind of seemed like stupid reasons. She had been afraid of repercussions from Kamikaze and her gang, she hadn’t wanted to worry her parents, she was hoping it would just ‘go away’ on its own…

Not knowing how to express that she instead just mumbled softly. “I don’t know…”

“You know you can tell us anything sweetheart, we love you!” Night Light frowned, glancing at her in the rearview briefly.

“No she couldn’t,” Velvet grunted suddenly.

“Huh?” Bothfather and daughter spoke at once.

“She couldn’t tell us about anything Nighty, just like Shiney couldn’t either. We’re a couple of go with the flow, no backbone parents. I’ve let my mother, the community council and that school tell me how to raise my kids, even when I didn’t agree with how it was done.” She shook her head. “How could either of them come to us when we would just default to the opinion of people causing their problems?”

Oh.

“The school made it clear that their reputation was the only thing that matters. Just like the council does with all its fake showboating…” She pinched her nose. “I understand how precarious our place as humans is in monster society, but what good is it if we end up treating each other just as bad as monsters did in the past? If our own kids don’t feel free enough to be themselves or bring up their own concerns without being worried on how it would look.”

“Hmmm,” Night hummed, looking a bit down.

Velvet sighed. “Well for now we can at least call to order a moving van for Twilight’s things.”

Twilight perked a bit at that. “Wait, were you serious about me not going back?” She asked, confused.

“I didn’t make a big stink over it for the showmanship Twilight,” Velvet said in amusement.

“I never liked that school,” Night Light agreed. “Way too strict! Back in my day they still hit you with a wooden paddle for misbehaving.” He shivered. “I think I still have a splinter…”

“They only got rid of that a few years after Shiney started there,” Velvet scoffed.

“Well it’s good one of us got out early.” Night Light said. “But ah- where is Twilight gonna go now? There’s not really a school in Everfree…”

Velvet was quiet for a moment, looking back out the window. “I was wanting to talk to you about that…”

“Oh?” Night peered at her for a second before looking back at the road.

“It’s just- I HATE the home owners associations and I hate the council! The house we have is nice but there's nothing really to do around it and I feel like the only reason we live in Everfree Estates it because my mom bought us that house to keep us close to her. Honestly I could use some more space away from her. Away from everything!”

“I know all that honey, we’ve lived together for more than twenty years after all,” Night smiled.

“Yes, but that's not just it. Twilight has her monster friends and now Shiney is getting married to a monster woman. I don’t know her at all but he really seems to like her and I think she is gonna make him very happy. They may even start having kids soon and I just…” Velvet looked at her husband. “I want our grandkids to be able to come over to our house and visit us, whether they’re human or not.”

“Oh!” Night Light’s brows raise. “I didn’t even think of that!”

“I think we’ve… outgrown our current living situation.”

“Ok.” Night Light glanced over at her again. “Then, what do you want to do?”

Velvet heaved a deep breath.

“I wanna move out of Everfree.”

Author's Note

Yeah baby! March release! 5 Months! Boyeah!

Shorter chapter this time but it started and ended where I wanted it to! We're finally getting back into the world and I'm super excited to write the next chapter! The flashback stories at the start may get shorter and shorter as time goes on and we will likely jump forward in time with them. It'll all add up in the end hopefully!

Anyway! Twilight and family are leaving Crystal Prep and Everfree Estates! What will the future hold? Only I know for sure! Hold on people, we're gonna have a fun chapter next time around!

Special thanks to Blazeblast4 for editing and reminding me of my own lore (Man do I suck at that sometimes!)

Thanks for reading guys!

Changes (Turns And Face The Strange)

Sometimes- no… MOST of the time it was pretty horrible being a weak human in a world of powerful monsters. When creatures could breathe fire or shoot lightning, it kinda stank that all you had to combat them was, and this is if you were lucky, a weapon and a shield. Those wouldn’t usually help much when it came to a beast that could break through walls or take over your mind…

But when it comes to life you have to take what you can get.

And right now, what Silhouette wouldn’t do for a quicker healing process.

Her leg was splinted up, had been for the last few weeks, as the townspeople muddled around, digging at the wall of the natural cave around them, looking for a way out of here. The food they brought in had run out long ago, but along with the fresh spring water in the cave they were able to find some root vegetables and small rodents, so no one was quite starving yet.

If there were rodents ,here then there must be a way to the surface, or someplace else, Silhouette reasoned… hoped. So the work went on with digging, moving rocks and gathering food, all while Silhouette was stuck on the sidelines, useless to aid them.

There was improvement of course. She could walk a bit now but it was slow going. Besides that the last time she tried the Healer caught her, and gave her a very long lecture about taking care of herself.

So long, so angry ,and soooo boring.

Silhouette was a warrior, she wasn’t made to sit on her behind for weeks on end and watch others work! It was likely one of the worst tortures she had ever endured.

“SIlly!”

Almost.

Silhouette looked up blandly as Lovely ran over to her, carrying a bowl of water and some salted rat meat. “I got you food!”

Silhouette almost grimaced at the meal, but kept the look off her face. Who was she to complain? It was better than having nothing. “Thank you Lovely, I will have some later.”

“You will have some NOW!” Lovely ordered, shoving one of the salted, skewered meats in her face, and almost taking out her eye. “The adults say you haven’t been eating enough, so I’m gonna make you!”

“Are you?” She asked, leaning back from the food, Lovely pushing it in closer the more she resisted. “Listen, Lovely, I am just not very hungry right now-”

“Up-bup-bup!” Lovely snorted, waving the skewer. “I don’t wanna hear it! Open your mouth or you're getting the stick too!”

So much like her mother, Silhouette thought before sighing. She took a skewer from Lovely and had a bite, hoping to appease the girl. Thankfully it worked, but she didn’t leave. Instead she just sat down next to her.

“How long are you gonna be hurt for?” Lovely asked. “Healer said a month right?”

“I suppose so.”

“Is it gonna be longer if you don’t eat well or keep moving around?” Lovely asked.

“Who put that in your head?” Silhouette asked, brow raised.

“The adults talk about it when they think the kids are sleeping.”

“Mmm.” Silhouette took another bite of rat meat.

“SOOOOOoooooOOOOO,” Lovely said in a sing-song voice. “When will you be better? A month? Or longer?”

Silhouette sighed. “A month.”

“Then keep eating!”

“Mmmmm!” Silhouette glowered at the girl, but did as she was told.

Lovely hummed and kicked her legs up and down, watching Silhouette finish every last bite of her food. Once done she put the stick back on the plate, so it could be washed and used again.

“Better?” Lovely asked with a smile.

Silhouette sighed and rolled her eyes. “I suppose.” She did feel a bit better, but nothing would stop the ache in her legs for a long while. “I’ll feel much better when I can get back to work with the others. We have to find a way out of here…”

“Why?”

Silhouette did a double take, glancing at the girl in confusion. “Why? Why?! It's a big hole in the ground. We have to get out so we can find food and water. Make shelter.”

“We got lots of water.” Lovely pointed to it. “And Big Branch just dug out a cave full of Mushrooms! Plus, he said it’s far enough down and away that we won’t have to worry about spores… whatever those are.”

“I see,” Silhouette sighed, knowing that would be in her briefing later. “What about shelter though? We can’t make shelter with anything down here.”

“Can’t we just dig ones out of the rocks? Like bunnies and foxes do with dirt?” Lovely asked, making little digging motions with her hands like an animal would. “Plus, what do we need shelter for down here? There’s no rain!”

Silhouette opened and closed her mouth a moment. “Well I suppose,” She admitted. “You don’t want to stay down here though do you? What about the sun? Won’t you miss the sun? Or snow? It won’t snow down here…”

“Can we live without the sun? Or do we need it like plants do?” Lovely asked, looking confused.

“Well… It feels very nice,” Silhouette said. “But I SUPPOSE going without sunlight couldn’t kill us.”

Lovely hummed, thinking more, before she frowned a little. “If we do go back up above ground, would there be more monsters?”

Silhouette shifted a bit, scowling a bit. “There will always be more monsters, Lovely.”

“There's none here though,” Lovely said, looking around. “We’re all sealed in! They can’t find us unless we hear them digging, right?”

Silhouette considered this.

“We got food, water, shelter-” Lovely said, counting it off on one hand. “And each other. What else do we need?”

“Well, when you put it like that,” Silhouette muttered, glancing around the cavern again.

“You said we didn’t need sunlight to survive,” Lovely added. “Why should we risk seeing monsters again for it if we don’t need it?”

Silhouette gritted her jaw and looked away thoughtfully.

They sat in silence as Lovely kicked her legs a little, and Silhouette stared darkly at the cave wall beside them. Lovely’s logic made surprising sense. It had been almost a month since they ended up down here, and in that time, they hadn’t seen hide nor hair of a monster. That was an impressive record. Silhouette’s entire life had been plagued by monsters since her birth on a human slave farm. Since she and her brother had escaped when they were being shipped to the sale yard, only running into Final Stand by luck. Almost every other day of her life since then, fighting for her survival and learning to use a sword.

