The two girls look at the food they made, or tried to, with mixed reactions. For one, Catherine is naturally good with guessing how to make waffles and following the instructions, as delicious golden brown ones sit there. Vinyl is good at making some sausage patties and chopping them up with eggs for a nice scrambled egg and sausage. However. both look at each other, confused, as they somehow burned their fruit smoothies. Black ichor sits in the blender, both not daring to touch it.

"I...think this is an accomplishment in all the worst ways," Catherine speaks, taking a picture with her phone, as Vinyl nods. "Yeah, I uh, what did you put in it?" She asks as Catherine shrugs. "I put milk, some banana slices, and a bit of sugar." Vinyl nods and looks at it. "Well I added strawberries and some protein powder, so either A, this was a freak accident, or B, we tried to make a smoothie of the gods and it broke." She says, as Catherine blinks, before chuckling softly.

Soon they safely dump the tar out, and get the blender soaking, as they both have milk instead. Vinyl looks a bit impressed, as Catherine wolfs down some waffles, savoring the bites though looking hungry, as she also has a lot of food on her plate. Catherine looks up, mouth full of food, as she chews, and swallows it. "Uh...sorry, it is really good." She says, as Vinyl chuckles.

"No problem, dig in, we made plenty, maybe a bit too much, though what do you want to do then, if we have today as a rest day for you? Cause I got nothing to do, no gigs till New Year's Eve." She says as Catherine perks up. "Oh? I thought you and your girlfriend would, you know, be smooching or whatever." Catherine says as Vinyl smirks.

"Oh we will, I am just gonna be working too. I am to play some of my more mellow background music for a big party her folks are having. We plan to tell them after, about us, after we test the waters. She invited our two close friends, Lyra and Bon Bon over too." She explains as Catherine looks intrigued, judging by Vinyl's smirk. "Oh her dad works with the Walker Foundation. They help a lot of special folks out, from the disabled, blind, and autistic, to those seeking help from drug addiction and especially mental health. They work with Canterlot Hospital, several orphanages, mental centers, a drug rehab place, and also now going into homeless shelters."

Catherine nods and recalls these folks. Her father hates them due to their policies over topics he finds, sinful. She doesn't recall what they are but knows he says they're evil. "I heard of them, my father doesn't like them, he's very religious and dislikes their policies. On what I never got to know." She says as Vinyl scoffs. "Him and every white male against so many things." She sighs, as she looks at Catherine. "Trust me, Catherine, you will learn what you support and what you don't, and as long as you know your boundaries and keep them how you want, hopefully, others won't cross them, and if so, help correct it calmly." She says, as Catherine nods, and thinks on this.

"Alright, though I must say I don't want some of my boundaries crossed." She says, as Vinyl nods, "I respect that, and if I bump one or two tell me. But most folks are also insensitive dicks so be ready for that." She says as Catherine nods, but sighs. "I hope you are wrong, but you know more than I on this topic. Now, uh, you will be busy then, and you go to school, and I should too?" She asks, thinking over her plans, not resting as her mind is stressed still over other things, such as money for food, being in trouble for not being in school, and standing out. "Though if anyone saw them I would be really in the limelight.'

Vinyl shrugs, "I mean you can enroll in the spring, might be a bit weird but I can help you get caught up. Also if you are concerned about money, getting a part-time job is useful. I know a few places are gonna be hiring. Though, uh, how strong are you?" She asks as Catherine thinks, recalling she had a private gym at home, as one of the few things she liked was working out. "Well, I am not sure, last time I worked out I could do lifts around 200 pounds, though that is my best guess." She calmly says.

Vinyl blinks, and speaks, "You what now?" She asks, confused and unsure if she heard her right. Catherine sighs, "I can lift around 200 pounds, I can also do long endurance running and such. When I was 10 or so I was bored and didn't like being a chubby baby. By 12 I was allowed access to our home's gym as a "gift" from my father, mainly some he can delay me going to school and stay at home. So since I was 12 I worked out little by little. I mean...I am not built. My uh, body has a high metabolism, as my stepmother told me. Hence me eating a lot." She explains, as Vinyl nods, and gives her an odd look.

"Okay, oddly similar to Octavia, but also I am not surprised. I do wonder if you could help me be support for my gigs. Like carrying the gear, moving stuff, and maybe even keeping folks away. Do you know self-defense?' She asks as Catherine blinks. "No, I do not, though I am a quick learner, apparently if I can learn to cook this good on my first try, how hard can self-defense be?" She says, with her usual drive to anything she can do, which is going for it, and if you fail, try harder.