Is this what peace feels like?

Silhouette let her shoulders lower from their usual tension, her back cracking a little, not used to this position. Her jaw slacked a bit as she relaxed it too, causing it to click.

Hm.

So this was relaxation.

She hated it.

“Well,” Silhouette said, pushing those thoughts away. “At any rate, we may have to stay here a while yet anyways. I can’t move very far and we have no idea what's up there.”

“Monsters.”

“Yes, thank you Lovely, but outside of that. We don’t know the terrain at all. It could be marshland, swamps, or a thick forest. Maybe even worse…” Silhouette shuddered. “Wide open plains.”

“So we’re staying for a bit?” Lovely asked quickly, smiling a little.

“I’ll have to discuss it with the others, but I think so.” Silhouette nodded. Not that they had much of a choice right now anyway. They didn’t have an exit yet.

“Yeah!” Lovely jumped up in excitement, a large smile on her face. “That’s great! Me and Little John are making a rock fort, but we might not be done for a bit! We can keep working on it now!”

Silhouette felt her lips quirk at that news. Of course children would worry about something like that.

“Plus, now it’ll be easier for mom to find us if we stay in one place!”

The small smile dropped at those words and Silhouette sighed hard out her nose, looking away from the girl. In all the commotion she had forgotten. Lovely still didn’t realize her mother would never be catching up to them…

As skilled as Eventide was, Silhouette knew she was no match for the vampire matriarch.

“Lovely…” Silhouette started, looking up at the girl again. When the child turned to her, a large bright smile on her face, Silhouette grimaced.

“Hmm?”

Silhouette paused, thinking over her words, before admitting defeat and nodding her head. “Mayhaps you should get back to that fort? I’ll be napping soon, unless you’d like to join me-”

“NOPE.” Lovely was already skipping away. “I’ll see you at dinner though and make sure you eat everything again!”

This girl….

Silhouette snorted and glanced at the dark stone ceiling above.

It no longer felt so confining.
_______________________________________________________________
___________________________________
___________________

Present Day

“Is that what I think it is?”

Twilight turned around, following her mother’s gaze to a small well lit kitchen. It was beautiful, if a bit old fashioned. Solid oak cabinets stained a dark brown, with the grain showing through. There were also granite countertops, a lovely shade of grey with darker flecks throughout. A large, white, farmhouse sink was just under a window and a beautiful range stove sat in the room as well, a vented microwave fastened to the wall over the stove-

But what her mother was likely referring to was the large cauldron in the middle of the room.

It was gigantic! Twilight and her parents could have climbed inside and had room to sit down- I mean, with their knees pulled up, but still. It was blacked and the floor below it was carved out for a fire. Twilight inched closer to look inside. She found it empty, but it was worn, with scratch marks from past stirring devices along the bottom, as well as rings on the walls from previous, bubbling brews.

“Ah yes, a Cauldron!” The realtor spoke, stepping around them with a large smile, her fawn hooves clicking against some nice white tiles. “I did tell you that a witch family owns the house currently! However if you do like the property you could renovate the kitchen, put in a nice big island here! Or maybe a brunch table.” She skittered excitedly around the cauldron to gesture inside it. “Course if you fancy taking a try at potioniering then we can see if they’d negotiate it into the sales.”

“They’d do that?” Night Light asked, shocked.

“Well there's a chance! Moving a big cauldron like this can be a hassle. Especially if it doesn’t fit the new space. However a lot of witch cauldrons are family heirlooms, so they may not be willing to part with it! Plus a new one can be costly at this size!” She tapped the cauldron lightly. “I’m no expert, but I’d say we have a pewter one here. Not too expensive, but it could be old. Honestly it's like any big item or appliance. We can always ask, it wouldn’t hurt.”

“Hmm,” Night Light hummed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“Oh I don’t think we need it,” Velvet said quickly, elbowing her husband lightly. “We’ve never dabbled in it and such a big size for a beginner…”

“Gotcha!” The realtor smiled. “We can leave this off the offer, if you want to make one of course! Any other questions about the kitchen?”

“Oh not right now.”

“Alrighty! I’ll go see if the backyard is all set for our look see!” the realtor said happily, heading out the back sliding door. “Just come get me if you need anything!”

“Thank you!” Velvet waved at her as she headed down the stairs. Then she frowned at her husband. “A cauldron? Really?!”

“Think of all the mac and cheese you can make in this baby!” Night Light side quickly, pointing at it. “Great for block parties!”

“They don’t have those here, Nighty,” Velvet said, before looking dreamy. “They don’t have any association to set those up…” she sighed contently.

Twilight chuckled before looking around the kitchen again, eyes wide. A witch’s house! A real witch’s house!

The family had started house hunting a few days after Velvet’s decision. Her dad had asked his buddies at work for advice on buying in the city and they told him, point blank, to get a realtor. Apparently there were so many features and hidden details about houses in the city. No two were the same. Having a realtor to find any hidden oddities or additions was imperative. A few of his co-workers even pulled out business cards of the person who helped them buy their own homes.

Apparently getting the right type of realtor was important too. With so many different body types, sizes, and needs, having a realtor that was as close in species to your own was helpful. Thankfully, fawns are pretty close to humans, so they arranged to look at houses, starting today.

This was the third house. First they had looked at a place close to Rainbow’s house, one that went into the earth like a burrow. Both Twilight’s mom and dad liked the neighborhood, but found the house too dark and muddy.

Then they traveled to the other side of the city, to a place closer to the mountains. It was in a halfling and dwarf district, with most of the houses there being very short and stout. The house they looked at wasn’t though, the current owner having built it after falling in love with a halfling. Everything was human sized, but there were built in steps and mini stairs so a halfling could use it too. Velvet and Night Light thought it was nifty, Dad dreaming of baking cookies with future grandchildren using the steps to help. However the creature who owned this place was still a little on the short side. Dad had winged his head on every doorway.

That was likely for the best, Twilight could see Spike sneaking up those little steps to steal food.

The next house was a bit closer to their tastes. Their realtor had taken them to a suburban area just on the edge of the city. It was akin to Everfree, perhaps a bit too much.. All the houses were of similar build, making them weary, but a lack of HOA was promising, so they took a look. So far it was lovely and had what seemed like a nice neighborhood. On the drive in they passed a playpark, a pet park, and a community exercise center.

The house itself was also very nice. Four bedrooms, a downstairs office and a large, finished basement space. Though the Sparkles had all paled at the strange sigils on the walls there, the realtor assured them it was strictly for potion purposes and didn’t affect the house.

It was their first choice of the house thus far out of all of them.

Unfortunately, the closest school was Hooffield Highschool. The witch family apparently sent their kids to a private school somewhere close to Northumberland. Canterlot High, and Twilight’s friends, were still forty minutes away with good traffic.

As nice as it would be to have a house that fit their family, it would also have been nice to go to school with her friends. Too bad the first house wasn’t a good match.

Twilight followed her parents out onto the back deck. The yard was a fair size for the suburbs, with a couple of neat and orderly little flower beds. Near the shed at the back was a raised garden, however the plants growing there were ones Twilight had never seen before.

“Adder's Tongue, Nettles, Bloodroot, all sorts of potion making materials!” The realtor explained. “Course the family will take it with them, so you could turn it into a very nice vegetable garden.” She gestured back to the deck. “And the pull-out awning is built right into the house, so nice for those sunny days.”

“That is a good feature. Would be nice to eat out here sometimes. Maybe Barbecue,” Velvet said brightly.

“Course! Now just follow me out to the garage! It can fit one car, but there is space for a workbench.” Their realtor said, taking them to the other door in the backyard. Dad eagerly went after her, with Velvet and Twilight bringing up the rear. “So, what do you think of the house so far?”

“Well it is very nice…” Velvet said as they got to the garage side door. “Maybe it needs a bit of work but I think this is a contender…”

“I’ll say!” Night Light said, looking excited. “If this garage is good we might put in an offer-”

“Feed me.”

Everyone froze in place. Slowly the humans all turned their head in the direction of a strange new voice. Sitting beside the garage door was a large, green, vine-like plant. It wriggled a little, and they looked it up and down in confusion. A large bulb, like an unopened flower, was on top, then lots of long vines and leaves were springing out of it. The plant shifted and Velvet jumped, arms swinging out to catch Twilight, Night Light and their real estate agent behind her, pushing them all away from it as she backed up nervously.

“What-” Her mother started to say before pointing at the plant. “-In the world is that?!”