Vinyl nods, and smirks, "I think we can work on this. Now, to relax fully, and worry about stuff later. So, what do you wanna do for fun?" She asks, as Catherine blinks, and thinks, "What do you usually do?" She asks Vinyl, unsure what is normal. "Because as I said, I like to work out, though uh not in public, I don't want attention." She says, as Vinyl nods. "Okay, well maybe we can, uh get some stuff for you to work out here? Have you ever played video games?" She asks as Catherine gives her a look "Do you think I was allowed them?" Vinyl sighs. "Right, well here let me show you some after we eat." She states, as both eat up and soon finish their delicious meals.

The two then wash their dishes, and Vinyl goes and gets her computer set up, as she also gets her console going, and speaks, "Okay, time to teach you about being a typical teenager." She says, chuckling, as Catherine speaks, "I think most teens aren't into these games."

"Most I know are, now, here is how you-" Soon Vinyl is telling Catherine all about video games, the kinds, how they play on the console, and how they'll start there and go to computer games next. Catherine tries to keep up but soon finds herself getting it, more or less. However, Vinyl is also a good teacher, so maybe that is how. Soon she is seeing Vinyl show her videos on youtube of games, to better help her see what games there are. This is fascinating to Catherine, as she only found youtube recently when she was given her phone to go to public school, and even then she never was into gamers, though the one, Markiplier, is funny, and she watched him a bit.

The two spend a few hours together, discussing and trying out games, Catherine wants to try cute relaxing games, though she gets bored with them. She then tries a game Vinyl likes, which is Dark Souls 3, and oddly, she seems pretty natural at it. Somehow not being surprised that much by the first boss, and avoided the enemies, though still dying here or there. She doesn't get frustrated, just hums and Vinyl seems annoyed by this, but soon speak up about it. "Why are you so calm?"

"It is just a game, any progress I make, no matter how small, is progress nonetheless." She says, as Vinyl blinks, and chuckles. "That is one way to look at it. But how about you keep playing, and I'll plan lunch..or we can go out to eat." Catherine hums, before she speaks, "Up to you, I like this." She says, as she fights some undead things, and finds herself focusing.

Vinyl soon goes about making lunch, simple sandwiches, though Catherine doesn't notice her movement and posture changes. She gets really into the game, as she sits up, leans in and her shirt oddly gets tight against her. She mentally calms herself, before Vinyl notices anything. She soon pauses the game and saves it when she sees Vinyl walk over, and hands her lunch. Both begin to eat up and relax, as Vinyl calmly speaks.

"So, I gotta ask this, you okay with being here? I just don't want to seem like I am being forceful." She says as Catherine waves a hand. "Your fine, this is better than how I was living, though I also need to figure out how I am gonna live till I find my mom here if I can." She sighs and leans back before she hisses. "Ah..." She clenches a fist, as Vinyl looks at her concerned.

"Hey hey what is i-" Catherine holds up a hand and focuses. "I am fine, just a pulled, muscle in my back." She lies, as Vinyl scoffs. "Yeah no that is not one, you look like something stabbed you." She says, moving closer, as Catherine swiftly grabs Vinyl's outstretched hand. Vinyl yelps, and looks shocked, and slightly nervous. "I said. I AM. FINE." She says, focusing, and slowly the pain numbs down to bearable levels. She lets Vinyl go, and mumbles an apology.

Vinyl looks on, shocked, before she blinks, and speaks. "You, have scars don't you?" She says, calmly, as Catherine looks at her and nods. Vinyl sighs and rubs her wrist. "I can get why you're not alright with folks helping you. I think I think you need to stay here. Away from him." She says, sitting down by Catherine, as Catherine sighs.

"He said it was because I was bad. Some never healed right." She says, as Vinyl nods, and touches her shoulder, slowly and in Catherine's sight. Catherine nods and lets her do this, as Vinyl sighs. "Well, I can only advise you to get them checked out or do some antibiotics if any are still open. For now, maybe we take a break from games and discuss school." She says, wants to do something more, active and off the sofa, so Catherine can distract herself and be productive.

Catherine nods, as both soon go about planning how she can enroll at Canterlot High in the spring, how she can explain her situation without drawing attention, and Vinyl using her abuse as clear red flags to avoid them contacting her father. Catherine doesn't want to push it, not wanting her father's wrath for muddying his name, or even folks knowing her father. So she refuses to say who he is and keeps a balance between keeping herself safe, and not drawing his attention.

They soon come up with a plan to ask Principle Celestia about her coming to school due to her running away and needing to continue her education to support herself, and in the hopes of becoming a proper adult and getting away from her abusive father, who let her go since he won't bother coming this far to get her. Catherine wonders about bringing up her mother but decides not to, as she doesn't want to put her hopes up only to be let down.

After this hour of discussion and planning, both go back to gaming, and slowly the events of early fade, and become memories to recall. Catherine recalls that Vinyl is a physical comforter, and Vinyl will recall Catherine is sensitive to contact. Both however do not let this issue stop them from chatting and hanging out. Slowly both become relaxed with each other, and Catherine feels, pretty happy, having fun with someone before. Most girls at her school never could be friends, her father was too strict on that, and also kept her out of the gym and other events she had to change clothing, for obvious reasons.

So to have someone her age, to chat and hang out with, is a nice change of pace for Catherine, as both do this for a while before Vinyl gets a call and she goes to take it. Meanwhile, Catherine checks her phone, noticing nothing odd, and checks the safety chip app, which shows her security and VPN system are all green, the ad says she is in Canada still, along with her GPS and other systems of tracking being unable to connect. "I wonder who made this chip.'

She soon looks up online, for the Atlas Security Chip, and finds very little info, before she finds the maker. Oscar Stark, of the Atlas Security Company, a subsidiary company of the Walker Foundation, is specifically a part of Walker Innovations and Technology. She is shocked and begins to dig more into this, finding they make everything from artificial hearts, devices to help the partially blind see, prosthetic limbs, and a lot of biomedical technology. However, Atlas Security Company is mainly private, with some products being Atlas Home Security, the Atlas VPN network, and oddly a demo of the latest in technology, a type of police drone called "Sentinel" which can be used to chase and apprehend targets via a net gun and taser system.

Catherine feels, concerned, as she discovered Vinyl's father works for a multi-staged cooperate superbusiness that is doing all it can to avoid being a monopoly and has everything from medicine to high-tech weapons at its hands. But, then she sees some news articles about the foundation, mainly them caring for the poor, and orphaned, and also dealing with large global disasters to small-town issues. They seem, oddly everywhere, just not very popular due to their lacking of anything but good stories.

Vinyl returns, as she sighs and rubs her forehead. "Okay, so Bon Bon, Lyra, and Derpy are coming over here in an hour, we gotta clean up and prepare for them, I'll be ordering pizza, and you gotta come up with your story, so we don't have them harping on you all night over your past." She says, as Catherine is snapped out of her thoughts, and blinks.

"Oh dear, alright, I can help clean and think of my story." She says, as Vinyl nods, liking this idea. Soon, they both go about cleaning up, putting clean dishes away, moving laundry, and mainly chores Vinyl would do normally, and ones Catherine feels like she should know how to do. They both get it down quickly, as soon Vinyl orders pizza, and adds one pizza just for Catherine, who goes into her room to change into nicer clothing. But before that she walks into the bathroom.

"gotta change the wrapping.' She thinks, as she soon walks in, only her bra on. She looks at herself, all of herself, poking over her shoulders slightly, are two big, feathered bumps. She extends them out, looking over her large soft wings, and sees her source of pain. The large wound left behind from her wing cuff, which kept them both bound together, left large holes in her delicate wings, that luckily have been healing decently. A measure her father took to keep her from flying since they grew it when she was 6. She soon sighs, and reaches up to one wound, focusing as she recalls the times she saw someone in her home hurt and came to help them. Their happy faces when paper cuts or burns vanished with her power.

She pants, and as she stops, the wound scabbed up again and looks better, but not healed. She soon gives herself a minute, before doing this to the other wing. Again she is left drained, but feeling better. She then sighs, as she goes through the process of cleaning her feathers, and then putting her new shirt and hoodie back on, as luckily her wings are not fully developed yet. "How my mom can hide what dad said was 23-foot wingspan is either with magic or long coats.' she thinks to herself, as she sighs. Her wings are still growing, only at an 8-foot wingspan, as she has no idea when they'll grow more. She hopes they do after she finds her mother. "Unless father's action's stunted them so I'm stuck flightless.'

She sighs, and soon leaves, her wings hidden, as she prepared to meet Vinyl's friends, and puts on a calm expression, dreading the risks and unknown individuals she is about to meet. However, she does not wait long, as Vinyl is already talking to one girl, a wall-eyed gray jacket-wearing blonde, with a jovial smile.

"Oh hello, your new." This girl says as Vinyl smiles, "Yes she is, Catherine, Derpy Hooves, Derpy, Catherine Jackson." She says as Catherine nods. "Hello, nice to meet you." Catherine smiles, as Derpy smiles back. "It is nice to meet you, so, how did you end up with Vinyl as your roommate?" She asks as Vinyl rolls her eyes.

"Oh she helped me out by letting me stay here is all. I am, moving here but sadly I am on my own. Am going to go to your school soon." She says, as Derpy blinks, one eye on her, the others drifting. "Oh, well be careful our school is weird. I mean, did you tell her about the incident?"

Vinyl shushes Derpy, "I was gonna save that for later, but uh, yeah, I should warn you, our school has some weird things going on." She says, as she looks at Catherine, who blinks. She then slowly backs up, and speaks, "If by weird you mean what exactly?" She asks, unsure if she is going to like the answer.