“Ahhhh.” Even the real estate agent seems unsettled, with her ears pinned back. “THAT is a plant security system… which really should be in the house’s files…” She began to flip through the papers in her hands. “It’s a plant developed to protect properties. Usually a magically endowed combination of a venus fly-trap and a butterwort. A very close relative of the infamous Cow Plant… Now they’re pretty well harmless unless someone is trying to break in… or if they’re hungry…”

“Feeeed Meeee,” the plant spoke again, its voice very deep. The blub opened to show some very sharp teeth as it did so. It stretched closer to Velvet’s hand, but they all backed up a few more steps, out or range.

“What the hell does it eat?!” Velvet asked, eyes wide.

“Oh ah… it is carnivorous.” The real estate agent frowned, finally putting the papers away. “They are also very difficult to remove for obvious reasons.”

“H-how big of a creature can it eat?” Night Light asked, watching the plant closely.

“Well… about the size of a cat?”

Erh! NOPE!

“My dog is smaller than most cats!” Twilight said quickly. Thank god he hadn’t come today!

“Oh, well ah… maybe this isn’t the house for you then…” The agent admitted, scratching her ear. They all froze at a chattering noise. A squirrel appeared on the roof of the garage, nibbling on a peanut. In less than a second the plant snapped it up in it’s maw. Everyone’s jaw dropped as the plant sucked the tail into its gullet like a piece of spaghetti.

“Ohhh… Built in pest control?” Night Light mumbled, looking a bit pale.

“Let it go Nighty, the finished basement isn’t worth having that,” Velvet hissed at him. Slowly, they all back away towards the porch.

The real estate agent sighed when they were out of its sights. “I’m so sorry! This is a new listing. They must have just forgotten to put that in the files.”

“Can’t help what they don’t tell you,” Night Light said, chuckling a little.

“I do think that ‘that’ crosses this house off the list though,” Velvet said, shivering a little at the thought. “This house is closer to what we want though!”

“Well if you have time there is another house in this neighborhood that's for sale!” The agent said, pulling another file out of her briefcase. “I could take a look and see if we can take a quick peek!”

“We have all day to look at houses,” Velvet agreed with a smile.

“Wonderful! Now it's a little older than this house!” She said, reading the file. She began to sweat a little as she kept reading. “However it is also disclosed that the house is cursed …”

“Cursed?” Velvet asked, gobsmacked.

“Well it usually happens a lot in scornful divorces! A sort of, ‘You want the house? Then you can have it!’ thing. Just means the pipes may sometimes release blood instead of water, or things randomly break- however it does lower the price and it is tax deductible once it is filed and proven with the city, and this house already is!”

“Oooh! Tax deductible!?” Night Light asked as they were led back through the house. Twilight chuckling as Velvet gave her husband an exasperated look. Halfway back to the front door, Twilight’s phone buzzed. She fished it out of her pocket and had to tilt the screen to see it in the sunlight.

Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 10:11 AM

‘Hey, how's house hunting?’

Twilight smiled a bit and quickly texted back.

‘Fine. We've seen a lot of interesting places so far. So far nothing is quite right, but I think we’re getting close.’

Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 10:11 AM

‘That's good. I hope you're having fun! So long as you guys take your time I’m sure you’ll find the right fit! You just can’t rush it.’

Sunset sent a second text a few moments later.

Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 10:12 AM

‘Not that I’d know. My mom has owned her house for about 800 years.’

Twilight chuckled at that. When she had told her friends a few days ago that she was moving out of Everfree, they had been ecstatic. Pinkie apparently was setting up a housewarming party, and Rarity offered to help with any upholstery and drapes. Only Applejack seemed conflicted by the news. However, she just joked that she was going to miss having Twilight as a neighbour.

Twilight knew from the way the house hunt was turning out, she wouldn’t likely be going to school with her friends. Houses for human sizes and shapes were slim pickings it seemed.

Her phone pinged again and she glanced down at the screen.

Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 10:14 AM

‘Which is your favorite house so far?’

Twilight sighed as she typed. ‘There was one near Rainbow’s house, but that was mostly because it was within busing range to Mid Canterlot. Nothing else has been within distance of your school.’

Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 10:15 AM

‘Well have you told your parents that?”

Twilight blinked.

‘Uh no actually…’

Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 10:15 AM

‘Then give it a shot! The Worst they can do is say no!’

That was true. Twilight glanced at her parents, who were going over some house photos with the Realestate agent.

She might as well ask…

As Twilight approached them, their real estate agent seemed to chuckle. “I know it’s a bit odd, but there are so many houses on the market right now! If you have anything that could help me narrow it down, then that would actually really help!”

“We mostly just need the bedrooms, office and basement space,” Velvet shrugged. “The suburban style is the best way to go with us and as long as it’s not too tall or too short, we should be ok.”

“Actually…” Twilit spoke up, catching everyone’s attention. “I was wondering if we could look around Mid Canterlot.”

“Mid Canterlot? Why there honey?” Night Light asked.

“I know we’re moving to be closer to Shiney, but we can still see him often enough, even if we don’t live in the same district,” Velvet added, cocking her head.

“I just… I sorta wanted to go to the same school as my friends. Canterlot High…” Twilight admitted, scratching her head.

“Oh Canterlot High is a great school!” Their agent said quickly. “It would narrow my search, plus it's close to your work Mr Night Light!”

“Well, if it's something we can look into, why not?” Night Light agreed. “There's plenty to do in the city and it sounds like it's pretty safe from what Shining Armour has told us. Plus, if we get some grandchildren, they could just walk over to see us!”

“That does sound nice, but is there anything within our budget that matches our other needs?” Velvet asked, glancing at their agent.

The fawn got an excited look on her face. “Funny you should ask!”

The house was old.

Made of grey brick, and four stories high, the narrow row home seemed a bit cramped looking from the outside, but not so much that it was too small. The agent began to explain that there was a garage around back with a smallish yard, as well as giving them the details about the neighborhood around them.

“The area is a bit older, but the museum is just down the street, as well as the Mid Canterlot Library! Not many parks, but there’s a gym a few blocks away. Plus there is a nice shopping center just a few streets over!”

“It looks nice,” Velvet agreed as they walked up the tall steps to the door. “Why has it been on the market so long though?”

“The stairs are a big part! There's a lot of them inside and monsters with hooves can have difficulty with them.” Saying that she slipped a bit, but kept steady. “Whoop! See what I mean! Besides, some monsters can’t use stairs at all, and the use of wooden floors throughout could be an issue with flames.”

“Wood floors throughout! That sounds nice!” Night Light smiled.

She unlocked the door and they came inside. It was very dusty, and there was no furniture. “The old owners had to move into assisted living as they got older. The stairs got to be too much!” their agent said. “Their kids live outside the city, so it's been vacant for a while!”

“Just another way to say move in ready though right?” Velvet joked as they entered, shutting the door once they were all in. Her voice echoed in the empty space.

“That’s right!” The fawn turned to them with a smile. “There’s just one thing you should know, before we start.”

“And what’s that?” Night Light asked.

“The house is kind of alive.”

The three humans blinked and looked around wearily.

“Alive?” Velvet asked, nervous.

“Well, sentient anyway. It's a spell built into the house’s support and foundation! It protects the house from damage, burglars and intruders.” She gestured around. “Once it gets used to you, it’ll help you out, protects you and try to keep itself clean! Though it may not agree with everything you do. This house has a bit of a give and take to it.”

“Why is it not clean then?” Velvet asked, wiping some dust off the banister.

“Maybe it's sad from being empty for so long?” Twilight suggested, glancing up at a fancy old chandelier.

“It’s a possibility,” the fawn admitted. “Anywho, just keep in mind that it won’t peep on you in the shower or try to mess with you, unless you mess with it first! The house has no interest in anything besides your best interests and what's good for itself.”

The house was rather large, with five bedrooms and three and a half baths. They came to the kitchen on the first floor, looking around the darkened space. It had an island and a breakfast nook. The cupboards painted a soft white and the counters were tiled with green. Cobwebs and dust were everywhere.

“It’s very big, but there's potential here,” Velvet smiled as they looked around. “Is there a lot of storage-”

Every cupboard in the room flew open, though the doors didn’t bang. They seemed controlled, and held themself open so Velvet could see all the storage space for herself.

“My goodness,” Velvet muttered, hand on her chest.

“That is a lot of storage compared to what we have now,” Night Light nodded.

Twilight was quickly enthralled by the reaction, walking a bit farther into the room. How in depth could conversation with the house be? Did it even hold conversations or only respond to command? “Uh, how do you feel about dogs?” She asked, looking around the room.

Something started creaking.

Twilight scuttled to the end of the room, towards the door that led to the backyard. Glancing down, she found the source. A doggy door was installed there, swinging back and forth.

Wow!

“This is amazing!” Her dad said when he joined her.

“Yes the house is very handy!” Their agent agreed. “Though there are some notes from the old owners.” She flipped through her files. “It hates the colour red, so don’t bother using that on the walls. It also hates mice and rats.”