Vinyl sighs, "I can explain when the others get here, though the big points are, do not tell others about what happens at school, it stays in the city limits. Do not record it without making it look or feel like special effects were used. And Lastly, do not call Sunset Shimmer any names or do anything to her. I got emails from my folks saying she's been through shit, and we are not risking pissing off the Smiths over anything."

Derpy speaks up, as she looks at Vinyl, "What about Twilight?" She says, as Vinyl nods, "Oh right, also Twilight Sparkle is someone who comes here sometimes. Don't question her too much." She says, as Catherine processes all this, but looks confused. "Okay? I am, gonna need more info." She says, as soon knocking occurs, as Vinyl goes to answer it, as a girl with half-dark blue, half-pink hair walks in, with a teal-white haired gal beside her, as both greet them all, as Vinyl introduces them as Bon Bon and Lyra respectively.

Catherine says her hellos, and soon they begin to get comfortable. Then Catherine is bombarded with stories and events from their school. Vinyl tells her of how Sunset was a good girl, got power-hungry, then became power-hungry, stole some magical crown, and then became a demon. Yet she is reforming into a good person now but has some problems still. Bon Bon explains how weird stuff, like magic, happens, and how girls at their school grew wings and pony ears, and overall stuff, if Catherine didn't believe in magic herself, would be hard press to believe. Derpy also explains other small oddities, which are that ever since the fall formal, magical events occur, small ones. Or now they all are noticing the magic, as Trixie's stunts seem to make more sense, but also less.

Lyra however, instead of telling her much, basically just relaxes oddly, and looks at Bon Bon with lovestruck eyes. Catherine sighs, and listens to them all. Processing all this on an empty stomach, but luckily for her, the pizza arrives. They all soon get their pies and thank the delivery guy, someone they know from school. The girls witness Catherine consume the pizza, enjoying it as she drinks some soda, and Derpy speaks up. "So, uh, mind telling us about yourself Catherine?"

Catherine holds up a hand and finishes her mouthful of food, as she sighs. "Right, I can. Well, I am here, running away from family problems, and I'm trying to find myself away from home. My folks aren't worried about me too much, so overall, I'll hopefully be fine here. Just uh, no hugs or anything, okay?" She says as Bon Bon nods.

"Understandable, though beware Pinkie, she will read you like an open book, know your birthday, favorite stuff, and what you need to cheer you up," She says as the others nod. Catherine looks confused, but takes her word for it, as from what they told her, that is the least crazy thing she has heard today.

"I'll take your word for it. So, uh, what do you all want to do?" Derpy smiles, and speaks, "I would say talk about boys, but we have three useless lesbians in the room." She giggles, as Vinyl chuckles, along with Lyra, as Bon Bon blush at each other and then looks away. "Derpy, I am not a useless lesbian, I can be quiet ca-" She stops and become flustered as Lyra kisses her cheek. Catherine sees this, and blinks, unsure how she feels about this, but not disliking the sight of girls being romantic. It reminds her of old books she read, and what she wanted her parents to be like.

"I mean, I never dated anyone, so I wouldn't have any answers." She informs them all, as they look shocked, and Lyra speaks, "You're a solid 9 out of 10, how come you got no dates?' Catherine blinks, and sighs, looking at them all sternly, "Because I have a father who disliked me dating before I am an adult." She says, calmly, as they all nod.

Vinyl sighs and nods, "Yeah, and hey, do recall keeping that private Derpy, not everyone has to know." Derpy giggles and nods, "Sorry Vi, but you are bad at hiding it, though how Octavia doesn't know is beyond me." Vinyl sighs, as she speaks, "She knows, she just doesn't care. She and I are friends first, and she was told long before you all."

The girls chat and discuss this, having some arguments over who learned who liked who first, and crushes are mentioned, as Catherine watches and joins when she cans. She feels herself understanding how to interact with folks better, and becoming more, open and thinking over things. She also has to stop giving her stern looks when annoyed, as Lyra looked a bit worried she got upset over her question.

Overall, the conversation drifts to her, as they discuss topics from relationships, to fashion, and some things Catherine understand, like novels, working out, and now video games. Overall the evening begins to fly by, as the girls all soon begin to play Mario Party together, and fight for victory. Catherine does her best and has fun, the first time she has ever hanged out with others her age before. She enjoys it, and with all the chaos and uncertainty the new school and her life now here may hold, she feels, comfort knowing she can make friends here, and perhaps, that is all she'll need to keep herself stable and happy here.

Author's Note

And the first of hopefully a few Catherine Centric chapters. To provide insight and more characters and development of characters. Also, help me with pacing. Now I wonder what you all think of this, and the development of the chapter.

I love feedback and do tell me if you saw this coming or not. I assume not. So I hope you all enjoy it and do have a good time my wonderful readers. And yes, I removed the narrator as I realize it takes you out of the story. He may show up from time to time, but not every chapter (also felt weird for him to tell Catherine's side of things).