“Well I don’t use much red when I decorate, and if it keeps mice and rats out, I think we’ll get along fine,” Velvet said. She jumped when the curtain from a nearby window brushed her arm softly. “Oh, well hello to you too!”

“Let’s take a look upstairs next, I think there are some more features that may be right up your alley!” their agent said, taking them down the hall. The house definitely didn’t disappoint either.

All the bedrooms were a good size and though one didn't have a closet, it was fine for an office, especially since it was the one with the large, circular window facing out over the small back yard. Night Light was especially giddy, imagining his antique telescope poised just in front of it for star viewing. There was an attic above that was still holding a few dusty boxes, but it was big enough to stand and walk through, which was an improvement from their current house. The basement was large with walls made of brick and some beams showing on the ceiling, with a concrete floor, unpainted and unpadded. It had all the necessary electrical outlets, though they were placed over the wall’s surface, rather than inside it. Such was the price of such an old house though. They came out to the backyard, wading through the unkempt grass and looking around in interest.

“It’s a bit small, but it’s a cozy sort of small,” Velvet admitted, checking the stability of the deck by giving it a little shake.

“Who needs to cut all that grass!” Night Light said, shaking his head. “A nice table, a BBQ and a few flower beds, this place would be an outdoor paradise!”

“True.”

“It’s big enough for Spike anyway,” Twilight agreed, knowing she wouldn’t spend much time out here.

“What do you think Velvet? It’s close to my work and seems a good size,” Night Light said, scratching his head. “However, the basement’s not done and there is the ‘living house’ thing…”

“I actually like that. I admit that I was… nervous about moving out of the community, but having a house that guards itself is very reassuring. If Twilight can go to school with her friends and we’re close to your work… maybe we should make an offer.”

“Just what I was thinking!” Night Light looked excited.

“Should I get the paperwork together?” Their realtor asked, looking pleased.

“Let’s do it!” Velvet agreed as they headed back up onto the deck. She grinned at her husband. “We’re… We’re buying our own house!”

“Our own house!” Night Light cheered in agreement.

“Do you not own your current home?” Their realtor asked.

“Oh we do, but it was a gift from my mother.” Velvet smiled up at the four story townhouse. “This one! This one will be ours completely!”

“I’m so happy I was able to help you find the home you were looking for! We just need to talk about what price you want to go in with and what conditions you want to set. I’m sure this house is in good condition but I always suggest a home inspection, just in case!” she explained. “As well as an exorcist in case of any ghost squatters.”

The realtor kept speaking with Twilight’s parents as they went back to the front door. Twilight looked around the dusty kitchen before clasping her hands together and bouncing on her feet.

This might be her home soon! She’d be able to go to school with her friends, and not have to worry about security, or her grandma, or anything else! In fact, her friends would be able to come over and visit!

Maybe mom and dad would let her invite them over sometime after they had settled in?

Well, maybe she was getting ahead of herself. Her parents hadn’t even sent in the offer. Still, she had to share the news. She excitedly pulled out her phone and texted Sunset.

‘Good news! We found a great house near Mid Canterlot!’

It didn’t take Sunset long to respond. She must be having a quiet day at home.

Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 11:45 AM

‘That's great! So the house hunting may be over with?’

Twilight quickly typed back. ‘Looks like it! As fun as it was, it sure was exhausting.’

Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 11:47 AM

‘Well if you're not too tired maybe you could come hang out at my place! My mom made home made tomato soup for dinner.’

Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 11:47 AM

‘And before you start, yes, I know it looks like blood, she made that joke ten times already.’

Twilight chuckled and texted back. ‘Sure, let me just ask my parents.’

As Twilight came back out to the front hallway she found her parents signing some papers and looking over the house file, the realtor was gleefully calling the home owner’s representative to tell them the good news. Her mother seemed to finish off with the last signature before chuckling.

“That about does it!”

“The sellers are very interested in your offer!” the realtor said, putting her phone away and taking the files back. “We should hear back by tonight, but I have a good feeling!”

“Hahaha! You hear that house!” Velvet said, yelling up at the brick work. “You're gonna be mine!- I mean, ours!” She faltered, looking to her husband, but he only gave her an excited, double thumbs up. Velvet laughed again. “You’re gonna be-”

POOOOOFFFF

Twilight didn't know what happened, but suddenly, she couldn’t see. Everything was grey. She floundered a moment before wiping off her glasses. Putting them back on and looking around, Twilight realized that she, her parents and the realtor were covered in a thick coating of dust.

“What- cough!- What just happened?!” Night Light asked, rubbing his face clean with his hands.

“I’d say the house is just as exciting as you folks are,” the realtor said, ears flicking in amusement. Twilight would have to agree with her. All the windows of the house were open and curtains were thundering as clouds of dust were beaten outside, trying to tidy itself up.

As the family started to dust themselves off, Twilight remembered why she came outside. “Hey mom, can I have dinner at Sunset’s house?” Twilight asked, Velvet looking up from where she had been trying to remove a stubborn mark from her shirt. Twilight found it rather funny. Asking her parents for permission to go out with them actually knowing where. What a concept!

“Oh is that, ah,” her mother glanced at the realtor out of the corner of her eye. “One of your new friends?”

“Yeah. She lives back near the community just outside the city,” Twilight explained. “She invited me for dinner! They’re having homemade tomato soup.”

“Oooh, that’s always good!” Night Light immediately perked at the mention of food, much to his family’s amusement.

“Well I suppose it’s ok,” her mother agreed, patting Twilight on the back.

Twilight smiled and went to text Sunset back-

“I mean I guess we should meet her parents first though,” Velvet added quickly, trying to wipe a smudge from her skirt.

Twilight paused, puffing up her cheeks.

Oh dear.

The ride out to Sunset’s family home was a short one. After bidding their helpful real estate agent goodbye, with the promise of a call later, they had piled into their compact and headed off. They pulled up to the gated driveway, an old, stone fence surrounding the property.

“It was nice of your friend’s mother to make time for us Twilight, especially in the middle of the day!” Velvet said, as she and Night Light looked over the large yard and old chateau with interest.

“She said her mom takes some weekdays off for her sanity,” Twilight chuckled from the back seat, reading Sunset’s text word for word. “Apparently she wanted to meet you guys too.”

Hopefully Celestia would leave how the two girls met out of conversation.

“Must be great to be able to take a day off. What does she do anyway?” Night Light asked.

“I’m not sure. Politics I think? She has been alive for a long time,” Twilight admitted.

“Well we can always ask later, now we just need to figure out how to get in,” Velvet said, looking around. “I don’t see a bell or a comm anyway…”

“I think they can sense when people come onto their property,” Twilight muttered softly, looking around as well, between the two front seats. “ It shouldn’t be too long before-”

Twilight didn’t even finish talking before the old iron gate creaked open on its own, whining in strain as it was used.

“Wow! Look at that!” Night Light said excitedly. “Do they have psychic powers or something?”

“Maybe?” Twilight shrugged.

“I don’t know if this is rude,” Velvet spoke as the car started to creep up the driveway towards the house. “But what kind of monster are they?”

“Vampires,” Twilight said absentmindedly.

Night Light and Velvet shared a quick look, but other than that they showed no other concern. Though there was a bit of a nervous air about them. “Well, that must be interesting, huh?” Night Light said first, scratching his neck. “Imagine being so strong and stuff! Must make yard work a breeze!” He gestured to some rather immaculate garden beds and hedges.

“Uh, the sun dear…”

“Oh right.”

“Apparently they have sunscreen for that, so maybe they do garden,” Twilight said, poking up between them.

“Only one way to find out,” Velvet said as the car parked.

They all got out and climbed up the stone steps. Velvet inspected the double entry doors before finding a rope to pull on. Doing so rang a rather musical chime inside the home.

“Do I look ok?” Night Light asked, dusting off his shirt.

“You're fine dear,” Velvet assured him, patting her husband on the shoulder.

“You look pretty fine yourself,” Night Light winked at his wife. She snorted and rolled her eyes in return.

“Not the time hun.”

The door rattled before swinging open. At first, it seemed like no one was there. But when they all glanced down, they realized the man who opened the door was just a bit on the short side. Twilight recognized him immediately.

“Carrion!” she beamed. “It's good to see you!”

“As it is good to see you, Madam,” he said, bowing a little. “Please come in. The mistress will be with you momentarily.”

As they entered and cleaned their shoes on the rug, Twilight looked around, taking in Sunset’s home for the first time. A large domed ceiling with a grand chandelier hung overhead. The walls were decorated in very old fashioned wallpaper with a half wood paneling, stained a dark brown. There was a double staircase leading up towards the upper floor, as well as a hallway between them, which seemed to go to the kitchen and dining room. If that wasn’t enough there was an archway on either side of the entry, one to a sitting room and one to an office with built-in bookcases that seemed to be overflowing with books.

Twilight felt her heart flutter at the sight and she was sure her mother was also eyeing the literature in affection. Night Light put his hands on his hips and let out a whistle.

“Look at that painted crown molding hun!” he said, staring at the ceiling. “Now that is nice- you think the house would want something like that?!”

“I’m not sure. We could ask if we managed to get the house,” Velvet said with a chuckle, checking out the architecture as well.

“Say, you have the card of the guy who did the work here?” Night Light asked Carrion, the old butler smiling a little. “I’d love to get his number.”

“I’m afraid that's quite impossible.” Twilight looked up, immediately seeing Celestia standing at the end of the hallway. Radiant and almost god looking, just like the last time she had seen her. She felt her parents freeze on either side of her, which meant they saw her as well. Celestia gave them a kind smile as she came closer.

“The craftsmen who did that marvelous work passed a good fifty years before the first telephone made its first appearance.”

“O-oh…” Night Light hummed, eyes darting back up to the work again. “Well it's very nice! Just like the gardens outside! Are they, uh, yours?”

“Why thank you. But I can’t take credit for those. Between my job and family, I’m afraid even a being as close to immortality as myself can’t find time to tend a garden with the care it requires,” Celestia chuckled. “Those would be Carrion’s masterpieces I get to enjoy with my morning brew everyday.”

“‘Tis a pleasure to work the gardens, but a pleasure more to have everyone enjoy them so much!” Carrion said happily. “I tend to be an expert since I was so close to being plant food myself!” Before the Sparkles could blink at that odd joke the man hummed. “Would anyone care for some coffee or tea to be made?”

“If you're offering, I'd love some!” Celestia smiled as the little butler nodded at her. She looked at the humans quietly. “And would you care for some?”

“Tea sounds nice,” Velvet agreed, looking nervous for some reason.

“Right away!” Carrion scuttled off to the kitchen. Once he was off Celestia gestured to the sitting room.

“Come and make yourselves more comfortable!” she said, leading the way to the antique looking couches.

Twilight went to follow but was stopped when Velvet took her daughter’s shoulder and pulled her closer to whisper tightly in her ear. “Why didn’t you tell us your friend’s mother was the mayor?!”

“Oh.” Twilight blinked. She had never been very interested in politics. Sure, she knew of other countries and the president, but beyond that, she hadn’t studied much in the way of social studies… or local officials. As such, she could only offer her mother a confused shrug. Before Velvet could respond, Celestia spoke again.

“It is so nice to be able to meet you in person. My daughter speaks very highly of Twilight and their time together. Speaking of-” As Celestia took a seat on one of the couches and called out in a louder voice towards the halls. “Sunset! Your friend is here!”

There was a rush of footsteps before Sunset made her appearance. Twilight smiled when the red head came into view. This was the first of her friend’s that Twilight’s parents were going to meet, and Sunset’s first impression was certainly interesting. The girl hefted herself over the second story railing with ease and fell down to the first floor, landing on her feet easily enough, though the wooden boards groaned under her impact.

“Sunset, we talked about that,” Celsita sighed, sounding exasperated. “You may be young and nigh indestructible, but that floor is more than a few hundred years old and easily broken. Give the free falling a break unless you're jumping outside.”

“Sorry, mom!” Sunset said sheepishly, hurrying over. “I got excited.” She caught up to Twilight and the two shared a quick hug. “Hey, Twilight! It’s good to see you!”

“Good to see you too!” Twilight smiled, and back out of the hug to gestured over into the room behind her. “Sunset, this is my mom and dad.”

“Hey, nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you too, dear!” Velvet said, looking around. “Thank you for having us in your lovely home.”

“It is nice, the architecture must be a history lesson all on its own,” Twilight said, taking a closer look at the wallpaper.

“Well I’d be happy to show you around Twilight! Do you want a tour of the house?” Sunset asked, pointing back at the stairs behind her.

“I’d love to see your house!” Twilight practically jittered in excitement.

“Oh, you didn’t sleep over here?” Velvet asked, surprised.

“No that was…” Night Light spoke before Twilight could, eyes squinting in thought. “Pinkie Pie’s?”

“Yeah, it was Pinkie’s. I was there too,” Sunset said with a smile and a nodd. “We had fun.”

“Ahhh, Pinkie Pie is a wonderful girl,” Celestia said with a smile. “If only she would stop eating my shoes out of the front closet whenever she visits.” The woman laughed fondly, but Twilight saw her parents exchange bewildered looks to one another.

“Come on, we can start upstairs,” Sunset said, leading Twilight up the steps and back the way she came. “We got some wall niches upstairs with statues in them from over four hundred years ago.”

“They used to hold vases from eight hundred years ago, but a six year old Sunset decided she didn’t care for them,” Celestia said, amused.

“Mom! I told you those were an accident,” Sunset whined as she and Twilight kept walking.

“Two? Accidental. Four? Possible happenstance, but all six? On the same day? I have my doubts.”

They rounded the corner from the upper balcony and lost sight of the sitting room. Sunset leaned back to whisper. “They were the ugliest vases I have ever seen.”

Twilight giggled along with her friend until they heard Celestia call out, “I heard that!”

After a day of looking at houses and driving all over the city, one would think Twilight would have been sick and tired of it by now.

These people would have not known her very well.

While the house Twilight’s parents had put an offer in on had been old, it had nothing on Sunset’s. For being a thousand or so years old, it was very well kept, with Sunset pointing out interesting tidbits where she could remember. Like some hidden damage on the walls where the kitchen had once caught fire due to a misbehaving cauldron dragon. Or a spot near the ceiling stained yellow long ago by a hive of invasive Ra Bees, whose honey glowed like the sun. Twilight herself was enthralled by the recognizable historical design. Such as the decorative Balusters and Colonnades.

“But… a lot of these pieces shouldn’t be on a house this old,” Twilight said as they kept walking. The upstairs was ridiculously large. With six bedrooms counting Sunset’s, and a few hobby rooms, Twilight’s head was spinning. Just not enough to distract her from the historical errors though. “If this house really is over a thousand years old, why is there electrical lighting or wallpaper?”

“My mom has been adding on to this house since forever,” Sunset chuckled. “It started off solid stone, but it got half destroyed in sieges. By the time those ended, she started using the newest trends in rebuilding her home and just… never stopped?” Sunset sighed. “She is redoing her observatory right now, and it was her private bath before that. As far as I can tell, by the time she redesigns every room in the house the first room is out of style again.”

Twilight snorted. “I’ve never lived through a renovation. My family just kept our old house pretty basic. Always plain looking as far as I can remember. Too much work from what my mom says. Guess grandma was a lot like your mom.”

Twilight sensed her grandmother shudder somewhere.

“Don’t have to tell me twice. It's miserable,” Sunset groaned. “Water and power is turned off at random, hammers and drills buzzing around the house at all hours. I swear when I grow up, my house isn’t gonna change much if I can help it.”

They passed a large hallway that Twilight chanced a glance down, finding it leading to a winding stone staircase, and down into a dark looking tunnel. Twilight stopped and Sunset noticed after a few steps, slowing to pause a few steps ahead of her.

“Where's that go?” Twilight asked, nodding her head to the steps curiously. After asking she couldn’t help but joke. “The dungeon?”

Sunset laughed a bit in response. “Sort of? It goes down to the catacombs. Oldest part of the house. Stretches out for miles under the house, that is where my mom and aunt’s rooms are. As far from the sun as possible.”

Twilight checked the stone on the wall closest to her, adjusting her glasses.

“Wow! Blue granite?! That's not from this area! To think you mom could import this so long ago!”

“Ahhh, careful Twilight. I know your're excited,” Sunset said, pulling Twilight away from the stairs. “But my aunt Luna is taking a nap down there, and with super, vampire hearing… ehhhh-”

“Oh, gotcha,” Twilight winced.

Sunset sensed her unease and tried to coax her away from the dark hall. “Come on, we’ll hang out in my room. I can show you some of the pictures I took of Rainbow and Pinkie’s sporting events.”

Sunset’s room was just steps away. The vampire went for her bed as Twilight took a chance to look around. She had a huge bed and closet, with a lot of posters up on the walls. She went closer to a group of framed photos on the wall. They were of Sunset and the others, hanging out, and having fun. One had them on the beach in swimsuits. Applejack was playing frisbee with Pinkie in the background as Sunset, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow sat on a picnic blanket, having lunch. They seemed to be having hot dogs, though Rainbow was wolfing down an entire raw fish, scales, bones and all. Sunset and Rarity were under an umbrella, out of the sun as they ate, as Fluttershy was sharing a carrot in a bun rather than a hotdog with her pet bunny, Angel.

The next had Sunset posing with Pinkie and Rainbow. They were pressed close together to get in the frame, Sunset flashing a peace sign. All were smiling with their mouths open, showing off their extra large, extra sharp teeth.

Another was of Sunset and her mother. Sunset looked frazzled and singed, with a tiny Phoenix perched on a falconer’s glove. She was smiling tiredly at the camera as Celesita stood beside her in much better condition, amused and with a much larger Phoenix perched on her shoulder.

“You own Phoenixes?” Twilight asked, intrigued by the photo.

“My mom does, down in the backyard they have their own little house. A fireproof one,” Sunset said, rummaging under her bed. “They’re ok… but they’re tricksters. Not really my thing. So I got my own pet.” She gestured to a tank in the corner. Twilight took a closer look, finding a small lizard inside.

“Oh! Is it a dragon?” Twilight asked excitedly.

Sunset looked up at her and blinked before chuckling. “No. He’s just a Leopard Gecko. My lil’ Ray!”

Twilight looked back in the tank, and Ray lazily licked his eye.

Oh. Well not everything had to be magical.

“So, tell me about the house you guys liked,” Sunset said. She scowled a bit and pulled her upper body under the bed, shoving objects out in her search for her other photos. Twilight watched as a shoe box, a stuffed unicorn and a large SWORD?!? Were pushed out from the bedskirt. “What did you guys like about it?”

“W-well…” Twilight said, staring at the steel short sword. “We liked the area and it was rather big, but the coolest thing is that the house is apparently alive.”

“Oh, sentient house? I’ve heard of some of those,” Sunset said, twisting under the bed. “I’m guessing it's not the kind that's super protective and eats people?”

“Some do that?!” Twilight squeaked.

“Don’t worry! That only happens if a vengeful spirit possesses it,” Sunset said, digging deeper. “Where the hell is that damn- AH HA!” She emerged, dusty and ruffled, but with a large album. “Found it! Twilight, come here!” The vampire sat down on the bed, nonchalantly kicking the sword and shoe box back under the bed. She placed the unicorn carefully up by her pillow before patting a seat next to her. “Come on!”

Sunset flips the book open. It was huge, the back binding almost breaking under the weight of a thousand or so photos, and maybe millions of memories. With a slight heft Sunset opened the book near the back. They pass pages filled with Sunset and her friends hanging out in parks, school, events, and more. Along with a few of her family, Celestia and even Luna making an appearance…

Actually…

“How do you show up in photos but not mirrors?” Twilight asked before pausing. “Wait, do you show up in mirrors?”

“Magic mirrors and modern mirrors, yes, plus some other reflective surfaces. Issue was, back in the day, that mirrors used to have silver in them, which is a big Vampire no no. Then old cameras used old mirrors and the cycle continued. But new age cameras and cellphones don’t use mirrors to take photos. It's all digital, so there are no problems there.” Sunset chuckled. “My mom did tell me she bought one of the first cameras, but the damn thing didn’t work for her. So she opened a photo studio so monsters could buy pictures of themselves without shelling out for the whole camera.” She shrugged. “Might as well make some omelets out of those broken eggs right?

Sunset finally paused on a page, pointing out one in the corner. It was Pinkie in her wolf form, wearing a sport nylon mesh pull over vest, a number pinned to it. Rainbow was posed next to her, her vest identical to Pinkie’s. Both seemed rather pleased, holding a large trophy between them.

“They won first! It was the Air and Earth Hunting regional championship,” Sunset smiled. “Here they are with the ‘prey’.” The next photo had Pinkie holding an RC car in her mouth, a fox tail hanging off the antenna. Rainbow was giving a thumbs up in the background. “It was a fun day for everyone! If they do that again, you should come with. They have a sort of fair atmosphere, with food venders and pop up shops you can go to between turns.” Another picture had Sunset hanging out with Applejack. They’re looking over shirts from a tent store. Rarity is also in the photo, holding up a lime green and pink shirt with visible disgust. “Though the stores ARE not known for their quality…”

“That’s half the fun, right?” Twilight offered, earned a sharp toothed grin.

“That's right! I got a great bootleg shirt from one of these. Has the two brand logos on it AND the Red Power Ranger, just twenty bucks. Can you believe that deal?”

“I’m sure Rarity loves it,” Twilight nodded.

“She refuses to look at me when I wear it, but I don’t blame her,” Sunset snickered. “She’d likely go blind from style if she even glanced at me directly.”

Twilight laughed, hand going to her mouth.

The pictures went further back. There were some clear birthdays and holiday celebrations, a few school dances and … a sheepdog herding competition? Oh wait, Applejack was competing with her dog Winnona. For a moment, Twilight thought it was for Pinkie.

The pictures kept going, and Twilight got more and more interested. The girls got younger and… Sunset seemed to grow meeker in every photo. Uncertain, almost. Sunset turns a page and Twilight blinks before realizing what was different about the photos. “You’re... not as pale in these pictures.”

It was true. The shy and nervous looking girl in the photos that was Sunset a few years ago had a deeper yellow tone of skin. In the picture Twilight pointed to, Sunset was painting a spirit banner with the other girls at a school pride rally.

“Oh yeah! That's before I got turned,” Sunset explained. “That is Sunset Original. The human version. Beta Sunset, still in development.”

“Why are you so... apprehensive?” Twilight asked, wincing a bit.

“Oh I had just started to hang out with the others and I was… going through some big changes.” Sunset said, now frowning. “But, ah, not the Vampire one. That was done over a weekend.”

“What happened? What changed?” Twilight asked, cocking her head.

Sunset seemed to think before sighing tiredly. She closed the book, flipped it, and opened it from the start. The first page was a certificate of adoption for Sunset, making Celestia her legal guardian. “Well, it's easier to explain from the beginning.”

Turning the page Twilight cooed. It was a picture of a toddler sunset, wearing a dress and pulling a duck toy. “You're so cute!”

“I was a little brat.” Sunset stated, pointing at tiny Sunset’s sour expression. “Who knows why, but I was just a sour kid a lot of the time. I threw tantrums every day, and apparently kicked a dignitary in the crotch when he tried to hold me up.”

“That’ll show him,” Twilight quipped.

“Well it's not all his fault. Mom handed me to him,” Sunset said, stopping to puzzle over that. “Maybe she DIDN’T like him and that was the plan… huh, I’ll have to ask.” She waved that thought off though and soldiered on with her tale. “Anyway, I never did understand why my mom adopted me out of all the kids. She just says she ‘Understood me better than the others’ whatever that means.”

Sunset turned the page and it was a picture of her younger self, posing with a spelling bee trophy.

“Oh, I have one of those at home! Spelling Bees are fun!” Twilight said, smiling at Sunset, though the Vampire didn’t smile back.

“I didn't compete because it was fun. I wanted to win. So I entered and I got close to the finals, but the other four kids were way better than me.” Sunset bit her lip softly. “So I cheated. I snuck a look at the judges list during the recess, then to make doubly sure I won, I got rid of some of the competition. I pushed one kid into a mud puddle. She was like Rarity, didn’t want to be seen on stage in dirty clothes, so that was one down. The other I threatened to beat up if he competed, so he ran and hid in the bathroom for the rest of the contest…”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. So… I won,” Sunset smiled now, but it was joyless. “And it gets even ‘better’ from here…”

The next few pages document Sunset’s ‘victories’. Different events that she somehow twisted for her favour. Trophies earned with deceit and lies and threats. The older she got the more sly she seemed with every picture.

“Why… were you like that?” Twilight asked, confused. “It couldn’t have just come from nowhere.”

“I’m not sure. I think I’ve always been like that, though my mom doesn't agree,” Sunset sighed. “After I.. stopped, she sent me to a therapist. They said it's likely a mixture of me losing my mom- erh, my birth mom- and getting put in the orphanage at a young age. I think I was just always a bit twisted.” Sunset shrugged miserably.

A few more pages in they came to a photo of Sunset in a dress with a tiara on, holding some flowers and looking very pleased. Twilight looked back up at Sunset, but she actually seemed happy with this one.

“The Fall Formal,” Sunset said. “First formal dance of the year at Canterlot High. I actually won the Princess of the Fall Formal without having to cheat. Everyone just liked how sociable and take charge I was. I did have some people skills back then too… if only to better know how to manipulate people. ”

Sunset’s face fell again after a second. “Course that made me even more determined to win the next dance too.”

Turning the page had Sunset in front of a snowy backdrop. Posing with another crown, and looking a bit more smug than before. “The Winter Waltz. That one had to be the hardest. People knew what I was like by then. My dark side finally came through, and my fellow students didn’t care for it. Only they weren't so used to me that they were afraid of me yet.” Sunset tilted her head. “I had to tear down my composition. One of the girls I bullied so bad, she backed out, and her family sent her to live with her aunt…”

Twilight’s brows rose quietly.

“...well, after that my control of the school was pretty much cemented. Teachers thought I was a popular, good student, but in reality I was the worst bully there was. Everyone was scared of me, and they did whatever I wanted. Those I couldn't physically threaten I blackmailed, those I couldn’t blackmail I threatened to frame... I had no competition for the next dance.” Sunset turned the page again. Now the younger Sunset was in front of a garden backdrop, laughing and wearing a crown. “I won all the votes automatically.”

“Somehow I thought this would make my mom happy. I was a grade A student, I was winning a lot of recognizable achievements and had the entire school under my control. I thought I was proving myself to her… I figured she’d be so impressed she’d offer to make me a vampire.”

“You wanted that?”

“More than anything,“ Sunset mumbled. “I didn’t have good intentions. Not that I wanted, like, world domination or anything, but there just never seemed to be enough… control for me.”

Sunset shifted on the bed to pull her legs up against her. “Somehow though, Celestia saw my past self for who she really was the entire time. Behind my trophies, accolades, and false cheery exterior, I was just a sour little brat,” Sunset said, brushing some hair behind her ear. “She tried her best to lead me to a better path, I just wasn’t ready to go then… but mom wasn’t afraid to lay down the law. She refused to turn me into a vampire until I changed my way. Made for a lot of arguments at home…”

“Well clearly something happened that caused you to change right?” Twilight said uncertainty. “You’re a vampire… and not a jerk anymore…”

Sunset snorted a little. “That second part is debatable after a video game tournament…” She leaned back against her headboard tiredly. “But something did change, and it, well, the girls. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, everybody really. When I was a jackass, I used to be suspicious of large groups. Ones with enough people that they could cause problems for me if they decided they wanted to remove me from my ‘throne’ at the top of the social ladder. The girls were a large, tightly knit group, and I didn’t care for that back then.”

Sunset shifted again as she spoke. “So I tried to break up their friendship. Send fake emails and text, get them fighting, spread a little gossip to make them think the others were turning on them. Or thought they were better than them or something.”

Whoa… and Twilight thought Kamikaze was bad… The scabbing cut on Twilight’s neck flared a bit and she frowned. No. Kamikaze was still worse, but still, jeeze. “And it didn’t work?”

“Oh no, it worked. Have you seen how hot headed Rainbow can get sometimes?” Or Applejack for that matter? Either way, they broke up, stopped talking, and went their separate ways… until my carefully crafted web fell apart. Dates didn’t add up, and emails didn’t match. They regrouped privately and after realizing what happened it was easy to figure School Princess Sunset was the culprit. They made up and my worry that they’d team up against me turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If I had left them alone, they’d have left me alone, but I didn’t…”

“What did they do?” Twilight asked. “Attack you? Try to humiliate you?”

“Nothing that dramatic. It was the Summer Social. I was running for princess again when the girls basically came up on stage and told everyone what I did. I wasn’t worried, because, well, they already knew what I was like. It was only when they rallied the other students against me that I realized what deep shit I was in,” Sunset winced. “They kicked me out of the dance and didn’t crown anyone. The rest of the school year everyone started to return all the ‘kindness’ I had shown them… Thankfully summer break was right around the corner.”

“By the time fall rolled around again, the students had settled, but they still didn’t like me. Not that I blame them. I was banned from competing in school contests or competitive events. Nobody wanted anything to do with me. I got dumped before the summer began, and a few students here and there would deface my locker, or ruin my gym clothes…” Sunset huffed. “Some still bullied me. So you know, the works.”

“And… then what? You somehow became friends with the girls?” Twilight asked, confused.

“It was a strange process. At first, I really only had support at home. I mean, mom saw this BS coming a mile away. She told me this was the consequences for my actions, but she promised the house would be a safe place and that we could talk whenever I wanted. She got me my therapist, and tried to get me into Phoenix rearing, with minimal success… After that, she picked up Ray for me and it was nice. Ray doesn't care what you look like, so long as you feed him and have his heat lamp juuuust right.” Sunset smiled over at Ray's tank, the gecko sunning himself. “I did a lot- and I mean A LOT- of self reflection and thinking. Realized I was an ass hat and wanted to change. My therapist and mom gave me a good starting point to work off of.” Sunset looked back at Twilight. “But school was still horrible.”

“I knew I screwed up. Knew I deserved to be blocked out of the school social circles. I mostly just tried to stay in the back of the class, out of the way, and move in empty hallways. I ate my lunch in dead end hallways alone for a while,” Sunset shrugged. “One day, the hall was being maintenanced, so I ate my lunch under the bleachers. I was just sitting there, having my sandwich, when I feel something drip one me-”

“Under a bleacher? Gross…” Twilight grimaced.

“I thought so too. I looked up and what do I see? Pinkie Pie had shoved her wolf head through the crack in the bleachers right over top of me, panting like crazy. She smelt my cookies, they were gingersnap or something, and she’s a bottomless pit. I didn’t know what to do. I mean, Pinkie had technically been one of the girls to ruin my life, but I kinda Uno-reversed my way into that. So I was just staring at her, she was intensely staring at my lunch box. I panicked before just offering her the entire box.” Sunset smiled a little. “She ate everything in a matter of seconds. Course, when she came back around from the feeding frenzy, she realized she had just cleaned me out of all my food. So, nothing doing, she had to crawl through the bleacher opening and share her lunch with me.” Sunset actually laughed now. “All she had left of hers though was a bag of chips she couldn’t open.”

“And she just wanted to hang out with you? Just like that?”

“Pinkie Pie is really forgiving like that. I fed her, and suddenly, she would die for me. I actually asked her why she wanted to stick around, and she just waved it off. Said that what I did was ‘forever’ ago, and it was water under the bridge. We talked for a while, and shared the chips between us once I opened the bag. Eventually though, Rainbow Dash came to look for Pinkie because they had come down to the track together to run laps when Pinkie Pie disappeared mid-way. Now, she was still pretty defensive, and thought I had taken Pinkie’s food from her. I got scared that I was gonna get in more shit, and bolted.” Sunset waved her hand vaguely. “Course, Pinkie told her what really happened, and wanted to meet up with me again. She found me over MyStable.”

“She found me that way too,” Twilight chuckled.

“She has her ways. So she invited me to lunch under the bleachers again. We met up, but this time, Rainbow Dash joined us. She was wary and hot headed, but we actually ended up having a good conversation. A week later, Applejack joined us, then Rarity and finally Fluttershy. I… told them all privately I was sorry, and while some of the friendships began faster than others we worked things out.” Sunset shrugged. “The rest of the school took a longer time, but they seemed to realize I was trying at least. Nowadays people are pretty neutral with me, and not many try to bother me.”

Twilight fell silent, trying to wrap her head around the tale. It was such a drastic change in such a short amount of time. That just over two year ago, Sunset was like a bully from her worst nightmares. Maybe not at the same level as Kamikaze, but still. That the girls would forgive her, most of the student body at her school would forgive her in fact, was incredible… unless Sunset’s guilt was making the story worse than it seemed? Either way it was a lot to take in at once.

That someone could change so quickly…

Then again, who was Twilight to talk? She had gone from a sniveling, friendless wall flower to a slightly (SLIGHTLY) more confident girl with a rather healthy friend group. All in less than three months. Which she couldn’t have managed if she had never met Sunset. Which wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t put the work into changing herself. Maybe some of Sunset’s old sins couldn’t be forgiven or forgotten so easily, but it was safe to say that Sunset Shimmer had had a rather positive effect on Twilight’s own life. She counted the vampire as a very close companion, being so forthcoming about her unsavory history just proved her trustworthiness. Someone as honest and kind as Sunset Shimmer made Twilight’s life all the better.

The silence stretched on as Twilight thought and she could see Sunset getting antsy. Not knowing what to say she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“That’s quite a tale. Have you ever considered writing a book?”

“A book?”

“Like a memoir,” Twilight explained.

“Ahh! Not really. It’s kind of personal, and I’d rather people not know about it before they even talk to me,” Sunset said, rubbing the back of her head. “I dunno why anyone would want to read it anyway…”

“Well, I found it very compelling,” Twilight admitted, adjusting her glasses. “It sounds like a miserable time near the end there, but you persevered and came out a better person. Shows character.”

“My mom told me it was my phoenix moment,” Sunset said, smiling a little. “Hence the attempted involvement in her passion, even if it didn’t work out. Crashing and burning in an explosion of blazing embers, withstanding the painful flames, and emerging out the other side, cleansed in fire, born smarter every time,” Sunset waved her hand. “Something my mom said is very important to recognize if you want to endure immortality, without losing sanity. A new dawn always follows after every night.”

“Geeze, when you put it like that, immortality sounds awful.” Twilight made a face.

“There's a reason why some of my older, long since passed, adopted siblings didn’t want to be turned,” Sunset admitted, looking a bit depressed.

“Then why did you turn? If You have your control issues… under control?”

“Honestly? I’m a mama’s girl now,” Sunset chuckled a little. “Mom was all I had for a few months, and I really connected with her in that time. Started calling her mom… I saw how sad she got looking at old photos of her past kid and figured, hey, she might as well keep one. Besides, I’m still young. If I start dating then my future spouse is just gonna have to be cool with me living forever and likely moving on after they're gone, unless they're immortal as well somehow.” She hummed. “Not many monsters are though.”

“And when your friends… eventually…-”

“Die too?” Sunset asked, glancing over at her. “Honestly, I just try not to not think about it and enjoy the time I have with people.”

Fair enough. It wasn’t really any different to what other people did.

“Well, either way, that’s my life story!” Sunset said, flipping a few more pages into the book. The meek Sunset was back with the rest of the girls. In this new page, she seemed to be at some sort of park picnic, with a BBQ going on in the back, and a few pens of animals.

“What’s this one?” Twilight asked, a twinkle in her eyes.

“Oh! That's Fluttershy’s Family. They have an Adoptathon every June. They team up with the local shelters and pet shops to make it a big event! It’s a lot of fun.” Sunset turned the page, showing her holding a big glass aquarium tank with Rainbow Dash helping her. “I picked up a bigger tank for Ray when I was there, Rarity got her cat some toys, and Pinkie Pie even got her pet there last year… though I question why she picked who she did…”

The album turned another page, showing Pinkie Pie holding a bug eyed, baby Alligator.

“Oh my,” Twilight frowned.

“Yeah, that’s Gummy. He’s a pygmy alligator. Supposed to have retractable teeth, but he was from an illegal breeding mill and he had a birth defect. No teeth at all. They aren’t supposed to be captive animals, but without teeth, they couldn’t release him. So he was put up for adoption.” Sunset pointed to the next page over, where Pinkie was still smiling with the baby Alligator half hanging off her face. The Gators empty gums clinging to her cheek. “They're known for being a bit… violent. Thankfully, that's no issue when he’s toothless. He’s really mellowed since living with Pinkie, and she calls his few remaining attempts at biting her ‘kisses’ so I think everything turned out well.”

“I didn’t see him at the sleepover,” Twilight said, surprised. Thinking back, she had no memory of seeing any sort of reptile at Pinkie’s home, besides a few stuffies in her room. Then again she was high on Vampire spit for a lot of that time…

“They have a pond out back they enclosed, with a little heated shelter for him. All of Pinkie’s family seem to love him. Plus he doesn’t bother their water grown rocks, whatever those are,” Sunset frowned thoughtfully but pushed on after a moment. “Anyway, he was out back behind the house for the sleepover, so we didn’t see him. I’m sure Pinkie would love to show you the next time she has us over though. Even if he’s a bit more… ‘Kissy’ with strangers,” Sunset chuckled and ran a hand over the photo. “You should have been there when we tried to drive home from the Adoptathon! He just kept snapping and squirming. We almost lost him under the seats.”

Suddenly, Sunset snapped her fingers and looked up. “OH! The Adoptathon is the first week of June this year! Did you want to come with us? They have games, events, and great prices on pet supplies! Plus it's nice to support Fluttershy’s family and the shelters.”

Twilight recalled Futtershy mentioning the Adoptathon before, even though she hadn’t mentioned a date. It sounded like a lot of fun only… “If I’m not busy moving or anything, it should be ok,” Twilight said. “Could I bring Spike?”

“Yeah, pets are welcome! Applejack brings Winona every year. She lets her dog pick something out. Usually a bone,” Sunset smiled. It's gonna be so much fun, I hope it works out and you can join us.”

It did sound like fun! The more Twilight went out of Everfree and into the larger community, the more she discovered. Fun things to do, new things to eat, and plenty of people to meet! This event was just another chance to get outside the walls and explore. Hopefully if they got the house, she could have even more opportunities too.

Someone knocked on the door behind them and Sunset turned, calling out quickly. “Come in!”

The door opened to reveal Carrion on the other side. “Ms Sunset. Your mother has me to inform you that dinner is ready. If you and your friend come down to the dining room, we can begin to plate.”

“Oh sure!” Sunset stood up, grabbing Twilight’s arm to bring the human with her. “Come on, Twilight! Mom’s tomato soup is to die for!”

“Not literally I hope?”

“Well I’m technically undead so I can’t say for sure,” Sunset sticking out her tongue.

They both laughed as they hurried out of the room and down the stairs, Carrion trailing behind them. They could already smell dinner from the kitchen, and it was amazing!

She couldn’t wait!

Dinner was absolutely delicious!

Night Light and Velvet were invited to join at the last minute, as apparently they and Celestia had kept talking long after the girls departed. That carried into the meal, with Celestia and Twilight’s father talking about constellations and their changes over the last one thousand years. As that petered down conversation then struck up between Velvet and Celestia over books, both old and new. As they ate, Sunset showed Twilight a few more pictures on her phone as they chatted about current events at Sunset’s school and the upcoming fun their friends had planned. Like how Pinkie wanted to do a city day trip with all of them, sometime soon, where they could walk around downtown, window shopping, eat, and doing some of the activities like the museums, parks, and escape rooms.

Best of all tonight, Luna hadn’t been hungry, so she just napped through the entire visit down in her room. Would have been rather hard to introduce her parents to her when they were still adjusting to everything outside Everfree, especially since Luna still didn’t radiate a very welcoming presence to humans.

The night wrapped up, and the humans were set up to leave. Celestia bid them farewell, and asks for Velvet’s business card, should she ever need help proof-checking her speeches and paperwork for errors. Sunset and Twilight shared one more quick hug before they headed out the door, and into the family car. They were partway down the driveway before Velvet spoke.

“Well that was nice. Like, really, really nice!”

“Yeah. The mayor is a real hoot!” Night Light added. “Think she’d want to have dinner when we’re all moved in?” he asked.

“If we get the house, maybe,” Velvet said, smiling “We really should have all of Twilight’s friends over as well if we get the chance.” Velvet looked at the back seat. “What do you think, Twilight? We could order pizza and let you kids have a sleepover.”

“Definitely tempting,” Twilight agreed, though she’d have to make sure nobody lost any limbs this time. Which was probably best not to mention.

“At any rate, it won’t be for a while. We have to get the house, move in, and meet up with Shiny again! Not to mention meeting his fiancé. We really need to get on top of that.”

“Oh they're busy! Just like us. We’ll make it happen!” Night Light said cheerfully.

Twilight glanced out the window, watching as they left Celestia’s gate and headed down the road. Heading back to Everfree.

“For the time being,” Twilight thought cheerfully to herself.

As the country scenes rolled by, Twilight couldn’t help but think about everything going on. New school. New house. New friends. A whole new life... The changes were definitely rough sometimes, but it was also pretty exciting.

“Crashing and burning in an explosion of blazing embers, withstanding the painful flames and emerging out the other side, cleansed in fire, born new but smarter every time.”

Sunset’s words echoed in her head, making more sense.

Velvet’s phone suddenly started to ring, drawing Twilight’s attention. Velvet cursed, having to dig deep into her purse to find it, before dragging it out, buzzing with some kind of receipt statically stuck to the back. The woman picked it off before answering.

“Hello?”

She was quiet a moment before blinking. “Oh really? Wow. Ok! Thanks!” She seemed to straighten, nodding quickly as she listened to the other end of the call. “No, no! Thank you! We really appreciate it.”

A few seconds later Velvet hung up and turned to her husband.

“They accepted our offer! We got the house!”

The family cheered loudly, Night Light laying in his horn on the empty country road. “This is great! Does that mean I can go to Canterlot High?!” Twilight asked quickly.

“It sure does! We can move in as soon as the money transfers and all the paperwork is through! Oh I have to text Shiny! He’ll be so excited!” Velvet said, looking back at her phone. “Everything is going our way!”

“That’s all well and good, but who’s gonna tell your mother?” Night Light asked, watching the road as the sun dipped below the horizon before them.

Now that was the question. Twilight looked at her mom, starting when she realized the woman was touching a finger to the side of her nose. Twilight quickly copied her. It took a second for Night Light to catch on, spluttering a bit when he realized.

“Hey! That's no fair! I was watching the road and I have to have both hands on the wheel!!”

“The nose knows dear,” Velvet said simply before chuckling.

Twilight knew they’d likely tell Grandma all together. Nobody would survive telling her alone. Whatever happened here on out though, one thing was for sure; times were certainly changing.

Author's Note

Hey guys long time no see! Just in time for a two chapter release this year!! Boo-yeah! Little bit longer chapter and some more world building for you, as well as some Sunset background! I hope you enjoy it! What's up next? Well i think its time we tell grandma on whats happening... and meet the new member of the family! Cadence. Here we come! Happy New Year guys!

(PS> I actually wrote a lot of this before Encanto came out, but if you wants a comparison for what the house will be like, then Casita in Encanto is an excellent example. Maybe with a bit more attitude .)

If you guys notice any world or character lore errors then let me know! Its kinda hard to keep track of all this after this long.

Special thanks to Blazeblast4 and TheoneAJ for editing!